Summer 2014 TV Preview

I’m a little late on this one, but better late than never, right? Set your DVRs for what is shaping up to be a great summer lineup.

May 19

The Bachelorette (ABC)

Andi Dorfman is kicking things off on May 19 with another season of our favorite show. This season will be interesting because one of the contestants, Eric Hill, has since passed away. Hopefully, it will give people a chance to get to know him and maybe he will inspire us. Here’s a little taste of what we have in store this season:

You can read about Andi’s previous adventures on The Bachelor here.

June 2

Mistresses (ABC)

So I’m going to be honest here, I never finished last season. I was going to finish blogging it and I was saving them to watch later. So I think I am going to have a guilty pleasure Mistresses marathon before the season starts. This might be fun as I have two big trips coming up and I could probably get through the rest of the episodes on the plane.

You can catch up on my previous Mistresses recaps here.

June 11

Suits (USA)

We just watched the Suits season three finale, but not to worry, season four starts on June 11. The hubs will be happy to hear that – we love this show. In the finale, Mike decided to leave Pearson Spector and go legit. That was a bittersweet moment, but it will be interesting to see what happens to the characters now. Here is a preview of season four:

Graceland (USA)

This is another show that I started blogging about and saved the last few episodes to watch later than never did. Right now Comcast is offering the entire season On Demand so you can get caught up before the new season starts. You can also watch all of season one online here. I will definitely be taking advantage of this if not only for Daniel Sunjata. Here is a preview of season 2:

Here are my recaps of the first half of last season if you want to check it out.

June 22

True Blood (HBO)

So sad that it’s the last season of True Blood, but there are a lot of questions to be answered in Season 7. What happened to Eric? We thought Sookie would finally end up with Warlow, but he turned out to be a jerk. Surprisingly, Bill and company saved her, is there still a chance for those crazy kids to work things out? But hold up – fast forward six months into the future and Sookie is apparently with Alcide (what a rip off if you had been waiting forever to see them hook up and they just glossed over it!). Sam is the mayor and Tara may have reconciled with her mother once and for all. The preview for the final season looks pretty good, I can’t wait:

For my previous True Blood recaps, click here.

Falling Skies (TNT)

Season three definitely delivered on the finale and as we thought the Volm were up to no good. The 2nd Mass’ saviors turned out to be their downfall. Karen finally bought the bullet, but we did find out that Anne and Alexis were still alive. It will be interesting to see how the 2nd Mass gets out of this newest challenge now that the Eshpeni are gone.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about but want to get into Falling Skies, check out my recaps from Season 3 here.

June 24

Covert Affairs (USA)

Annie went all the way last season and finally killed Henry. I’m not sure what that will mean for season 5, but here’s a sneak peek:

June 30

Under the Dome (CBS)

This is another show that I watch with the hubs. This show is so weird, but we keep watching it, go figure… I assume that since it is back for Season two, the network will step it up a bit. With Stephen King at the helm, this is bound to get interesting.

July 6

Witches of East End (Lifetime)

I forgot about this one until Kerry from Till Then Smile Often reminded me. I watched the first season and this really warmed up at the finale. The portal to Asgard was opened and something came out, who knows what…Killian and Dash got their powers, unbeknownst to them and it will be interesting to watch them learn to use them in season two.

August 4

Bachelor in Paradise (ABC)

I cannot wait for this show. I am actually more excited about this than I am for Andi’s season. I can’t wait to see who will be case and how this show will work. More to come on this one soon I hope!

bachelor in paradise

What shows are you most looking forward to this summer?

For more TV recaps, click here.


Falling Skies “Be Silent and Come Out” Recap

As soon as Tom (Noah Wyle) finds out what has happened to Anne (Moon Bloodgood) and Alexis, he is out of bed and barking orders at everyone. His team convinces him to wait for 24 hours to determine whether or not they should go after Ann. Ms. Peralta (Gloria Ruben) tries to convince Tom to look at the big picture, but they get interrupted before they can figure anything out. Hal (or alien Hal-Drew Roy) takes Tom hostage and tries to go back to the Espheni camp.

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Maggie (Sarah Carter) shoots out the tires of the vehicle and Hal is forced to take cover in an abandoned building with Tom as his hostage. Hal admits to Tom that he’s not his son, or at least something is controlling him. He wants to know everything about the device the Volm are building and will hold Tom hostage until he gets answers.

