Doctor Who - 5.13: "The Big Bang"

The Doctor travels back and forth through time in an attempt to save Amy, the universe and himself from never existing. Lots of laughs, thrills and sad bits in this season finale...

18 years later...Amelia's house and she reads a Dear Santa letter at Easter, which is the same scene from 5.1 The Eleventh Hour.   She wants someone to fix the crack in the wall.   She has a painting with stars and her aunt Sharon (Susan Vidler) and another woman say there are no stars in the sky and none can be seen.   (No, cos Vincent Van Gogh painted them all, okay another bad joke!)    Whilst she's listening on the stairs a man drops a leaflet through the door - left by the Doctor (Matt Smith) of course.   Marking the Pandorica exhibition and the words, "Come along Pond."  Pointing to the museum.   Amelia (Caitlin Blackwood) stops at the Dalek exhibit before slurping her drink, so you notice her drink.   A Post-It note on the Pandorica reads, "Stick around Pond."  Since her aunt couldn't find Amelia why didn't the search for heh continue, or is that the norm in museums, to leave missing children, missing.

Amelia touches the Pandorica and it opens, revealing Amy (Karen Gillan) inside.   Amy: "Okay kid, this is where it gets complicated."  Well only parts of it.

1894 years previously...Rory (Arthur Darvill) holds Amy and tells her about the universe ending in 102AD.   Rory wasn't born twice and neither was she.   Rory asks for a "ridiculous miracle." And the Doctor appears sporting a Fez and a mop.   Rory must release him from the Pandorica.   He gives Rory the Sonic and then re-appears telling him to leave it in her top pocket.   Rory releases him and the Doctor asks how he did that.    The Doctor's still got his own Sonic with him.   It's down to different points in the time stream.   Doctor: "I've got a future - that's nice."  He explains all the Daleks, Sontarans etc, were echoes, after-images, as the universe never happened.   They're the last lot to go out.  

Rory killed Amy and the Doctor describes him as a "lump of plastic with delusions of humanity" from the Nestene conscious.   The Doctor says he'd rescue Amy if she had the time, she's not as vital as the rest of the universe.   Rory punches the Doctor.   He had to be sure he's really Rory.   He's got a "bit of a plan."  The Nestenes took Amy's memory print and he locks foreheads with Amy, leaving a message for her when she wakes.   The Pandorica is the "ultimate prison, forces you to stay alive."  It will scan her living DNA in 2,000 years to restore Amy.

Amelia touched the Pandorica, it's 1996 and Amy looks at the 'Pandorica As Seen Through Time' poster on the wall.   The Doctor uses River's (Alex Kingston) time/vortex manipulator to travel back and forth.   Rory stays behind to guard Amy inside the Pandorica.   He'll be completely conscious and she'll be safer with him around.   Doctor wonders why Rory is so human.  

According to legend, the centurion was there guarding it and he was last seen during the Blitz, dragging the box from the flames.   Amy cries.   The Dalek also awakens.   The Doctor arrives, "two of you, complicated."  Rory is also there with his torch and gun hand.   Amy and Rory smooch, well 2,000 years to catch up on!  As the Doctor tells them to breathe several times.   Doctor:"Well, somebody didn't get out for 2,000 years."  The light from the Pandorica affected the Dalek.   Amelia asks for a drink.   The Doctor wears the Fez and Rory tells him he also carried a mop when he gave him the Sonic and returns back in time to give Rory the Sonic.   Amelia gives him the leaflet for him to write on and put through the letterbox and he takes Amelia's drink, when she was in the crowd to give it back to her now.   The Doctor falls down the stairs.   It's him, "me from the future."  Future Doctor whispers to present Doctor.   When they showed his double from different angles, he had more rounder cheeks than Matt does.   He's got 12 minutes to live.

Amelia's disappeared.   History is still collapsing, they're all anomalies.   Doctor: "Today just dying is a result."  Amy is adamant he won't die and time can be re-written.   The Dalek awakens once again.   They go outside on the roof, for the Doctor to look for the TARDIS.   Every star in the universe hasn't shone, then the one shining is actually exploding.   It's the TARDIS and it makes it's customary noise.   It's been keeping the Earth warm.   Rory hears River, "I'm sorry my love" repeated over and over.   Rory: "trust the plastic" pointing to his ears.   The TARDIS put River into a time loop to save her.    The Doctor enters the TARDIS: "Hi, honey I'm home."  River asks what time he calls this.   River: "What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?"  Doctor: "Fez's are cool."  The Dalek flies up to kill them.   IT will kill him in 4.5 minutes.   The restoration field from the Pandorica, when it blew up caused a time explosion, every atom was blasted, except inside the Pandorica.   The Pandorica has a memory of the universe and  light transmits the memory, that's how they'll do it.

Transmit light from the particles to every single  area of the universe - he only needs a spark for Big Bang 2.   The Dalek exterminates the Doctor, but not quite.   Amy tells River he went down 12 minutes ago and died.   River stays to destroy the Dalek - killer that she is and this part showed her dark side.   Dalek: "Records indicate you will show mercy."   She's River Song and he should check the records again.  So the daleks had records about River too.   The Dalek begs for mercy and she kills it.   The Doctor isn't downstairs but in the Pandorica.   He told them he was dead.   River: "Rule number 1: the Doctor lies."  As he said last episode.   He's done what future Doctor told him to do.  

River says reality is collapsing, speeding up and he's working on Big Bang 2.   The TARDIS is still burning.   He'll throw the Pandorica into the heart of the fire, then "let there be light."  The light would explode everywhere at once.   The vortex manipulator is wired to the box so he can fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion.   They'll wake up where they're meant to be but won't remember what happened.   The Doctor will be at the heart of the explosion, the cracks will close and he'll be trapped on the other side, the nether side.   River: "All memory of him will be purged from the universe - he will never have been born." He doesn't know River yet, "now he never will."  But River will remember him, so all memory of him won't be purged.

The Doctor talks about the girl who waited in her garden.   Amy was worth the wait.   He lied (surprise, surprise) there was a reason why he took Amy with him.   Her house was too big, where were her parents.   Amy lost them, she can't remember.   The crack in time was eating at her life.   Amy Pond, all alone.  "The girl who didn't make sense, how could I resist...nothing is ever forgotten, not really." She must remember her family and they'll be there.   The universe is pouring into her head, she brought Rory back.   So will he be brought back.   Amy won't have her imaginary friend anymore.  "Amy Pond crying over me - guess what - gotcha."  River receives a message from the Doctor: "Geronimo."  He sacrifices himself, knowing Amy will remember and he'll return!

Flashes to past episodes, 5.11, 5.12 and he wakes up in the TARDIS.   "Bow tie, cool."  He tells Amy about the automated sand, but he's rewinding, erasing.  The crack appears in the monitor of the TARDIS.  "Hello universe, goodbye Doctor!"

Episode 5.11 The Lodger, shows Amy having put the card in the window and she can hear him.   The crack appears on the road.  Episode 5.5: where he told her she has to trust him.   What he told her when she was 7: she must remember and leaves.   This Doctor was from the future.

Amelia's house when she was 7, when she waited and fell asleep in the garden.   He carries her to her room and tells her a story, so she'll remember him.   If she could hear him, he could hang on.  "Silly old Doctor."  She won't remember him - only a little, a story in her head: "a daft old man who stole a magic box." (He borrowed it as will be said in 6.4 The Doctor's Wife.)  She'll dream about the box: "big and little at the same time.   Brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever."  (What he really means is 'something old, something, new, something borrowed, something blue.')

The times they had still in her dreams.  "The Doctor and Amy Pond and the days that never came." The crack is closing and closes completely when he's on the other side, he doesn't belong here.  "I hate repeats - live well, love Rory.   Bye bye Pond."  Amy wakes to her wedding day and her parents are back.  Amy calls Rory, she's forgotten something important but she can't remember.   Her father, Augustus (Halcro Johnston) will need some more time for the speech.   Amy sees River outside but doesn't know her.   She left a blue book for her.   Amy's crying, she's sad.   River's journal is just like the TARDIS from the outside.  Rory reminds Amy of the old wedding saying.   The journal is empty.   Amy notices the bow tie on the boy and a man's braces.   A tear falls onto the journal.   Someone important is missing.   Amy recalls her imaginary friend.  "The raggedy Doctor, my raggedy Doctor - I remember you...and you are late for my wedding!" The brand new, ancient blue box.   Something old etc.

The TARDIS materializes (surprised none of the guest passed out from the shock.)   Rory remembers the Doctor.   How could they forget him.   He didn't expect that - so that's why he had his suit and bow tie now.   Amy wants to kiss him again!  But he's here to dance.   Doctor: "2,000 years, the boy who waited, good on you mate."  The TARDIS lands in Amy's garden and River asks if he danced.   He always dances at weddings.   "Spoilers."  There's writing in her journal but he didn't look.   (Hell, we'd have looked!) The Doctor asks if she's married.   River: "Are you asking?"
Doctor: "Yes."
River: "Yes."
Doctor: "Did you think I was asking you to marry me, or asking if you were married?"
River: "Yes."
Doctor: "Was that a yes or a yes?" He asks who she is and he'll find out soon.
River: "Yes and I'm sorry that's when everything changes."

The Doctor returns her vortex manipulator.   He tells her the TARDIS exploded for a reason, but why now.  "The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there."  The phone rings, there's an Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express in space. Amy and Rory go with him.   That would have made for a good Christmas episode.

Rory tells Amy's parents the Doctor was a stripper at his stag do (from the Vampires of Venice epsiode) and that he was plastic, did they need to know.  The first scene of this episode is reminiscent of 5.1 but the Doctor doesn't crash into Amelia's garden.  The Doctor in the episode Flesh and Stone is from the future, as the current Doctor in that episode didn't have his jacket.   Amy stroking the cat wasn't seen in 5.11.   (But the Doctor later spoke with the cat on the stairs.)  The crack in the road wasn't shown in this same episode either.

The Doctor mentions his legs when he wakes up in the TARDIS and he said the same in the episode, The End of Time.   The Fez scene and the Doctor holding the mop was also done by the seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) in Silver Nemesis Part 1.   Amy's line is also repeated from the episode In Space and Time : "Okay Kiddo...complicated," when she was in two places at once.

Lots going on in this episode and plenty of tear jerking moments too and not just for Amy when she recalled the Doctor at the end.   Rory instantly remembered him too; as the Doctor said, she was the one who had to remember him.   The Doctor in 5.12 said to Amy he lies and River tells her the same here.   He even tells her later that he lied when he took her with him.

