The Positively Positive

This episode of NCIS (with the rather naughty sounding title “The Missionary Position”) has the team on the case of a missing, you guessed it, missionary. The case leads the team in some pretty interesting directions, not only to things like the CIA running a secret mission to use free vaccinations as a way to get DNA samples of families part of drug cartels, but also to an old friend and mentor of Ziva’s.

As the case runs its course, we see Gibbs and Ryan’s relationship getting tested as they both continue to do their jobs the way they always would, but find things much stickier now that they are sort of getting in each other’s way. I liked that though they had their little spats, in the end they left it in the Navy Yard and ended up snuggling on the couch. I take that as a good sign that this relationship could be a strong one. I even predict that Gibbs will meet her son at some point in the future.

Meanwhile Palmer’s wedding is getting closer and after deciding to go with a kitschy theme, he just has to pick his best man. I’ll admit I thought he should pick Tony at first, seeing as how those two had an established friendship, but I love that he picked Abby. I think she’s going to make an awesome Best Woman and I can’t wait to see this wedding.

My favorite bits..

Cracking up at the way the guy said “Seriously??” when the chick wanted to move because of bad energy.

“Holy full frontal, autopsy gremlin. Are you about to flash us your Magic Johnson?”

Oooh..and now we know why Gibbs didn’t want the team to pick him up.

“The sun is so pretty in that room.” “Somebody else used to say that.” – So sweet, but that hurt my heart a little.

Sam making Gibbs giggle with her “mayday, mayday” – Awww!

“Practice makes perfect.” – Whoa! Naughty, naughty. Love it.

Ducky comparing planning Palmer’s bachelor party to getting root canal. Youch.

Oh dear, did Palmer just go for the “fungus among us” joke?

I’m with Tony, how can Palmer be considering anyone else as best man?

Gibbs telling Abby she was making too much yabba yabba. Haha! Guess it’s not just Tony, then.

“We work like peas in a poke, like yogurt and garlic.” – Haha! Another great Ziva-ism.

“This looks like fun, I haven’t done this since the 80′s.” Oohh.now there’s something we’ve never seen Gibbs do in that elevator before.

One room, two girls and Tony? Oh boy, this is probably not gonna go well.

“How do you concentrate, Ziva? With so many handsome men around?” – I’ve often wondered that myself.

Manny + Gibbs + trash can lid = Ouchie.

Is it just me or is Gibbs smiling and laughing a lot more recently? I think Dr. Ryan is good for him.

“Do you think they know we’re here?” – Naaaaahhhhh.

Gibbs having to keep his team from turning on each other, from a few thousand miles away. Not an easy task.

“Take it from me, I carry a lot.”

Palmer asking Abby to be his Best Woman. Sounds like she’s got some great ideas for a bachelor party. LOL.

Check out all of my favorite bits and the rest of of my TV Equals review HERE.

In tonight’s episode of NCIS, called “Rekindled”, Tony meets up with a young man from his past. The team is brought in on a case of a man found burned to death and the arson investigator for Baltimore PD is Jason King, who Tony saved from a fire twenty years before.

NCIS comes on board when they discover that the victim was a member of a Black Ops unit called The Phantom 8 and also the third member of the group murdered in the last year. He was tortured, apparently for Navy secrets – secrets that could cost a lot of lives. Turns out faulty wiring was put on a lot of Navy ships and someone out there knows just how to take advantage of that weakness to start fires.

When I first heard about this episode, I knew that Tony was going to reunite with a kid that he saved from a fire. What I didn’t know was that Tony was practically just a kid himself when he did it; just a college guy out for a walk to clear his head before a game. I also didn’t know that though Tony managed to save Jason, he also had to make a choice that no person should ever have to make – choosing to save one life over another when he decided that he couldn’t save Jason and his little sister as well. Though Jason doesn’t want to hear it, Tony does manage to get the message across to Jason that he had to do what he did, he had to choose, or they all would have died.

The other part I didn’t know about the story was the fact that that night was the first time Tony felt like he did something to make a real difference and it was the catalyst that made him decide to become a cop. I have to admit that I always did wonder what it was that made him take that route, though I guess a part of me just assumed it was some sort of rebellious act against his father. The truth is sadder and yet speaks to the man that Tony is today, a guy who’s always somehow blaming himself when the people around him get hurt; probably forever looking for a way to save that life that he couldn’t.

