
A vaguely interesting concept becomes a true mess
by JOHN VINCENT
Jun-9-2013 -
HBO's hit fantasy series returns for Season 2 with an engaging start
This review may contain spoilers. With the age of dragons unexpectedly rekindled and political intrigues reaching a dizzying frenzy, "Game Of Thrones" makes a glorious return with its Season 2 premiere, "The North Remembers." The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros seems destined for an apocalypse with ...
Read MoreStorybrooke's Mad Hatter might not be all that mad, after all
Anyone who wasn't still standing in line to see "The Hunger Games" on Sunday night got the chance to trip through Wonderland on this week’s "Once Upon a Time." Looking for the escaped Mary Margaret, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) stumbles on Storybrooke's very own version of the Mad Hatter. Except ...
Read MoreSnow White takes a trip to the dark side
This week's episode circles back around to focus on Snow White and Prince Charming again. It also offers the welcome return of some series favorites. Since taking the Forget-Prince-Charming potion, Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) hasn't been herself. It turns out that losing her love for him has ...
Read MoreRed Riding Hood goes hunting for a big bad wolf
Finally! Fifteen episodes into the series, we get our first real chance to know Ruby/Red Riding Hood (Meghan Ory). She's been in the background of nearly every episode and there's no mystery to who is her alter ego, but Ruby/Red herself has never had her chance in the spotlight. Until now. ...
Read MoreA dwarf dares to dream of love
There’s always room for more Grumpy on "Once Upon a Time." This week, we’re treated to a whole episode built around him and his ill-fated love for a pink fairy. The fairy in question is Nova, played adorably by "Angel" alumna Amy Acker. She and a dwarf named Dreamy (Lee Arenberg) are peas in ...
Read MoreJason Isaacs easily sheds his Harry Potter facade to take on fascinating new project
Television is full of copied formulas. You know, the singing competition show, the police procedural, the musical, and did I mention the police procedural? Each one has some minor unique property to it, but deep down, it's pretty similar to any other successful show you or someone you know is wat ...
Read MoreKathryn finally learns the truth about David and Mary Margaret
As this week’s episode of "Once Upon a Time" opens, Prince James (Josh Dallas) is having family trouble after deciding to bail on his marriage to Abigail (Anastasia Griffith). She tells him, though, that she doesn’t want to marry him either. It turns out that Abigail has a tragic love story ...
Read MoreOur favorite fairy tale creatures do 'Beauty and the Beast'
This week’s Valentine’s Day-themed episode of "Once Upon a Time" revolves around a Beauty and her Beast. The role of Beast in this particular tale, though, will be played by Rumplestiltskin. To save her city from the ogres, the beautiful Belle (an awkwardly brunette Emilie de Ravin) agrees t ...
Read MoreThis week, our first guard returns
We begin this week on "Alcatraz" with former guard Guy Hastings (Jim Parrack) in his former quarters on Alcatraz. He has opened a spot in the baseboard that contains a gun and old photographs. A park ranger, whom he beats to death, surprises Hastings. Hastings replaces the baseboard and leaves the i ...
Read MoreThis week we are presented with a tale of two Astrids
This week, "Fringe" had a great case revolving around a man who found an Observer device and worked out the math so that he see the world like they did -- past, present and future -- all at once. Neil Chung (Chin Han) was a former MIT professor who took a job with the TSA so he could meet people. ...
Read MoreA hostage situation threatens to reveal the secret of Alcatraz
This week's criminal for "Alcatraz" is Cal Sweeney (Eric Johnson), a bank robber of the 1950s. He would seduce tellers to gain access to a bank's safety deposit boxes and rob them. If nothing goes wrong, no one gets hurt. But unfortunately something goes wrong. Madsen (Sarah Jones) and Diego (Jor ...
Read MoreThe ending to the series that 'Chuck' really deserves
This episode of "Chuck," the series finale, takes place two weeks after "Chuck vs. Sarah." Quinn (Angus Macfadyen) is on a plane, looking to buy a key (well actually, three pieces that make up a key) that will fix the Intersect and allow it to be reprogrammed. Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) has snuck ...
Read MoreInvisibility cloaks and miniture robots with lasers!
After her encounter with Quinn (Angus Macfadyen) at the end of the previous week’s episode of "Chuck," Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) is reset back to her original super-spy state. Quinn has convinced her that she is a CIA spy, he is her handler, that Chuck (Zachary Levi) has killed her old team, a ...
Read MoreThe team searches for a girl who draws people's deaths before they happen
After two weeks of focusing on the series arc, we are back to a case of the week story on "Fringe." We can expect them to spoon feed us the story arc for most of the season now. Our A-story revolves around Emily Mallum (Alexis Raich), who has the ability to see a person's death. She draws the dea ...
Read MoreEmma attempts to expose Regina's dastardly ways
Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Regina (Lana Parrilla) are butting heads over Henry again this week, as Regina demolishes Henry’s play castle. An angry, unemployed, disillusioned Sydney Glass (Giancarlo Esposito) offers to help Emma by exposing something big about the mayor. He happens to know ab ...
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