Call the Midwife, Season Three Recap and Reaction

Season Three has arrived and I couldn’t have predicted what would happen, not in my wildest dreams!

The Christmas Special starts off the season with a strong note and a sort of theme that carries throughout the season.  Underground, near Nonnatus House, an unexploded bomb has been discovered, meaning the entire area (several square blocks) must be evacuated. Everyone, including the midwives, nuns and Chummy (Miranda Hart) and baby Freddie, along with countless others are put in a shelter until the bomb is dealt with. This move stirs up old war wounds for the husband of an overdue patient of Jenny’s (Jessica Raine’s). And it reveals some of Trixie’s (Helen George’s) past. The husband did his service in Korea and it haunts him to this day, though his pregnant wife normally can handle him, but simple sounds, including boys playing hockey in the streets can set him off and he smells blood on a daily basis. This inspires Trixie and Jenny to ask Sisters Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Evangelina (Pam Ferris) to allow the husband in the delivery room, believing that it will do both husband and wife some good. Though both nuns, especially Sister Evangelina, are against this, it happens anyway, leading to one of the sweetest deliveries on the series, with the husband able to both support and be in awe of his wife, relishing in what they created together. Trixie mentions that this blood is good. It doesn’t even matter if the baby is a boy or girl, they already love it and the gender is never mentioned.

It is also revealed that Trixie’s past isn’t as happy as her personality would lead you to believe. Her father also suffered from severe shell shock and it would be her job to entertain him during the day. This is George’s best scene, showing very emotion etched on her face. This leads Jenny to understand why she is so adamant about the whole thing.

Now, to my favorite couple. Shelagh (Laura Main) is isolated from the others, feeling guilty as hell for betraying the nuns.  Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) has some especially great lines, calming mentioning that Shelagh picked the sin of flesh over the religious life. She and Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) are opting for a small wedding on Christmas Eve, but fate has other plans.  Timothy (Max Macmillan) is becoming sick, sneaking pills from his father’s medicine bag to stave off his illness so the wedding isn’t ruined. But nothing could have prepared Shelagh for what she finds when she arrives at the Turner home (hers has been executed because of the bomb), Timothy is so sick he can’t even sit up. The diagnosis: Polio. This disease is an epidemic and another boy, in the same Troop as Timothy, also just become ill, but Timothy is much worse. Shelagh reacts just as a mother would once he is treated at the hospital. She apologizes to Dr. Turner, but he doesn’t blame her. Instead, they both comfort Timothy together. He is so sick that he needs an iron lung to help him breathe, but fortunately, he soon recovers.

His illness also inspires Shelagh to reconcile fully with Sister Julienne and gets the needed help with her wedding and fortunately buys a nicer dress (one that is actually white and lacy as opposed to that dull, grey suit). She even has her nails painted for the first time and opts to wear her glasses because she wants to see the groom. And the wedding is gorgeous, Shelagh says that it should be Sister Julienne giving her away (we learned earlier that her mother died when she was only a girl), but Sister Julienne says that isn’t necessary. Dr. Turner is practically beaming when she walks down the aisle and so the show ends. For the record, Trixie, Jenny and Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) are the bridesmaids.

As for the rest of the season, a lot of ground was covered, from the first episode which deals with the virtually unknown disease cystic fibrosis and Chummy struggling with her new life as stay-at-home mom to the final tearful episode, it is packed.

Chummy does great work in the first episode, which also involves the midwives moving to a new location, by using her royal connections to help open the new clinic, bringing attention to its location and then delivers a baby in an emergency and it is a difficult delivery.  Sister Julienne decides that she could return to work part-time, and Chummy is thrilled with that.

The season continues with Jenny getting a promotion over Trixie, nearly causing them to have a fall-out, dealing with yet another mother who had an affair with a black man and getting pregnant because of it. Trixie is less than pleased when Jenny doesn’t even tell her about the whole thing and this time, things don’t have a happy ending, with the mother putting the baby up for adoption and lying to neighbors, saying the baby died, all because her husband is a nasty, jealous man. The whole time I was thinking about the same plot line done in season one and luckily, Trixie mentioned just that, saying that she could help Jenny deal with the whole thing.

Trixie and Sister Julienne also help out the pregnant women in a prison and despite one of the girls blatantly lying to them, Sister Julienne still decides to throw her a bone and help her out. The girl can keep her baby. And there’s the young woman who hates having to ask her husband for help even though she just had an extremely difficult delivery, though her husband says that now it is his turn to take care of her, showing that men should have a bigger part in the whole childbirth thing.

Then Cynthia helps deal with a patient whose mother suffers from severe agoraphobia and possibly a serious illness before helping a pregnant woman with Down’s Syndrome. The latter was more interesting as the pregnancy was from consensual sex, not rape as everyone believed at first. But what killed me is that the woman’s parents were relieved when the baby came early and was stillborn. It was super upsetting. And this is before Cynthia deals with yet another upsetting case, one involving a new mother who goes absolutely paranoid, worried about the germs affecting the baby and wanting to clean her all the time and finally, nearly jumps into the Thames (at I think it’s the Thames, it is certainly a river), causing her husband lots of distress. The mother is taken to a mental institution where she eventually recovers and her husband comes to terms with her being in a place like that.

The girls’ personal lives are just as exciting as the cases they handle.

At the end of season two, Jenny met an architect friend of Jimmy’s (George Rainsford), Alec (Leo Starr) and their relationship begins, though Alec is more into Jenny than she is to him, though she does think that something may actually happen between the two, something she never thought would happen with her and Jimmy. But then, tragedy strikes when Alec falls and suffers a broken leg which eventually kills him in a shocking turn of events, leading Jenny to leave the house for a brief period before working at a hospital in London though she hates impersonal everything is there.

Trixie likes the new pastor in town, Tom (Jack Ashton), but their relationship starts off rough, when a polo date goes horribly wrong as the Cub Scout troop Tom is in charge of joins them and the bus breaks down and he cancels on a dancing date because he’s too nervous to tell her he can’t dance. But by the end of the season, things seem to be turning around as she kisses him. Whatever happens, it promises to be exciting.