Judging by the ending, this storyline is far from over and I’m assuming that it will carry through until the end of the season. I also wonder if we’ll find out more about Tony as well but even if we don’t, I am so glad we got yet another piece to the puzzle that is DiNozzo.

My favorite bits..

“One more word about your boots and you’re going to find mine up your ass, DiNozzo.”

“You’ve been through puberty? I hadn’t noticed.”

“What is it with chicks and firemen?…..and don’t say hoses.” – Dangit, he took the joke right out of my mouth.

Gibbs reminding McGee not to assume anything.

McGee and Ziva in those lab coats and goggles.

The guy at the lab immediately assuming that McGee was into dorky role-playing games. Gee, I wonder whatever gave him that idea?

Gibbs asking Abby if the guys on Mythbusters were pyromaniacs. Haha! Well, that’s one way to describe them. I did love seeing two of my favorite shows collide.

Finding Billy’s love and fascination for fire just a wee bit creepy.

Abby giving Jason a hug as soon as she found out he was in a fire when he was a kid.

Jason throwing Tony out of the way to save his life, and making them even.

“I don’t know, sounds like a bunch of geek speak to me.” – Ha! Nicely done, McGee.

Check out all of my favorite bits and the rest of my TV Equals review HERE.

More Positively Positive NCIS Reviews……
NCIS Season 9 Episode 20 “The Missionary Position”

Well folks, it happened, it finally happened. After months of waiting, wishing and hoping, Supernatural brought back our beloved Castiel in tonight’s episode, called “The Born-Again Identity.”

Now I can finally stop holding my breath and let out everything I’ve been thinking about this episode ever since I was lucky enough to catch a screening of it at the CW yesterday. I didn’t want to leak spoilers but at the same time, I’m so happy I can finally share with everyone just exactly how this episode made me feel. And what can I say? This one blew me away. Every actor brought their A-game to the table and there wasn’t an idle performance in the bunch. From Sam’s pain, Dean’s determination, Castiel’s initial confusion to eventual guilt, and even Lucifer’s hilarity – I enjoyed the heck out of everything that every single character did.

Sam gets himself admitted to a mental hospital after Lucifer takes him for a ride that leads to Sam getting hit by a car. Then Dean does the same thing Sam did in ‘Faith’ – he starts calling anyone and everyone to find Sam help, and what he finds is a healer named Emmanuel. Turns out Emmanuel is none other than Castiel, still with his angel powers but devoid of all his memories.

I felt bad for every character in this one. Sam of course with his torture (although it was really hard not to sometimes laugh at Luci’s antics) was hard to watch, as was Dean when he found Cas but had to hide the truth from him in order to try and save his brother.

And then there was Cas. Now we all know that Cas hurt Sam and as much as I love my angel, I didn’t take that lightly. But I don’t think there is anything he could have done to make it better; that would have been more fitting than pulling Sam’s nightmares into himself. With one touch he healed Sam and also brought on a punishment for all of his crimes. It made me proud even as it broke my heart. I know that Cas will have to be fixed someday, but right now I have no clue how Sam and Dean are going to do it.

But thanks to Cas, Sam and Dean can work together and hopefully now we’ll start to see them working their way out of the hole that has been getting deeper and deeper this season. Maybe now that Sam is whole again they can figure out how to beat the leviathans and maybe, just maybe, make Cas whole again, too.

My favorite bits..

Poor Sammy. I HATE that ridiculous Good Morning song, too. Mean Luci.

Luci pointing out to Sam the good news that if Sam was normal, he’d be dead in a week. Leave it to Lucifer to find the bright side.

“Keep that sense of humor, Sam. It’ll get you through this.”

My heart breaking a little when Dean said “Screw Cas!”

So torn between heartbreak for Sam and hysterics over Lucifer. It’s not fair how funny he is.

Luci reading the medical book and commenting that he *could* have narcissistic personality disorder. Haha! Ya think?

The journal “magically” ending up on the floor. Oh Bobby, please let that be you.

Luci comparing Sam’s locked room to the cage. Ouch.

Ugh! And another scene with food I’ll never be able to watch on this again.

