What am I Reading? - March 2021 - Natural Disaster

 

My bookshelf gained a new book this month! Over the pandemic, I have fallen in like with ABC's Chief Meteorologist, Ginger Zee. She forecasted and broadcasted from her basement for most of 2020, letting her hair's natural curls take center stage and  parenting while on live TV when her kids interrupt her reports, as seen in this clip  from Access Hollywood. 

I began following/stalking @Ginger_Zee on Twitter early in the pandemic because she seemed  like a relatable person on-air. I quickly learned that people direct message and @ her daily, dumping on  her fashion and hair choices (as Stephanie Tanner says, "How Rude!") She takes this abuse with grace and poise, reaching out to the fans and defending herself and her fashion choices. She wants to make every hater into a follower, and she does this well. 

In early Winter 2020, I discovered the  Narcolepsy 360 podcast, where a recent guest was, you guessed it, Ginger Zee. I learned she has suffered from the disease since her teen years, and had battled it while working through on-site storm coverage and 10+ weekend shifts earlier in her career. I immediately ordered myself this book, which catches us up to the present.  

Through reading this story, I learned about a courageous woman whose love of storms in her childhood propelled her to study meteorology in college. I had no idea schools offered degrees in meteorology. The chapter about her work covering Hurricane Katina is heartbreaking, and shows her heart and courage.  I give it 5 out of 5!

Cop Fridays 7: Maggie Q is Literally Saving America on Designated Survivor

     Let's all give a round of applause to poor President Tom Kirkman (Keifer Sutherland). He was about to be kicked out of the presidential cabinet as HUD Secretary and as an afterthought had to sit in a bunker during the State of the Union address as ABC's Designated Survivor. Then a major bombing of Washington's lawmakers left him in charge of running the country. I agree that Kirkman is a pretty chill leader, wanting to hear all theories about the Capitol bombing before weighing in.  Of course, he's a bit gullible. He believed Congressman Peter MacLeish (Ashley Zukerman) was a war hero and a survivor of the attack. Of course that was a facade. In reality,  MacLeish was one of the major players in the attack. He purposely excused himself to a secret bomb shelter, coming out the only survivor of the address. This resulted in MacLeish's confirmation as the new VP, despite questions about his "impeccable" army service. The designated congresswoman, Ms. Hookstratten (Virginia Marsden), smelled a rat, but was forced to approve him through due to lack of evidence. In the end, MacLeish's wife shot him and killed herself to keep their secret. The MacLeishes were so committed to their cause that they were only rattled by the digging of an FBI agent.

      I give Kirkman, his right hand lady Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), and new Press Secretary Seth Wright (Kal Penn) a lot of credit for managing the re-creation of the union. Kirkman remarked this week, "I need to to focus on government." They jumped in and ran with it, but they're lacking when it comes to figuring out the true reason for the capitol bombing. A terrorist group claimed responsibility, but the bomb material didn't match up. This important distinction was discovered by the unsung hero of the show, FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q). While she is crazily acting like the lone member of the FBI to solve this case, it's justified.  It's amusing to see Ms. Q finally working for the government again, and both sides being good. As the lead of the CW's Nikkita, Ms. Q kicked ass and took names as she brought a government assassin ring to justice. This time, she's still investigating government conspiracies for the government.

     Agent Wells had to clear her name a number of times, but she kept searching for justice. It could be a drinking game how often she is in trouble.* Wells was arrested for shooting at President Kirkman's sniper, which confused the law enforcement into thinking she was involved in the hit. She most notably was suspended from her duties for aiding the arrested FBI Director Atwood. Atwood was blackmailed into murdering the terrorist leader (allegedly responsible for the attack) in custody after his son was kidnapped. The young Atwood boy's body was devastatingly returned to his father in a recent episode, and  Hannah was there to comfort the director. She gently reminded him that committing  murder of a known terrorist was a good thing. This week, Wells questioned new Chief of Staff Aaron about his involvement in leaking confidential Capitol plans to aid in the building of MacLeish's bomb shelter. She chased leads through rural Virginia and shot at the former Chief of Staff (still alive!), which looked bad on her resume. Agent Wells got into a car accident on the way to testify in front of the congressional committee, and  sewed up her own wounds with the assistance of a FBI friend. She is one tough chick, but there's a deeper story. In the pilot, Hannah searched for a survivor of the attack, her unnamed married senator boyfriend. I want to know more about this relationship, but it sounds like it's going to the back burner as the police works heats up.

     As we head into the last few episodes of the season, Wells's work is only doubling. She recently connected with the President in his hospital room to spill the beans on MacLeish, and they're now best friends. Wells has been granted carte blanche status to get to the bottom of the Capitol conspiracy. A new layer of the problem has been revealed by the former chief of staff. Someone specifically ordered Kirkman to be the designated survivor before the attack. This reason goes beyond trying to fire him from the cabinet. As the newest pawn in this scene, Kirkman granted Agent wells to be a one-woman Hawaii-5-0 police force, reporting only to him. Now Wells can legally participate in CIA-crazy spy techniques and shoot at people to get to the bottom of this. It's the same thing she was doing before, but with a lot less getting arrested.


* If you're playing this drinking game, also drink when President Kirkman adjusts or removes his glasses. I thought in the first few episodes they were some sort of covert listening device because there seemed to be too much focus on them. 

Who's That Guy? - Ricardo Chavira

GIF from Tumblr

Ricardo Chavira is owning television in 2017. The actor first rose to popularity on Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle's jealous husband, Carlos Solis. The actor's chemistry with his television wife Eva Longoria sizzled so much that he guest starred in her short lived 2016 sitcom Telenovela.

 President Chavira
 Chiavera spent most of 2016 playing fictional Pennsylvania governor/Democratic presidential nominee Frankie Vargas on ABC's  Scandal. During the season, political mastermind and possible sociopath Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) pushed Vargas to the front of America's consciousness. Beene went as far as to secretly initiate a shooting at the PA Capitol building, where the unknowing Vargas rescued co-workers and became an American hero. The race came down the kind Vargas candidate and the ex-first lady turned senator Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young).

     Last season's finale was drawing to a close as the clock ran down on on finding a running mate. In the last minutes of the show, Vargas called Beene to the stage, announcing him as his VP candidate. This season picked up in January with a shocking jump through the election. Vargas was announced as the winner and on stage to make his speech as President-Elect. Then he got SHOT! This is the second attempted presidential assassination on Scandal. Unlike the fortunate President Grant, Vargas did not survive, (Poor Vargas). Now Chavira appears in flashbacks that explain what happened along the campaign trail.  At first it seemed like VP-elect Beene was manipulating America, putting out an ideal candidate and plotting to taking him out so Beene himself would be the default leader. At this point in the story, we're still not sure who ordered President Vargas to be assassinated, but Beene and his secret lover (FBI agent Tom) have confessed their innocence in jail. Olivia (Kerry Washington) has also come to the conclusion that her accusation of Cyrus was wrong. Scandal show runner Shonda Rhimes said that  this season's story is about the electoral college and how it chooses the president when the people's candidate is taken out of the race. Many have argued that the show has picked up on an unrest in the country, even though the story line was on film long before the results of the election. I can't wait to find out more about what got Vargas assassinated in the coming weeks.