Sister Evangelina also has a party thrown in her honor, and we learn about her past. Her real name is Enid, which is just awful and her younger brother has a horrible drinking problem.

There are also new characters. Sister Winifred (Victoria Yeates) is the newest young nun who doesn’t relate well to the cases she deals with. She is timid and nervous about the whole thing, but finally puts her fears aside to begin enjoying her job. Patsy (Emerald Fennel) is the newest nurse who has a troubled past, so much so that she isn’t sympathetic at all to the patients she deals with because she doesn’t believe in coddling them. Her past? She was in a prison camp in Singapore during the war and lost her whole family during that time. Though these new characters have their moments, they are not as interesting as the old ones, but again, there’s nothing wrong with them and hopefully they’ll be given more interesting arks in future seasons.

As for my favorite couple, things start out with such promise but quickly get shot to hell when Shelagh learns that she has scar tissue from her tuberculosis in her uterus, meaning that she is incapable of having children. (Also, it is super awkward when you’re married to someone who treated you at a personal level, for the record.) Naturally, she takes the news hard, especially when she had already made a beautiful outfit for the thought about child. She donates the outfit to the church (Sister Julienne specifically) and devotes herself to new hobbies, including reviving the local community choir. Then, she learns of adoption and persuades Dr. Turner about that option though she barely had to twist his arm at all. And just when you thought things were going too smoothly, you thought wrong. Turns out that Dr. Turner has his own dark secret, he suffered a mental breakdown after World War II and the adoption agency is concerned about that. Shelagh is not pleased that he is busy helping others when he can’t even help himself, leading them to become short with each other as the finale looms.

The finale is upsetting, as Chummy’s mother (Cheryl Campbell) is dying from the ‘Big C’, as the doctors refuse to even say the word, cancer. Lady Browne is staying with her daughter while she dies, which triggers some sad memories for Sister Monica Joan who never had a close relationship with her mother. Chummy doesn’t even touch her mother unless it’s on a professional level until she gives her a manicure. Jenny also wants to care for Lady Browne, feeling called to do so, but Sister Julienne refuses that demand. Lady Browne dies, though on somewhat better terms with the daughter that was sent away to boarding school and Peter (Ben Caplan) is there to support his wife. This also inspires Jenny to permanently leave Nonnatus house to help those dying from all sorts of illnesses. I understand that Jessica Raine wanted to leave the show, and at least they didn't kill her off, but of course, they couldn't have done that as she would write about her life in a memoir, but it closes off her story line perfectly. She even met her future husband (the cousin of her patient) in this episode and she spoils her whole story line at the end, as she would marry him and have two daughters with him.

Dr. Turner and Shelagh are approved for adoption, and they decide to mend the fences. Shelagh also busily prepares her choir for a concert but she will never go as a baby immediately becomes available, leading to another sweet moment. Dr. Turner offers to let Shelagh go into the nursery first, but she says that this is the closest she will ever get to giving birth and she wants, no needs him to be with her.  And the moment is truly touching as he places the tiny baby in her arms and says “Here’s your mummy,” which unfortunately doesn't sound as sweet and tender as it should.

The season ends with Jenny’s going away party and Fred (Cliff Parisi) presenting her with her own bicycle. Everyone is there and Sister Julienne even saved the homemade baby outfit so Shelagh’s baby girl can wear the outfit her mother made for her with love, yet another touching moment in a show full of them.

Sure, I wasn’t pleased about Jenny leaving the show for good, especially since her move seemed like a sudden transition, without any hint of that in the previous episodes, but I realized that slowly, throughout the seasons, the show started to focus less on her and became more of an ensemble piece. Despite everything, I think will be fine without her, but, no it won’t be the same. At least they did her character justice, letting her leave because she wanted to, not because of anything wrong. And she’s happy. I want the characters to be happy especially when I like all the characters in this show, though I’m basically indifferent to the new ones of Sister Winifred and Patsy. Yes, I genuinely like all the characters, something which is super rare for me.

As for my predictions for next season (or possibly future seasons), call my an optimist or whatever, but I think that Shelagh will defy the odds and get pregnant anyway and will insist that Dr. Turner be there with her. Okay, fine that might be the series finale, but I wanted to put it in writing.

Again, the show is brilliant, with all the actors being pitch perfect, playing complex and layered characters flawlessly, without a false note ever. In fact, it barely seems like they’re acting, that’s how real the characters are. You want to root for all of them and the love stories are breathtakingly touching. And the writing is brilliant, bringing in a number of issues and plot lines seamlessly, everything flowing together like butter. Great cinematography, art and set decoration, editing, costumes and score. This is a hidden gem of a TV series and more people (especially in America)should give it a shot. This is everything a good show should be. Long gone are the days when Jenny moped over her lost love, she get back to work wholeheartedly after Alec’s death and never mentioned him again, proving that character growth happens. I can’t wait for season four and I have to wait for nearly a year, but you can look forward to posts by the episode, not the season. Grade: A-

Call the Midwife, Season Two Recap and Reaction

This is still one of my favorite shows on TV, though some plots of season two weren’t nearly as good as in season one.

First, let’s start with the Christmas Special, which includes a horrifying look into the workhouses of London’s past and involves a hidden pregnancy, where a teenage girl is pregnant and hides it from everyone. I kept hoping that it wasn’t incest. It wasn’t, thank goodness. She leaves the baby on the steps of Nonnatus House, but she is discovered because she turns terribly ill as not all of the placenta came out. Though her parents are horrified at first, despite the social rules of the era, they allow her to keep her baby. In this episode, we also learn that Dr. Turner (Stephan McGann) is widowed, with a young son. That is not just a toss away detail.

That was a wonderful way to start off  the season, and then, second two came, with plot lines aplenty.

