August 22nd's Weekly TV Thoughts

The list is a little short this week.  I didn't get to everything I would normally watch, but I'll catch them this coming week.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/16) – The character development here wasn’t quite as blatant this time around.  Yeah, it was still fairly obvious to figure out where the arc was going to go, but it wasn’t as in your face.  Or may I just like it because it was something different.  It is heart breaking to think of them having to stay single.  And I did like Robert when he was normal.  Maybe that’s why.  If I hadn’t liked the guy, maybe I wouldn’t care as much.  So kudos to the actor for bringing him to life so well.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – Two days to teach a new dance to someone?  That seems impossible.  They don’t have deadlines like that on the main show.  I’m still very impressed with what the pros came up with.  I get that I’m not a judge, but it looked very good to me.

American Ninja Warrior – I’m glad Nick was okay.  I’m sure that cramp was painful, so I’m amazed he kept going.  Other than that, not sure I have too much else to comment on.  Lots of good races.  Hard to see James McGrath go home.  Very few of the old guard can keep up with these races now, it seems like.

The Quiz with Balls – They had some really tough questions in this episode.  There were several I had no clue about.  I was feeling pretty good about the questions in the bonus round, however, and knew the one that ended the game.  Curious if I could have made it to the end or not.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/17) – I really like it when the entire team gets to shine.  And they were having fun playing each other, although I couldn’t always track who was whom even by the performances.  Still, it was fun.  And again, didn’t feel like it was a heavy-handed character development.  Plus, we got to see Merlin again.  I was wondering when he was going to pop up.

The Challenge – Cara Maria, they are asking legitimate questions.  Do you want to be there?  Because, your performance so far says no.  I get you have history on the show.  But that doesn’t matter.  What you are doing this season is what matters.  Step up your game!  Having said that, I’m happy to see Blue full off a win.  Finally.  Will be interesting to see if that momentum can continue next week.

August 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/9) – As a lover of Peter Pan, I don’t like seeing him turn up as a villain.  Again.  But I get it.  I mean, when you think about who he is and what he does, he’s not exactly the good guy.  And I did love their take on the legends with the various parts every played.  All in all, a fun episode.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – Okay, I can kind of see why they broke the “rules” last week, but this week’s rules were very clear.  I just don’t get why they didn’t create a wow moment.  I was kind of expecting it to be a double elimination since we’ve got just a few weeks before partners are announced for the new season, but I guess not.  I was expecting them to be teaching at some point, so we’ll see where things go next week.

American Ninja Warrior – I really wish they wouldn’t mess the three groups together like this in the finals.  It makes it hard to follow who is doing what and racing whom.  At least it does for me.  But there were some exciting races tonight.  And a few surprises.

The Quiz with Balls – Wow, both teams lost lots of players early on.  But they managed to hold on for a bit.  Been a while since we saw an entire team get eliminated.  While I didn’t know a lot of the answers early on, ironically, I did know the answer to the question that ended the bonus round.  (Although “Steamboat Willie” was released first, so it was a very trick question.)

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/10) – I’d seen the title of the episode, but it still took me a minute to figure out that the cooking show was part of the episode and not the previous show running late.  I figured a couple of things out early on, but not all the twists.  As much as I complain about things being predictable at times, I do like the characters and I have fun going along for the ride with them.

The Challenge – Nice to see Gray not come in first (although I am rooting for them), but hard to see Blue lose a player again.  Yes, I am rooting for the underdog, even though I am not really a fan of any of the players on the team.  The first challenge with the boats looked like lots of fun.  That is, if I weren’t needing to get it finished to beat others.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – I’m not quite sure what the segment in the Matrix was supposed to be about.  I’m sure that is a clue to what is really going on somehow.  This stop was just okay.  I’ve liked the last two better.  It was funny because I was thinking we hadn’t seen Amy yet.  I have a feeling we won’t see the three who were building the machine until the end, so I was thinking Amy would be a logical next cameo.

