Tired of the winter weather yet? The only good thing about February is that there’s lots of television to watch as you hunker down at home.
Let’s bitch it out…
February rarely tops anyone’s favourite month list. And yet, the silver lining is that because television still adheres to the outdated idea of “sweeps” (when ratings are used to determine how much to charge for advertising rates) we can look forward to a month of nearly repeat-free TV! So ignore the wind chill, the bundling up and the snow drifts and prepare to gorge on lots of excellent entertainment.
Let’s begin, as always, with our regular, ongoing coverage:
- Sunday: The Good Wife S6 (9pm EST on CBS)
- Monday:
- The Originals S2 (8pm EST on The CW)
- Sleepy Hollow S2 (9pm EST on FOX)
- Tuesday:
- The Flash S1 (8pm EST on The CW) – Quick Take reviews
- Marvel’s Agent Carter S1 (9pm EST on ABC)
- Justified S6 (10pm EST on FX)
- Wednesday: Arrow S3 (8pm EST on The CW)
- Thursday: Scandal S4 (9pm EST on ABC)
- Friday: Grimm S4 (9pm EST on NBC)
Now for the new/returning shows we’re adding during the shortest month of the year:
The Blacklist S2B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t2VAkahevo
- Where did we leave off? In the anti-climatic fall finale we learned that Fitch (Alan Alda) was the one who set Berlin (Peter Stromare) on his revengda against Red (James Spader) and Lizzie (Megan Boone) set bad husband Tom (Ryan Eggold) free, prompting his return to Red.
- Why should you care? With this Sunday’s Superbowl airing on NBC, the peacock network is using the largest televised event of the year to launch the winter debut of its most successful series. Traditionally the Superbowl edition of any show is a big deal because series pull out all of the stops in the hopes of attracting a new audience. It’s safe to assume that we can expect the same crazy pyrotechnics of the most explosive Superbowl eps when The Blacklist returns on Sunday (think Grey’s Anatomy and Alias). NBC’s ads suggest that new baddie Luther Braxton (Ron Perlman) is Red’s greatest adversary, which appears to translate into Lizzie and the other task force members ending up in danger (natch).
- Who’s covering it? cinephilactic continues his Quick Take analyses
- Returns: Part 1 airs Sunday, Feb 2 at 10:15pm EST on NBC, then the series debuts Part 2 in its new regular timeslot on Thursday, Feb 5 at 10pm EST
Bitten S2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxbXVo5glY0
- Where did we leave off? The majority of the season was dominated by men imposing their will on central protagonist Elena (Laura Vandervoort), including her de facto father Jeremy (Greg Bryk), her ex lover Clay (Greyston Holt), her boyfriend Philip (Paul Greene) and the pack of mutts at the center of most of the conflict. The finale ended with a series of cliffhangers, including the <sigh> abduction of Logan’s (Michael Xavier) pregnant girlfriend Rachel (Genelle Williams), the revelation that James Williams (James McGowan) is after Elena (obviously) and the discovery of Philip’s decapitated head in her bed (RIP hot body).
- Why should you care? Bitten proved to be the definition of guilty pleasure in its first season. For all of the criticism about meandering plot and poor acting <cough Vandervoort cough>, this Canadian series has solid production values and an incredibly dedicated/passionate fanbase thanks to its bestselling source material, Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld series. It should be interesting to see how Bitten handles the introduction of several new characters from the novels (ie: Paige) as it moves further away from the plot of the books.
- Who’s covering it? In a historic move, cinephilactic has recruited his sister, Stonehaven Groupie, to counter his cynicism. The pair will likely agree to disagree in He Said/She Said Quick Take reviews every Sunday
- Returns: Friday, Feb 6 at 9pm EST on Syfy (US) / Saturday, Feb 7 at 9pm EST on SPACE (Canada)
The Walking Dead S5B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HwmtZFSAo0
- Where did we leave off? In the mildly predictable fall finale Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and co. negotiated a truce with Dawn (Christine Woods) that lasted approximately 5 seconds before Beth (Emily Kinney) sacrificed herself to ensure Noah’s (Tyler James Williams) freedom. This act brought to an end the Hospital arc that dominated the first half of season 5. Also, the CDC crew returned, which means the whole gang has been reunited.
- Why should you care? Apparently there are no limits to The Walking Dead‘s popularity as the series continues to break viewership records. There’s also near unanimous consent that S5 was the most consistently well plotted and executed stretch of episode that the series has ever produced. In a nutshell The Walking Dead remains a cultural phenomenon that dominates pop culture conversation. Do you want to be left out of that?
- Who’s covering it? TVAngie returns to continue her in-depth analysis of all the zombie-killing fun
- Returns: Sunday, Feb 8 at 9pm EST on AMC
That’s it for February. Depending on how much time we have, we may also do some coverage of the third season of Netflix’s House of Cards which debuts Friday, Feb 27 online.
What else are you watching? Will you watch with us? Sound off below.