The Doctor and River now making those comments about being married or not; and if he's asking her, now asked by them two.   Before it was Amy who asked River and the Doctor and he seemed to answer dubiously, with a double meaning.   I.e.  you could take it to mean they were married, or they weren't.   But why will things not be the same between River and the Doctor, since everything has yet to happen between them: Amy and Rory - in their future.   River wasn't giving anything away again as to what happened to the Doctor in this episode, as she already knew.

There was a paradox here: the Doctor could only escape and tell Rory what to do; after Rory had gotten him out of the Pandorica.   One reason why it could be confusing to viewers.   Once again, Matt Smith portrays the Doctor with much emotion, especially when he's in the Pandorica doing what must be done; not once, but twice, since he then has to step into the crack in the wall, which is just waiting for him to no longer exist.   What a spectacular and elaborate scenario dreamt up by the Nestene conscious just to rid the universe of the Doctor; but why did they have the Pandorica keep him alive, making it possible for him to return and save the day and the universe.   Seems they didn't realize that or neglected to think about it when attempting to save themselves.   As well as not thinking about the consequences that the universe will be destroyed irrespective of them holding him prisoner in there.

No one said this, but it was as if the universe was enacting its revenge on the Doctor for interfering in matters and the world where she shouldn't have.   Also the Silence being mentioned for a reason, viz, for the purposes of season 6.

Merlin - 3.3: "Goblin's Gold" REview

Merlin lets loose a goblin on Camelot, which after entering Gaius' body demands gold from everyone. Great laughs in this one as we get away from the tensions of the past two episodes, before getting some more darker stories later.

Whilst on a quest for a book for Gaius (Richard Wilson), Merlin (Colin Morgan) chances upon a secret room in the library and sets loose a goblin, which proceeds to cause havoc on Camelot.   This is Merlin's comedic episode, as every series of the show has at least one or two episodes that are played purely for laughs.   A case of Merlin opening Pandora's box, instead of leaving things alone.

The goblin had been trapped in the box for over 50 years and now he's out; he's going to have fun...and breaks things.  The goblin appeared to be Merlin's answer to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

The goblin escapes Merlin's attempts to ensnare him and starts to throw books around, incidentally, actually throwing the one Merlin was looking for.  Then scours the castle in search of gold.

Arthur chances upon Merlin and his messy bed chamber.   Merlin was doing a bit of Spring cleaning.   The goblin steals Morgana's (Katie McGrath) healing bracelet.

Arthur (Bradley James) warns them not to laugh if they all value their lives, before he shows them Uther (Anthony Head) -- he's been turned bald by the goblin.   (Most probably their take on The King and I.  They can't help laughing, before Gaius tells Merlin what Uther would have done to the one who set the goblin free.

Arthur (shirtless, yet again!)  Merlin steals Arthur's gold coins to set a trap.  Arthur is awoken by Merlin's presence, so Merlin magically throws the bed curtain over Arthur.

Trying to lure the goblin with the gold, the goblin turns himself into a ball of light and enters Gaius' body, taking him over.  (How could Merlin not have seen that coming?)  Gaius, as the goblin, relishes licking the gold coins!  Then heads to the tavern.  Here Gaius arm wrestles for more gold and then tells the knight, "You don't look so good yourself, what's your excuse."

Next day, Gaius orders Merlin to fetch his breakfast from the market, whilst he has another lick of his gold coins.  Morgana asks Gaius for a sleeping draft as her healing bracelet has been stolen.  (Wonder why she couldn't just magic herself to sleep.)  Gaius refuses her request and can see right through Morgana.  She has a "cold heart."  She might be able to fool Uther, but she can't fool the goblin.  He tells her what she desires: to see Uther dead and Camelot destroyed.  "There is evil in your heart."  And Morgana fears the truth.  He casts a spell on her sleeping draft.  And suggests she should count sheep like everyone else.

Gaius goes around town giving remedies to people, only in return for money.  (Good to see Richard Wilson back in the comedy role for which he's well known for in the UK.)  He even manages to get a gold coin from Gwen.  If she doesn't oblige she'll end up with boils on her face.  He gives Uther a potion to help restore his hair, before engaging in some head slapping to restore the circulation in Uther's scalp.

Merlin challenges the goblin when he spies him licking the gold coins, but the goblin tells him anything he does will only hurt Gaius, if he kills the goblin, Gaius will die too.

Arthur explains the incidences of looting the night before, whilst Uther, Gwen (Angel Coulby), and Morgana all relieve their flatulence.  Uther has taken to wearing a hat for his baldness and demands a remedy for the affliction.  Gaius goes on to cure Uther from his baldness and his flatulence.

Merlin reveals his magic and his secret to the goblin, but the goblin is safe since he can cause as much damage as he wants to Merlin, but not vice versa.  Gaius is abusive to the librarian and tells him to "lose some weight, fatty!"

Arthur arrests Merlin and brings him before Uther, explaining he was responsible for their "afflictions."  Gaius tells of the magic book he found in in Merlin's chamber and says he's been taken over by a goblin, corrupted by magic.  Uther sentences Merlin to death for using magic.

Gaius heads to the tavern once more and here he insults the knights, before backing down, he's had too much to drink; then spikes their ale.

Merlin needs to get hold of the key to escape from the dungeon, but why, when he could have just used magic on the lock itself?  He seeks refuge at Gwen's house.  Gaius then accuses Arthur of incompetence and apologizes.  Merlin tells Gwen they need to force out the goblin from Gaius' body, she needs to convince Arthur of this.  However, Gwen is embarrassed and won't go to Arthur after her bout of flatulence!  Even though everyone does it, it's not in public and she wouldn't fart in front of Arthur because she has feelings for him.  Merlin reassures her Arthur likes her irrespective of her warts and farts.  She tells Merlin she doesn't have any warts.

Arthur offers Gaius a drink for ridding him of his lazy servant; he'll be hanged tomorrow.  (What, and not burnt.)  This was a test on Arthur's part and confirms his suspicions, as Gaius wouldn't want to see Merlin hanged.  Arthur is knocked out.  Gwen finds Arthur in his chamber, braying like a donkey and with donkey's ears!  He scratches behind his ear, to which Merlin can only laugh.

Merlin's plan is to make Gaius die so that the goblin will leave his body.  He can then trap the goblin back into the lead-lined box.  That was a big clue as to saving Gaius which Merlin missed, when the goblin said if he kills it, then he'll be killing Gaius too, which Merlin had to look up in a book!  The knights from the tavern have boils on their faces and Gaius wants gold before he cures them.

The antidote must be given to Gaius a few seconds after he dies.  Gaius licks the gold coins with the poison, but Gwen slips and drops the antidote bottle, mixing it up with the other bottles.  The goblin enters Merlin's mouth, but he manages to spit him out into the box.  Merlin administers the antidote.

Gaius confesses to Uther that he was responsible, allowing Uther to pardon Merlin.  Uther asks who let it out.  The goblin is put back into the vaults.  Gwen and Arthur decide not to mention their awkward moments.  Arthur still brays like a donkey when he laughs and Merlin tells Gaius he's leaving him like that for another day.

How could Merlin be able to undo the magic the goblin did, when he wasn't able to restore Uther's hair, or cure their flatulence, the boils and everything else the goblin did?  If the goblin sensed Morgana's evil, does this mean other magical creatures can do the same?  Also, showing that the goblin wasn't purely evil or bad, just greedy and mischievous.

CSI: NY - 1.6: "Outside Man" Review

Mac lets Danny be lead on a case involving the shooting of several staff in a diner. Whilst Stella and Mac investigate a leg found in an alley. Danny is heading for promotion to Second Grade after solving his case.

In the first story, people with plastic bags over their heads beg for their lives, before being shot.   One survives.   The police arrive to find two DBs in the basement.   Terrel (Greg Davis Jnr) is found upstairs.   There's another DB behind the counter.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) asks Flack (Eddie Cahill) to get the paramedics to preserve the duct tape, used to tie them.   To bag their hands and to use gloves.   Flack relays what happened as the uniforms had to break in, the door was locked.   There were two DBs on the floor next to the counter.   The back door to the alley was open.  The alarms weren't on and the place closed at 11pm.   Danny: "sounds like an inside job."  Mac (Gary Sinise) "then that's where we'll start...you're in charge.   Your three years in promotion to Second Grade doesn't come easy."

There's a dumpster upstairs and down.   Danny: "This would be the deep end we've been thrown in."  Danny and Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) process the CS together, double checking each other and move out from the centre.   Surprised there was any or much evidence left after the number of people who would have trampled through there.   Still it was a bloody scene.   Flacks IDs a woman as Gina Robeson, the waitress.   Jared Perkins was the cook.   Danny finds a .32 calibre Magnum was used, there were no extractor marks, so the shooter used a revolver.   Firing 5 shots.   Aiden comments he needed to be calm.   Octavia was with the night deposit and was planning a trip.

The plastic bags used were identical on every Vic so the shooter didn't being any.   Aiden asks why he bothered bagging the heads.   Danny: "I'd stick to the how."  (Like Nick (George Eads) and Cat (Marg Helgenberger) in CSI.)  He didn't bring any duct tape with him and so he knew about the bags, bringing only what he needed.   Aiden believes it could be a robbery since wallets and jewellery were taken from the DBs, then asks why they were killed this time.   She's persistent with her 'whys'  Danny: "it was worth it to someone."

In the second story, a leg is found in an alley.   Mac comments the lower leg is 15% of the body's weight.   Stella adds "all we have to do is find the other 85%."  Yeah that was funny.

Danny examines the Vic in the kitchen who suffered a single, medium shot to the back, no powder burns, contact head wound, muzzle stamp and burns to the temple.   Misting spatter on the oven shows he was shot there.   There's blood on the phone so Terrel called for help.   Aiden says this makes him a hero.   He carried Octavia upstairs and called for help.   Danny calls the shooter cool enough to reload but he left the casing behind carelessly.   Danny again calls it an 'inside job' and asks how they all got shot.

Hawkes (Hill Harper) conducts a medical exam on the leg which shows signs of stabbing and cuts.   There's scar tissue in the wound, a femur injury caused by a power drill.   The bone was cut with a high speed saw, a surgical amputation.   He doesn't think there was anything wrong with the leg.   There's a rod in the tibia from which he collects a serial number.  Which comes back as a match to Frank Herzberg (Laurence N Kolder).   Doctor Willems (Patrick Bauchau) tells them Frank was cleaning his gun and it went off, a lesser surgeon would have amputated it and he saw him several months ago.