Maggie admits to Peralta and Weaver (Will Patton) that Hal has been having problems for a long time. Pope (Colin Cunningham) wants to blame Hal for all of the alien activity over the past few months and can’t wait to pull the trigger. The rest of the group wants to take him alive.

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Ben (Connor Jessup), Matt (Maxim Knight) and Maggie want to get into the building and try to talk to Hal, but Weaver doesn’t want them to take the chance. Weaver dismisses the Berserkers because they are too trigger happy. Ben, Matt and Maggie decide to sneak into the building anyway.

In the meantime, Pope starts taking bets on who will survive the hostage situation. Weaver comes into the bar and doesn’t seem to happy about what Pope is doing. Weaver threatens him and says that nobody should try to change the outcome of the situation.

Hal is struggling against the alien bug, but is unable to break free from the situation. Maggie and Matt enter the room and try to talk him down. He turns the gun on himself, but Ben sneaks up behind him and is able to take him down.

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The rebel Espheni have a way to get rid of Espheni bugs, but it hasn’t been tested on humans. For them to use it on Hal would be a gamble. Tom decides it is his only chance and agrees to do it. Hal pleads to Maggie and Tom that the bug is gone and that they don’t need to do the procedure. They stay strong and do it anyway.

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The procedure consists of dropping these little black microbes into Hal’s face cavities (eyes, mouth, nose, etc.). Super gross! A silver liquid comes out of him and the procedure seems to work, but his heart stopped in the process.

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Lourdes (Seychelle Gabriel) tries to save him and is successful. At the end of the episode, we finally get the old Hal back. He doesn’t remember anything from the past week. They conclude that Hal was the mole and that everything that’s been happening was done by him.

Tom can’t sit still and has to get back out there to save Anne and Lexi. He resigns to Peralta immediately and gives her the power to take over. He gives her all the plans to the Volm device and wishes her luck.

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The episode ends with the entire Mason family heading out to save Anne and Lexi. Weaver sends them off and promises to look for them if they don’t come back. Hal leaves Maggie behind and Pope jeers at them as they ride out of Charleston.

Marina Peralta is sworn into office as Tom leaves.

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What did you think about this episode? I’m interested to see how Peralta will handle the presidency and what Pope is going to do next.

For more Falling Skies recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can purchase it on iTunes along with Seasons 1-3.


Falling Skies “Search and Recover” Recap

In the last episode of Falling Skies, Pope (Colin Cunningham), Tom (Noah Wyle) and General Bressler were in a plane about ready to crash. As this episode opens we see Tom saving Pope just in the nick of time as the plane was blowing up. Unfortunately, General Bressler didn’t make it.

Flash back to Charleston and Ben (Connor Jessup) wakes up Hal (Drew Roy) and Maggie (Sarah Carter) to tell them that Anne (Moon Bloodgood) and Alexis are missing. Dr. Kadar (Robert Sean Leonard) fills everyone in on Anne’s discovery that Alexis is not human, but some sort of hybrid. Col. Weaver (Will Patton) wants to send out a search party immediately, but Ms. Peralta (Gloria Reuben) tells him that they can’t afford to spare anyone right now. She finally agrees, but she wants to discuss how to handle the baby if they do find them.

Back in the woods, Pope wakes up and yells at Tom for being too busy with the big picture to focus on finding the mole back in Charleston. This conversation has to wrap up quickly, as the Espheni start to scout the wreckage for survivors. 

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The search and rescue party stumble upon a body and Matt (Maxim Knight) wants to bury her.

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In the meantime, Marina Peralta goes to meet with Dr. Kadar to talk about the Volm project. Now that she is in charge, she wants more details than Tom was willing to give her. She lies and tells him that Tom Mason asked her to come and talk to him.

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Tom and Pope set up camp for the night and bond over the campfire. I forgot that Pope had two kids before the invasion. We get a little insight into both of their pasts. At the end of the night we learn that Pope still doesn’t trust Tom.

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In the morning, Pope plays a joke on Tom and drops a snake on his head to wake him up. This starts a fight and Pope and Tom finally have it out, until they hear the Espheni approaching. To escape, they end up jumping into a giant waterfall. When they wash up on shore, Tom realizes that he has broken his ankle.

The rescue party finds Alexis’ blanket. Maggie notices that Hal has been acting weird all day (although we know that he knows what happened to Anne and Alexis). The trail dies and the search party has to head home.

Tom can’t put any weight on his ankle and he tells Pope to leave him. Pope tries to reason with him, but Tom seems to have given up hope. Tom calls him a fake and berates him until he finally leaves.

