Nikita, Season 1, Episode 12 "Free"

Nikita's back!

But dude, I wasn't feeling that kiss with the CIA agent at the end. So random! Where's the forbidden angst? The multiple episodes of will she, won't he? While Ryan Fletcher might be just as cute as Michael Vaughn, it was missing the sparks we're so used to between Vaughn and Sydney on Alias. Nikita - you gotta step it up, otherwise I might just start watching my Alias Season 1 DVD instead.

Other things:
1. I love Alex's new apartment. Want.
2. I have a feeling that Alex's love interest is going to be some kind of agent. Good or bad, I haven't quite figured it out yet.
3. Speaking of Alex's hot neighbor, did you know that in real life he's older than Shane West? Seems a bit strange, given that the producers said that Alex would never hook up with Michael because the age difference was too great.
4. Birkhoff knows that Nikita and Fletcher are working together. So how is he not dead yet? Or living with Nikita in her secret lair of love?
5. Speaking of that secret lair of love, when is Owen coming back? He's much better for Nikita.

Anything else?

Nikita, Season 1, Episode 10 and 11

SPOILER WARNING - lots of really juicy details that you don't want to spoil, so if you haven't seen the episodes yet, get ye to your computer and catch up at cwtv.com. Jean, I'm looking at you.

Episode 10: Dark Matter

[Also known as the Episode Where Owen Returns, or the Episode Where We Meet Sexy CIA Agent Eric Fletcher.]

So sexy ex-Guardian Owen returns after he leaked the truth about an assassination to all the major evening news, and how it wasn't a car accident at all, but an inside US government job. The CIA is freaking out, and this really cute Superman-doppelganger CIA agent notes that it could be the work of some black-ops group. Yes, he's on to Division, and for that he must suffer. Percy decides to blame him for the asassination, but Nikita and Owen pretty awesomely rescue him. [True, I have no idea how they flew halfway around the planet in what seems like merely seconds - she was on the phone in her awesome loft one moment, and then in Santiago the next shooting bad guys. Ah, time travel, it exists on CW spy shows!] Anyways, the CIA agent survives. Nikita and Owen get away. And it looks like Nikita now has someone on the CIA side to help her bring down Division. Did I mention he's kinda hot? Is he the guy that they were casting as a love interest for Nikita? Or is this episode too soon for that? They definitely left the window open for him to return, even though if Division were smart, they would have killed him off.

Episode 11: All the Way

[also known as The Return (and End) of Thom]

Alex is being promoted to full-fledged AGENT if she completes her first KILL mission - which happens to be a very stereotypical mob boss kinda dude. And man, since you guys have all seen the episode, I'm just gonna jump in with the things that I need to vent about with you all.

1. Why did they need to kill off Thom? Couldn't Alex and Nikita have dragged him out of Division with them? He did take a rather LONG TIME to die, after all.

2. And another thing - aren't all agents equipped with awesome bulletproof vests? Unless Thom is The Worst Spy Ever*, he should have been wearing one, and thus would have avoided dying.

3. Seriously, why did he need to die??

4. How is Alex going to get out of Division now? Her way out is now sealed (per Percy's ominous voice-over), and she doesn't even have that 2-way voice-modulated chat thing with Nikita now.

5. I wish they had killed off Jaden instead. I know we need to have a villain in every series, but isn't Division and Percy villain enough?? Jaden is just so one-note.

6. How weird was that scene between Michael and Alex when he was showing her how to stab that potassium syringe into the larynx?

• 6a. I would think that sticking potassium into the BLOODSTREAM would be better than the larynx. I mean, I dunno how that's gonna paralyze the vocal cords...but then again, I'm going into psychiatry. Amy - you're on surg, maybe you can explain this to me.
• 6b. I wanted to laugh everytime Michael did the whole jab and "hush" move. Hahaha. I think it was supposed to be sexytimes, but it was just weird. Michael, your romantic interest is Nikita, not Alex.

7. Dude, is it believable that Thom was the mole? I feel like a smart man like Percy (and Birkhoff!) would have figured that out. Also, Jaden knows that the fingerprint thingy belonged to Alex, not Thom...sooooooooo.

Okay, discuss!

--

* Let's face it, we all know that The Worst Spy Ever award belongs to Sydney Bristow.

Nikita, Season 1, Episode 10 and 11

So I just got caught up. Go to cwtv.com if you haven't. Nikita's now on hiatus until end of January.

And then let me know when you've seen the mid-season finale, because I need someone to freak out with.

Much to discuss: the hot CIA agent (love interest for Nikita?), the return of Owen!, THOM!!!!!!!

Oh man, this show is so great. Sure there are those moments when you gotta suspend disbelief, because CLEARLY some things are just factually impossible, but it's wonderful guilty pleasure fare.

TV shows to watch

I am extremely behind in updating about shows, and quite frankly, at this point, it's not worth putting up a recap on an episode that aired 2-3weeks ago. So instead, I'm dedicating this post to a list of tv shows that people should watch and the reasons why. Some shows are already popular, some aren't, it's just a list of shows I think are quality and worth watching to get another season in (in the midst of cancellation season...RIP Undercovers).

