Friday, September 27, 2019

Legacy of Remembrance: Chicago Fire "Sacred Grounds" Season Premiere



The season premiere of Chicago Fire left Firehouse 51 mourning a loss of their own. SPOILER ALERT! Here's a recap!

The season premiere episode picks up seconds after the season finale, where Casey and company are in the basement; Herrmann and Ritter are trying to cool the furnace pipes before they go, and Boden, Brett, and Foster are trying to take victims out until the furnace explodes. Boden, Brett, and Foster were taken down, with Brett suffering from a severely broken arm; Casey and Company seem to be okay until someone's alarm goes off, and it turns out to be Otis. 

As everyone brings out Otis, Cruz goes with him and sees the severe burns that he's suffered. Back at Med, everyone awaited word about Otis until Boden confronted a nurse who gave the worst news: Otis died. But we see one of the most emotional moments so far, as Cruz tells Otis that it's okay to go and that he hopes he would save a spot for him, too, until Otis opens his eyes and speaks in Russian and quickly dies.

We jump three months later; the firehouse is still mourning the loss of Otis. Cruz is trying to find meaning and figure out what Otis said. Toasey is under review for the decision-making that got him worried. Still, Boden took the blame from him as he decided to bring Brett and Foster into the warehouse, but it was still not going to take the pain of losing a firefighter away.

Brett is now in Floweton; she's just got her cast off on her arm and gets the job as a full-time EMT at the local fire station. But there's an issue: being in a small town, she knows someone from her past who is married to one of the firefighters. The Chaplain offers her a solution of not working but working as the Chaplain's wife, who does work. I'm not seeing this last too long, as she will miss Chicago.
With Brett gone, Foster gets a floater like Mr. Rogers meets Clark Kent. Mouch sees the guy's photo in a magazine.

Near the end of the episode, Boden gets everyone from the firehouse outside, where he has an honorary memorial for Otis. He even translated what Otis said to Cruz just before he died. As soon as Cruz kneels in front of the statue, everyone from Casey and Severide do the same while holding each other's backs. 

"Sacred Ground" was an episode that marks another shift change in the series. Not since the Season Three premiere has it been this powerful, and knowing that the outcome will be even more painful. The writing was so damn good, and even the character developments between Cruz and Casey were so good. I still hope that Brett will call off the engagement and move back to Chicago, maybe ask Casey out on a date, but I know that's way too much to ask for.  Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Shock value and Farewell: Chicago Med "Never Going Back to Normal" Season Premiere



Chicago Med returned with a season premiere that had shock value, twists, and even a farewell to remember. Beware: There will be spoilers! Here's a recap!

We pick off seconds from the season finale with Will waking up Natalie, who's suffering from a head injury, rushed to Med, where we meet Dr. Marcel, who takes over Natalie's care. As Ma cel works on Natalie, Will is taken but could be a better patient. But P clip gets there worried about Natalie and tells Marcel that Natalie is his fiance, even without the ring on her finger. Mor o come later.

Meanwhile, as everyone comes in, April and Ethan learn from a pregnancy test that she's not pregnant. But they take care of a young boy who's suffering from losing his eyesight. After running some tests, they believe it's neurological and get a consultant about it, which turns out to be a small tumor. It wasn't until Ethan went over the history of his patient that it could be something else, which, in fact, happened to be a hyperthyroid, and the kid ended up not having surgery.

While covering overtime, Dr. Marcel teams up with Dr. Charles, who takes on a patient suffering from schizophrenia. The issue comes down to explaining the seriousness of the illness to the patient's grandmother, who believes she can take care of him. Dr. Charles talks to the grandmother, who later comes to understand. Also, although Charles' honeymoon was postponed, it's still on after the day.

Maggie gets a biopsy, which soon proves that she's got breast cancer. She's decided to get treatment at another hospital but wants to keep working. Goodw n disagrees with that idea. 
Conner tries to help Will;  Atwater questions him about his father's death, which seems to point to him, thanks to Ava. As Co ner confronts Ava about the situation, Dr. Latham sees him being aggressive with her, and soon, a complaint file is formed with the HR department. Tha aThisnisl Latham confronts Ava and Conner about looking back at the logs to see who ordered the insulin. Soon, Ava and Conner talk, and Ava admits to him that she did it but pulls one last trick, slicing her neck with a surgical knife. Avaiss on the table,e, and that leads Conner to leave Med for good.