Danny looks at a model of the cafe layout, with the DBs laid out according to the evidence of the shooter.   Someone let him in.   Aiden goes over the sequence of events: Octavia was downstairs.   Lipstick with Gina's DNA is found upstairs.   Patel had cleaning fluid.   Jared and Terrel were eating upstairs.   Hawkes found traces of sucrose in Jared's teeth, he was a known user of drugs.   Danny finds blue fibres on the edge of the tape.   Aiden finds a print on the tape.   The blue fibres could be from a carpet, from anywhere.   The tape has Terrel's print.

Mac and Stella go to Frank's apartment and find him dead on the bed with a missing leg.   Mac says that's the other 85%.   So not funny either.   The EMT (Michael B Silver) talks to the police at the scene.   Mac notices signs of putrefaction, showing he was dead 24 hours.   Gangrene speeds up decomposition.   He knew he was dying.   Mac: "Everything's odd about this place, including time."  That was a clue.   A blood stain on the floor is revealed by luminol.   The leg was amputated here.   Frank was married and there's a file of people with missing limbs in photos.   Stella finds a finger in the fridge.   Stella: "This place gives a whole new meaning to the term chop shop."  Trust her to come up with a line like that.

Octavia is dead.   She had children and a brother.   Terrel didn't see anything and claims his prints were on the tape cos the shooter made him tape the others first and them himself.   Danny needs to prove the killer was allowed to enter.   There are prints on the key, belonging to Najiv Patel, the print was smeared, trying to open the door.   Danny does a complete 180 turn and works from the outside in, that was a clue to this case.   They talk to themselves here and they didn't do much of that later on, when processing a CS and putting the evidence together.

Hawkes finds there was nothing wrong with the finger either.   A handsaw was used to finish off the amputation, but why?  'Why' seems to be the question for this episode.   The finger is a match to Joe Garford.  (Paul Perri)  Stella: "Only takes one print to finger someone."  Oh here we go again.   Frank was oppressed by his leg and wanted it removed.   He didn't feel complete until it was removed.   They were "wannabes," wanted to be amputees.   Some have surgery for this.   Frank's wife, Deidre (Kristen Shaw) shows them a photo from their honeymoon, only in Frank's one there's no leg.   Frank was planning on doing this.   Joe came up with new ideas to remove a leg.   The condition is known as "Apotemnophilia" i.e.  Body Integrity Identity Disorder: where part of a body is hated.

Danny believes they'll find something in the dumpster so he and Aiden go on trash duty once more.   He finds syringes. "One's a fake, two's a pattern, three's a suspect."  A bloody fingerprint from the syringe is identified to Jose, but the blood is Octavia's.   Luis (Jacob Vargas) tells them the children are his and he was let in before they locked up.   Jose says the back door was open.   Terrel hasn't seen Jose before.   Danny has to move forward by going back, follow the trace to see if they missed something.   There's a palm print on the front door, so someone looked through it.  It's  match to Lemar Adams, ( De'angelo Wilson) he wears a blue wristband, but claims he saw nothing.

The wristband doesn't match the blue fibres, which are synthetic not cotton.   Aiden says she has good news, the main component of the tape is aluminino silicate, with traces of zirconium.   Danny knows zirconium oxide is heat resistant and is used mainly in car repairs.   Two different duct tapes were used.   The distributor of the tapes is cross referenced.

The Tox report on Frank shows he had post-operation prescriptions, only available in the hospital, pointing to the doctor.   Stella discovers he has a history of removing limbs in Holland, but he won't risk his career, claiming drugs are stolen everyday.

The duct tape is narrowed down to 5 auto shops and muffler tape.  One is owned by Luis.   Danny looks at his car and finds a duct tape imprint from the roll in the boot/trunk on blue carpet.   This tape was found on Octavia's neck.   Flack searches his apartment, taking it as informed consent on Luis' part.   But comes up empty.   They look a the dumpster at the shop.   Aiden: "You think we got enough experience going through other people's garbage?"  Danny: "Notice how we always get put on trash detail." Yeah we did.   Aiden: "when you make it to second Grade - it's be a thing of the past, my friend."  Danny: "from your lips to God's ear."

Hawkes reconstructed the bone.   The femur end was intact and he sawed some samples.   The dark area could represent a burn mark.   Stella saws the leg and there's a power shortage.   The clock's stopped.   She finds a print on the fuse box in the apartment.   The paramedic did it.    Mac's says there was an electricity failure.   The EMT carried out the surgery and had to finish with a handsaw.   He took his gloves off first and left the print.   He needed the money and was a pre-med student.   Mac asks him about the Hippocratic Oath.

Danny and Aiden examine the trash at Luis' garage and find a plastic bag, identical to the ones used on the Vics.   The ends are compared from the roll, until one matches the bag.   Octavia was going to leave with Luis' kids to escape her brother.   Mac tells Danny he's on the promotional grid, but Danny hates how life is so ordinary and then one day it hits you.   He's not really bothered about promotion in that instance and Mac should have realized that.

Great episode in showing so much of Danny's character and his dedication to the job.   No wonder he was singled out for promotion.   The last scene with him is so touching, showing he truly cares and how deeply this case has affected him.  Outside Man, Luis was looking in and Danny had to go from outside in to investigate.

Though the two stories were heavy in terms of the violence factor: one where people were robbed of their lives and one where people weren't really aware of how lucky they were to be alive, robbing themselves of their limbs.   Although it is a disease, can't help thinking it's all so senseless; as were the needless and senseless murders.   How far is it to drive to Albany to see his kids.   Plenty of forensics involved in this episode, especially with story 1, Danny keeps calm and doesn't vent his emotions until he's solved the case.   Also it was more about the 'why?' rather than the 'how?'   This was one of Carmine's fave episodes.

Desperate Housewives - 8.12: "What's the Good of Being Good" Review

Bree continues in her downward spiral of drink and men. Claudia comes looking for Alejandro. Ben admits to Renee he wanted her for her money and Lynette dates.

Mary Alice: "Bree Van de Kamp had always enjoyed a sterling reputation...kind to strangers and for greeting them with a warm welcome...never had the heart to turn anyone away...her generosity knew no bounds." Bree (Marcia Cross) tells her latest conquest to leave, as she's clearly out of control when it comes to men.  The alarm rings so that Karen (Kathryn Joosten) doesn't see them leaving her house.   Bree isn't in a relationship with anyone.   Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) "Yes Bree had always enjoyed a sterling reputation and she saw no reason that should change."

Mary Alice: "In the life of every housewife there comes a time for renovation...when a romantic evening becomes an unsightly mess - sometimes the only thing that needs to be removed is a memory."  Gaby (Eva Longoria) wants her place redecorated by Renee (Vanessa Williams) and Lynette (Felicity Huffman), especially the room where Alejandro carked it.   Lynette has other ideas in wanting them to set her up on a date.   Gaby responds it's a challenge setting her up.   Lynette feels someone must like her qualities.   Renee thinks Lynette always wins and gets her own way cos she's so feisty.

Bree finds a man still in her bed when Karen comes over wanting help with the bake sale.   Karen sees the man. So much for Bree trying to hide him, and she saw the others too, as well as the empty wine bottle.   Ben (Charles Mesure) is getting rid of his fave stuffed swordfish for Renee.   Claudia (Justina Machado) arrives in search of Alejandro/Ramon.

Renee confirms her appointment with Frank, (Patrick Fabian) her hair dresser, who likes Lynette's hair.   Lynette wants a date with him.   Claudia plasters missing posters of Alejandro everywhere on the Lane and in the papers, which Gaby sees.   Susan (Teri Hatcher) tells her what she did in Oklahoma and Gaby asks when her guilt will end.   Susan saw that look in Marissa's (Daniela Bobadilla) eyes that she's seen in Gaby eyes before.   Marissa hasn't told anyone and Gaby thinks she should just talk about it.  She agrees to talk to Claudia.  "The one woman who's gonna tell her the truth about her husband."

Frank's ex wanted things her own way like Lynette.   She wants to help Frank as a motivational technique she just can't help herself.   Rev Sikes (Dakin Matthews) finds Bree at a bar cos Karen blabbed, well she had her best interests at heart or was it just the bake sale she was worried about?   Rev doesn't believe Bree's behaviour is representative of who she really is.   Bree says she'll find out who she is in a bar.  

Lynette works out a business pan for Frank.   Next day he messes up Renee's hair cos of Lynette.  She looks like an "extra from Foxy Brown."  Ben proposes to Renee.   She opens up not trusting anyone until he came along.   He sees sense and takes the ring back, admitting he wanted to marry her for the money but she doesn't wait to hear him say he loves her.

Marissa hasn't told anyone about being abused by Alejandro and Gaby tells Claudia about him.   Take it Renee's moved out of Bree's place then, obviously so Bree could bring men over.   Lynette knows Renee was right about her and Renee is determined Lynette can do anything she wants.   Ben meets with the loan shark (Sal Landi) who finds out where Mike (James Denton) lives, so we know what's coming next...  

Claudia decides to leave and Gaby tells her about her own mother not believing her and she sees the red stain on the carpet again.   She advises Gaby should get rid of it, so she knows about him.

Bree bakes and drinks and makes a nuisance of herself at the sale especially when she finds out Greg (Cameron Mathison) is married and his wife confronts her.   Bree: "Every bake sale needs a tart." She's really let herself go and for what?  There's no one around to see her falling to pieces and her friends don't want to know her.   Thus the cavalry will arrive with Orson no doubt.   Also so much for the wife calling her a whore, what about her letting her husband get away with sleeping around!  Yeah well the man never gets the blame for such things.   It's always the woman's fault oh sorry was I ranting.

Mary Alice: "Yes in the life of every housewife there comes a time for renovation...she may be doing away with an unpleasant memory...but no matter how a housewife may embrace the life she's making, the people in her street, may take a different view." So Bree decides to act like the street whore now in public.   Bree's storyline just gets recycled over.   She has been on the drinking binge, going after men bender before and quite frankly it's getting old.   Hard to believe Claudia accepted what happened to Alejandro so easily, even if he was an abuser.   She doesn't seem like the type to just back down.   Though Gaby saw sense and told her the truth for Marissa's sake.