Jenny (Jessica Raine) copes with plenty, including a woman who cannot afford the eight children she already has and tries everything in her power to self-abort the current baby before turning to drastic measures of having a back-alley abortion, nearly dying from the dirty tools used. She also must help a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, where, to earn more money, her husband forces her to have sex with other men for money, while the children are alone at home, sleeping, dosed with milk and alcohol. Naturally, her horrible plan comes to an end when the house catches on fire and the new baby and toddler nearly die. The parents are arrested for child endangerment. She also helps the only surviving child reunite with her father just before his death, able to meet his newborn grandson, only minutes before his death. Yeah, melodramatic much. But I was desperate for it to happen. Also, a couple has a baby born with spina bifida, and the mother is unable to cope for the longest time. It is a devastating episode. One a more personal level, she must deal with her one-time boyfriend, and lifelong friend, Jimmy (George Rainsford), suffering from stomach cramps. She also diagnoses the stiff surgeon with having Parkinsons’ disease as he suffers from memory lapses and shaky hands. As it turns out, though she successfully helps save Jimmy’s life, it turns out that she will never be able to have him because he is seeing another girl and got her pregnant. I didn’t think he’d be that loose. He does the right thing and marries her and adores the daughter, Caroline, they have together.  By the end of the season, one of Jimmy’s friends, another architect, has a crush on Jenny, though it takes her some time to warm up to him.

Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) has her own devastating crisis to deal with when a baby she delivered dies suddenly. Though no one outwardly blames her, she feels horrible and wonders if and what she did wrong. Though the event is still devastating, it turns out that the death had nothing to do with her at all, as one of the lungs was underdeveloped from the start.  She also has to deal with twin sisters, married to the same man (a situation that I can’t put into words), one of whom is pregnant and electing to have natural medications as opposed to midwife care. That was the most awkward episode of the season, and it gets worse. The woman also has twin daughters, after a difficult delivery, and they name them after each other, claiming that they never liked boys in the first place. Interesting. They must have liked a boy in the first place, or else they wouldn’t have been in that situation.

Trixie (Helen George) deals with a pregnant woman on a ship, forced into prostitution as her father was captain. Trixie is appalled by the whole situation, as well she should be. She also meets a celebrity whom she recruits to be a judge at a baby festival, but when she refuses his advances, he doesn’t show up, though Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) is called upon instead, which is wise, given her expertise.

Chummy (Miranda Hart) is settling into married life well, though she wants to go to Sierra Leone, and Peter (Ben Caplan), naturally, wants to go with her, but he may not be able to get the clearance he needs to work there because his weight is too high, so he and Fred (Cliff Parisi) begin an exercise regiment. They do not return until the second to last episode of the season.

The other nuns, with the exception of Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) do not have much to do this season, except support the others, which is wonderful. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) assists Jenny in dealing with the illegal abortion, asking no questions, not worrying that the act is illegal and against her religion. And Sister Monica Joan enjoys visits from her nephew and pays for a baby’s funeral, as his own parents could not afford it. In addition, she still gets some great lines. It’s wonderful.

There is also a new addition to the house, Jane (Dorothy Atkinson), a painfully shy young woman. But she is helpful and sweet.

Now to the most intriguing plot lines of the season.  Dr. Turner begs to have an x-ray van to visit Poplar as many are coming down with tuberculosis. And this is a wonderful thing, because it is a horrible disease and one that is totally treatable. Sister Bernadette (Laura Main) is his assistant, but as she helps a young girl overcome her fear, it is discovered that she has the early on-set of the disease and is sent away to the sanitarium for treatment. Now, for some context. I don’t know when exactly the switch flipped in my head, but once I discovered that Sister Bernadette was falling in love with Dr. Turner, they became the couple I was rooting for. So imagine my devastation when Dr. Turner informs her that she is sick, instead of confessing his true feelings. Which leads to an awkward exam. Naked on a professional level, not a personal one. Yeah, awkward is the understatement of the year. And then, while she is away in the sanitarium, he writes her letters but she can’t even open them. Now, I did wonder how no one else picked up on the mutual crush, not even Trixie, who adores gossips. Finally, Sister Bernadette decides that she will leave the order just as she is released from the sanitarium.

Now, to the season finale. Fred’s daughter comes to visit as her husband is away with the navy again. I had no idea that Fred had children. However, his daughter is having a difficult pregnancy and is ordered to have bed rest to prevent preeclampsia. Just as she goes into labor, Chummy also begins experiencing pains, though she ignores them until Fred’s new granddaughter is born.  Dr. Turner calls Sister Bernadette, though she informs him that she will no longer answer to that name. Sister Bernadette decides that she will leave the sanitarium and doesn’t arrange a ride to come pick her up. Instead, she will take the bus, in the gross, foggy weather, a bad idea. Luckily (for her), Dr. Turner leaves Fred’s daughter in the capable hands of Jenny and Chummy and he and his son drive to try and find Sister Bernadette. Fortunately, she is found and Dr. Turner drapes his coat around her and says he doesn’t even know what to call her. As it turns out, her real name is Shelagh (pronounced Shelia) and his is Patrick. A lovely, sweet moment.

Now back to Chummy. Her delivery takes a turn for the worse when she begins to hemorrhage. An ambulance is immediately called, she and Peter are taken away to the hospital for an emergency caesarean section, Peter nervous the whole time. Jenny suspects a placental abruption.  All the while, the midwives and nuns at Nonnatus House lovely sew together a quilt of squares and Sister Julienne and Jenny present to the still sick Chummy at the hospital the next day. Luckily, soon she and the baby, a little boy whom they name Fred, are doing wonderfully.  I would have never forgiven the writers if something bad had happened to either Chummy or her baby. The show ends with them baptizing both babies.

And back to the proposal of Dr. Turner (his first name is Patrick, by the way) to Shelagh. It’s an interesting one to say the least. He gives her a little box with a piece of paper wrapped around it. The paper has the words “Will you marry my dad?” Naturally, the answer is yes and I am super happy, despite the fact that I like the traditional proposal where the man gets down on one knee and all that jazz, but this one was also nice, certainly non-traditional. But Dr. Turner’s son also liked Shelagh, so there won’t be any of that wicked stepmother stuff going on, well hopefully not. I can’t wait to see their wedding.