Press Your Luck – Whammie wasn’t very active in the beginning.  And all three of them had impressive totals.  He made up for it in the bonus round.  The contestant really didn’t seem to be able to build up much of a bank at any point.  I wasn’t too surprised when he got eliminated.

Anna Pigeon – The acting felt a little better, at least from the leads.  Still not the best show out there, but I am curious where they are going with the villain of the season, so I’ll stick around for that.  The main plot didn’t go anywhere near where I thought it would during the opening.  I thought the kids were going to find a victim.  Rather dark and depressing.  I found the parts with the eagle ironic since the famous one here in So Cal just died, sadly.  I know this was filmed a while ago, but the timing worked out poorly.

August 8th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Only one week of shows, but there sure are a lot of them now.  It's going to be a busy August leading into the fall season.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/2) – Two episodes a week, these 10 episodes will all air in August.  That aside, I’m sure we aren’t supposed to trust Merlin, but it will be interesting to see if he’s the big bad or not.  Fun to see Dominic Monaghan popping up here.  I did like their confessions.  I felt it took the character development a little deeper than we often get on the show.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro – I wasn’t too surprised at who went home.  Or who else was in the bottom two.  Seems like bending the rules almost didn’t pay off, and Shirley is definitely the Len of this show.  I do feel sorry for the couple that went home.  I know there can only be one winner, but I really want everyone to succeed at this point.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter (8/3) – They had a preview from this one last week from the chase scene near the end of the episode.  It was nice to see it in context and see how they overcame it.  Pretty clever episode and fun overall.  I do wish (and yes, I know how ironic that is to say for this episode) that they weren’t quite so obvious with the character development.  Still, that’s a minor complaint.

American Ninja Warrior – Not sure I have too much to say.  Nice to see Barclay hit a buzzer.  Glad Daniel Gill is moving on.  And nice for the Folsoms to get all three family members to the finals.

The Challenge – I wasn’t expecting two episodes.  I wish they would remind us who the people are as well as which team they are on.  Not that I knew too many of the new players this season.  Is it too early to say we have a dominant team?  It seems we have one, but it will be interesting to see if that holds.  Just glad Bananas didn’t get sent home first.  Yes, I know he’s considered a villain, but I like the guy.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe – Another member of the original cast pops up.  And what a fun twists with her.  Yes, a bit predictable, but still fun.  Also loved the other cameo.  Not sure I like what they are doing with Denise, but we’ll see how it plays out.

Press Your Luck – What a rollercoaster!  From no Whammies in the early parts to losing it all at the end because of all those extra spins.

Anna Pigeon – I’ve never read these books but always been curious about them, so I thought I’d give the show a chance.  I was surprised that the show had a mystery of the week.  I assumed we’d be solving this one mystery over the course of the season, so I expected more.  The scenery is beautiful.  But overall, I wasn’t that impressed.  I found the writing and acting painful at times, and this is coming from a Hallmark channel watcher.  Hopefully, it will work itself out as the season goes along.

August 1st's Weekly TV Thoughts

Buckle in because I have lots of thoughts this week.  It's almost like I didn't watch any TV when I was out of town with my family.  And, a couple of new shows I was wanting to watch started during that time, too.  But I made it through everything on my DVR.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/13) – With 12 contestants and one hour, I didn’t feel like I got to know the contestants that well.  I’m sure that will come with time.  Seeing Mark’s mom is fun.  I suspect she will be the Len of this show.  I do feel for those eliminated first.  I always hate to see that first elimination come.

American Ninja Warrior (7/13) – I miss the days where, if you finished, you got to move on.  I hope those sisters practice hard and come back next year.  I’m definitely surprised by some of the eliminations on the races.

The Quiz with Balls (7/13) – I thought the Globetrotters were going to win easily half way through, but that was an impressive comeback at the end.  I figured everyone would wind up in the pool whether they got hit by the balls or not, and all but one did.  More fun than I was expecting.