Lynette was just Lynette.   Can't imagine her changing for anyone, she didn't even try when she was on the date and it was played for laughs that scene.   Yes but it is the series finale after all, so they could have had her making an effort.   Renee finally didn't want anything more to do with Ben when he came clean about wanting money.   He could have asked her for a loan without proposing but now she doesn't even want to hear him out.   At least she didn't stay with him just cos of wanting/needing a man - as she would have done last season.   So she's come some way in changing.   Susan still remains dormant Susan.   Still guilt ridden.   Next thing you know she'll feel guilty over bringing Claudia down and her finding out Marissa suffered the same way Gaby did.

Bree becoming the very thing at the end of the episode that she despised at the start: people seeing her as a drunken whore and her criticizing Greg's wife over her "dry muffins" was a gem.   It was an appropriate episode title for for Bree. What's the point of being good, if you're gonna get found out?   This applies to Bree.   Also Ben admitting he wants Renee's money when he ended up losing her.

On the downside Lynette's awful Brit accent!  Susan being seen as a husband stealing skank again, as in the episode That's Good, That's Bad, where Carol Prudy thought she was with her husband, Addison, who was actually Susan's birth father.

The Vampire Diaries - 3.10: "The New Deal" Review

Klaus announces his intentions to stay in Mystic Falls and demands his family back by threatening Elena's family. Stefan admits to Damon why he foiled their plan to kill Klaus.

We open with Bonnie (Kat Graham) at the haunted house to find four coffins there, which obviously Stefan (Paul Wesley) has hidden there.   But she's dreaming.   Elena (Nina Dobrev) is followed by a man when she's out jogging and bumps into her from the other end of the street.   She tells Bonnie she's becoming paranoid and asks Bonnie if it's a "witch dream" she had.  

Stefan betrayed them and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is drinking at the bar (so what else is new, "brunch in a bottle,")  wanting Alaric (Matt Davis) to join him.   Damon can drink but then "somebody's getting naked." Ooh Damon, not again.   Alaric is waiting for Jeremy (Steven R McQueen) who failed his midterm.   He's also been fired.   Tyler (Michael Trevino) and Jeremy bond, kind of out shooting cans in the woods with arrows.   Alaric is Jeremy's guardian and Tyler dares Jeremy to shoot an arrow at him, which he catches.

Elena describes Jeremy as moody and not talking to anyone. You'd be mistaken for thinking she was describing Damon, who tells her Jeremy still has her.   Damon doesn't have any "attractive look." Klaus (Joseph Morgan) shows up along with Tony, (Zane Stephens) the man Elena saw whilst jogging.   Rebekah (Claire Holt) is missing and he breaks the news about staying in mystic Falls.   Elena says his family is his and Stefan's problem and not hers.

Bonnie goes to the house and finds it empty, except Stefan arrives too.   He followed her here and has Klaus's family.   He needs to keep them hidden as his family is his weakness.   Such as it is for Stefan and Damon and Elena and her family too, as well as her friends.   Elena knows Tyler is dangerous.

Damon drinks again and senses Klaus behind him.   Damon never misses the chance to drink to an epic failure of a plan.  Damon and Klaus appear to bond over their respective siblings, not that they're best buds or anything.   Alaric asks Tyler what the difference is between sired and compelled.   Being sired means having the faith to do something cos it's right.   Tyler doesn't serve Klaus and Tyler is indebted to him for freeing him from a curse.   He'd follow him blindly, hey this was my line, then Elena talks about his blind faith, as does Jeremy.   Tyler has the ability to make his own decisions, that's what he thinks.

Damon: "bond over the mutual loathing of my brother."  Damon doesn't work for him and Klaus knows he's been drinking vervain so he can't compel him so Klaus needs a demo of violence to drive the point home, no pun.   He calls Jeremy.   Alaric comments on Tyler's weird cult logic after his explanation of being sired and Jeremy has left his ring behind and stands in the middle of the road, leaving Alaric to save him from an SUV, driven by Tony.   Klaus has a new compulsion.   Tyler tells Klaus he thought he was only sending a message and didn't think he'd kill anyone.   Klaus wants him to get over his guilty conscience.  Not another one.

Tyler took Jeremy's bracelet and Damon tells Elena Klaus is sending them a message.   Jeremy wants to leave town.   Elena decides to give Klaus Rebekah in return for Jeremy's life but Damon warns she'll come after Elena.   Elena tells Bonnie about the coffins and her dreams and Damon and Elena go to the haunted house.   Damon thinks witches are fickle, Klaus said that about Rebekah.   Damon burns once he steps inside the house, so from outside he listens to Stefan and Elena.   Stefan refuses to give Klaus anything and her family is not his problem.   Elena slaps him, like that'll hurt.   That's what Elena said to Klaus, about his family being Klaus's problem.

What Damon puts himself through to see Stefan as he goes back into the house.   Damon doesn't care about the coffins and they fight outside.   Damon stakes him as payback for messing up his plan.   Stefan did it to save Damon from Klaus's hybrids if the plan had worked.   Damon: "Stop saving me."  Tyler didn't think Klaus would kill Jeremy cos he doesn't know Klaus at all.   He's naive, even after Klaus was going to use Caroline in the ritual.   Jeremy posits everytime Klaus is involved someone gets killed.

Alaric is dead again and wakes coughing up blood.   Tony compels the paramedics to leave and she can use his blood to save Alaric.   Jeremy turns up and shoots an arrow in his back and then hacks off his head.   That's another mess for Damon to clear up no doubt.   Damon asks why Stefan saved him and he doesn't reply.   Damon commenting he "invented deflection." So it won't work on him.   Stefan wants to use Klaus's family against him.   Klaus can't live forever and there has to be another way.   Damon wants in cos he's better at "cutthroat decisions."  It'll be between the two of them.   SO that's another plan, how long before that goes awry too.

He goes inside and shows Damon the coffins which are still there, the witch spirits are hiding them with their powers, which explains why Bonnie was dreaming about them.   Dr Meredith Fell (Torrey DeVitto) wants to know Alaric's secret and wonders if he has a guardian angel or sold his soul.   He replies a bit of both.   Elena gives Klaus Rebeka back.   Klaus tells her anyone can be next, Caroline, Bonnie or Damon, if he doesn't find his family.   Stefan doesn't care about her anymore, that's what she thinks so he's Klaus's problem.   Elena warns Rebekah wants Klaus dead cos she knows he killed their mother.

Alaric has Damon's blood to thank for keeping him alive.   Jeremy knows things like this will always happen.   Damon took care of the DB as said and Elena admits she returned Rebekah and she doesn't trust Stefan.   Jeremy can't live like this, he's only 16.  Klaus tells Rebekah it took a thousand years to get home and daggers her - they'll meet again one day.   Is that cos sister dear will get him for killing their mother.  Oh Elena had to blab.   Damon has their 'talk' with Jeremy and compels him to leave town.  "You have a better life."

Bonnie sees the coffins in the house but Stefan can't open them. They've been closed with a spell, so perhaps what's inside is their answer.   Damon tells Elena Stefan saved his life and calls himself an idiot and shouldn't feel guilty anymore "for wanting what I want."  He kisses Elena so he has something to feel guilty about.   That was coming.   Since Elena kissed him last season, this time he kisses her.   That kiss most were expecting, it was that apparent, others didn't want it cos Elena belongs with Stefan, though she's having more doubts than usual about this now and that kiss made a lot of people jealous!!  Cos Damon doesn't belong with Elena, he's mine, er, I mean ours!

Funny how Tyler was the one to tell Jeremy how to kill a hybrid, from their little tete a tete in the woods.   Jeremy also invites Tyler into their home - silly boy - for dinner, thus allowing him to feed off anyone, oh you know what I mean, if the need ever arises and all that, especially since he's in league with Klaus.   Rebekah can't really be dead cos he just daggers her all over and suppose she had to go cos of mommie dearest and knowing he offed her.

Damon appears to be more human than Stefan - though he doesn't like to admit it, thus he does the so very human thing and snogs Elena cos vampires don't have guilty consciences, not all of them.   More importantly, yeah cos that kiss meant nothing, ha.  why is Klaus so hell bent on getting the coffins back and is so protective of them?   Granted his family is in there - but does that mean his entire family, including his mother cos we don't know what Klaus did with her after the killed her?  

Bonnie says whatever is inside "is their answer." Anyway his mother did put a curse on him.   Also the witches are helping to hide the coffins in plain sight and Bonnie hasn't mentioned she saw Klaus in her dream too, inside one of the coffins with a necklace around his neck, not too dissimilar to Elena's necklace.   (No doppelganger theories please cos that'd be too obvious and too Elena/Katherine.)  She could have seen Klaus inside the coffin as a foreboding of the future instead.

Klaus: "My sister is missing..."
Damon: "Cute, blonde bombshell.   Psycho.  Shouldn't be too hard to find."  Hey, was the description necessary?

CSI: NY - 1.5: "A Man a Mile" Review

Mac, Flack and Danny investigate the death of one of New York's tunnel builders, whilst Aiden and Stella delve into the murder of a student attending a private school for rich girls.

Underground workers known as the 'NYC Sandhogs' blow up a tunnel and one man gets left behind.   He's later found under the rubble.  Identified as Pete Riggs (Eric Ritter) who has been on site ten years.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) appears to be nervous about going underground and Mac (Gary Sinise) asks him if he's bathophobic (fear of depth.)  Danny: "I'm not anything-phobic, just a few things that shake me up..."  One of them being a 100 feet of granite between "me and daylight."  Mac adds they're going to work the same way here as the men do, "rock by rock."  A sandhog is anyone who helps in building tunnels, even if they're not actually in the tunnel, they're still one of them.   The Vic wasn't shot or stabbed before the explosion but there's trace under his fingernails, which are covered with a plastic bag to protect the evidence.   The DA wants the site cleared and running.   This is described as an accident.   The Sandhogs measure progress by a man a mile (alluding to the title) because that's the deathrate.

In the second story, Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) and Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) investigate a DB found in a water creek.   Hannah was DOA and her mother is from Broxdale, where they lived.   She filed a missing persons report as she left home three nights ago and never came back.   She went to a friend's house to study, a Melissa Westley (Shashawnee Hall).   What's surprising is that she was her friend, or at least claimed to be and yet, she didn't realize she was missing, or more likely didn't care.   Which should have sent danger signs flashing.   They question the girls and Aiden tells them she went to a school like theirs.   They find clothes with their labels cut off in the lockers.   Aiden admits she lied about going to such a school since "they cut through the attitude if they think you're one of them."  A uniform represents social equality.