Their relationship was a slow moving one, but one that is undeniably real because Sister Bernadette’s nun uniform is the most unattractive thing ever. When Sister Bernadette drops something and cuts her hand, she doesn’t even really let him see it, saying that she will be fine. But she doesn’t put a bandage on top of it, letting the touch of his hand linger. Yes, never before has hand holding meant so much or been so forbidden. Dr. Turner later apologizes for his actions. And, at least on screen, he pops the question before they even kiss. And yet, it’s still so romantic.

This leads me to my rant about wedding rings. I know that this is the late 1950s, but there is no consistency as to who wears wedding rings. All of the married women do, but not all of the men which drives me nuts as there is no rhyme or reason to it. Dr. Turner wears his, despite his wife having recently passed away, until he finally sheds it. I first noticed him not wearing it in the scene where he proposes to Shelagh. Peter never wears one, but he is a policeman, does that make a difference, though? Some the husbands involved do while others do not.  Yeah, I know that it is a petty detail, but one that I always pick up on so it bothers me when something is awry.

As for the overall show, it is probably even better than Downton Abbey, as this show doesn’t have rich, useless people. These are all people making a real difference in the lives of everyone around them. The characters have their share of heartbreaks, but, for the most part, they are happy and dare to make their own decisions, sometimes not doing what is safe, taking risks. The men are also truly nice, decent individuals. It’s quite odd when you have little bad to say about the main characters.

Sure, some of the plots are odd and disgusting, but the show rarely hits a false note. The scenery is incredible and everything is breathtakingly realistic, down the set pieces, costumes and music. The whole set is fantastic and the editing is flawless, something you don’t see too often in television series. Grade: A-

Belle

Eighteenth century Britain. It is a society filled with rules and regulations, where it sucks to both African and a woman. So Dido (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is especially screwed. She is the illegitimate daughter of a British Naval Officer, John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), who is not ashamed. Dido has been raised, albeit reluctantly, by her aunt and uncle (Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson) along with their other niece, Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon). Upon John's death, Dido receives a small fortune, 2,000 pounds per year, enough to make her desirable while poor Elizabeth has absolutely no dowry as her father has remarried after her mother's death and doesn't even acknowledge her. And Dido actually has a marriage offer, from the younger son of the Ashford family, Oliver (James Norton). Sure, he does seem nice and everything, but his older brother, James (Tom Felton) and mother (Miranda Richardson) are downright nasty and money hungry. Oliver does share the latter trait with them. Elizabeth has her sights set on James, but he dumps her the moment he finds that she is penniless.
This is set against a fantastic political backdrop of a pivotal case in the anti-slavery movement in Britain. The case involves a ship, called Zong, where the captain throws the cargo, slaves, overboard because they were sickly and were worth more dead than alive. They are trying to recoup the insurance money. Uncle is on the side of the insurance while his protege, John Davinier (Sam Reid), the vicar's son, is against, saying it is impossible to put a price on the life on a human.  Though he and Dido have an instant attraction, Uncle is against the match because then Dido would be marrying beneath her. Still, even after accepting Oliver's proposal, she sneaks out to meet with John to discuss the case, which affects both of them deeply. Uncle even orders John to stay away from Dido, trying to protect her from the horrors of the real world.
Dido, naturally, knows that she is different. She eats her dinners alone and can only join the guests afterwards where the rules are more relaxed. And who knows what would have happened if she followed through with marrying Oliver. She, thank goodness, breaks there engagement, to the shock of Lady Ashford. And thankfully, her uncle also relents and takes pity on her, offering to turn John into a gentleman so he will be worthy of her hand in marriage. Sure, the ending probably would have never happened in real life, kissing your fiance in public, him going as far as lifting you up off the ground, but it makes a wonderful, gorgeous Hollywood ending and the best part is that it is all based on a true story.
The performances truly shine, from the unknowns of Mbatha-Raw and Reid, with fiery chemistry and characters that you can't help but root for. Gadon is also fine as she teeters between deep love and affection for Dido, but also suffers from horrible jealously, not understanding why her father doesn't acknowledge her, knowing that she's done nothing wrong, longing for something that alludes her. (She does eventually marry and have three children.) She and Dido have an epic fight, even calling Dido illegitimate, using that as a crutch as to why they have dinners separately. But, just as real sisters do, when James becomes engaged to someone else, Elizabeth still cries on Dido's shoulders.
The established cast members, Felton and Richardson as the evils and Watson and Wilkinson as the good, are equally as brilliant. Wilkinson truly loves Dido, as though she were his own daughter, though at first, he did only accept her because it was his legal right.
This film shows the world at its best, where a man, against all odds, would acknowledge and love his mixed-race, illegitimate daughter, desiring her to have a better life, and a man, not caring about money, with a passion for what is right and just and for loving Dido, not for her money, but because she is an amazing person. Reid plays Davinier with a zealous passion, bringing him truly to life. Mgatha-Raw is a likable hero, and though she is an outsider, she never backs down and speaks her mind, even willing to give up one of the only things she has in life, her status.
In addition to the incredible performances, the cinematography, editing, set design and costume designs are equally as brilliant. This is a film of a time long past, that should not be forgotten. Grade: A-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The Middle: Orlando and The Wonderful World the Hecks