Press Your Luck (7/16) – What a ride that main game was.  I feel sorry for the guy who got the Whammy at the end, but I did love how the contestants were so supportive of each other.  I was worried that the guy would wind up with nothing from the bonus round since Whammy seemed especially active tonight, but he wound up with some nice cash at the end.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/20) – I feel like I got to know the contestants a little better.  Letting them tell the story really focused on five of them.  I feel sorry for the guy eliminated.  Yes, he needed to speak up more, but it still feels like blaming the victim.  But he had a great attitude about it.

American Ninja Warrior (7/20) – So happy to see Daniel Gill do so well.  The wall at the end of some of those obstacles obviously makes them harder.  But I feel like it makes them more dangerous.  How are people not getting hurt coming off that second obstacle? 

The Quiz with Balls (7/20) – The teams dropped so quickly this week.  I struggled with those questions myself often.  For example, I didn’t know the question that ended the week.  I did like the hunters having a vegetable as a gift at the beginning.  I’m sure my reaction of not knowing where they were going was how I was supposed to feel, but the payoff was great.

Stewart Fails to Save the Universe (7/23) – Well, that was just weird.  And dark.  I’m glad I didn’t wind up watching this until the second episode dropped or I might have stopped here.

Press Your Luck (7/23) – Wow!  Two people Whammied out.  I saw it coming with the bonus round, which was hard.  But he still won quite a bit from the first round of the night, which is nice.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/27) – Once again, someone went home who didn’t deserve it.  I saw that coming fairly early, too.  When she didn’t come back, I just knew.  I’m glad she was following dr. advice, but it’s still hard to see someone go who was injured by someone else.  As far as the dancing goes, that was intense pressure.  I’m definitely seeing a couple of week contestants who should go, but will they?  That’s the question.

American Ninja Warrior (7/27) – I was sorry to hear that Jamie (Captain NBC) was retiring.  And then he fell part way through.  Another legend I have loved watching for years.  But it was great to see Meghan back again!

The Quiz with Balls (7/27) – That was pretty close at the end.  And all the contestants wound up in the pool.  I’m wondering what triggered him to jump.  Kind of looked like the ball hit him around the barrier, but I could be wrong on that.

Stewart Fails to Save the Universe (7/30) – This was a much better episode.  Not sure how much I laughed, but I was definitely smiling.  And I enjoyed the cameos much more here.  Still curious where they are going with this.  Hopefully, they don’t ruin The Big Bang Theory for me completely with the show.

Press Your Luck (7/30) – After going so long without getting any Whammies, I was afraid she was going to lose.  But she managed to get some prizes at the end.  Plus that amazing first round.  She was certainly a big winner.

July 11th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Would you look at this?  I have two shows to talk about!

American Ninja Warrior – Wow, they were moving fast.  I couldn’t believe some of those times.  And two people beat the Mega Wall, too.  On the other hand, I was surprised at the people who struggled with the regular wall.  It’s been a while since they focused on something who didn’t make it up the wall, and we saw that twice plus someone in clips.  I mean, I get it.  That’s a hard thing to get up (I’ve tried) so I’m not criticizing.  And that one teen?  So inspiring!

Press Your Luck – I’m wondering when they thought this would air.  Talking about the Super Bowl?  Either they are very early or very late.  Did enjoy the football theme, however.  And an amazing come back in the bonus round.  So close to taking it all home.  So very, very close.

4th of July's Weekly TV Thoughts

America Ninja Warrior – I wasn’t too surprised to see Joe back.  He’d hinted around last year on social media that he might change his mind.  But that was a disappointing run!  Oh well, it happens.  Did like seeing Flip make it so far.  And several people went after the mega wall.  All in all, a good night.

June 27th's Weekly TV Thoughts

America Ninja Warrior – It always hurts me to see someone who finished not move on.  That was my issue with the first half.  I was glad at least one person fell in each race.  The triple races were fun, but again, I’m not a fan of being forced to go so fast.  I was glad to see some favorites that moved on.  I’m guessing it will be August before we get to the National finals and see them again.