Lover Chavira
     Chavira also has a growing role as Bruce on the CW's Jane the Virgin. On Monday's episode, Bruce proposed to Jane's mother Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), known as Xo. In the first few episodes of the series, we learn Xo had an off-screen affair with Bruce and he recently broke up with her. Bruce was also cheating on his wife with Xo. Jane (Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez) and her grandmother vehemently despised Bruce for the turmoil he brought to their family.  Xo spent the first two seasons of the show finding her way back to Jane's over-dramatic telenovela star father, Rogelio De La Vega (played by Jaime Camil). Check out Rogelio's hilarious tweets here.

     Bruce is the complete opposite of Rogelio. Where Rogelio is vain and tweeting his feelings, Bruce is a quiet and reserved , and he is a lawyer. The triangle developed between the three has been intriguing over the last few months. Rogelio financed Xo to open her own dance studio, which coincidentally happened to be in the same complex as Bruce's new office. Xo seemed to have all her dreams coming true; Bruce and the studio, but at the cost of her friendship with Rogelio, The couple broke up as teens and Xo chose to raise Jane on her own. In their adult relationship, they got drunkenly married in Las Vegas, then engaged for real months later. In planning their life together, Xo chose to end things  because Rogelio wanted more children and she had already raised their daughter, who is now in her 20's.

     In the weeks since January's three-year jump and the death of Jane's husband Michael, Bruce and Xo have been going strong. As the show's least dramatic couple, their triumphs have been small, Xo and Jane winning over Bruce's teen daughter. This relationship one of the most real parts of the show.  I partly hope Xo and Bruce get married because she needs something stable in her life, although I am a hard-core Rogelio fan. Mr. De Le Vega got into a reality TV marriage with his matchmaker Darcy on the show, the De Le Vega-Factor. The show pieced together clips of Xo to look like a jealous ex, and fans of Rogelio actively name-call and throw coffee. Through this rift, Bruce encourages Xo to forgive Rogelio, and that makes me like Bruce even more! He helped Rogelio with legal advice on his lawsuit against the "DLVF" production company, because he knows it will please Xo. This whole situation brings up an important question in Jane's life. Can two people raise a child and not let their feelings get involved?  Jane and her baby daddy Raphael are also faced with the same question as she recovers from her husband's tragic death.

Officer Chavira

     “He doesn’t think we killed Gary, he’s just obsessed with ants!” remarked Sheila (Drew Barrymore) in episode 4 of The Santa Clarita Diet. The new Netflix show is reminiscent of Weeds, except instead of growing pot plants, Sheila is a new zombie. She and her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant) start murdering people and storing them in a freezer in their storage unit so she can feed on their bodies. Chavira played their couple's nosy neighbor, Officer Dan. This guy was a crooked yet tough officer from the L.A. County Sheriff's office (he mocked a neighbor that works for the cushy Santa Monica police dept.) who became suspicious of the Hammonds.  This character reminds me the most of Chavira's character from Desperate Housewives. He is not a nice person. His gentle, nerdy stepson Eric constantly verbally abused at his own hand. Even Dan's wife Lisa (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) began an affair to get away from him.

     It's important to note that Sheila became a zombie through some unclear reason in episode 1. As of episode 8 (2 more to go), there is no explanation how this happened. She fed on her smarmy co-worker Gary in the backyard, eating his fingers and eventually his body. Joel, their daughter Abby, and Eric cover up the murder. Dan continued asking why Joel was outside spraying their lawn for ants in the middle of the night, which was a cover for washing away the blood. Dan was so obsessed with the lawn that he found a rogue finger and and blackmailed  Joel into attempting to murder a convict that could not be convicted. The couple reasoned this was in line with their new motto, only killing bad people that deserve it.  After a bad situation where the convict became a zombie, Dan took it too far. He falsified a dossier and asked them to kill Lisa's side dish, spreading horrible lies about the pediatric doctor (Scott Michael Foster).   Joel stood up to Dan as Abby and Eric planted a flash bomb in his garden. He was going out one way or another! Joel killed Dan in episode 5, smashing a shovel into his head, and marking the family's first non-zombie committed kill. Lisa and Dan's partner began a search for him, assuming he took off because of the contraband the teens discovered in the garage. Was his death justified? Will anyone figure out Joel killed Dan? I'm guessing this is an issue for season 2. 

Why Sports Night Failed

GIF from Imgur

     I made it 5 episodes into Aaron Sorkin's half-hour single-camera comedy Sports Night before I realized that this two-season show was doomed from the start. It had an interesting premise- behind the scenes of an ESPN-style show. It even had a great cast of promising actors:

Felicity Huffman

Joshua Malina

Peter Krause

Josh Charles

1. The music did not fit the show
2.  It oddly reminded me of Melrose Place.
3. It was funny sad, not funny 'haha'
4. Awkward camera angles
5. The Sorkin "walk and talk." *
6. The love story that wasn't a love story
     Dana (Huffman) is the producer of the show and Casey (Krause) is the anchor. Casey gets divorced. Casey finally has a chance with Dana. Dana kisses Casey. Dana tells Casey he has to date other people because she can't be his rebound. This all happens over the first two episodes!

*Sorkin is big on passing from one location to another with a walk and dialogue. This builds a wonderful foundation for scenes in Gilmore Girls and Sorkin's movie The American President, but it is an over-used trope in this half-hour show. 

The ABC App is #Winning

I have been hearing a lot of hype for the newly updated ABC app. I finally got my phone updated last month, and I have been exploring it in-depth. ABC certainly delivered! I can watch current episodes of my favorite shows, and older shows.  I have thus far:

1. Binge watched Samantha Who? on my phone, and I  finally saw all of the unaired episodes.
2. I'm planning a Desperate Housewives or Dinosaurs binge soon.
3. I finally discovered Sports Night! More thoughts to come on this....
4. I fell in love again with Brothers & Sisters!
5. I vow to finally view My So-Called Life to see baby Claire Danes and Jared Leto.