Conner confronts Latham about leaving and thanks him for everything, but Latham also thanks Conner. He thanked one more person, Goodwin, who confronts him about leaving, and the two give a very heartfelt goodbye.

As for Natalie, she'll be okay, even though she lost memory of what had happened. Phil uses her injury to his advantage that they're engaged (that sick dude!). That's probably what Natalie would tell him when she got in his car.

"Never Going Back to Normal" was a fantastic season opener that gave us some sad and shocking goodbyes and a lovely welcome to a new staff member. Dr.. Marcel seems like a smooth doctor, but I can't wait to see what he brings to this hospital. Indeed, I believe Will will suffer even more from this, and I'm guessing that Philip will tell Natalie it was all Will's fault. Has a baby, but it isn't out yet for Ethan and April.   h Akerr performs beautifully as the grandmother of a patient suffering from schizophrenia. There was good writing, character development, and even strong performances from Colin O'Donnell, Marlyne Barrett, and Norma Kuhling. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Chicago Med Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Bonding: Single Parents "Summer of Freedom" Season Premiere



In the season premiere of Single Parents, with the kids gone for summer camp, the parents try to have a fun time. Here's a recap!!

Picking up right at the end of the season finale, Will, Angie, and the gang realize that with the kids gone for the summer, they should throw a party for each of the summer months. But when Doug tries to ask Poppy out on a date, after Poppy thinks it is a disaster, it turns into Poppy and Doug not speaking for the summer. That is until she learns that Doug was suffering from a heart attack when she placed his hand on his on their date.

Meanwhile, Angie invested in emailing Graham's father, which ruined their plans between her and Will with their super fun summer plans. After Will doesn't have the fun and dum things that he had hoped with Angie, he turns away from his girlfriend to be with Angie, which leads to them singing "Cruel Summer" at a karaoke bar but also going to Doug's tiki hut party. Later, when the group bonded for one more moment of summer, Angie sent the email to Graham's dad, but they all forgot to pick up their kids, who were upset and realized that their parents couldn't do anything without them.

"Summer of Freedom" was a fun season premiere that had good character development moments, like Angie finally getting the courage to send her ex the email that she's been dreading all episodes, but also seeing her and Will having that fun planned adventure as well. It is also a perfect song choice for karaoke. Miggy was underused as only the bridge to Poppy and Doug's relationship guru. I hope we get to see Miggy shine more this season. But the enjoyment of Brad Garrett's character, Doug, keeps improving. The writing was good, as was the performance, which was very good coming from this ensemble cast. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Single Parents Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30 on ABC.

Too Close To Home: FBI "Little Egypt" Season Premiere


The season premiere of FBI has the agency facing a bombing that hits too close to home. Here's a recap! The 

When a bombing of a restaurant hits close to home to O.A., it goes even more profound and even butting heads with the new FBI supervisor, Isobel Castille, on the issues of spreading the word that Muslim terrorists were the ones that had attacked.

After agreeing and getting the okay from Castille, O.A. tries to connect to one of the buyers, who cannot do what he's trying to do. But when he comes to visit the kid at home, the kid is no longer at home but at the park about to bomb Central Park. While Maggie stops the bomb, O.A. stops the kid and the suspect.

Meanwhile, in the episode, Kristen becomes a full agent of the FBI and gets a new partner, Agent Stuart Scola, as he helps Maggie and O.A. The two bond as unique partners, like Kristen learning that Scola did have an older brother who died on 9/11.

"Little Egypt" was an excellent episode that not only told a solid character development episode but pretty much added to what the feeling towards the characters would be this season. I very much enjoyed the tension between O.A. and Castille. But also nothing like a Law and order reunion between Sisto and Garza. I'm interested in where this season will take the characters and the stories that they'll be telling. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch FBI Tuesdays at

The People We Meet: This Is Us "Strangers"



Image result for This Is Us Season 4 Episode 1

The season premiere of This Is Us might have us questions some of the characters; but the ending will explain it all with its classic twist. SPOILERS! Here's a recap!