June 20th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – I always worry when people start trying to go too fast that it will make them fall.  At least this time, he’d made it far enough.  I’m happy for Kai and his engagement.  Nice to see the Godfather moving on as well.  

June 13th's Weekly TV Thoughts

I've got two shows this week...for one week.  The Quiz with Balls is taking a few weeks off, I suspect for the soccer tournament.

American Ninja Warrior – From something I read, I thought this filmed last October.  But, you couldn’t update the narration?  I mean, talking about someone hoping to make the winter Olympics team for the Olympics that just happened?  Weird.  There were another couple of moments like that.  Overall, it was nice to see old favorites back and most of them doing well.  I knew poor Lance wouldn’t do well when he went first.

The Quiz with Balls – As always, there are many questions and categories I would have struggled with, but I was almost screaming at my TV during the fictional detective question.  They missed one of the most classic detectives every!  Granted, I didn’t know the one from Miami Vice since I’ve never watched the show or movies.  And yes, the theme was perfect with the World's Cup starting this week.  Almost as if they planned it that way.

June 6th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wondering where my TV Thoughts post was last week?  I didn't have any shows to watch.  It's that weird time of the year when I only have a show or two on anyway, and the one show I have at the moment didn't air on Memorial Day.  American Ninja Warrior is back next week, so I'll have two shows, both on Mondays, for a little bit anyway.  I think I'll be checking out a few others shows later in the summer.

Quiz with Balls – I wonder if that was intended to air closer to Memorial Day.  It felt a bit weird to be airing June 1^st.  But it was a fun episode.  I was really happy with some of my solid answers (like the Peanuts question), but there were quite a few I would have gotten wrong.

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March 23rd's Weekly TV Thoughts

Quiz with Balls – Ralph’s bits were pretty funny when the life guards were up.  And those questions were hard!  I think I struggled with most of the categories.  Often, there are some that are easy for me, but not here.  I’m impressed anyone made it to the end, to be honest.

Survivor – I would have been okay with any of the final three winning.  Or Tiff for that matter.  Sorry, Rizzo, but you really rub me the wrong way, and calling yourself god doesn’t help.  I am happy with got some moments with others along the way, but seriously, can we get a real reunion again?  Please?  I miss those.  Happy for Aubrey.  And I laughed about the slip up with letting out the results of the fire making challenge too early.  Jeff handled that so well when he came back.

May 16th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Just one show this week.  Feels a little weird to be saying that in May since I'm still used to this being sweeps month, which doesn't seem to be the case any more.  Anyway....

Survivor – I was expecting two people to go home tonight, so I was surprised when Jeff didn’t announce it was going to happen.  But then when I realized how early they were going to tribal, it made sense.  Essentially, we had two episodes.  Neither person going home was too big a surprise.  Rick was all over the place, which is going to drive people crazy.  And Cirie would have been too hard to beat.  Same argument as Tiff.  I suspect Rizzo makes it to the end, unfortunately.  But I don’t think he’s going to win.  We’ll find out next week, I guess.

May 9th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Quiz with Balls – I always worry with a category like Books because, I feel like I should know what they will ask, but then they don’t tend to have books I know anything about.  So, this time, I was happy when I knew the answer to the question.  Other than that, the football rivalry theme didn’t mean much to me. 

Survivor – I was looking at the number of people and number of episodes left and thinking they had to do another double elimination (if not more).  So I think the only surprise was splitting in two.  Still not completely sure how I feel about that, but I’m more okay with it than I used to be.  Emily leaving on the same day was hard, but I really admire her spirit.  I was a little surprised that they voted the second go around and that Cirie got two votes again.  And Ozzy.  He was pretty bitter, but it is hard to see him go with the idol in his pocket again.  The person who gave him that idol is out, though, right?  So does it boomerang to anyone?  Or is it just dead?

May 2nd's Weekly TV Thoughts

Shows are already ending.  I realize we are getting to the end of the traditional TV season, but I'm used to shows going to May.  But I only have three shows this week, and one of them is a season finale.  This post will be a bit quiet for a bit, I think.  Maybe I can make some progress on new TV on DVD sets to watch and review as a result.  We'll see.