CMA Fest- Like the Awards But With More Music

     A month ago, ABC showed its broadcast of June's CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock. The event kicks off summer in Nashville with a week of events and concerts. Basically, it brings today's biggest country stars on one stage in a stadium for the coolest weekend-long country music festival.This event  began in 1972 but has taken off in the last few years as country music has become entirely more mainstream. There are various CMA events in Nashville and many opportunities for up and coming artists to show off their talents (but that's not getting airtime yet). I've been to a few CMA-sponsored songwriter events and they are fantastic and highly recommended. This link is for my video of Brett Eldredge playing a CMA event on the cusp of his first single "Don't Ya" taking over the radio. 

     CMA Fest has become a big deal in the last few years. Tickets for the 2017 fest are already on sale for next June. The T.V. airing of the concert is part of ABC's lead-off to the CMA Award nominations, which broke last week. Please note, Jason Aldean has been snubbed. Yes, this huge concert is just a halfway point in the year between CMA award shows. For November 2nd's 50th anniversary awards show, we can look forward no further than usual duo Carrie Underwood and  Brad Paisley. 

Not CMAs, but some country awards won by Dierks Bentley (c) PipPepPop

Not CMAs, but some country awards won by Dierks Bentley (c) PipPepPop

CMA Fest Best Performances:

1. Luke Bryan

Luke began shaking his booty for his new song "Move", which is always reason to celebrate. But during another song, he showed off his guitar skills only to be shown up by banjo god Keith Urban. Keith then guitar battled and jammed with Luke's band. 

2. Lady Antebellum  and Cam

Lady A has been taking a bit of a hiatus this summer while they spend time with their babies and pursue other projects, but their moving collaboration with Cam was delightful. The trio joined Cam on her ballad "Burning House" and brought tears to our eyes.

3. Carrie Underwood

Carrie greeted fans while performing this spring's "wife-turned-murderer" ditty, "Church Bells." For her newer single, she soloed on the harmonica and explained a crime for the ages in the "Chocktaw County Affair." 

4. Hank Williams Jr., Chris Janson, Justin Moore
I've seen 'Ol Bocephus before and I was not particularly excited about it. But these guys had a very upbeat (an not overly redneck) 'ole ruckus on stage with a full brass section backing them. Rolling Stone called Hank the top act to see at the fest. 

I'm Finally Binge Watching The Middle

I'm baaack friends! I was hoping to get back to writing last week, but I'm fighting some neck pain that makes writing more difficult. Alas, I begin to write slowly. I have been taking some summer time for sun, fun, and comedy binge watching!

Image from ABC.com- The Wisdom Teeth

      I was looking for something to put on Hulu while I wound down to go to sleep, and I settled on ABC's The Middle. The Patricia Heaton (Deborah from Everybody Loves Raymond)  and Neil Flynn (The Janitor from Scrubs) led sitcom embraces everyday life to a somewhat extreme point, but the family is ultimately likable. Frankie Heck and her husband Mike live in Indiana with their three kids, Axel, Sue and Brick. Axel and Sue have gone off to college and teen Brick (Atticus Shaffer)  thought he was finally getting comfortable as the only kid in the house. Sue and Axel are far from ready to leave the next, and pop in often from their school, which is less than an hour away.

     This basic premise brings me to the 7th season finale, "The Show Must Go On", which chronicles Brick's 8th grade graduation. Brick's graduation is almost eclipsed by Sue's sendoff to a summer job at Dollywood. Frankie quickly realizes the stars on the calendar must be there for some important event she forgot. Quickly, she tries to make Brick's graduation day special. Brick shares with the family he was going to be one of 15 acts singing in graduation. This would have completed his "hero's journey" because he lost out at being valedictorian. Then, the teachers had a drawing to only pick 9 acts to perform and Brick lost out.

     Suddenly, the very passive Frankie jumps up to protect her son and get him on the stage for graduation. Mike talks to the principal first and gets nowhere, lamenting that everyone thinks their kid is a star these days and he's not buying it. He doesn't even know if Brick can sing. Frankie  meets with the principal, explaining that she's not one of those  parents that marches down to the school and complains but she needs to make a stand this time  for this kid, because he's the youngest and he's always getting shafted. She rants about the "fuzzy math" that led to picking 9 acts. Long story short, all 15 are allowed to perform, and it's the longest graduation ever. Brick surprised the family by singing a beautiful song while his friend played the ukulele.  Sue has to make a quick exit to make it to Dollywood and the whole family piles in the car to see her off to Tennessee. As summer begins, Sue succeeds at playing a grandmothery hostess part at the theme park restaurant, and Axel meets the girl of his dreams. The whole episode was endearing, quotable, and reminded me a lot of real life. It's so hard to find a sitcom these days that resonates with everyday problems. Bravo!

Other Episodes That Rocked this Season:
1. Find My Hecks:
Frankie installs a chip in the kids' phones to track them when they go to parties.
2.  The Lenai:
Frankie has a beautiful new porch and loud neighbors move in next door.
3. The Wisdom Teeth:
Frankie babies Sue and Axel when they come home to have their wisdom teeth out.

Nashville '16-'17: Where Are We Going?

From Change.org E-mail

     As much as I hate to see T.V. shows end, I hate it even more when they end without a valid wrap-up of their story lines, like The Mindy Project. This also was the case with ABC's Nashville. It came down to the last two cancellation-doomed episodes for fans to put out a public outcry to give the show a 5th season. In the last week, I joined almost 175,000 fans in signing a change.org petition to bring the show back. That's got to be at least a good chunk of their average viewership. Rest easy, Tennessee Titans, the show will be coming back for a season 5! The show's Lionsgate production company has cemented a deal with Country Music Television (CMT) for a new season. If you don't have CMT (like me), you can catch episodes the next day on Hulu, which is the new home of The Mindy Project (since FOX gave it the boot last season). The best news of all is that the show has been ordered for 22 full episodes for the season. Keep in mind, that's 22 episodes for a show that does not film in L.A. and it's gone from a network budget to a cable budget. I see big changes ahead!

 

Downtown Nashville (c)PipPepPop

   The 22 episodes will give us enough berth to get things in Nashville back to normal. But the new questions becomes, what is normal? With so many plots, actors, and guest stars, something may have to give. We left off season 4 with some major resolutions. Finally, Rayna and Deacon reunited with their angsty, emancipated teen daughter, Maddie. Then, the on-again, off-again band "The Exes", Gunnar and Scarlett shared a kiss while performing, and Will became a crusader for gay rights while patching things up with his ex, Kevin. Even Luke Wheeler, who has had a rough time these few years (his teen son joining the army, his daughter running off to boarding school, Rayna leaving him at the altar, and almost going bankrupt), managed to make a positive change in the country community and reach out to his ex-wife. Justly deserved, the wicked ingenue Layala was left all alone as her record exploded on the charts. Her desperate attempts to ruin Juliet's life blew up as Juliet opened up to the press about her struggles with suicide, depression, marriage troubles and her manege'rs resulting accidental death. Win for Juliet as she reconciled with her manager Glenn and rushed home to meet estranged husband Avery and their baby, Cadence. Where are we headed now? It's definitely a shocker!