To say that Sue (Eden Sher) is excited about the trip to Disney World is the understatement of the year. She keeps reminding the family of how many days away the trip is and has made a huge pre-scrapbook of the trip. Yikes.
In the meantime, before the family can even leave, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) insists on going to North Carolina to visit his girlfriend, a girl he met online while playing this stupid online game. He doesn't get distracted, unlike Frankie, and talks at length on why they should make the trip and finally, mostly just to get him to shut up, the parents give in. Of course this also backfires, because Brick forgets to tell the family that he broke up with her the night before, just as they pull up to Tanya's (Teresa Ornelas's) house. Tanya lives in a trailer park and even has her own dirt pile. Yes, and that's what she shows Brick.
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) tries to make sure that Tanya's family doesn't think that they are beneath the trailer park family, saying that they only won the trip and that their washer doesn't even work properly. And Sandy (the great Dale Dickey), Tanya's mother, can't believe the family drove out of their way just to visit, even though they were totally looking forward for the young children to meet each other. But then Frankie spills the beans and admits that the two broke up yesterday over a misunderstanding in the game and Sandy gets really mad, accessing the Hecks of catfishing them, which is, ironically, what the Hecks had thought earlier. But it ends happily, with the two at least temporarily forgetting their fight as Tanya plants one on him, Frankie looking on fondly.
Axl (Charlie McDermott), after some major stressing for him, gets all Bs in his classes, meaning that his parents must keep up their end of the lame agreement and not talk to him for the rest of the summer, though that doesn't work, as it shouldn't.
Sue is also not a good driver. Sure, she's had her license for a year, but the family still doesn't trust her driving and the scene when the family is hanging on and at the fast food restaurant, trying to order and then running into the yellow cone is probably the funniest scene of the whole season, bar none. Fortunately, at the end, Mike (Neil Flynn) takes pity on her and lets her drive a block into Orlando.
But the adventure has only just begun. Sue actually won tickets to DisneyLand, in California, and they drove to Florida instead. Yes, only the Hecks would be that stupid. Frankie didn't even read the tickets, but luckily, the people at DisneyWorld are super nice and let the Hecks in. And the first day is epically horrible. Brick takes his sweet ole time picking out just the right font for his Mickey Mouse hat and then nothing goes right, and Sue needs to be taken to the First Aid tent twice and as a result, they don't go on any rides. But the hotel room they are given is massive. It's the super suite, with a mirror TV is the bathroom and Sue is excited about the uber soft toilet paper, which Frankie shamelessly stuffs into her bright shiny blue suitcase. And the sheets are so soft that the family sleeps in until the afternoon, meaning they get an extraordinary late start.
And they family is still arguing as another tries to take their picture. Sue snaps, flipping through her binder to find the right ride to go on and Mike admits the real reason he wanted to go to Epcot was because he would never get to take Frankie to Paris. Upon hearing this, Frankie dumps the kids and goes off with Mike, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Which is what happens, the kids try to go their separate ways, but it doesn't work and they go on several rides while Frankie and Mike travel the countries and the family even gets together in the end for fireworks, just as any good vacation should end.
All-in-all, this was a great way to end an uneven season. But everything bad happened just as Frankie foreshadowed in the opening. They lost Brick, Sue lost her happy spirit and the whole family ended up fighting horribly. But everything turned out wonderfully in the end.
Acting wise, it is still top-notch, but then it always is. The writing was especially great as I had never laughed this loud at this show in some time. And I love DisneyWorld, so this episode was fantastic. And this episode showed a whole new side to Frankie and Mike, I say keep it coming. Grade: A, Season: B+
Side Notes:
-Before Sue drives, Axl just wants to check the status of the death napkin which leads to another great scene, where Frankie says that because Axl is nineteen and will take care of the others. Which doesn't go over well, to say the least.
-Another callback. Frankie does pack the blue bag with food and brings it to the door with her suitcase, but it is never mentioned for the rest of the episode. So who knows if she actually brings it along on the trip?
-Because of Sue's bad driving, the driver's car door can't open which leads to a failed leaving of Tanya's family as Frankie has to get back out to let Mike in to drive after slamming the door firmly behind her.
-Sue is not a fast chewer so she chokes on a turkey bone. And she faints upon finally seeing the Magic Castle and trips over her trip binder, all of which land in her in the First Aid tent.
-Axl's ride choice sucks. It's the gate to leave the park.
-Brick really likes rides. They are full of signs with fonts.
-Okay, now to the stuff I didn't like. Brad gets a mention but Darrin doesn't.
-As for the season, it was great. I especially liked Darrin and Sue getting back together, but I wished we had seen more of the Heck family members, like Mike's dad or Frankie's sister or aunts, though Aunt Janet does get a name drop in the first part of the finale.
-Frankie and Mike have a whole fantasy of how they met and lived in an alternate Paris universe. It's sweet but super awkward.
-Brick notes that he's the only one who kissed a girl on this trip, which is true.
-Axl threatens to keep his family out of the room if he gets lucky, Frankie warns him that that can't happen.
-As for next season, I hope they give Axl a new, interesting girlfriend and have Darrin and Sue go on an actual date and Sue meet his family, because that's always funny. I like that Brick got his first kiss and hope they do a little more with that odd plot line.
-Brick uses the excuse of this being the woman of his dreams in North Carolina and providing his parents with cute grandkids. But when he starts wooping again, Frankie sighs, saying that they are never getting cute grandkids. Only time will tell.