Quiz with Balls – I thought the Sharps were out early, but they held on and came back quite nicely.  A fun episode overall.  Not sure I would have done nearly as well as either team did with some of those categories.

RJ Decker – I don’t know that I’d really picked up on there being an ongoing story about his arrest until the last episode.  But it led into a great season finale tonight.  It was nice seeing all the characters working together.  And I’m glad RJ turned himself in and it all blew over.  I’m very curious what the cliffhanger will mean going forward.  Not sorry about it, but curious where it will lead.  If we get a season two, that is.

Survivor – With the extra time left in the episode, the flip wasn’t that suspenseful.  It was an interesting twist, I guess.  I don’t know, I feel like it was under whelming.  It will be interesting to see if Devins still has a big target on his back.  And, honestly, I sure thought Steph was driving things.  She may not have had the original ideal, but she was pushing for it for sure.  Or maybe that was just how it was edited.

April 25th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Quiz with Balls – With how quickly people dropped, I was impressed with how far the firefighters made it.  Almost a win!  I wouldn’t have known nearly as many as he did, so I am very impressed.  I like how so many of them did dives or flips into the water.  Very prepared.  And I missed the prize ball last week.  Either it was a hold over episode, or I just wasn’t close enough attention last week, I guess.

 RJ Decker – I was really hoping it wouldn’t be the husband.  For once, give us something different.  I’ve got to say, I did appreciate the twist on how and what else it meant.  And the storyline with the now girlfriend?  I’m very intrigued on what that cliffhanger is going to go.

 Survivor – I liked Jeff participating in the challenge, and I loved how the survivors were mocking him.  Not a fan of the celebrity name dropping, however.  That was an interesting twist they played on Christian.  Sorry to see him go, but I wasn’t surprised given he had to vote for himself.

 Happy’s Place – Two good episodes to end the season.  I did feel the second episode was better.  And I should have seen that cliffhanger coming.  Bobbie did seem to change her mind about Emmit pretty quickly.  I feel like they could have built up to it better.  But that’s a minor complaint.  Lots of laughs.  So glad to know it will be back for season 3.

April 18th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – I think I’m more amazes by all the details they had worked into earlier episodes this season than I am the actual con.  Well, there is the surprise that they were smuggling out a who rather than a what.  Yes, I did see at least some of the random coincidences, and the way they justified everything at the end was extremely convenient.  But still, I enjoyed it all very much.  As to that cliffhanger?  Saw it coming fairly early.  I’m curious where they will go with it next season.  I just how the CW airs it as well.

The Quiz with Balls – I would have gotten that first question wrong myself.  I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the scores, I guess, and I was shocked with which team won.  Glad the show is back.

RJ Decker – I felt like I missed something – since when was RJ working for a supermarket?  I get it, they needed him there for the rest of the plot, but it felt more like something from old school TV where continuity didn’t matter.  The mystery was okay.  I felt like they were trying a little too hard to be clever.  But I’m curious where they are going with the ending.

Survivor – Coach is gone!!!  That was quite a twist.  I know I didn’t vote for that one.  Unlike some of their other twists, I did really like this one, however.  It added a fun new dynamic to the episode.  I wonder how that idol will come into play next week.  Because I’m sure he’s not going to fess up right away.

Happy’s Place – I do like the message about people over machines.  But I don’t feel like that’s going to be the case with bigger companies.  And I’m not sure I still trust the machines without human supervision.  I did like the subplot involving emojis.  So fun to see it getting out of control like that.

April 11th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – That was a pretty good episode.  I was surprised at how much time they left at the end of the main mystery, but then they filled it well.  Are they writing Simmons out of the show/the actor leaving?  What will that mean for Yates?  Honestly, I wish it were Yates leaving since she’s the one of the two I find annoying.  And I was not expecting that cliffhanger.  Very curious what that will mean for next week’s season finale.