     It's time to find out if Juliet's plane has crashed! The last scene showed Avery at the airstrip, receiving news that Juliet's jet lost contact with air traffic control. This plays heavily into the plans for season 5. Hayden Panettiere (Juliet) missed about 1/4 of the last season as she recovered from postpartum depression. The good news is that both Panettiere and Connie Britton (Rayna) have confirmed they will be back for the next season. With new showrunners moving into place, I'm hoping for a season that drags less. I felt that Luke didn't have much to go on this season, and at the same time Will was stuck in the same story lines over and over again. With tighter budgets looming, I hope to see some fresh stories. If there's one thign for sure, I can guarantee that all this hype will bring a 2017 Stars of Nashville tour. With Rayna and Juliet now longtime friends instead of  the warring divas they began the show as, I hope we can focus on the music again.

Fred Savage: Super Host

From Guest... (From OneNewsPage)

     I'm calling it here, I think Fred Savage is a great guy and the best of the Savage brothers. Fred hosted Monday and Tuesday's Live! with Kelly (Ripa) shows, and they were both solid slam dunks. Fred brings such a fun energy to the show for 9 A.M.  Fred loves travel trivia and all of the confetti launced into his water. He talked with the best of them,  charming The Bachelorette and the (Game of Thrones) Queen of Dragons in one day. Fred just might be Kelly's new co-host in light of Michael Strahan's recent and abrupt departure for a full-time gig on Good Morning America.

... to Co-host (From Perez Hilton)

Why Peggy Carter Was the Best TV Superhero

"If I'm working with him (Vernon Masters*) to take down a woman

 killing people with black space goop, the I'm in."

 -Chief Souza (Enver Gjokaj) to SSR Director Thompson 

* Vernon Masters is Kurtwood Smith, Eric's dad from That 70's Show, just to assist in this visual).

Image from Google

     Did you ever have one of those dreams with singing and dancing that was supposed to bring clarity to a decision you had to make? British-born SSR Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell)  did, after getting swift knock in the head and thrown in a van on its way to the desert. After that, she tried to escape put of the desert with loyal friend (and recent attempted murderer) Mr. Jarvis. Good thing Agent Carter wore a pantsuit before this mission. How did she come to arrive here? What will she do next? It's not such a simple story.

     Season 2 of Agent Carter was poorly sandwiched between breaks of Agents of the S.H.I.E.LD., a show that one must watch religiously if they want to understand each Marvel Avengers movie. The second round picked up shortly after the season 1 capture of Russian spy "Dottie." The SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) is a post-WWII, CIA-type organization that evolves into the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. In closing  the Dottie case,  NY office member Daniel Souza is sent to head up a new branch in Los Angeles, fronted as a talent agency.  When a woman turns up frozen in a lake, Chief Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) sends Peggy to Hollywood,  where she settles into old pal Tony Stark's (SR., not Ironman) mansion and gets into some good old-fashioned spy work. This eventually lands Carter and Stark's butler Jarvis (James D'Arcy) in the desert, captured and plotting escape.

     Why is Peggy Carter such a badass? I've never been much for superhero stories, but I think part of the character's appeal is that she is a positive female role model. To be honest, I started watching this shoe because I missed Chad MM, but I stayed for the likable heroine. She doesn't have super powers like Supergirl or Buffy or any of the powers-driven Avengers (I'm still trying to figure out if  Scarlett Johanson's (Black Widow) super power is disapproving, pouty stares) but she is out fighting bad guys, breaking codes, and sneaking into dangerous parties to save the country. Plus, she is doing this all in the 1940's  when most women were at home having babies and riveting to help the war effort. Agent Carter is part of the actual war effort! She chooses her career over love (time and again) and she may not always be rewarded, but she fulfills her deep commitment to duty and to her home country and adopted home of the U.S.A.  Agent Carter was introduced in the first Captain America movie, which I could not watch all the way through on T.V. tonight (it got a little boring). Peggy takes a liking to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a test subject in a  super soldier program, who becomes Captain America. But Peggy is not doting or wallowing too much when she loses Capt. into the ocean (2nd Capt. America movie). She is out fighting Nazis and Russians with the best of them while she moves on with her life. Plus, she looks like Carmen San Diego in that flowy trench coat.

     Agent Carter and Mr. Jarvis get out of their predicament and prevent total chaos in a studio back lot. In a nutshell, a delusional scientist-turned-actress Whitney Frost (played by Wynn Everett, and what a nice name for a villain) has accidentally dosed herself and Carter's possible love interest Dr. Jason Wilkes with a substance called Zero Matter*. Zero matter gives you a ghost-like quality and some weird powers. See below for some more clarification. Frost ( tries to take all the Zero Matter for herself and feeds the evil inside her, destroying anything that gets in her way. Bodies start to pile up as Zero Matter further falls into the wrong hands and the secret government committee that once OKs it gives up. Frost tries to open up a time rift and the gang gets a gamma ray to zap all of the Zero Matter into another dimension. Crazy Frost is partially deformed and locked up in a mental institution. Chief Souza thought moving to L.A. would help him get over Peggy, and he gets dumped by his fiancee because of how much her still cares for Peggy. Mr. Jarvis's wife is shot over the whole Zero Matter fiasco and in her the recovery, discovers she can never have children. Peggy is more confused than ever over choosing Jason (now corporeal again) or Chief Souza (freshly jilted).  Finally, Director Thompson steals an incriminating file on Carter from baddie Vernon Masters and gets shot as the episode closes.

     Where are we now? The show has been cancelled, so we are lost. Technically, nothing is ever over in this crazy T.V./Movie Marvel universe, but it's unlikely people will go back in time and spend much time with this lovable gang of (misfit) spies without some major retooling and selling the story off to someomone like Netflix.  But the fan support is still there. We need more shows like Agent Carter. There's  such a strong reliance on technology in modern-day adventures that it's refreshing to see characters using their resources like their knowledge to help solve a problem (pre-Google era, everybody). The themes present in Agent Carter and other stories of its time also ring true to today's society. America is fighting many foreign threats that may destroy the way we live. The enemy may change, but the bravery of a hero is s story that will live on. Also, Peggy and her friends show us that even super spies cannot always leave their feelings at the door, and a true hero uses emotion and instinct to get results.

*Zero Matter per Wikipedia: 

"It is a powerful, extra-dimensional energy that can be manipulated in slightly different ways by a handful of beings that are attuned to it. There are slight yet inconclusive hints that it may be a corruptive influence of some kind (at least to Cloak, possibly to Darkhawk as well) and perhaps even a sentient entity." 