Hawkes (Hill Harper) carries out  the autopsy on the Vic in story one.   He comments a human skull  has 206 bones, 200 were broken in the Vic.   He suffered multiple fractures and he was hit on the head before the explosion and the COD was asthma.   Pete didn't have an inhaler.   Blood was found on the tracks and the walls of the tunnel.   His inhaler is found near the phone and is empty.   Mac notices the evidence leads to one direction where he died but that he was moved, somehow, ending up in a different place.   Danny doesn't suspect this was an accident and Mac believes he knew he was going to die.

The medical exam on Hannah reveals peticule hemorrhaging.   She was dead before she ended up in the water, she had been drinking and there was a gold fleck found in her throat.   Mike (Tom Zito) tells them he didn't see Pete leave the tunnel and Joe Riggs (Joe Sikora) believes it was an accident.   Danny gives Joe his card if he wants to talk.  Their code is that every man comes out of the tunnel.   They examine Pete's clothes.   Danny knows his brother, Joe has something to say.   Mac: "Based on?"  Danny can tell.     Why not have Flack (Eddie Cahill) bring him in.   Mac: "Danny, your intuition is great."
 Danny: "But let's see what the evidence has to say first." Mac takes a sample from the foreman's shirt and sees if it matches Pete.

Aiden tests different belts to match the markings around Hannah's neck.   The crocodile skin one matches the ligature marks around her neck.   Gold leaf was found in her throat as Stella explains she was a floater so it could have come from the river.   Diatoms, like algae were also found and act like sponges, absorbing whatever was in the water.   Such as lead cadmium.

Mac talks about the theory of quantum physics and his, "everything's connected" theory.   Danny finds the presence of blood on Al McGrath's (Mel Rodriguez) ring and they fought after work.   He hit him cos he insulted the rangers.   The ring is important and it appears somebody had his ear "Tyson-ed."  An impression is taken so the Vic's teeth can be matched to the bite mark, but there isn't a match.   Danny is confused if the bite mark wasn't made by Pete, then why lie.   Mac: "Depends on what the truth is."  The dental impressions are a match to Al.   Mac doesn't think Al's lying, but covering for someone.   This is no longer murder, but conspiracy.   Pete dropped his keys one day and Mike got hit on the head.   He bit Al.

Stella and Aiden find that the creek has an ebb tide causing an eddy effect.   The current travels South until it hits an obstruction and then reverses.   She was thrown into the water in the North, where people dump things illegally.   The entire area is industrial.   Aiden finds Matt Paulson, (Joshua Leonard) Tina's (Sarah Foret) brother opened a club there.

There are no prints or trace found on Pete's inhaler.   Pete was careless and he wasn't responsible for him but his men.   The Sandhogs operate like a union, forming a bond like the Marines.  something which Mac should know all about seeing as he used to be a Marine too.   Danny: "Well if the evidence isn't talking, we gotta fill in the blanks somehow,"  when they reach a stumbling block.   Mac: "We have pieces of evidence, there's nothing conclusive yet."  Joe will find he doesn't have a brother anymore and in my world, "a guys gotta protect himself and his family.   I mean who would you protect your brother, or some union."  You can see Danny is all about family here, even before we find he has a brother too and get any real background on him.   Seems like everytime Danny wants to talk from the heart or about family, Mac shoots him down in favour of the evidence.

Hanna and Tina went to England.   Matt denies Hanna was at the club with Tina.   The surveillance camera doesn't work.   Stella notices cameras that do work outside and the footage shows Tina entering the club with a bag.   Matt and Hanna kiss and are seen by Tina.   Hanna had a crush on Matt and Stella feigns the need to use the restroom at their house, which she never did again in any subsequent episode.   She sees a horn with a strap attached.   Tina was bloodied in a foxhunt.

Mac comments on "pieces of evidence" again.  
Danny: "You made that clear.   I just don't see your point."
Mac: "My point is you're not seeing the connection.   It's what we all look for."  Danny asks if he feels it.   Mac does, all the time but he doesn't act on it until he's got proof.   Danny: "I can't do this job your way."
Mac: "Well you can't do it your way either.   You're coming up on your 3 years.   That means you'd be taking your exam to bump you to Second Grade.   When I put you lead in a case, I wanna make sure you're bringing me evidence.   Not intuition." ( as in episode 6 Inside Man.)

Joe is beaten outside a tunnel but no one sees anything.   Danny knows he was beaten to silence him, but he still refuses to talk.   Danny: "Well if he's not gonna tell us the truth and the evidence has gone sour.   Then what's left?"  Mac: what's been telling them the truth the entire time.   X-rays reveal Pete's fourth metacarpal was dislocated, which is inconsistent with his other injuries.   Hawkes: "Possibly inconsistent  without context."  Love that phrase.  I.e if it couldn't be placed then the evidence would seem inconsistent.

Stella finds Hanna was never meant to be part of Tina's family.   Tina's bag is seen without a strap.  Tina's father chose Hanna for the honour of being bloodied.   Matt was also interested in Hanna.   The strap from the bag is found in Tina's bedroom and matches Hanna's blood.  Tina strangled her and enjoyed watching the life drain out like that in an animals's eyes.

Pete wasn't wearing his ring when he died.   The explosion was to cover the evidence.   Joe broke their code and left Pete down in the tunnel.  Joe threw the ring done and it hit him on his head.   Joe looked after Pete growing up and this was the only job he'd ever get.   Pete was his responsibility.

These two stories though separate, were brought together by family.   Tina didn't want Hanna being part of the family and was jealous.   She killed her to keep her out and cos everyone paid attention to her and not to Tina.   With Joe it was about family.   Pete was his responsibility but he didn't really take care of him.   He left him down there to teach him a lesson, which he sees as okay.   Danny mentions family all the way through this episode as something that is clearly important to him.   Throughout this episode it appeared Mac was 'grooming' him and preparing him to take over as lead in the next episode.   At least Danny was asking questions all the way through, even if a lot of them were from his gut and were about relying on instinct.

Mac mentions his theory of "everything is connected" for the first time.    Which will crop up a few times, before it's forgotten.   Okay though it's not said many times later on, we're meant to recall this is what it's about for him.   As for Danny's promotion, we're aware things go awry for him later on this season and he doesn't get his promotion until season 7.   Also he takes his Sergeant's exam then without telling anyone, including Mac.   Maybe he thought he'd jinx it or Mac may prevent him from taking it, seeing as how he put a spanner in the works this season for Danny's promotion.

As for Flack, well he all but disappeared, think sometimes the writers were at a loss as to how to include him in the show.   At least that improved later on.

Apparently this episode is said to have been filmed at Ground Zero.   The title actually alludes to having been uttered by the Chinese who laid tracks for the Transcontinental Railroad.  "There is one dead Chinese for every mile of that railroad."  When Stella speaks with Tina about foxhunting, saying it has been banned in England.   The bill outlawing it  was not passed until 18th October 2004 and did not come into force until February 2005.   Danny forgets he is already wearing a glove in the scene where he and Mac talk Sandhogs and in the next shot, it has disappeared.

Mac's pep talk, a bit like Gil's (William Petersen) one to Nick (George Eads) in Crate 'n' Burial where Gil tells Nick to work harder before they can make an arrest.   CSI season 3 episode, Lucky Strike, also had a killer hide a DB by detonating explosives.

Merlin - 3.2: "The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two" Review

Uther suffers more visions, as Camelot prepares for siege. Merlin attempts to stop Morgana and Morgauese from succeeding in their plan to defeat Camelot.

 The Dragon (John Hurt) cannot fight the call of the Dragon Lord and so has to obey.   The Serket's (scorpions) poison that attacked Merlin (Colin Morgan) required the aid of an enchantment to heal him.

Arthur (Bradley James) is angry as he has no clothes for archery practice.  He swears Merlin will be the target when he finds him.  Morgana (Katie McGrath) sneaks into Uther's (Anthony Head) chamber to plant more of the mandrake root, tormenting Uther even further.  The Dragon informs Merlin that the venom was too potent for Merlin's powers to overcome.  It's Merlin's fault that Camelot is in peril and he should have heeded the Dragon when he told Merlin not to trust Morgana.  "Trust is a double-edged sword."

Merlin believed Morgana to be like him as she also possessed magic.  The Dragon says that Merlin and Morgana are similar, but Merlin insists he will never be like her.  His fault to see only the good in everyone will lead to Merlin's "undoing."  Merlin is told by the Dragon that "both their futures are now joined forever.  She is the darkness to your light; the hatred to your love." The Dragon carries Merlin to Camelot.  Merlin is told once more that Arthur's destiny and that of Albion are in his hands.

Merlin reports Morgana being behind Uther's visions to Gaius (Richard Wilson).  Uther once again sees Arthur's mother in his visions, before Merlin throws the mandrake root into the fire.  Gaius informs Uther of the spell he was under.  Merlin wants to tell Uther that Morgana was behind it all, but Gaius warns it's too dangerous since he'd be charged with treason, accusing the King's ward.  Uther will always see the good in Morgana.

Merlin warns of the great plan Morgause (Emilia Fox) and Morgana have concocted, whilst Morgause and the Camelot knights watch Cenred's (Tom Ellis) army.  Arthur berates Merlin for being absent without permission and tells him he wouldn't be too bothered if Merlin was somewhere dying.  Arthur knows that Camelot's future lies with him, but Merlin wouldn't know how that feels.  (Of course he does, since the future of Camelot and that of Arthur also rests on his shoulders!)  Another scene with a shirtless Arthur (!) shouting at Merlin: "I'll have you for breakfast!" Arthur in a moment of anger throws things at Merlin, like a girl!

Morgana finds that the mandrake root has disappeared from under Uther's bed and is surprised by Gaius.  She's lost an earring. Gaius tells her Uther was under a spell and she's glad he will be fine.  Morgana warns Merlin not to tell Uther anything of what transpired in the woods and threatens to make his life difficult for him, as well as threatening to tell Uther Merlin poisoned her.

Camelot will be under siege within two days.  Arthur is adamant Uther wouldn't surrender Camelot to his enemies and neither will he order them to prepare for a siege.  Merlin tells Arthur he will be there to protect Arthur, "God help me" is his reply.  This gives Merlin an opportunity to stock up on Arthur's favourite breakfast food, pickled eggs!  (Oh the stench in Arthur's chamber!)