The Big Bang Theory: Season Seven Recap and Reaction

This was a good season but not the show's strongest.
First of all, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) are engaged! Yes, finally, after several proposals from each other, Leonard finally got down on one knee and pulled out the ring he's had in his wallet for years and popped the question and she said yes. Sure, it was largely because her career was going nowhere as she got fired from a crappy film she was shooting and was desperate for something good and permanent in her life.
Unfortunately, the gang is happier that Raj (Kunal Nayyar) had sex with a live woman who was willing and able than Leonard and Penny are engaged. Raj is happy too; it's been a long time.
Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is going through enough. He wants to change the path of his career but the university won't let him and now he will have to live on his own. On top of that, Stuart's (Kevin Sussman's) Comic Book Store burns down. Sheldon can't stand change so he decides that he must travel elsewhere. Leonard and Penny try to talk some sense into him at the train station, but Penny mentions that maybe they should just let him go, which they do. He's a grown man and finally must live on his own. Amy (Mayim Bialik) is furious because their relationship was slowly going somewhere. Sheldon is kissing her now, from time to time, but when she suggests that they also move in together, Sheldon pushes that idea aside immediately. But neither mention that they tried that already and it didn't work. Amy starts hitting Leonard with a pillow at the fact that they let Sheldon leave her in the first place.
Now, as for Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). They are still married and are mostly happy in their own unique way that probably wouldn't work for most normal people and couples but it works for them. Until Howard's mother is injured when a treadmill (still packed away in its box) falls on her. She is a huge pain and goes through several nurses but the couple hires Stuart who embraces the job and actually really loves it despite her constant nagging and odd needs. We'll be seeing lots more of him next season.
Now, some stuff just didn't work this season. Like the constant near homosexual relationship of Howard and Raj. And what happens to the vet, Yvette (Tania Raymond)? She appeared in the Valentine's Day episode and appeared to like Raj, even leaving him a sweet note, but then we never hear from her again. Instead, Raj is too shy to even talk to a girl online, so he gets Amy to do that instead. Somehow, after a bumpy start, the relationship works out. Stuart continues to be a debbie downer, always depressed, longing for death. Like when his store burns down and a large piece of the ceiling falls down, just missing him, he laments that he can't catch a break. And he doesn't find taking care of Howard's mom to be demeaning in any way.
I also wasn't too fond of Howard being used as fodder between the new couple of Raj and Emily (Laura Spencer), as it was too gross. And further confirming that Sheldon can't stand change, when Leonard buys a table for the apartment, he doesn't use it, choosing to continue sitting in his assigned spot on the couch. But I loved when Amy ruined Raiders of the Lost Ark for the guys. That was probably one the best shows of the season. And I liked when Sheldon went to visit his mother, Mary (Laurie Metcalf) and found out that she was having sex, before marriage. He didn't take the news well and started lecturing her on safe sex. It was awkward but hilarious. Not the best, but still good. Sheldon is rude to the psychic and Penny gets mad when Amy and Bernadette go out without her. The guys are still jerks, but can also be sweet. Sheldon's ego is still enormous and can't make decisions, like what new gaming system to buy. He thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. And it's getting super annoying, but it's Sheldon, he won't change. Penny has grown, finally able to commit. She is trying to focus on her acting career though that isn't going to well, but she still seems mostly happy. And Leonard is thrilled. I do wonder where the next season will go because Sheldon needs to come back and Penny and Leonard need to move forward with their wedding. And I wonder who will get pregnant first, it's bound to happen one of these days.
The acting is still great, with Cuoco-Sweeting deserving more credit than she receives and Bialik continues to steal the show. I hope she gets another Emmy nomination. Parsons probably will too. By the way, he is a total jerk when he's drunk, Sheldon, not Parsons. Still, the laugh track is super old and annoying on this show and I wish it would go, but this show still constantly delights. Grade: A-(finale); Season: B+

Suburgatory: Season Three Finale Recap and Reaction

I am devastated that this show will not be returning. That being said, some of season three wasn't great, at all.
The opening was rushed, with Tessa (the brilliant Jane Levy) returning to live with George (Jeremy Sisto), her father, too quickly. But they couldn't have Malin Ackerman back after all, because she has her own show, so Tessa had to move back immediately with her father. Then again, the show wouldn't work if she didn't live with George so it had to happen. Dahlia (Carly Chaikin) isn't happy that her mother, Dallas (Cheryl Hines) broke up with Daddy Altman, so it takes some time for mother and daughter to mend the fences. Lisa (the great Allie Grant) also decides to propose marriage to Malik (Maestro Harrell), but he has to be the man and proposes to her in a grand fashion. They get married in the second to last episode of the series. And Tessa must deal with Ryan (Parker Young) having a new girlfriend, June (Lindsay Shaw).
Some plot lines are truly horrible, just the beauty pageant, where Tessa tries to coach a girl so the younger girl can beat the blond, mindless clones but when that does happen, Tessa realizes that she has also created a bully. And I didn't really like Nora (Natasha Leggero), George's new dog store owner girlfriend too much. She added very little to the show. I was totally fine with them breaking up. But I did like when Tessa dated the male version of herself, though naturally that didn't last. I hated the episode when Tessa and George double date a mother and son duo, but neither relationship lasted. In the same episode, Dahlia doesn't get into any colleges and nearly marries this crippled old man but, thanks to her doting mother, discovers her true talent in designing belts so she has some sort of career, not a spectacular one, but a career nevertheless.
The Shays (Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell) are also lamenting Ryan leaving so they get a foster child, Victor Ha (Bryson Barretto) who doesn't have too much to do for the season, though he gets a couple good lines thrown in every now and then. But I like him, he's a great addition to the white cast. Fred is the dutiful house husband, even going as far breaking in her pumps.
In the finale, George and Dallas are still smarting from the immediate aftermath of them hooking up at Lisa and Malik's wedding. They both regret it, though George wants to be friends. Dallas, likewise, can't get the sex out of her head, but she doesn't know exactly what she wants. Tessa is feeling left out with Lisa being married so she joins a sewing circle, though they are misnamed because the group mostly crochets, but whatever. As for the newlyweds, things aren't pleasant in paradise. After all, the two are still in high school and coordinating everything isn't easy and they also wrongly believe that a married couple must share everything, to which her parents just snort at. In fact, they share that they share less now that they are married. Which gives the newlyweds hope, so hopefully things will work out but they will always have an uphill battle.
Tessa tries to keep things platonic with Ryan, who is visiting from college for the wedding, as he is still dating June, but that doesn't last, as neither can stay away from each other. They, literally, start tearing off each other's clothes in the middle of the stair as they have a hot make out session. A sweet way to end the season, but I wish there would have been even more closure for a series finale, as Shelia pushes the curtain shut so June doesn't see what is happening.
This was without a doubt the series weakest season as the first two were fantastic with much fewer false notes and stupid plot lines and the lines were sharper with more laughs to be had. That being said, I will miss this show as the talent is great all-around. This show has a strong cast and they deserve a show that is given better material than this season. Fortunately, the last two episodes of the season are brilliant and remind me of the first two, so at least it went out on a good note. Grade: A-, Season: B, Series: B+