6/2 UPDATED: Star Hayley Atwell would love to play Peggy again.

Who Needs Friends When You Have Happy Endings?

In the fall of 2004, networks began looking for the next Friends.* 

Definition from  IMDB.com: "Three young men and three young women - of the BFF kind - live in the same apartment complex and face life and love in New York. They're not above sticking their noses into one another's businesses and swapping romantic partners, which always leads to the kind of hilarity average people will never experience - especially during breakups."

    I spent some time at lunch today defending Friends to a co-worker. She didn't see the big craze with it. I lamented over the heartbreaks, good times, and the inevitable "We were on a break." After Friends left, the viewing public got a lot of options thrown our way from 2004-2010. Some of these shows were terrible, and some included lasting favorites like: How I Met your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. But it took until the Spring of 2011 for something new. This show embodied the comedic situations, ride-or-die bonds, theme nights, and catchphrases of Friends better than any other show out there. This time, with a post-911, totally millennial lens.This show was called Happy Endings and it ran three seasons on ABC. First there were 13 beloved episodes and the 2nd and 3rd seasons ran 21 and 23 episodes, respectively. I just found out this Chicago-based group of college buddies have made the jump to Hulu and all seasons are streaming since January 2016!

     Situations that were taboo in early 90's sitcoms (Ross's wife leaving him for a woman and the threesome struggling to raise Ben together, Phoebe birthing her nieces and nephews for her brother and his wife) look like child's play compared to HE. The new normal of our diverse society has removed the stigma from situations and replaced horror with humor, like Adam Pally's Max bringing multiple female friends as a beard to dinner with his parents instead of admitting he is gay, or Elisha Cuthbert's Alex leaving her longtime fiance at the altar for a guy on roller blades (so 90's). Another common theme of the show is location. Both shows played off the major city they were set in, except the HE crew spent all of their free time drinking at Rosalita's Bar while the friends sipped coffee at Central Perk. Another uniting factor is that both shows led the actors to future roles and successes, some more than others (I'm looking at your decade vacation from acting, David Schwimmer). Although only off the air for three years and  nowhere close to syndication, the stars of HE bounced back well with projects since the cancellation of the show.    

Image courtesy of TV.com

       
     Alex's betrayal of Dave (Zach Knighton) is a cornerstone conflict of the series and it brought a lot of heartache to the group, but also a lot of laughs. Alex makes the perfect Rachel in this story, always misreading the conversation (guys thought she was a guy dressed like Marilyn Monroe for Halloween due to a deep-voiced cold), but coming through with her heart of gold. She also runs a fashion business like Rachel, sort of. Her boutique's only successful item was a baby onezie that teens wore as a belly shirt. Alex's hyper-organized sister Jane (Eliza Coupe) perfectly represents Monica. She is a neat-freak, teaches English to foreigners, whips up a mean brunch, will probably survive a zombie apocalypse, and always is competing. To complete the package, Jane volunteers advice when it is not needed. SNL alum Casey Wilson's Penny is in spirit, totally Phoebe, but with the put-together mindset and career. Her season 2 catchphrase  "Year of Penny!" is often used ironically as one setback after another befalls her personal and professional lives. Penny gets a condo, a promotion, an assistant (Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez), and a few promising love interests, but disaster follows this girl everywhere.  If hipsters had been identified back in the 1990's, Phoebe might have dated one. Penny tried so hard to impress the hipsters that she ended up hating herself. She found she has too much passion and excitement to go through life ironically. 

     For the men, Dave is a free-spirited mix of Ross and Chandler. On the one hand, Dave is boring. Nobody is interested in his stories and his nice guy status is mostly present as relationship with Alex ebbs and flows through the series. On the other hand, Dave's job at the beginning of the series is basically a transponder like Chandler, but he quits to open up a meats of the world restaurant and settles for a steak sandwich food truck. Max is somewhat by default and somewhat totally perfect as the Joey of this group. Like Joey, Max cannot hold a steady job, and he finally buys a limo and drives people around Chicago. Much like Joey, Max enjoys meat, and can pick up anyone, man or woman. Penny dated him in college, and Alex crushes after him in one episode. Jane's husband Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.) wears suits like Chandler, but he is much cooler. Brad always has the last word, plays basketball, befriends a secret group of black friends that get him, and yes, Brad does think that long polo Alex sold him is a shirt, not a dress. FUN FACT: In between seasons 1 and 2, Wayans appeared in a pilot for Fox's New Girl (another show that has made its own Friends-style group of misfit roommates), and after the first episode, was replaced with Winston Bisop after HE was renewed for a somewhat surprising 2nd season. Wayans later returned to New Girl for several seasons after HE completed.

My 5 Favorite Episodes for Newbie Viewers: 

5. Blax, Snakes, Home: The season 2 opener found Penny moving into a condo and throwing a Great Gatsby-themed housewarming. Too had the last inhabitant of the house was a crazy old cat lady who may be haunting Penny. Max spies in Brad to discover his group of cool, black friends and learns why Brad dubbed him "White Darryl."  Alex and Dave celebrate one year since their almost wedding and are spurred on by Jane to talk about the things the other did in their relationship that annoyed them. 

4. Like Father, Like Gun: This season 1 episode got Penny and Alex to double date a hot pair of Italians. Penny is only able to communicate to them in fluent Italian when she is plastered. Dave and Max use nerf guns to work out roomate issues. Jane encourages Brad to open up to his dad after a heart attack scare. His dad is played by his real-life dad, Damon Wayans.

3. Cocktails and Dreams: Dave's food truck becomes a speakeasy. Actor Colin Hanks befriends Dave and the gang stop going to the food truck because the drinks dive them weird dreams about Dave. 

2. More Like Stanksgiving: The group views a previously unseen episode of The Real World that followed them in their college days. Dave, who is 1/8 Navajo, insists on  holding a proper and traditional Thanksgiving.   

1. The Shershow Redemption: The gorup heads to hot mess buddy Shershow's wedding toward the end of season 1. This guy was wilder than Penny and Max combined and he suddenly has his life together. Penny brings a gay date to the wedding as her fiance while Alex gets blacklisted as a wedding jinx. Jane and Brad plan for a romantic weekend and end up renewing their vows. 

HONORABLE MENTION:

Any episode with Megan Mullally as Penny's mom, Dana. 

5.24.16 UPDATED: Here is more on the Happy Endings reunion panel and possible plans for an on screen reunion. 

Who's That Guy: Michael Esper

     I have been catching up on two of my recent new favorite shows and I discovered they share someone in common. Michael Esper is on ABC's new drama The Family as Adam's alleged kidnapper (the hole-faced man), and he also plays IA cop Donnie in the Jennifer Lopez-led NBC drama Shades of Blue. In both shows, he plays a total creeper.