Gwen (Angel Coulby) wants Arthur to have faith in himself, she trusts him more than Uther and he must do what his heart says; what he believes to be right.  Arthur doesn't wish Gwen to call him "sire." Morgana watches the siege preparations, before slipping away to meet with Morgause.  She tells of Merlin still being alive, but Morgause still needs Morgana's help from within Camelot.  She gives her a branch carved out of the rowan tree, which grows on the Isle of the Blessed (this is another name for Avalon.)  And can be seen only by the High priestesses.  Morgana will be guided by the staff.

Arthur keeps vigil at Uther's bedside and promises not to let him down.  Cenred's army reaches Camelot.  Merlin helps Arthur with his armour, he's not nervous, because Merlin tells him, "I trust in your destiny."  Arthur wonders if Merlin's been at the cider.  Merlin: "It's your fate to be the greatest king Camelot has ever known..." and his victory will be recalled by everyone forever.  Arthur is surprised Merlin is giving him the pep talk and is shocked that at times, Merlin displays signs of wisdom, whilst at other times he's nothing more than an idiot.  Arthur heads into battle, chanting: "For the love of Camelot!"

Uther awakens at the deafening din of battle raging outside and joins in.  Merlin suggests Gaius should watch Morgana in the make-shift hospital.  Arthur drags Uther from battle, even if it is his kingdom.  Merlin magically sets up a line of fire to keep back the soldiers.  Morgana disappears to use the staff.  Arthur promises Uther he will still have Camelot.

Morgana uses the staff and its power is felt by Merlin and Morgause, the staff causes the skeletons in the crypt to rise up and fight the knights from within.  Arthur questions why Merlin keeps disappearing and Merlin can only point to the skeletons with swords.  (In a scene reminiscent to a Harryhausen movie, think Jason and the Argonauts (2000).)  Merlin attempts to stop Morgana.  Arthur is wounded.

Merlin begs Morgana to stop.  She's happy with what she's doing and has magic.  She hates Uther for disliking people like her, those who have magic.  Merlin tells her she can challenge Uther to stop his treatment of people in that way.  She refuses to listen as Merlin doesn't have magic of his own and so can't understand.  If he had her powers, he calls them gifts, then he would use them for good.  She says Merlin doesn't know what it's like to be an outsider, having to hide who he is and how he was born (but he does).  She doesn't deserve to be killed for her magic.  Merlin and Morgana fight, before Merlin uses magic, making rocks fall onto her.  He removes the staff from her grasp, stopping the skeletons in their tracks.

Cenred angrily tells Morgause her traitor has failed her and calls off the attack on Camelot, he can't afford to lose men.  (Why didn't Morgause just kill Cenred for deserting her like that?)  Merlin wants to tell Arthur about Morgana.  Uther thanks everyone for their brave fight, informing them of the traitor in their midst and thanks Morgana for saving them, she destroyed the magic being used. Merlin and Morgana exchange glances.

Merlin ponders why Uther can't see the real Morgana (his question will be answered very soon.)  But he will be ready for her.  He's not afraid of her, but only sad.  Gaius doesn't want Merlin to become bitter like her.

NCIS - 7.7: "Endgame"

Vance's past comes back to haunt him and we get a little more insight into his life and character. he turns to Gibbs for help and we see a little more about their relationship too.

A DB is found in the woods.   Tony (Michael Weatherly) rifles through McGee's (Sean Murray) things and his self-help CDs.   Ziva (Cote de Pablo) calls that wrong and he thinks perhaps McGee's already satisfied.   Tony listens to the man on the self-help CD and he loves his voice, Tony: "...like a poor man's Shatner."  Tony knows exactly who he is and doesn't need any help.   Tony: "I may not be pretty, but I am Di Nozzo, hear me roar!" Well, you're pretty to many, Tony/Michael.   Ziva comments, hear him roar, "like an elephant." Gibbs (Mark Harmon) tells Tony to get out of McGee's desk.   Tony calls him 'Little Timmy' who's out buying coffee.

McGee meets a woman, or rather, she meets him, that meeting appeared contrived.   How long's he been going there and no, not a remote chance of meeting a woman, any woman, let alone one who works there sometimes.   Her name's Amanda (Lindy Booth) we preferred you in Relic Hunter as ditzy Claudia and in Cry Wolf (2005.)  McGee asks her to remove his phone from his pocket, awkward, said phone being in his front pant pocket.   Tony was calling McGee ages ago, but that call took a while coming on screen.   Tony's worried about his pastry and she puts her number on speed dial.

The DB is identified as Dr Cirreaux.  Tony's Danish is in the car, but he got him a blueberry scone instead.   Tony calls him, "Probelicious."  Ziva doesn't find any prints and his instruments were wiped clean, there were some strands on the instruments.  Vance (Rocky Carroll) is at the CS and surprises everyone by being there, including Ducky (David McCallum).   The killer intentionally shot him, so he bled out slowly, as a means of torture.  The DB was turned over and a second bullet entered the base of his skull.   This is familiar to Vance, it's her signature, Lee Wuan Kai (Kelly Hu).   She was in LA.   Yes she was.  

For those who don't get to see NCIS:Los Angeles, or don't watch it (in the UK it's only available on subscription TV.)  This story was started in the season 1 episode, Kill Shot and concluded here.   That said, it was easy enough to follow even if you didn't watch the first part of it, which is a good thing.  Kai was hurt and so must have needed medical attention.   Vance chased her for 20 years and she thinks like them.   Vance: "In some ways, I know Kai better than I know myself." Vance has the feeling he's being watched.  He warns she'll use deadly force and so should they.

McGee identifies Kai as a North Korean assassin.   Tony goes into Tony mode when he sees her photo,  with his talk of liking quiet walks on the beach.   Tony: "Look at those come hither eyes, those perfect kiss-me lips, no wonder Vance is obsessed, Kai's killing me just looking at her." Tony likens her to Ziva, both pretty ladies, both trained assassins.   Ziva says Tony annoys her sometimes.   Tony: "Sometimes?"  Ziva replies most of the time.   Ziva being an assassin and he likened her to the other assassin they were looking for in Leap of Faith which Tony has done before.   Tony believes something happened to Vance and it's not Kosher, just a figure of speech.   He calls McGee, 'McDigit' now and asks if the woman he's interested in is a redhead.   "Look at you pulling a page from Gibbs' playbook."  Liking redheads.   Thought Tony would have stopped saying that, along with not mentioning Gibbs' marriages anymore.

Tony wonders why Ziva's nice to McGee and not to him.   Well does that need answering, ha.   McGee says he mocks him publicly, but Tony always does that.   Dr Cirreaux had a lawsuit filed against him and as Tony says, what doctors lack in social skills they make up for in selling pharmaceuticals.   Was he referring to Jeanne (Scottie Thompson) then, ha, well she was a doctor too and yes her social skills must be lacking in the way she treated Tony in season 5 episode, Internal Affairs but I digress.

 Vance is putting more agents on the case and Gibbs tells him he hasn't given him much time to investigate.   Vance wants this to be over.   Always seemed to me that Gibbs and Vance have a rapport going, some sort of a friendship, that's not always highlighted much in the episodes.   Like in the season 5.14 episode, Internal Affairs, when he said he owed Gibbs money, $2,42  for the cheese danish from 9 years ago.

Seventeen years ago, Vance was part of the UN peacekeeping force in Yugoslavia.   Kai shot a local politician and then she shot his partner.   He shot her in the chest and she shot him in the shoulder, before placing the gun on his neck.   He was waiting for her to pull the trigger, but it never happened.   Gibbs needs something solid.   Tony and McGee check out Linda DeMarco, (Alla Korot) the woman who brought the lawsuit against the doctor.   Tony refers to the 'coffee vixen' and asks about 'text sex'.   He wants to know what  a question mark wedged between 2 dollar signs means, he finds it kind of kinky.   In that case, he should ask Abby (Pauley Perrette) just a thought as she's into kinky.   Tony advises McGee to listen to Madonna, women love that and also about candle wax.  Short of him coming out and not mentioning the Madonna movie, Body of Evidence (1993).   DeMarco shoots at them and Tony asks her if she's Sarah Palin.

Her alibi checks out and Gibbs tells them to let her go.   Tony calls McGee, "Self-helpless."  He says McGee's afraid of her, actually they both are.   McGee should uncuff Florence Nightingale, it's his destiny.   Ducky found a single hair on the DB's ring finger, tied in a bow.   It's DNA the killer wanted them to find.   Abby matches it to Kai.   Vance asks his wife, Jackie ( Paula Newsome) why they don't do movie night.   He's never home.   Kai calls Vance at home, of course she'd be outside his house, it's apparent.   Why didn't Vance text McGee directly to trace the call, instead of texting Gibbs.   We know he's not tech savvy.   Kai can't turn herself in, he almost caught her in LA  (there's that LA reference).   Jackie notices the car outside and begins to walk towards it, now why do that, it's not the first car that would've parked out there.

Ziva will stay with Vance but he refuses protection, until Gibbs convinces him.   Jackie refuses to leave him, she felt safe until now, but now she's Vance's partner.   The car Kai was driving was stolen and McGee recalls reading about Bingham, the pilot of a private plane who is missing.   Tony: "He was Kai-jacked."  Oh Tony that was bad even for you!  McGee is late meeting Amanda and he can't stay.   Amanda's more interested in his office when he suggests they go for a walk instead.   See she was never interested in him, romantically.   He was just more easy to approach as a target, than anyone else.   Tony thinks McGee went home and got it on with "Little Miss Sexy text message."  Like Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes (1968).  "He pulled a total Heston."  Tony's proud of Tim and asks him if he took photos.   Ziva wants to know when she can meet her to ensure she's good enough for McGee.

Agent Chad Dunham (Todd Lowe) meets them in person and tells them of the North Korean minister who was training orphans to kill for their cause.   Which is nothing new.   Tony believes Kai was brainwashed and Ziva should know, she's good.   General Pax Su Gi checked into a hotel and she's here.   Tony's turn to go into the women's loo to question Ziva this time round about Dunham.   He's from Texas and she likes Texans, since when?  He also cleans up nice.   She got that phrase right, though it should have been scrubs up nice.   Ziva's had enough of Nomad field agents and that's what he is.   She's here to make a home.   Tony comes up close to Ziva again like he's going to kiss her.

Abby refers to the LA casefile and finds the bullet is different.   She notices McGee looks happy and asks if there's anything he wants to tell her.   McGee comments news travels fast, yeah that's what you'd expect from Tony!  She mentions Eric from the LA office being helpful with the case, was that a desperate measure from Abby, trying to hide her feelings or that McGee won't tell her anything about Amanda.   The North Koreans contacted them to tell them Kai is here to kill one of their own and her killings aren't sanctioned by them.   Gibbs lets Vance know he's the constant in Kai's life, he knows her.  Pax Su Gi is shot by a sniper.   Ziva wonders who she's killing for.   Well again if she's not here for them, then it's personal for her.   This is something Ziva should have known.