The Middle: Hecks on a Hard Body

Uncle Rusty (Norm MacDonald) is back! And just as clueless as ever, but we learn some more about Mike (Neil Flynn) in the process, before Rusty somehow manages to ruin the day.
It is Spelling Season. Spelling is probably the only thing Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is good at that Mike actually enjoys. Mike has always strongly supported his younger son in this activity and even goes as far as giving him long words from the dictionary, Brick spitting back the correct spelling back to him and this year, Rusty tags alone. Actually, it's more like Frankie (Patricia Heaton) forces Mike to bring Rusty with them. Rusty is living out of his car so Mike invites him in, not that Frankie likes that idea. In the car ride to Chicago, Rusty tells Brick all these stories from when the brothers were younger, including the one where they threw rocks at a cop car. But everything is ruined when Rusty puts money on the Japanese girl and Brick purposely loses the Spelling Bee, leaving Mike speechless and furious. He leaves Rusty in Chicago, though it was fine with Rusty because he had to meet with some of his shady business associates. Fortunately, the money he made off the bee was enough for him to move out. Still, I don't think Mike will forgive him any time soon, though Brick could have cared less about the losing the bee. Winning meant more to Mike than Brick.
In the meantime, Sue (Eden Sher) is trying to win a car or so she thinks. Ehlert (Brian Doyle-Murray) is throwing a contest, where contestants must keep the same hand on the car at all times and they can't switch hands. Sue is determined to win and Brad (J. Brock Ciarlelli) is on hand to help, though a bee (an actual bumble bee) comes along and he is out just as quickly as he was in, leaving Sue to win the car all on her own and nothing will stop her. Nothing, not the bright burning sun, not Brad's bee stinging her cheek, causing it to swell. She even manages to stand on one foot for the entire night and holds her head up high when she and Darrin (John Gammon) have a fight. And she wins, after the yoga instructor gives up because she can't beat crazy. But she doesn't win a car. According to her, she wins something even better. She wins a short trip to Disney World. She is delighted, as that is even better than a car, to her, at least.
Frankie goes to collect Axl (Charlie McDermott) from college, but he can't find his desk and Frankie is hell bent to get that two hundred dollar deposit back so they set out to find his desk and they do, only it's being used for beer pong. But Frankie is truly brilliant at beer pong, beating everyone there. Even Axl is impressed. And just for that short moment, she becomes a cool mom. And she even returns in time to see Sue win that trip. The family celebrates with her.
This is the strongest episode in some time, and there were some true laughs, though I could have used more Sue and Darrin, but at least he was there to celebrate her victory with the Heck family. I liked that Frankie finally loosen up a little bit. And that Mike cared about Brick. Axl could have grown up a little more, by taking responsibility for finding his desk. But I'm glad that Sue finally got something she really wanted and that she is happy because I want the characters I like to be happy. And it was nice to see some Heck family members because they haven't been used enough this season. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-"It's a long story. She kicked me out. It was longer in my head."-Rusty explaining what happened with his and Marlene's marriage.
-Mike took a test for Rusty and received an A.
-Frankie buys sunscreen at a garage sale. No wonder it didn't work.
-Frankie apparently must have played a lot of beer pong in college because she can even throw a ball over her shoulder and it lands in a cup.
-Sue really should give up sometimes, but if she did then that just wouldn't be Sue.
-Rusty's knock off shower curtains are horrible and the ink doesn't even last, falling off in the shower.
-At least Rusty waits until most of the neighbors are at work before he washes his private areas.
-Rusty doesn't want to move back in with his father because then he would be a loser. He just wants to pitch a tent in Mike's back yard and bathe in the pool. Like that's much better.
-Also, I forgot to mention this last week, but it was nice seeing Neil Flynn guesting in Surviving Jack, a good show that Fox cancelled. (Enlisted was the other one.) But Flynn wasn't that nice of a character, portraying the sexist wrestling coach.

The Middle: Office Hours

Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is not having a good day, with the kids making demands of her when Brick (Atticus Shaffer) could totally make snacks for his friends on his own and then she leaves work and finds that her car is stolen. Mike (Neil Flynn) proclaims that it would be stolen for its parts because no one would want it as a whole. But it turns out that it was parked in the back for the whole week. Yikes, totally called that one. But she realizes that the actual reason for this is that the kids and husband are making too demands of her so she creates office hours, meaning the kids and Mike can only ask her to do things for one hour each day. And it seems to work. She can remember more random, crazy stuff now. Plus, she's happier.
But, it's Frankie so the good won't last. Axl (Charlie McDermott) loses the apartment because she doesn't mail the deposit in time and he can't call to remind her because it's outside of office hours. So Frankie learns the hard way, that there are no office hours when you have kids. She should have figured that out by now. And, she goes back to normal, forgetting simple things, scrambling to get everything back together again and even showing up to her old job.
In the meantime, Sue (Eden Sher) and Darrin (John Gammon) are dating and are grossly cute. Mike can't stand it so he lets them go to Sue's room, if she keeps the door open, which she does, but that also proves to be too much so they are shunned to the basement. While they are kissing, Darrin's watch gets caught on Sue's sweater while Mike is spying on them. Naturally, Mike misinterprets the situation and talks to Darrin about the whole thing. Sue isn't happy to hear that, but this leads to a nice moment between father and daughter. He tells her that he wants to protect her from stuff. AKA sex, but never says that word and Sue can't figure what he means for the longest time but when she does she snaps, saying he doesn't know her at all and that she's not even close to being ready for that. Mike also proclaims that he never thought he would be the father of a daughter so he's learning as he goes.
Brick also has his own small plot line, involving his book club which is made up of older women. Sure, he likes them, but simply can't understand why they don't like the Planet Nowhere books as they are just the older generation.
All-in-all, this was a pretty good episode though they do rehash some old plot lines, but the Mike and Sue moment truly shined and there were actually some funny moments this time around. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Darrin tells Mike that he would never harm Sue in any way but Mike says that Darrin is nineteen and male. --Darrin then says that he is twenty because he skipped a grade, 'that's what happens when you repeat a grade twice.'
-Sue says that when she is ready it will be by a warm fire and a lit Christmas tree.
-Axl forgets his psychology notes but Frankie can't even read them. These notes have nothing to do with the subject.
-Sue and Darrin are really the cutest, most innocent couple ever.
-Frankie can remember her locker combination from junior high before she forgets everything again.
-Brick tells Frankie that she can't play any Duke Ellington in the house because Helen's husband just died.
-Sue apparently has scoliosis.