After driving back from the audition, Rebecca and Jack not only had a wonderful time; but the two tells one another that they won't be calling each other right away. Later Jack calls Rebecca and asked for another date; having dinner with her parents and parents friends. While it seems to go well, Rebecca's dad isn't too impressed with Jack and thinks that he can find her a better boyfriend than him. Oh, how he thought so wrong.

Meanwhile, we meet three different new characters, One, Cassidy Sharp, a military officer trying to hunt down an enemy, but when things don't go the way it was planned; she takes it back with her home. After a couple of days, things aren't the same at home and it leads to her separating with her family and seeking counseling.

Second, Mailk, a young father who works with his father at an auto shop. With so much responsibility his father advised him to live his life. And thrid we meet Jack, a blind musician, who after having an accident at home meets a lovely waitress, who becomes an inspiration to his music as he wrote a song and not only becomes a hit artist but marries the waitress and expecting a baby.

Now for the twist, as we see the Pearson family (present-day) celebrating Kevin, Kate and Randell's birthday; we see Cassidy talk to her group when a chair is thrown breaking the window and we see Jack's brother. Kevin gets a call to help him bail out of jail. Mailk, who goes to a party, is cooking burgers and meets Deja and soon makes an impression to her as she comes back home; where Randall and company are living in Philly. And Jack is no other than Kate and Toby's son, who we learn of his blindness; but that's not going to stop Kate from loving him. 

"Strangers" is a very good episode. It's at best not to overthink or just not think about what each character is all about because once I did that I had to rewatch over again. While the story between Rebecca and Jack was really good with a nice ending of Rebecca singing her love to Jack. The three new characters really stole the episode right out of the gate. Jennifer Morrison, Asante Blackk and Blake Stadnik are truely amazing; that bring that extra love, warmth, and mystery to the show. And not to mention that the song that Stadnik sings at the end should be considered for an Emmy.  Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch This Is Us Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

All Rise. "Pilot" Series Premiere

Image result for all rise cbs



The new CBS drama has a mixed bag of seriousness and humor that's likable.

All Rise premieres Monday night, and while it may not be original, it has its moments. Combining of shows between Boston Legal meets Judging Amy. All Rise tells stories of lawyers and the first day of the newly appointed Judge Lola Charmichael (played by Simone Missick), who deals with not only trying to have a good first day but also trying to make her mark.

Lola deals with her first trial case of a soon-to-be mother for a crime she believes she never did. Lola gives the prosecutor and the defendant, Emily Lopez (played by Jessica Camacho), a day to get their evidence in order. However, the defendant receives a tip about the evidence and even the testimony from the detective on the case.

Meanwhile, Mark Callan (played by Wilson Bethel) is a bit of a hotshot lawyer and a good friend to Lola, as they have a working relationship. Mark deals with not only a defendant who is a shoo-in of being guilty of the crime that he has committed. But a judge plays along with the defendant, representing himself, just to get back at Mark for that hit during their hockey game. It had the feel of Boston Legal all over it, which wasn't to say it was wrong or even excellent, but enjoyable with a few laughs.

While the pilot wasn't as strong, it was delightful, with good character development and even good performances, mainly between Missick and Camacho. I felt that in the pilot, Marg Helgenberger was underused and was the only one to give wisdom and advice to other characters, almost like when the FBI added Sela Ward in their first season. Is this series on my must-watch list? For now, no, but I want to give the show a fair shot to see where it will go. Overall, I give the episode a 7.9/10.

You can catch all the rise—Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Supergirl "Event Horizon" Season Premiere Preview



Just about two weeks away till the season premiere of Supergirl. New season, new villains and even a kickass new suit! Here's a preview!


"Event Horizon"


In the season five premiere, Kara is surprised to find that CatCo has a new owner who has brought in a star reporter. New couples emerge and explore their budding relationships while J'onn J'onzz receives an unexpected visitor.


Photos:









Promo:




You can catch the season premiere of Supergirl Sunday, Oct. 6th at 9/8c on The CW.