The Family
     We're almost a month into ABC's story of the Warren family. Their 8-year-old son Adam was kidnapped and recently appears after ten years. Adam was captured by Esper's Doug, described by Adam as the hole-faced man. Adam's mother Claire (Joan Allen) was running for city council at the time of the kidnapping and may have used her lost child as a way to get her political career started. Claire announces her campaign for governor upon Adam's resurfacing. The Warrens' neighbor Hank (Andrew McCarthy, also a director on the project) was convicted of kidnapping and killing Adam with little evidence and prior crime involving children. Now Hank is free and looking to take out revenge on Claire and her clan. Estranged husband John (Rupert Graves) has been seeing the lead detective on the case for almost ten years while Adam's  grown siblings Willa and Danny both dealt with losing their brother in destructive ways, becoming an ultra conservative campaign aide to mom and becoming an alcoholic, as they were last responsible for Adam.

     The FBI and local police are trying to track down Doug, but were derailed in the last episode. Meanwhile, Esper's Doug has a wife and a baby on the way! Clearly his wife had no idea he was keeping a little boy in a bunker for all those years. The real question comes from Danny's friend, blogger Bridey, who is investigating if Adam is really who he says he is. For the record, this boy is not Adam. It's been alluded that Adam's genetic test might have been faked and Claire has received donations from a genetics lab. Also Willa planted Adam's toy in Hank's house to ensure an arrest.  Is this all a political scam? Will the show conclude with all questions resolved? Only time will tell.

Photo from TVGeekTalk.com

Shades of Blue
     This photo shocked SOB fans when it was discovered that Internal Affairs investigator Donnie Pomp (Esper) was having a secret, years-long affair with the closeted and married Lt. Wozniak. Donnie Pomp was first introduced as investigating Wozniak's (Ray Liotta's) crew and making sure their illegal activities were overlooked by the department. Wozniak's group collects payments from businesses in order to keep the peace in their Brooklyn precinct. Jennifer Lopez's Harlee is caught by the FBI and (the short story) forced to inform on the crew who have become a family to her, with 'Woz' as the power-hungry papa. Harlee wears a wire to protect her daughter Christina and get immunity in all of her crimes. FBI special agent Stahl (Warren Kole) tortures Harlee on her quest to get dirt on Woz.

      Donnie is the first person to reveal to Woz there is a mole in the crew. Woz goes crazy on Harlee, almost killing her, and almost killing other members of the crew. Finally, Woz kills Detective Saperstein for being picked up by the FBI for questioning. Harlee vows to get enough information to send Woz to jail for life. After leaving a bug in Woz's office, Harlee and Shatl discover Woz and Pomp's relationship and Pomp's introduction into a job that will be the group's final big score. This score will also bring down Woz's crew. I am playing catch-up with the show, but all will be resolved in tonight's season finale.

     I must congratulate Esper for playing two equally creepy baddies. What will become of his two tortured villains? I'll keep checking with the FBI...

A Crazy Town Full of Neon Dreams

     Wednesday night marked the long-coming wedding between Nashville's Deacon and Rayna. As the two country superstars united in a 20-plus years coming marriage, they struggled to keep their privacy. As a cool publicity move, ABC created a page on The Knot in honor of the couple's wedding. The page was filled with photos of the couple (played by Connie Britton and Charles Esten) a link to their favorite songs, and information about the places in Nashville that meant the most to them. It's an odd sort of ploy, but the show ties so heavily into town tourism, I can see why they went this way. I happen to be on my way to Nashville this weeks o I will keep my eyes peeled for any juicy gossip!

Image from Pintrest

     The wedding itself was one for the record books. The groom almost ran away, the brides's kids put up a fight about coming, and her sister said something to the effect of "Are you sure you really want to do this?" But Rayna and Deacon said "I Do," while all of the guests struggled with the last-minute change in venues and imploding personal lives.  Avery Barkley (Jonathan Jackson) is still married to superstar Juliet Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) and he has reached his breaking point about lying to the press about where Juliet is (as she sought treatment on the show and in real life for post-partum depression.) Scarlett (Clare Bowen) attended her uncle's wedding solo and pal Gunnar (Sam Palladio) tried to set her up with a ton of weird guys, only proving that they really belong with each other if they could only admit it. Rayna's ex Luke is still losing all of his money and his miserable son Colt finally starts telling people that Juliet was trying to jump off a hotel roof when slimy record executive Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson) accidentally fell to his death. This whole situation is not going to end well, but maybe this will finally give bring wannabe Layla (Audrey Peeples) an exit. Also Chris Carmack's Will Lexington is still a gay country singer. He declined to attend the wedding to avoid the press asking him the same questions over and over... so really nothing has changed among these background characters. If something doesn't change up soon, the show's chances of renewal are slim.

TV Theme Songs Revisited- Whatever Happened to Full House

     Since I'm sure you haven't been living under a rock, I'm sure you know Full House is back on Netflix as a new iteration called Fuller House. It's still the same D.J. (Candace Cameron-Bure), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and neighbor Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), raising up some kiddos in the old Tanner family home in San Francisco. Eldest daughter Donna Jo is very straight-laced like her father, Danny, and she is recently widowed with three boys, which is the exact opposite of how the Tanner girls grew up. Her sister Stephanie (Uncle Jesse much?) and best friend Kimmy (definitely the essence of weird Joey) are moving in to help. Now Kimmy is a mom, and her teenage daughter adds the Disney-channel style sass. I have yet to delve into the hew show, but I will blog the moment it happens. I'm really here to express my interest in the rebooted theme song. Some of you younger folks might not know what a theme song is. Once upon a time (or at least a good ten years ago), all shows (drama and sitcoms) had an opening song that described the sentiment of the show and showed memorable scenes of the characters, introducing the actors by name. Fuller House took the opportunity to re-do it's theme song, Everywhere You Look.

     The theme song was performed by ABC's TV theme hit-maker of the late 80's and early 90's, Jesse Frederick. Jesse also song and penned themes for Family Matters, Perfect Strangers and Step By Step so he was the king of this stuff in the 90's. Most recently, Jesse debuted his version of The Tonight Show theme song. Back in Fuller House land, he worked with Carly Rae Jepsen (Call Me  Maybe*). This song is getting a lot of buzz, appearing in the show teaser and even being sung by CRJ and Danny Tanner himself,  Bob Saget last week. The tune uses the same words and melody of the original song with more of a poppy, twangy take on the song that asks "Whatever happened to predictability?" Please check out the amazing podcast from the Tuner crew that delves deep into the musicality of the two different versions of the theme song. There's also a bonus mash up of the songs together that sounds really weird and pretty cool. Tuner has some amazing podcasts and I have become a total fan girl after discovering them last week, thanks to my trusty Google App!