Dr. Kadar tells Peralta that the Volm device is built with way more power than it needs, basically overkill. This leads them to believe that the device is more than what the Volm have told them.

Tom hears the Espheni coming for him and it looks like he is a goner, until Pope shoes up and saves the day. Pope found a truck and is able to transport them both back to Charleston. He really is a good guy to have around in a crisis.

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Tom wakes up in the hospital after two days and Pope is waiting for him. He decides that they are even after saving each other’s lives. His family comes to visit him, but they only have bad news when they have to tell him what happened to Anne and Alexis.

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I’m not sure what to think about this episode, it was more about character development than moving the plot along. It will be interesting to see how Tom reacts to the news about Anne and Alexis. I also think that Marina could lead a major coup against Tom and the Volm.

What did you think about this episode?

For more Falling Skies recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Falling Skies “At All Costs” Recap

When we last checked in on Tom (Noah Wyle) and the 2nd Mass, they were being attacked in Charleston by the Espheni. Tom decides that there is no time like the present to put his new prisoner, Lt. Fisher (Luvia Peterson) to good use. He wants her to see how the Volm have been helping them to fight back against the Espheni so she can report back to her leaders.

Hal (Drew Roy) decides that he wants to tell his dad about what’s been happening to him. Maggie (Sarah Carter) still disagrees with his decision and tries to talk him out of it.

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Anne (Moon Bloodgood) is looking for answers about baby Lexi, especially after she says “I love you too mama.”

Tom is able to talk to President Hathaway (Stephen Collins) using a shortwave radio. They agree to meet to discuss joining forces.

Ben (Connor Jessup) is wrestling with becoming human again. Lourdes (Seychelle Gabriel) is able to remove his spikes, but he would go back to his original form with his asthma inhaler and everything. He currently has super powers and is able to help in the fight. Without them, he may not be able to help as much.

To meet with President Hathaway, Tom and Weaver need to commandeer the aircraft that Pope (Colin Cunningham) has been hoarding for his eventual escape. Pope’s condition – that he gets to tag along.

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Anne goes to meet with Dr. Kadar (Robert Sean Leonard) to see if he can devise a DNA test. She asks under the guise of the harnessed children, but she really wants to test Alexis.

The plane lands at President Hathaway’s base camp and his men don’t take too kindly to Cochise and escort him to a holding area.

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The Presidents have the meeting of the minds and discuss options about trusting the Volm. President Hathaway isn’t 100 percent convinced though. He wants to know why the Volm are fighting against the Eshpeni. We learn that they are fighting the Espheni for a special flower from their home planet. The Espheni destroyed the Volm’s home planet and Cochise doesn’t even remember it other than a picture in a file. We also learn that Cochise had a brother who died in battle with the Espheni. This was very convincing and President Hathaway agrees to move forward.

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Things are progressing quickly with Hal. Whatever is inside of him starts to take over and push the real Hal out. When we leave him, it seems like this thing has fully taken him over. Hal talks to Maggie and starts acting normal again to throw her off the scent. He tells her that he doesn’t want to tell his father anything and she is perfectly willing to let it go.

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Tom plans to stay with President Hathaway for a while to argue his case with the President’s men. He is able to talk to Weaver and Anne about staying longer. This is unfortunate, because now nobody is expecting him to be back for a while.

Dr. Kadar shares his results with Anne and we find out that Alexis has alien DNA, confirming what Anne has suspected all along. Dr. Kadar figures out that the DNA is from Alexis and wants to tell someone. Anne goes into full mommy mode and knocks out Dr. Kadar. She then goes back to get Alexis, drugging Lourdes in the process. She leaves Charleston with Alexis and is confronted by a Skitter with a harnessed child. She starts to freak out and then Hal appears and tells her everything is going to be fine (Creepy! I think not!)

The President’s men identify an incoming attack and everyone has to leave the base. Cochise ends up going with President Hathaway’s team and Tom and the others go in their own plane. General Bressler (Matt Frewer) does some creative flying to try to escape the attack but they end up crashing in the middle of the woods. We are left with a “To Be Continued” message on the screen.

What do you think will happen to Tom, Pope, Bressler and Cochise? Can President Hathaway be trusted?

For more Falling Skies recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Falling Skies “Badlands” Recap

Badlands begins with the Berserkers, Ben (Connor Jessup) and Matt (Maxim Knight) standing guard for an alien attack. What they didn’t expect was a sniper attack from what’s left of the United States Army. Unfortunately, Crazy Lee (Luciano Carro) is fatally wounded during the attack and never recovers.