Mondays:

Chuck: I've said it before, and I'll say it again, more people need to watch this show to ensure that it continues for several more seasons. Every season finale there's an amazing twist that sets the tone for the next season (regardless of whether or not another season is imminent), and it perfectly balances comedy, action, and drama. And it had an Alias reference in it's last episode!

Castle: Not in any big danger of being cancelled next season, it's just a fun, comedy mystery show to watch, not for the "clever" mysteries, but for the interaction between all the characters. I know Nathan Fillion is technically the star, but this is more of an ensemble show.

Tuesdays:

(Glee is being left out because it's already a ginormous hit, and everyone and their mothers know about it)

The Good Wife: An amazing series set in Chicago (bonus point!) that earned Julianna Margulies an Emmy nomination, it's compelling drama with no clear cut "bad guy," which just makes it that much more realistic. I usually look to tv to escape reality, but I make an exception for this show.

Parenthood: A small show that doesn't quite have the numbers yet, but it's an endearing family drama that (unfortunately) airs at the same time as The Good Wife. Luckily, you can find it on Hulu. It takes a few episodes to get into it, but you start to care about the characters once you see their quirks.

Wednesdays:

Modern Family: Emmy winning hilarity. The half hour, comedic version of Parenthood. Not much needed to be said about it, I think everyone knows about this show.

Cougar Town: Stay tuned after Modern Family! This week's episode was absolutely hilarious, especially the last 20sec, and it's episodes like this one that just makes me love the series. Consistent running jokes, pop culture references, and mean but lovable characters, it's crazy hijinks every week.

Thursdays:

Nikita: Just got picked up for a full season, this show is not up to its full potential. But at least its got plenty of potential to fill, which is all the more reason to watch this show and get it renewed for a few more seasons. Nothing like secret government divisions to give us twists and turns at the end of almost every episode.

Burn Notice: On USA, this series comes back next week, and if you want hot action (both literally and figuratively, as the series takes place in Miami), tune into this USA gold mine. I'm not sure if any of it is true, but the voice over alone that give us a glimpse into spy tricks of the trade make this series fun to watch, but add an alcohol loving Bruce Campbell, and it's hard for this series to do any wrong.

Vampire Diaries & Nikita

Recap of my Thursday night block:

Vampire Diaries
Quick recap of Vampire Diaries .... is not possible since it's so juicy. However, all you really need to know is that there are two hot vampire brothers both in love with the same human girl, who happens to look like their psychotic vampire ex-girlfriend who goes around killing people. Throw in some teenage drama, witches, werewolves, a council of humans trying to kill vampires, and lots of mythology about a moonstone and curses and you've got a riveting show.
This episode was about the brothers hatching a plan to kill the evil ex Katherine at a masquerade ball while Katherine does her best to hatch a yet-to-be-explained nefarious plot revolving around getting her hands on a moonstone and a werewolf. Not only did everyone look gorgeous, there was so many OMG moments: the discovery of another witch, a plot to turn someone into a werewolf, and a good number of ancillary characters getting killed. Not to be spoiler-ish but in the end, even though the bros fittingly vanquish Katherine by trapping her in a tomb that she was supposed to be stuck in 100+ years ago, a whole new wrench is thrown into the plot. Elena gets kidnapped by some mysterious masked villain!? Who are these people?! Why did they take Elena? What did Katherine mean when she said that Elena is the doppleganger and must be protected!?! So many questions. So excited.




Nikita:
This episode was fairly Alex heavy and revolved around her life and friendships inside Division. As soon as we met her two never-before-seen teammates in the beginning, I thought one of them would be a goner. One is a failure of a recruit who ends up being set-up for a suicide mission and the other is a star pupil who's been doing well to earn his chance of getting out of there ... only to end up a guard stuck at Division. I give this show props for surprising me and letting both characters live, especially when Robbie ends up having a psychotic breakdown and initiates a massacre inside Division. In the end, he ends up being recruited to be a cleaner. I hope they come back to this storyline considering that Alex betrayed Robbie in the end and the only cleaner we've seen so far is that really creepy glasses dude. I'm also totally looking forward to this week as the Alex/Thom relationship grows. Thom seems like a sweet person clearly smitten with Alex, and I felt so bad for him since even though it really seems like Alex has feelings for him, she clearly doesn't mind using him to further her revenge.

Nikita, Season 1, Episode 6 "Resistance"

Lots going on with tonight's episode. Alex gets tested - she has to interrogate a terrorist, but fails miserably and Michael has to save her, only - STORYLINE TWIST - it turns out it was all part of a bigger test, and she and Thom get taken on a bus where more terrorists (who turn out to be just more Division agents) "kidnap" Alex, where they pretend-torture Thom to get her to give up information. And it seems like Alex is gonna blow the whole cover story about Nikita, and then she KILLS the Division agent, escapes, and then Michael goes after her, and - ANOTHER STORYLINE TWIST - turns out it was a test for Michael as well and that Division agent? Didn't really die. But did Michael pass? I'm not too sure.