* Stay Tuned for a post next week where we really dissect the meaning of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit. I have so much more to say about this song.

Remember That Decade: The Goldbergs Bring the 80's Back

     The Goldbergs is a unique family sitcom based on the real life of Adam F. Goldberg, who grew up in the 1980's outside of Philadelphia. Adam is the youngest of three kids, and he follows his family (a real cast of characters) with a video camera. You may recognize these types of people in your own family.  You may have been a kid in the 80's and relate to some of the very humorous story lines. You may even enjoy watching with your own family to be grateful they're not this neurotic. If you family is this neurotic, let's chat!

     The most recent episode pitted siblings Erica and Barry in a fight about a school dance, which Erica planned with a Dirty Dancing theme (which school administration and Mrs. Goldberg changed their mind about after thinking what qualifies as "dirty"). Barry insists he will show up at the dance dressed like Kevin Bacon from Footloose and encourages Erica to dance out her frustrations in an "angry dance" scene. In the end, Erica gets humiliated and then has her spotlight dance with Barry's friend Geoff, who is obsessively (Say Anything boombox-style) in love with her. In another recent episode, Adam also tries to sneak into the movies to see the R-rated Weekend at Bernie's, shocking his mother and making poppa Murray proud.

     In a third hilarious episode (Laney Loves Lionel), Barry decided to create a clay bust of his girlfriend Lainey for valentine's day in honor of her affection for the Lionel Ritchie song Hello. It does not end well as Barry has a short temper and very few artistic skills.   I love this show and it's made it three seasons full of amusing anecdotes and embarrassing coming-of-age stories, similar to the beloved early 90's classic, The Wonder Years. Older Adam (voiced by Patton Oswald) narrates the beginning of each episode and a video tape is inserted into the VCR to begin the story. Here are the reasons to watch and catch up.

Photo from the web. 

Murray- Dad (Jeff Garlin)
     Murray comes home from work and drops his pants, taking up residence on.the armchair. He loves football, watching football, his dog Lucky, and calling his kids morons.  He does not like to talk about mentions and you will rarely see him dance, but he's got a deep heart in there somewhere. He also has one friend, Bill.

Photo from Pintrest. 

Pops (Beverly's Dad) (George Segel)
     Pops lives nearby in a retirement community, but he hangs at the house on a regular basis. The kids get upset when pops buys a timeshare in Florida because he might not be around as much. Adam regularly declares Pops is his best friend, and pops dispenses advice to everyone, whether they are ready to hear it, or they are too stubborn. He attempts to bail Erica out of jail, despite not having a license. Most important, Pops agrees to go along with all of Adam's crazy ideas (filming an alternate ending to Transformers, auditioning for Double Dare, bringing two girls to the school dance).

Beverly - Mom (Wendy McLendon-Covey)

Photo from Pintrest.

     Adam's mother is often called a "smother" because she mothers to the umpteenth degree.  She calls all three kids schmoopie (or schmoops) and tries to get her "snuggles" in with each of them whenever possible. She does not want the kids to ever meet anyone they will love more than her, which can cause a lot of problems. She also scares the high school principal into getting her way often.

Photo from the web.

Erica - Sister (Hayley Orrantia)
     Adam's big sister Erica is 1980's cool. She wears crop tops, ripped lace and rocks a scrunchy like no other. She gets invited to cool parties with beer, sneaks out to go to concerts, sings in bands, tries to get out of her mom's clutches, and at the end of the day always has her brothers' backs. Beverly and Erica's conflict drives many of the stories, including one where Beverly  showed up at Erica's department store job to constantly use Erica's associate discount.. It's important to note, Adam Goldberg doesn't have a sister, he had two older brothers. But they would not have looked as good in a fringed jacket as she does. Erica's best friend Lainey (A.J. Michalka) is a close adopted member of the Goldberg family and slowly grows to love Barry, much to Erica's disgust.

Barry- Brother (Troy Gentile)

Photo courtesy of pintrest. 

Barry is the middle child and likes ka-ra-tae (and he is terrible at it). Barry is good at one thing and one thing only, a made-up game he and Adam play called "Ball Ball." When the school jock joins Barry's ball ball club at school, Barry is kicked out and competes in a series of events Adam sets up that only Barry could win at. Barry chases after his sister's friend Lainey for a good chunk of time before she finally gives in and begins dating him, although she is a quintessential cool girl and sometimes embarrassed by Barry' bold declaration of love (See Laniey Loves Lionel). When he has free time, Barry can be found trying to rap under the name "Big Tasty", break dancing, or hanging out in the WaWa parking lot with his friends, the JTP (Jenkinstown Posse).

Adam F. Goldberg (Sean Giambrone)

Photo from the web.

     Adam is a cute little middle school pipsqueak beginning puberty (or as Barry calls it, "The Pubening.") Adam carries a hefty video camera around to record his family's actions and to recreate his favorite movies, His best friend is pops, although he is also close with an elementary school pal Emmy, called Muscles Mirsky. Their clash over auditioning to Double Dare was priceless, as Adam got jealous of Emmy teaming up with the class jock, and he demands that pops be his partner. Pops is disgusted with picking through noses and kiddie pools of slime to find a flag and ultimately both kids lose out of the tryouts. The ultimate 80's fanboy, Adam is always found wearing shirts from his favorite movies, Star Wars, The Goonies, Tron and Transformers. Adam is the most willing to let mom indulge in her smothering, promising snuggies for small bits of freedom and dates with his first love, Dana, who moves away to Seattle.

Poor Meredith Grey

     As the leading lady of Grey's Anatomy, Meredith Grey has been through a lot of terrible situations. When we first met the grumpy, friendless, brilliant, makes-bad-decisions while drunk surgeon in 2005, she was simply trying to get her Alzheimer's afflicted mother to sign over power of attorney. Compared to that piece of cake, Meredith has faced a significantly greater  hardship. On Thursday's episode, she got beat up by a patient that was in a fugue state from sedation. Mer had broken bones, a broken jaw, and hearing loss, among other problems (Season 12, Episode 9). She was watched over and cared for by her dear friend Alex, and at this point I think he should just be her new husband. They both have some pretty serious relationship issues and understand each other on a deep level. (Plus, in a weird alternate flash forward, Meredith was engaged to Alex, so I could see it working).  Here are Meredith's 35 greatest hits and struggles that led her to this moment:

1. Meredith gets caught caught having car sex with her boss's boss. (Season 1, Episode 5)
2. Meredith finds out her boyfriend's ex-wife is back in the picture. (Season 1, Episode 9)
3. Everyone at the hospital find out Meredith's mom has Alzheimer's. (Season 2, Episode 3)
4. Her one-night stand ends up in the E.R. with a sex injury. (Season 2, Episode 10)
5. Meredith has to hold a live bomb in a patient during surgery. (Season 2, Episode 16)
6. She has sex with her roommate George and feel terrible about it. (Season 2, Episode 19)
7. McDog is put down and Meredith must choose McDreamy or McVet. (Season 2, Episode 27)
8. Meredith's half-sister is admitted to the hospital. Family drama! (Season 3, Episode 10)
9. Meredith drowns and almost dies while rescuing ferry boat accident victims and her mom dies (Season 3, Episode 17)
10. Meredith gets a group of residents and meets another of her half-sisters, Lexie. (Season 4, Episode 1)
11. Mer and McDreamy's clinical trial succeeds, they get back together, and she makes breakthroughs in therapy. (Season 4, Episode 17)
12. Mer and McDreamy cancel their dream wedding to let Alex and dying Izzie (not really) get married. They sign a post-it note and call themselves wedded. (Season 5, Episode 22)
13. George gets hit by a car and dies. (Season 6, Episode 1)
14. Meredith's  no-good father comes into the hospital needing a liver transplant and she is the only match. (Season 6, Episode 4)
15. Meredith watches Derek get shot at the hospital and loses her baby. (Season 6, Episode 24)
16. Meredith discovers fertility problems, gets on Derek's Alzheimer's clinical trial, and her dad comes into the hospital again with a girlfriend younger than her. (Season 7, Episodes 14-16)
17. McDreamy and Mer adopt African orphan, Zola. (Season 8)
18. Alex and Meredith are in an ambulance saving a newborn baby when they get into an accident. (Season 8, Episodes 9-10)
19. Mer, McDreamy and most of the gang are in a plane crash. (Season 8, Episode 24)
20. Everyone is messed up (Derek, Arizona, Meredith, Cristina) or dead (Lexie, Mark) from the plane crash, but they get offered a lot of money from the hospital and end up becoming the new board of directors. (Season 9, Episode 3, 11, 15, 16)
21. Meredith finds out she is pregnant. (Season 9, Episode 9)
22. Meredith has to get back on a plane. (Season 9, Episode 17)
23. Meredith gives birth to Bailey in the middle of a blackout. (Season 9 Episode 24)
24. A 3-D printer becomes available for Meredith's clinical trial to make fake organs. (Season 10, Episode 8)
25. McDreamy takes a job in D.C. advising the president, and Meredith is not consulted. (Season 10, Episode 18)
26. Meredith says goodbye to bestie Cristina and discovers another half-sister (Maggie) that is working at the hospital. (Season 10, Episode 24)
27. McDreamy agrees to quit his new brain mapping job and come home to Meredith, and she convinces him they can make it work. (Season 11, Episode 1)
28. Meredith has flashbacks to her mother giving birth to Maggie and attempting to kill herself during the same time, which makes it pretty difficult for Meredith to let this go. (Season 11)
29. Meredith goes to visit McDreamy in D.C.  and chickens out. (Season 11, Episode 12)
30. Meredith calls McDreamy after an earthquake and some woman answers his phone. (Season 11, Episode 15).
31. Meredith and McDreamy patch things up. (Season 11, Episode 17)
32. Meredith freaks out after a plane crash in town and she can't confirm McDreamy made it back to D.C. for his final meeting to resign his job. (Season 11, Episode 20)
33. McDreamy dies...... and Meredith is relatively emotionally solid. (Season 11, Episode 21)
34. Meredith falls apart, disappearing for a year, having a baby, and avoiding contact with all of her friends. Alex finally lures her home and gives her back the deed to her house, which he bought back when she moved in with McDreamy. (Season 11, Episodes 22, 23)
35. Meredith is named Chief of General Surgery. (Season 12, Episode 2)

How to Get Away with Murder.. or Die Trying

Michaela and Connor

     It's time for the last part of the How to Get Away with Murder  second season. Since we left off, Bonnie murdered Rebecca and Annalise/Frank covered it up by disposing of her body and making it look like the fled town. It's nice to have friends in low places when you're planning a murder, isn't it, Bonnie? The main case of the season is Catherine and Caleb Hapstall, rich adopted siblings that are on trial for murdering their parents. Things seem pretty bad for the siblings, because the both claim they're innocent, and no murder weapon can be recovered. Plus, their adoptive aunt accuses them of incest and insults them with tons of racial slurs, and ends up dead also. The beak outlook of the case turns around when the Keating 5 discover Aunt Helena gave a child up for adoption, and their adoptive father was the child's father too and the true heir to the Hapstall family fortune. The best quote of the season comes from Annalise to D.A. Emily Sinclair, "Good luck proving the inbred weirdo didn't do it." Viola Davis also won a SAG award for her role of Annalise for last season, so she better go, girl!

     As luck would have it, Michaela gets involved with defendant Caleb, only as a result of having a wild entanglement with Rebecca's stepbrother, a.k.a. "eggs 911." In her defense, she didn't know who he was, but Wes did. The two gents teamed up to unsuccessfully find Rebecca and it was only revealed to Wes in the final minutes of episode 9 that Rebecca was dead. Annalise tells Wes in an effort to get him angry enough to shoot her. She does this to cover for Asher, who not-so-accidentally ran over D.A. Sinclair, who pulled up compromised cases from Asher's esteemed father's career as a judge. Annalise has Catherine drugged and sets up a scene at the house to make it look like she shot Sinclar and Annalise in anger, after Annalise 's team figured out she must have to do with the murders because she had a relationship with the inbred weirdo. We get flashes at the end of the episode of Annalise and her old flame, Eve, watching a young boy, Christophe,  in a police station being interviewed about finding his mother unconscious from an apparent suicide. Wes's mom also died from a suicide...

Wes

     So what happened with the murders from the previous season? Lila's murder just went on the backburneer as Annalise proved her client rebecca's innocence. Nate was tried for the murder fo Sam, and Annalise's old flame Eve represented him. This caused a lot of drama. Nate's cancer-stricken wife Nina asked Annalise to get her some pills so she could die in peace and Annalise wouldn't go for it. Nate did get the pills to his wife, and was investigated for charges of murder, but cleared after a blood sample swap indicated Nia died with no drugs in her body. Will these two crazy kids finally be together now that their spouses are dead? I hope not. They're nuts.

     Here is the current body count because of Annalise and crew, not including the at least 5 murders involving this season's cases

• Nia Lahey            - Murdered by Nate (humanely)
• Sam Keating        - Murdered by Wes
• D.A. Sinclair       - Murdered by Asher
• Judge Millstone   - Murdered by hanging himself
• Lila                      - Murdered by Frank
• Hapstall Aunt      - Murdered by her son, Phillip

Injured/Pretty Impaired:

• Annalise               
• Catherine Hapstall