So long Crazy Lee!

So long Crazy Lee!

Anne (Moon Bloodgood) is running tests on baby Alexis to try and figure out what’s wrong with her. Before she can take blood, Alexis cries out “Don’t!” then Anne turns around to see her standing up in her crib. Definitely creepy. Lourdes (Seychelle Gabriel) catches Anne testing Alexis and clues Tom in to what’s been happening. Anne comes to the realization that Alexis may not be completely human.

Hal (Drew Roy) seems to be recovering his ability to walk, but realizes that something needs to be done about his alien implantation. He wants to run away and leave Charleston because he thinks that he is the mole. Maggie (Sarah Carter) convinces him to stay and keep the secret to himself.

One of the outcomes of the battle is that they capture Catherine Fisher (Luvia Peterson). This gives Tom (Noah Wyle) an opportunity to explain to her what has been happening and that the Volm are their allies. We also learn that the real president, Benjamin Hathaway, is still alive and leading his own forces against the Espheni.

Catherine Fisher

Catherine Fisher

Pope (Colin Cunningham) is distraught over Crazy Lee’s death and questions Tom’s motives. His distrust has been a running theme for Season 3 and I anticipate that it will come to a head at some point.

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Captain Weaver’s (Will Patton) daughter Jeanne (Laci Mailey) builds a “Liberty Tree” that the citizens dedicate at the end of the episode. This is a way for everyone to remember what they have lost and what they are still fighting for.

Liberty Tree

Liberty Tree

Tom uses this dedication to address the citizens of Charleston and let the people know that “Every single day matters and every single one of us matters.” He also reminds them that “the cost of freedom is high.”

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Before they can finish the dedication, Charleston is attacked by the Espheni. This is how the episode ends and we are left hanging until next week.

Most of the episode focuses on the second anniversary of the alien attacks. The writers do this with the loss of Crazy Lee and spend most of the episode focusing on the character’s reactions to her death. I thought this was a nice balance from last week because they packed a lot of new information into the first two episodes. This one moved slower and it gave the viewers some time to process and catch up.

What do you think of Season 3 so far?

For more Falling Skies recaps click here.

If you missed this episode you can still watch it online here.


Falling Skies “On Thin Ice/Collateral Damage” Recap

I must admit, when my husband and I started watching Falling Skies last night we both felt a little lost. The season picks up 7 months in the future and a lot has happened. I found a recap video of Seasons 1&2 to help you catch up:

Remember, that when we last left off, Tom (Noah Wyle) became President of the 2nd Mass, Anne (Moon Bloodgood) discovered she was pregnant, the 2nd Mass stumbled across a new species of aliens, and Karen (Jessy Schram) infected Hal (Drew Roy) with some sort of bug.

Before I get into the recap, I thought it would help if I reviewed some of the Falling Skies vocabulary. They introduced a lot in this episode and it was hard to keep up:

Volm – The Volm are the new race of aliens that landed on Earth at the end of Season 2. They have teamed up with the humans to fight the evil aliens. We learn that the Espheni Overlords have taken over many planets and the Volm fought back against them. Now the Volm travel around to planets that the Espheni are trying to take over and attempt to stop them. Here is the link to the Volm Wiki which provides more information.

Cochise – Cochise (Doug Jones) is the Volm Commander who interacts with Tom and the 2nd Mass.

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Cochise

Skitters – The Skitters are the first species of aliens that the humans interacted with when the Espheni invaded Earth. They have six legs, claws and generally look like your worst spider nightmare. The Skitters are responsible for the harnessed children. The Skitters are controlled by the Espheni Overlords. There is a group of Skitters that have broken free and they created a resistance to fight back against them. Click here for more details.

Skitter

Skitter

Harnesses – The Skitters all started out as someone who was harnessed. When the Overlords attack a planet they attach harnesses to the child inhabitants on the planet. Over time the harness will transform the host into a Skitter. The longer you stay harnessed the more advanced your abilities will become. Tom’s son Ben (Connor Jessup) had his harnessed removed, but he still has the ability to communicate with the Skitters and has retained enhanced strength and agility. Click here for more details.

Overlord/Espheni -These are the evil alien Overlords of the Skitters. Last season, Tom killed the main overlord and we learned the Karen is the new Espheni Overlord. I’m not 100% clear on how she got to be an Overlord instead of a Skitter, but maybe that will be explained later. Click here for more information on the Overlords.