Tony comments she's dangling it in their face. "Look at me, Ma, top of the world."  Quoting James Cagney in White Heat (1949).  McGee thinks he's referring to White Knights (1985) the one with the ballet dancers.   Ziva says there's nothing impressive about killing people.   Tony says McGee's 'McSqueeze' is here.   He didn't tell her where he worked but it took him a while to figure this out.   If as he later says to Amanda he doesn't give out his work details to anyone, why did it take him all night to figure this out.   She practically gave herself away!  Tony tells McGee the copy room door locks from the inside, was that speaking from personal experience, Tony.   Tony doesn't believe in fate.   Vance finds an envelope in the car containing a photo, with 'WHY' written on it.

Abby looks at the toxicology report on Cirreaux and Pax, they both died from poison in their bloodstream.   Gibbs: "Never trust a beautiful woman."  That's definitely personal experience on Gibbs' part since he fell for one in season 2's Doppelganger.   Ducky also fell for one in the season 2.8 episode, Heart Break and they all turned out to be killers.   Thus the same with McGee here.   You see, true love never runs smoothly in this show.   Same can be said about Ziva and Rivkin.   McGee confronts Amanda and she changes her accent to South African.   She's after Kai, who shoots her.   Amanda, real name Juliet Tippin, who was a freelancer working for the North Koreans, afraid Kai may tell them everything she knows.   Kai saved McGee who contemplates joining a monastery.  

Cirreaux and Pax both had a children's disease but they didn't have any children.   From the photo Cirreaux was part of the training programme which recruited Kai.   Vance realizes she's killing the men who turned her into a killer.   Vance chased her, courted her in her eyes but never had a relationship with him, so she's turning to Vance for help.   In her mind he's been her partner.

Kai holds Jackie hostage.   It's too late for her to change and she wants Vance to end it for her.   But Jackie is the one who shoots her.   McGee reads from one of his self-help tapes: "who we are might be predetermined.   The path we follow is always of our own choosing.   We should never allow our fears or the expectations of  others to set the frontiers of our destiny.  Your destiny can't be changed but it can be challenged.   Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one."  Hey he could break this down and market it in fortune cookies!

An episode where McGee thought he found love but fell for an assassin, and one where Kai, an assassin, mistook her feelings for Vance as that of a partner, as she's never known love herself, only betrayal and conditioned to be a killer.   Ziva could have turned out like this and wonder if she would have, had she not been a part of the team; with all the betrayals she suffered and the conditioning of a distant father of her own.   He made her an assassin too and she killed Ari.

Vance's toothpick was missing this episode.   North Korean women are portrayed as assassins in this show, as in the season 3 episode Light Sleeper; with the three wives who married US marines and were assassins themselves.  

Doctor Who - 5.12: "The Pandorica Opens" Review

The Doctor receives a message from River all three travel to find the location of the Pandorica, which isn't a fairytale. Rory emerges as a Roman centurion as various enemies of the Doctor descend...

France 1890: Dr Gachet (Howard Lee) attends Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran).   Everyone can hear his screams.   He appears to be lamenting at his latest painting.

Cabinet War Rooms, London 1941: Bracewell (Bill Paterson) looks at a painting found in an attic in France.   Churchill can't understand and he's not meant to since it's a message for the Doctor.  (Matt Smith)

Stormcage Containment Facility 5145: The phone rings for River (Alex Kingston) who says she's entitled to phonecalls.  It's Churchill calling as the Doctor's nowhere to be found.   River kisses the guard with her hallucinogenic lipstick again to effect her escape.

The Royal Collection 5145:  River breaks into the collection to steal the painting and Liz 10 (Sophie Okonedo) tells River she's the Queen, but River needs to find the Doctor.

The Maldovarium 5145: River buys a time manipulator from the blue man, Dorium Maldovar (Simon Fisher-Becker) also seen in season 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War.

Amy (Karen Gillan) looks at the ring at Planet 1.  The Doctor tells her there's a message from the dawn of time at the cliff, it's never been translated but the TARDIS can do it.   The message says, "Hello Sweetie." With co-ordinates below it.   They land to see the Roman invasion, which Amy used to call the "Invasion of the hot Italians." A centurion thinks the Doctor is Caesar as River is Cleopatra.   The painting depicts the TARDIS exploding.   River believes it's a warning.   Date and map reference on the door.   The title of the painting is "The Pandorica Opens."  It was "built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe."   The Doctor still calls it a fairytale as in the season 5 Flesh and Stone episode.   The Doctor wants to remember where the most dangerous thing in all of the universe is buried.   At Stone Henge.

River mentions "Spoilers" when Amy recalls River said the mighty warrior in history will be guarding it.   They have to get underground.   Doctor: "The Underhenge."  A Cyberman's head is nearby.   River says it's "more than just a fairytale."  A Cyberman's hand is below.   Doctor: "There was a goblin or a trickster, a warrior, a nameless terrible thing soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies, the most feared thing in all the cosmos - nothing could stop it; reason with it; one day it would drop out of the sky and tear down your world."  It was tricked by a good wizard and River hates good wizards.   They always "turn out to be him."  Referring to the Doctor.   There were apparent clues in what the Doctor has just said if looked at and it comes down to him, the Doctor himself.   Since what drops out of the sky: the TARDIS and he goes to different worlds and planets attempting to put things right and help.   SO he would be the most feared in all the universe.   (See 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War) kind of in the wrong order to say this here, but that's what River said about the Doctor; that he's feared by everyone.)

Amy's favourite story was Pandora's Box.   Doctor: "Never ignore a coincidence unless you're busy, in which case, always ignore a coincidence." River says the Pandorica is being opened from the inside.   Amy asks how Vincent Van Gogh new about the Pandorica.   The Doctor talks of stories, broadcasting its opening, but why doesn't the Doctor know about it.   Again cos it was built to contain him.   Everyone's coming, there are starships around the planet.   The Daleks can be heard and the Doctor says they've got surprise on their side, but have they really.   River tells him everything that hates him is here, again another clue.   This is the one time the Doctor must run.   He asks where.   Think maybe he should have listened to her this time round, but as he says where would he run to, they'll always find him, so as he says, "this ends here; this ends now."  Well kind of here and now.   The Doctor thinks of  the Romans, the greatest military machine and thinks they can help.  His mistake.

River goes back and zaps away the Roman commander's cupboard.   There is a man and he needs their help tonight, well could have done without the Romans with hindsight.   River has a volunteer in the shadows.   Forcefield energy inside the box will buy them more time.   (The box refers to the Pandorica.)  So the title does make sense, since it was a play on Pandora's Box which contained the worst evils ever and was opened when it shouldn't have been, reversed here to contain the Doctor, who isn't the worst evil ever, but is perceived to be to other races and species.

Amy asks if the Doctor is proposing to someone.   Doctor: "A memory, a friend of mine, somehow lost."  People fall out of the world, but always leave traces...nothing is ever forgotten...and if if something can be remembered it can come back." Just like the Doctor (final episode.)  The Doctor was lying, he took Amy away from her house since it had too many rooms.   Doctor: "Does it bother you Amy your life never really makes sense."

The Cyber arm grabs the Doctor and he gets zapped and Amy is grabbed by the wires of the Cyber head.  Firing a dart into her.   Then the Cyberman body arrives.   The Cyberman is destroyed by a sword.   Amy faints when she sees Rory (Arthur Darvill) as a Roman centurion, he was River's volunteer.   The Doctor isn't surprised at Rory turning up.  "I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious" he says.   He gets it in a minute and pokes Rory.   He died and was erased from time.   The Doctor wonders how he's here.   Rory asks if Amy missed him, but there's no time to answer: the Pandorica opens.

The Doctor needs his TARDIS and makes an announcement: "Whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe."  the Doctor doesn't have anything to lose, he stopped them and they should do the smart thing: "let somebody else try first."  The TARDIS refuses to move.   Rory has to be brave.   Amy doesn't remember him.

The Doctor speaks of cracks and how there'll be an explosion one day.   Rory asks what exploded.  Flashes to the TARDIS and the date 26/6/2010: the base code of the universe.   Rory shouldn't be here.   He was here - a proper Roman soldier, like he woke from a dream.   The men in the camp spoke about a girl with red hair.   Doctor: "Oh shut up - go get her."  Rory's here because he is, impossible things happen - miracles.   He gives Rory the ring.

Location: Earth.  26/6/2010.   A voice in the TARDIS is heard to say "Silence will fall." The TARDIS lands at Amy's house.  River: "Oh Doctor why do I let you out." She finds a book on Roman Britain, Pandora's Box book and  River realizes the Romans aren't real.   They're in picture books.   Roranicus is short for Rory.   Amy cries.

The Doctor says something is using Amy's memories.   River's lipstick worked on the Romans.   He finally realizes this is a perfect disguise.   Rory pleads for Amy to remember him.   River calls it  a trap.   Amy was used to get close to the Doctor.   Something is controlling the TARDIS.   The Doctor mentions the date and River needs to get out.   Amy doesn't know Rory but she's crying cos she remembers him.   River can stop the cracks from forming if she can land the TARDIS.   The Pandorica opens.   The Roman's arms extend out as weapons, as does Rory's, he'll kill Amy, she has to go.   Amy recalls Rory.   The TARDIS doors don't open.

The Doctor says the Nestene Consciousness drives the Roman duplicates.   The Daleks arrive (the Fruit Pastille ones.)  Rory shows Amy the ring.   Dalek: "You have been scanned."  The Sontaran says the Pandorica is ready for the Doctor.   Rory shoots Amy.  The Doctor is dragged to the Pandorica, as River struggles with the TARDIS.   The Doctor realizes they're working together, an alliance.   The Dalek refers to the "cracks in the skin of the universe."  The Sontaran tells him they'll save the universe from the Doctor.   The Doctor tries to tell them they'll destroy the universe.   The Doctor couldn't resist the trap and is responsible for the cracks.   The Doctor exclaims the whole universe never existed.   He's the only one who can stop the TARDIS exploding.   River: "I'm sorry my love..."