RJ Decker – Did not figure out where any of it was going.  Pretty creative mystery.  Yet it made sense at the end.  Very curious who broke into the house.  I’m hoping it has nothing to with Decker, but we will see.

Survivor – Any returning winner’s days are numbered.  I’m sorry that Dee wasn’t able to rally people to her side.  Honestly, she was making some great points as far as I was concerned.  Then again, I have never liked Coach.  I really hope people decide to turn on him soon.

Happy’s Place – So, if Val going to be a recurring character in season 3?  They sure seem to be setting it up that way.  Not sure how I’d feel about that.  The character is fun in small doses.  But it would give Gabi a storyline for next season.

April 4th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – They had me completely with this story.  I was enjoying it, although it was increasing my stress a bit as all hostage situations tend to do.  But somehow, the motive didn’t work for me…time wise.  I can’t quite see how they were able to pull it off with the guy who was let go.  But maybe I’m just being too picky.  Overall, still a good episode.

RJ Decker – Yet another episode this week with weak motives.  I just don’t buy it.  Seems very elaborate to get the information.  And to actually murder over it?  Hope next week is better.

Survivor – I guess I’ve changed my mind, but it didn’t bother me nearly as much that we had three different random groups going to tribal.  And not that sorry to see Genevieve go.  Kamilla, too.  Colby, on the other hand.  No!  I was hoping to see him go much further.  He’s one I wouldn’t mind seeing win.  I’m not surprised they had a triple axing.  I expect there to be some other episodes like that in the future since we’ve still got a lot of people left in the game.  And sending two people to exile to be safe was sneaky.  I just wonder how long it will be before Rizzo goes back on his word.  Plus, now, two of those idols have no one to boomerang to.  I wonder what will happen in that case.

Happy’s Place – Lots of things came back.  The speakeasy, so they are going to keep that storyline going.  And the health inspector.  I bet they are going to use this to get Bobbie and Emmit back together.  But it’s going to be a couple of episodes, I bet.  Or maybe something that plays into a season ending cliffhanger.  I don’t see Emmit really going for her for more than a date or two, anyway, but I like that they were coming back to the relationship in this episode.

March 28th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – Undercover episodes always make me a bit nervous, and this one was no exception.  But overall, I enjoyed it.  Especially the twist on the death.  And I really enjoyed seeing Erica Durance.  I also appreciated how the two stories played into the same theme, something they don’t always do.

RJ Decker – This show is really growing on me each week.  The twists were pretty impressive in the first half.  It got a little predictable in the middle there somewhere, but then there was a good twist at the end again.  Still not completely sure how I feel about all the supporting characters, but for now, I’m enjoying the ride.

Survivor – Darn it!  I was really hoping we’d get to see the end of Rizzo.  He’s so egotistical, and I’m ready to see him get voted out.  Yes, I came around last season, but he’s irritating me again.  Plus, I like Charlie.  Loved seeing Angelica leaving her jacket behind for her tribe.  I’m surprised it took them this long to get to voting two people off.  We’ve still got a long way to go, so I’m sure it will happen again.  Happy the merge is happening next week.  Can’t wait to see the new dynamic.

March 21st's Weekly TV Thoughts

RJ Decker – I shouldn’t have been surprised by who the victim was, but it still hit me hard.  Interesting case, and I enjoyed the twists.  Overall, I’m enjoying the show, still.  Definitely planning to stick it out through the end of this first season.

Survivor – How is it that Emily sticks around?  At this point, you know you can’t trust her.  And again, they are voting out the people who can best help them in a challenge.  We’re back to my question on why you don’t keep those people around so you don’t have to go to tribal.  I’ve only wondered this for 50 seasons, so I guess I just don’t understand the strategy.  It must be something you would only understand by playing the game.

Happy’s Place – I’m a little surprised we got to meet Gabi’s mother.  I figured she’d be an off-screen character.  But I’m liking her, at least so far.  And I feel she is living up to the legend.  Some great laughs, too.  I like how they played with what was true or not.