Espheni Overlords

Espheni Overlords

Mechs – Mechs are the warrior robots that the Overlords use to fight the humans. They receive commands from the Overlords and sometimes harnessed children. They have massive firepower and it is difficult for the humans to fight off more than one at a time. Click here for more information.

Mechs

Mechs

Mega Mechs – The Mega Mechs were an upgraded version of the Mech introduced in Season 3. Click here for more information.

2nd Mass – Also known as the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment, the 2nd Mass was commanded by Dan Weaver. They are part of a bigger Militia in Massachusetts and have gone through a lot to finally make it to Charleston, South Carolina where a more sophisticated operation was set up. The first two seasons detail the journey of the 2nd Mass and how they end up at Charleston. Click here for more information.

2nd Mass

2nd Mass

Berserkers – The Berserkers are an offshoot of the 2nd Mass led by John Pope (Colin Cunningham). The Berserkers usually march to the beat of their own drum and have a hostility towards the Skitters. They usually show up during big battles and are good at taking down Mechs and Skitters.

Here is a little tribute to the Berserkers:

Now that you are up to speed on some of the new terms let’s get into the Season 3 Premiere.

The episode  opens  with Tom’s youngest son, Matt (Maxim Knight) planting some high tech bombs. This escalates into a full blown battle situation with the 2nd Mass and rebel Skitters against a team of Mechs. The rebel Skitters are now marked with war paint so you can tell them apart from the bad Skitters.

Did anyone else question why Matt was allowed to be in the fight? Last we saw, Tom was trying to keep him out of the fight now he looks like a little street fighter:

Matt Mason

Matt Mason

The 2nd Mass ends up winning the battle, but it raised a lot of questions since the Espheni were expecting them. We discover that there must be a mole in the ranks.

Tom has taken his new role as President in stride and he tasks Arthur Manchester (Terry O’Quinn) to lead the investigation for the mole.

We discover Hal is in a wheelchair, this seems to be a side effect of the bug that Karen implanted in him. Hal is the only one that knows of its existence, but Maggie (Sarah Carter) suspects that there is something else going on. Hal is having vivid dreams of Karen where they are still together as a couple.

Anne is still pregnant with Tom’s child, and she goes into labor just as Arthur plans to give Tom some big news on the identity of the mole. Arthur goes back to his office and is assassinated by the mole.

Anne gives birth to a baby girl, Alexis, who has advanced, creepy powers. She can stand up in her crib and is already saying Mama. Anne is the only one that notices these weird abilities so far.

Tom seems to be the only person that trusts the Volm, Colonol Weaver, Pope and other cabinet members aren’t on board with the new alliance. Tom reveals to Weaver that he is constructing a secret weapon with the Volm that will end the war in one shot.

As we begin the second hour, we are set up for the next battle. Ben discovers a base camp full of Mega Mechs that are getting refueled. The base is on a nuclear reactor site which means they can’t blow it up. This leads them to an agoraphobic scientist under the city that can help them destroy the base camp without creating a nuclear radiation apocalypse.

They start preparing to demolish the base camp and we see the unknown mole sneak into the war room to steal pictures of the battle plans. Tom has anticipated this and sets Weaver and the Berserkers up to be the collateral damage and distract the enemy while he sneaks in to blow up the reactor. The 2nd Mass ends up saving the day and destroying the enemy base, but not without losing some good men.

Cochise informs us that the Espheni will launch a major attack on Charleston to retaliate which foreshadows next week’s storyline.

At the end of the episode, we see Hal back in his dream sequence trying to meet Karen, but we discover that they haven’t been dreams at all. Maggie ends up finding him before his last rendezvous and it raises her suspicions even more.

This leaves us with a few unanswered questions:

Who is the mole?

I suspect it could be Hal, since Karen is controlling him. I also am curious about Captain Weaver and Pope since they aren’t onboard with the new regime, but they dislike the aliens so much I doubt they would work with them. Who do you suspect?

What will happen to Hal?

We saw Hal and Karen have sex in the woods, which makes me think that she is trying to get pregnant with some sort of hybrid alien baby. What do you think her endgame is?

What is up with Anne and Tom’s baby?

Did Karen infect her in some weird way at the end of Season 2? There didn’t seem to be much celebration around Alexis, what do you get for a post-apocalyptic baby?

Possibly a Future Post-Apocalyptic Dictator Onsie from Cafe Press ($18)?

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If you missed the premiere episodes you can still watch them online here.

For more information on Summer TV premieres check out my Summer TV Preview Extravaganza post.


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