In other news, the guy Nikita kidnapped/saved/captured...escaped, leaving behind only a note saying "I have to do this on my own" - or something to that effect.

In more other news, Nikita just got a full season pickup! Everyone say WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

TV Shows 10/4-9

So not much updating happened last week. To try to keep things current, I'm going to put in a few lines about the various shows I watched last week.

Chuck (S4 Ep3): Past guest stars return! Nicole Richie and Steve Austin return to reprise their roles, this time Nicole Richie being a bitch who ends up teaming up with Team Bartowski for survival. Not the world's best episode of Chuck, but a solid showing from one of the most under-appreciated comedy spy series (Veronica Mars being the winner of that category).

Castle (S3 Ep3): A treasure map! A murder! An old crush! A priest! (not the same person as the old crush) This episode was awesome. I love this show so much, sometimes it's embarassing. Favorite moment of the episode: Beckett seemingly pours her heart out to her old crush on the phone, hangs up the phone, turns to Ryan and Esposito, and asks, "Did I keep him on long enough?" to which Ryan eloquently responds, "uhhhh..." in that perfect, awkward tone combined with a stunned expression with what he just overheard. Seriously, comedy gold.

Hawaii 5-O (S1 Ep3): I'm still trying hard to like this show. It has its high moments, but some of the dialogue is just so hard to get over. This episode tackled the ever serious topic of a gang war happening on the happy island, with a gambling mob twist. I'll probably keep watching it out of sheer hope and loyalty to my Asian race (I've never seen so many Asians cast as just plain, ol' side characters), but it's getting harder to stomach, mainly because of Steve McGarrett's holier-than-thou character. I need my characters flawed!

Undercovers (S1 Ep3): Speaking of needing flawed characters, this gorgeous couple is too perfect, both in looks, and in their marriage. Sure, they have the little squabble here and there during each episode, but it gets resolved so neatly, it's hard to believe. The episode revolved around technology, and the need to recover a device that is able to break the code to the CIA's database. This series is starting to be more fluff than serious spy business, but hey, at least they're pretty.

Nikita (S1 Ep5): See previous post for general review. This episode has guest star Devon Sawa (who is surprisingly hot...I didn't recognize him) playing Owen Elliot, who will apparently be back next week (yummy). One of Percy's infamous black box also makes an appearance, and I rather enjoyed Michael's reaction when Percy says to Nikita over the phone that he has her boyfriend (referring to Owen). Alex and Thom also have a moment that just makes Thom even more adorable than he already is.

Supernatural (S6 Ep3): Castiel is back! The strongest episode of the season so far, probably because of the return of said angel. No revisit of old baddies, and pretty much a standalone episode, this episode harkens back to the good old days of the first few seasons. Reasons to watch this episode: Sam, half naked, working out (Sssssss, I think the screen is burning up a little from the hotness); Castiel's line "[to Sam] Dean and I do share a more profound bond...[to Dean] I wasn't gonna mention it..."; the return of Metallicar and the destruction of Sam's poser car. Really, I hope the series continues in this vein, because this is the first episode I've enjoyed in a while.

So that's the summary of a few of last week's tv. Comment away, if you so choose...

Nikita, Season 1, Episodes 1-5

So nobody's written anything about Nikita here yet, so I thought I'd do a little summary post about it. A reboot of the movies and tv series (2 movies, 1 tv series), of which I'm only familiar with the USA tv series starring Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis, the only parts that resembles the old series are the names of (some of) the characters.

Premise: Nikita is a rogue spy who escapes a super secret division of the government (conveniently named "Division") that has gone rogue from it's original patriotic intentions. In addition, there's a mole inside Division by the name of Alex, who works for Nikita and helps feed inside information.

As I said above, there really isn't too much of this new reboot that resembles the original series, with the exception of the names Nikita, Michael, and Birkoff. The action is top notch and fun to watch (very Alias-y), and I am intrigued where the overall series is headed and how Nikita will eventually take down Division (cuz she's the good guy, so clearly this will eventually happen), but it still needs a few more episodes to get into the groove of things.

The chemistry between Shane West and Maggie Q is ok, nothing to write home about, but I'm a sucker for angsty romance, so I want to see their past and how they ended up where they are now. The best episodes I've liked so far have flashbacks to Nikita and Michael while both were in Division. Alex being a mole is an interesting twist, but she tends to be too reckless within the Division, and makes it hard for me believe she can get away with as much as she does on the show. A sorely underused character is Amanda (Melinda Clarke). She is scary stoic, but you can see her thinking and devising in her head.

The biggest aspect that I miss in the new show that the old show had is the moral ambiguity. In the old tv series, Section One (retitled Division in the new series) wasn't definitively evil. Their methods were questionable, but usually it was for a higher purpose, and perpetuated the debate of killing one or two people to save a larger number. Maybe this new series will eventually head in that direction, but here, there is definitely a "bad guy" of the series (Percy, the leader of Division who sold out for money), with no apparent redeeming quality.

I just read that the CW is looking to "lighten" the tone of Nikita, introduce more romance, and maybe scale back on the action. While I'm all for romance, I'm not sure how this will play out. Hopefully for the better. Tune in to judge for yourself.