What an explosive episode.  Certain hardened fans and seasoned viewers must have relished the Doctor being led away into the Pandorica, somewhere he didn't want to be, signifying the end of the universe.   Normally he has to make such decisions, "choices" to use his word and it almost always ain't pleasant!  Should have realized it was a trap a long time ago - why would Romans talk of Amy, they've never seen her.   The Doctor falling into the trap of the Romans being able to help and an obvious danger sign was Rory saying he felt like he'd woken from a dream.   As well as the Doctor's line of 'whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe'; ironic when you think of what's to come.

The TARDIS in the vortex from the opening and end credits of the show is actually featured in this episode as it heads for Amy's house, from 5.1.   In Flesh and Stone, River and the Doctor thought the Pandorica was a fairytale and they're proven wrong here, but not River, as she must've known otherwise, since this episode and what happens to the Doctor here has taken place for her already.   As in The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone episodes, since she recalls it there.

River uses her hallucinogenic lipstick again to escape her cell this time and uses "hello Sweetie" here as well as in The Time of Angels and when the Doctor met her for the first time in Silence in the Library.  Everytime I mention this episode, it always reminds me of The Silence for some reason.

Liz 10 owned the painting depicting the TARDIS exploding, but no one managed to warn the Doctor, they can't get hold of him; only River does with the time manipulator.

River portrays Cleopatra alluding to the episode The Girl in the Fireplace, where Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) comments the Doctor had to have known Cleopatra intimately (same was said about the Doctor and Elizabeth I) since he referred to her as "Cleo."  What is it with the Doctor and queens.  Love this photo it's as if the Doctor is egging them on to come get him, "top of the world..." He's invincible.

Supernatural - 6.15: "The French Mistake" Review

The most talked about meta episode, played purely for laughs, with lots of in jokes and Jared's wife, as well as the all important angel vs angel war.

Bobby's on a supply run when Balthazar (Sebastian Roche) arrives.   He's seen the Godfather movie.   Balthazar is big on movies isn't he? Just like Dean (Jensen Ackles) in a way.  They wanted Dean to be the meat suit for the wrong angel, me thinks, last season.   He draws a symbol on the window.   Raphael's after him, which is no big thing.   He's after everyone if you think about it, but let's not.   Oh oops, he says that too.   Cas (Misha Collins) is underground and wants to draw Cas out into the open.   Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean go hurtling through the window into an alternate reality, of sorts.

Balthazar manages to give Sam a key before they leave, as Virgil (Carlos Sanz) comes after Balthazar.   Surprise, surprise Sam and Dean end up on a TV show, the filming of Supernatural.   Bobby singer (Brian Doyle Murphy) thinks the window part was good and Kevin (Jason Bryden) wants to freeze frame them.   Sam asks the all important question of who Jared and Jensen are.  Jensen/Dean gets his make-up removed.   Dean: "I'm a painted whore."  Jared/Sam is interviewed as the TV show is mentioned he thinks of the Twilight Zone.   Their lives are a TV show.   Not many watch the show.   Sam tells Dean, "You're a Jensen Ackles and I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."  Dean: "Polish."  Dean's relieved to see his baby made it here.   Yeah all of them!

Dean: "This whole place is bad touching me."  Always come up with such a line for Dean, last time it was having to take rape shower.   Dean prays for Cas and he turns up.   Cas comments on the alternate reality.   A bit like Bizarro Superman Dean says and Cas asks for the key.   It's for the room where Balthazar keeps his weapons stash.   Dean: "Amen Padaleski." Sam: "Lecki." Cas reads from the script.   His name is Misha.   Dean: "Misha, Jensen, what's with the names around here."  Don't forget, Padaleski. Sam and Dean walk away and Cas/Misha Tweets he's just been pranked and he feels like one of them now.

They head to fake Dean's trailer and Sam asks who has a fish tank in a trailer.   Dean: "apparently Jensen Ackles."  Yeah it's easier to feed the fish!  He also has a helicopter.   Dean "Look at these male modelling SOBs - that's a great Blue Steel Sam." Jensen poking fun at his modelling days of long ago, ha.   Then he mentions Blue Steel again as he did in season 2.7 The Usual Suspects episode when he got his mugshot taken, picking up a copy of the official magazine.   Okay product placement, no need to rub it in.   Hey I never got my book in!!  Sam and Dean feature on the TV set.  

Sam reads Jensen's from Texas and was on a soap opera, there's a clip on the Internet.   Again Jensen will always get a mention  wherever he ends up of his time on Days of Our Lives.   The phone's out of soul range.   Sam and Dean on the TV in the background was funny and Sam winks on screen.   Dean thinks if they can get to a window and draw the symbols they can return home.   He says everything's fake.

Bobby Singer, the producer is astonished Jared and Jensen are talking to each other (yeah as if they really don't!)  Dean drives a prop car and their driver, Cliff, drops them off at Jared's house. "We're not even in America."  Cue mansion.   Sam: "I must be the star of this thing." Dean: "What am I Dracula?...George Hamilton Dracula."  Meaning Dracula with a tan, cos George Hamilton always has a tan!  Dean wonders what a camel is doing in the back.   Genevieve (Genevieve Padalecki) calls it an alpaca.   It's Ruby and she and Jared are married.   Looking at the photo of Jared and Genevieve.   Dean: "You married fake Ruby." Jensen's never been there and she's glad they're talking.   Dean comments he did all right.   Sam thinks he should work out her name.   Funny Sam didn't Google himself but he did Jensen.   Yet Sam had no qualms about spending the night with another man's wife and he has his soul back too!!

They order the things they need from the Internet and Jared has a poker table, seeing as he's into poker, Texas Hold Em.   So is Jensen.   Sam asks about disasters and earthquake spike.   Genevieve recalls those from season 5 of the show.   Sam and Dean pick up the package before it clears customs.   Dean wants the set to be cleared but Bobby refuses.   Commenting Dean Cain used to collaborate on Lois and Clark and he was a real actor.   Meaning Jared and Jensen are just fads.   Sam bought part of a dead person.   Dean knows they'll have to do some 'acting' - on the same scene over and over.   What on earth was Sam doing with his arms in that scene?  He looked so darn hilarious.    That's called emoting.   Dean suggests Sam doesn't look at the camera.   Dean's line about the gun in his mouth was rather insensitive.

Bobby calls Sera Gamble.   Sam and Dean crash through the window but are still on the set.   Sam thinks the spell can't work, there was no sign of the apocalypse.   All the creatures are pretend and there aren't any hunters.   The set looked like the one from season 5's Changing Channels in this scene and Virgil manages to get through and has no power here either.   So Sam and Dean fight him and Virgil takes the key from Sam's pocket.   Since season 3 Sam is forever having things stolen from that pocket of his and he never zips it up.   In season 3.3 Bad Day at Black Rock it was Bela stealing the rabbit's paw from him and now the key.

Sera suggests she should fly up there, but Jared and Jensen don't know who she is, they need Eric Kripke instead, but she's meant to be running this.   Eric has sold his other show, Octocobra.   Misha Tweets again when he gets in his car about having the feeling someone is in the back of his car.   So why doesn't have his own driver, cos he's not as big a star as Jared and Jensen ha.   It's Virgil.   Bobby asks if they want more money.   Dean: "You already pay those jokers enough as it is."  How does he know, he's only seen Jared's pad not his payslip.   He then asks who names a character after himself, i.e.  Bobby Singer.   Sam realizes the key's gone.

Dean posits they're not actors but hunters - Winchesters and where they're from no one knows who they are.   He calls Sam his brother.   Dean: "We quit."  Misha gets knifed in an ally by Virgil and what a sad and lonely way to go.   Genevieve breaks the news about Misha.   A tramp in the ally tells them about Raphael and he heard a voice answering.   They need to return to the time and place of the crossing.   Dean pays him with Canadian money (where'd that come from?)   Virgil steals some guns.   He's the weapons keeper of heaven.   They need to get back home, their friends are there.   Sam tells him they're not even brothers here.

Eric arrives and is shot as is Bobby.   Perhaps someone wanted to make a statement about where the show is heading!  Sera perhaps, ha.     Oh wait she's meant to be running it, exactly.   When Dean is fighting, Sam resorts to using the door.   The symbol on the window appears and they get through to see Raphael (Lanette Ware) as a woman.   Dean: "Dude looks like a lady."  Had to get that in.   Balthazar didn't give Sam the real key and he needed time to find the weapons and remove them, so they were distractions.   Cas turns up and he has the weapons now.   He takes Sam and Dean home.   Cas knew of Balthazar's plan and he'd have done the same.   Dean says they're broke.   Sam: "At least we're talking."

So what did you make of this episode?   Supernatural does have its tongue- in-cheek moments and surreal episodes, even, sometimes but this was an interesting meta episode and many fans enjoyed it, but the opinions were divided.   Seeing as many of the jokes about Jensen and Jared had been done before.

"If there's a key, then there has to be a lock," could in some ways sum up this episode.   If there's a Supernatural, there must be a send-up, jokey episode.   There's nothing wrong with acting in one's self parody of oneself.   Not much to say in terms of reviewing this episode - maybe I should have Tweeted like Misha.   No stone was left unturned by the end of this one and Supernatural fans will know the references verbatim.   If anyone was watching for the first time they'd think the show bonkers and never return,   unless they're into self-effacing mockery.   Sam and Dean talking to each other, well that should be Jared and Jensen talking to each other. Who came up with that one?   At least Cas got his weapons and Raphael picked up the body of a chick!  Now if that ain't funny.

The alternative world: so boring - everything was perfect, no evil until Virgil got there and proceeded to massacre the production team.   It just got to signify how tedious an actor's life is (!)  The episode being filmed in the alternate world is entitled Echo for obvious reasons.   Misha actually sent a Tweet to his followers, "Hola, Mishamigos.   J squared got me good.   Really starting to feel like one of the guys." This was also sent by the real Misha.

This title was from Blazing Saddles (1974) where the fight scene in the Western is actually a film set and a choir sings a song entitled, The French Mistake.   Still there was an underlying theme here, crucial to the season arc, so they didn't just have Sam and Dean pottering around a film set willy nilly or for the fun of it.   Though that was an added bonus.   No, it was to scare them into realizing there are worlds; realities out there which really are this frightening and "douche-induced."   Oh and the scenes where the dudes have their heart-to-heart scenes on or in the Impala can never be cut!

Note the cowboy pic over Jared's head/ Sam's head for future reference.   Also the tramp telling them, "The scary man killed the attractive crying man."  A bit of a niggle, there was no supernatural element in this reality and yet Virgil was able to kill Misha and get a message through to Raphael, yet none of their symbols worked when Sam and Dean tried to get back home.