A Civil Action (1998)

This is a good film, sort of like Erin Brockovich, but not the same. In a way, this is more real, truly showing how much money lawyers can invest in a case and when that doesn't work in their favor, they can lose everything.
Such is the case in this film, for Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta). He starts out as a successful personal injury lawyer, and most eligible bachelor in the city. He loves winning and doesn't care much about the actual people behind the case. However, that sort of changes when he investigates the case of Wobourn, north of Boston where, thanks to a tanning factory, the water is contaminated and children are dying of leukemia. But two big companies are behind the tanning factory, so Jan still sees dollar signs, but this time, refuses to settle despite the firm digging themselves deeper and deeper into debt.
This film isn't as heart-breaking as Erin Brockovich, as the victims aren't as important, though some of them do have devastating stories (including actual death this time, but it is delivered in a crueler manner, but the truth is more important. Some witnesses are willing to come forward, such as Al Love (James Gandolfini, brilliant), who also have suffering children. His one son has a seizure disorder and his eldest daughter has had two miscarriages. He names names, but thanks to the prosecution, is never called to the stand. The prosecution, led by Facher (Robert Duvall), a Red Sox loving Harvard professor, never gives the witnesses the opportunity. Instead, first, the jury must decide if the companies behind the tanning factory are even to blame for the bad water. The jury decides one of the two companies is responsible, but ultimately, the funds to man the operation, which are massive, just completely dry up and, thanks to the pressure of his partners, Jan settles for a measly eight million dollars. This means that the families don't get the apology they desperately want, and nothing is done to clean up or protect the environment from something like this happening in the future. The ending massively upset me. I really wished that the companies would have gone through the whole trial and lost and had to pay the families and town a ton of money. Luckily, the EPA ended up investigating, and the companies were held responsible and the tanning factory was shut down.
The actors deliver. In addition to Travolta and Duvall being brilliant, Duvall fully deserved his Oscar nomination, William H. Macy is great as the account, Tony Shalhoub excels as another lawyer who breaks ties with Jan at the end and Kathleen Quinlan is quietly stoic as the mother of one young victim. Also pay attention for House's Peter Jacobsen as a lawyer for one of the companies and Sidney Pollack as a corporate lawyer for the one company who eventually manages to sweet talk and settle with Jan for the measly eight million. Even Kathy Bates is great as the final lawyer who wonders why all of Jan's money went after seventeen years of practicing law.
This film is still a must watch, and I know it is real, based on a true story, which made the ending even more devastating. In Hollywood, David would have beaten Goliath, but not in real life, Goliath always wins. And this story has been told time and time again, a man realizes that money isn't the most important thing. Other things matter too. Like the truth, and justice. Grade: A-

The Amazing Spider-man 2

MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) dies. Yes, that's right, they killed off Emma Stone. Despite having never read the comics, I do know that Gwen dies and she does, just after Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) finally completely saves the day, having defeated both Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan).
Peter Parker just barely makes his own high school graduation, too busy out there saving the day. His biggest problem is that he still has lingering guilt about disobeying Captain Stacy's (Denis Leary's) strict warning on staying away from his daughter, which Peter has failed to heed. But the chemistry between the two is palpable, so it is extremely difficult for Peter to stay away and because he's also Spiderman, he can spy on her whenever he wants, which he does, just to make sure she's safe. Even though she gets an almost scholarship offer from Oxford, Peter insists on following her there, because crime also exists in England. The problem is, she never makes it to London.
Another problem is the amount of villains the film boosts. Three, to be precise. Two of them, Peter has connections to personally. Max Dillon (Foxx) is an extremely under-appreciated electrician at Osborn but he loves Spiderman because Spiderman saved his life. I wonder if he regrets that. But thanks to a work related accident, Dillon gets odd superpowers, which mean that he's not really a man anymore, but electricity, moving through the electric wires, controlling the electricity of the whole city, causing a city wide blackout. Two planes almost collide. Then there is Harry Osborn (DeHaan). He is an old friend of Peter's from years ago, before his father sent him away for boarding school. But, like his father (Chris Cooper), Harry has a fatal disease which will kill him. He wants some of Spiderman's blood because he firmly believes that it has life saving powers. It doesn't. And the spider venom that he takes, turns him into the Green Goblin. He doesn't die, but instead is locked up in a crazy, top of the line mental institution, something that would not be possible in the real world for the funds just aren't there. And the last villain is Rhino (Paul Giamatti) who appears at the beginning and the end, and will probably appear in the next film.
Peter also has his own demons, like his father and mother abandoning him more than a decade ago. But his father is still a good man but used his own DNA for the spiders, which is why their powers would only work on Peter and on no one else. He even had his own secret lab, which is completely bizarre as the old subway train rises from beneath the tracks in perfect condition. Okay, that's a stretch, as nothing is out of place, which would be impossible, but that isn't what bothered me.
Though I knew Gwen had a chance of dying, I am still angry about it. She should have listened to Peter and not followed him, but she did anyway. I understand why, but was she being stubborn and stupid or was she really ready to fight by refusing to obey a man? And she helped plenty, with the power grid to defeat Electro and Peter almost saves her, but her neck snaps back and she dies instantly. Peter will probably never completely forgive himself for that one.
Now, the acting is top-notch. Garfield is incredible and isn't afraid to cry and he weeps plenty, holding Gwen's lifeless body in his arms. Despite being thirty, he still has that boyish charm and fits the part and can show every emotion. Stone is also great though she doesn't have nearly enough to do. Foxx is also great as the lovable nerd who turns into someone who just wants to be noticed. But he has to be evil to do that. DeHaan is slick as the young heir to his father's fortune, with a permanent cold look in his eyes. Nothing can make him happy as Gwen makes Peter happy. Sally Field is also consistent as the reliable, sincere Aunt May.
The effects in this film are great and the fight in the clock tower is especially well choreographed, but despite the films good qualities, (I didn't mind the excess amounts of villains) I can't forgive them for killing Gwen, I love Emma Stone too much, she just can't die. And no matter what, I can't see Garfield with anyone else as the chemistry between him and Stone is just too great and it increases because they are dating in real life. He can't end up with Mary Jane, or anyone else. Still, this film is a great action, superhero flick and one that I mostly enjoyed. Grade: B+