Lucifer breaking out the bullhorn. That is beyond cruel. Every time Sam flinched, I did too…and yes, I did laugh a little. Dang that Luci.

Is it wrong to admit that I totally recognized that ass immediately? Just sayin’.

Check out all of my favorite bits and the rest of my TV Equals review HERE.

Once again Supernatural has taken an episode, steered it in one direction for 59 minutes and then done a complete 180 in a new direction for the last minute. In tonight’s “Party On, Garth” I got pretty much what I expected for most of it – a fun episode that offset the drama from last week. Sure, we touched on what happened to Cas (and I have no doubt that we will see plenty more of him, so it didn’t bother me at all that all we got was a mention) and even hinted a bit about Bobby. But we’ll get back to that in a minute.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I decided to get in the spirit of this episode and imbibed a little bit myself. I drank shot for shot with the boys and boy am I feeling it. I mean whoa, that chocolate shake is gonna hit me hard in the morning. The boys (and by boys I mean Sam, Dean and Garth) were on the hunt for a ghost that you can only see when you are drunk, which is actually pretty ingenious when you think about it. After all, no one’s gonna believe it when somebody who’s snockered says they see a monster, so it’s the perfect disguise.

And now we get back to the Bobby thing. We’ve all seen the hints ever since he died and it turns out the boys haven’t missed them either. Heck, even Garth was thinking that Bobby was haunting them, but when Dean practically begs his old friend to show himself, he gets bupkiss.

Then it happens, finally, FINALLY we see what we’ve all been waiting for….Bobby standing in the room right there with Dean, calling him an idjit and saying “balls!” just like he always did. And now we’re left wondering why the boys can’t see or hear him. What is it that has kept them from knowing for sure that he was there? And with Bobby “back”, does that mean the boys will finally have the answers they need about the Leviathans? Will they be able to beat the big bads after all? So many questions. Let’s just say that April 20 cannot come fast enough.

On a final note, can we talk for a second about how well this secret was kept? I had no clue and I consider myself pretty well-informed about this show. I mean, I often know things that are top secret and have to wait for them to be announced before I can say anything. But this one was kept tucked away under Bobby’s trucker hat. Nicely done, show. Nicely done.

My favorite bits..

Okay all together now.. EEEW!

LOL! Now there’s a song I never thought I’d hear on this show. Bell Biv DeVoe’s ‘Poison’? Hell yeah! Party on, Garth!

“You’ve been Garthed.”

Dean calling Meg to check in on Cas. Awww!

Not being at all surprised that Sam was guilty that Cas took on his crazy. That’s so like him.

The look on Dean’s face when Garth said he looks good in a uniform. Haha!

An invisible ghost werewolf? I know that’s not what it is, but how freaking awesome would that be?

“Is that a stripper or a beverage?”

Dean assuring Sam that Garth grows on ya. Haha!

Read the all of my favorite bits and the rest of my TV Equals Review HERE.

More Positively Positive Supernatural Reviews….
Season 7 Episode 18 “Party on Garth”

Well I guess I should be happy that at least they didn’t leave us hanging at the end of this season. I thought for a minute there the credits were going to roll with the entire group shut inside that building and we were going to be left wondering whether they got out or not. Then again, since they shot the first season without knowing if there would be second season, I guess it makes sense that they gave it as much closure as they could.

The group thought that they’d found their salvation at the end of last week’s episode and they even got a taste of normalcy for a little bit. Hot showers, a couple nice meals and even some good wine were had by all. Some went a little overboard with the liquor though and we saw that not all demons had left been outside those locked doors, some inner demons came along for the ride. Both Rick and Shane had moments of weakness while under the influence – Rick admitting how scared he’d been all along and Shane showing how much he still wants Lori.

They also were treated to a viewing of what happens when someone is infected, proving that there’s nothing left of the person when they rise. Plus they found out that the entire world had been infected, leaving all hope of “rescue”.

Overall I really enjoyed this episode, but much like I suspected last week, I’m now very sorry that we won’t see season two for a long while. I’m dying to see what happens next with our ragtag group and how they’re going to continue to survive after fighting so hard for the chance to do so. Rick is bound to find out what happened between Shane and Lori, which is sure to test their friendship to the limits, if not kill it altogether.

My favorite bits……

Finally getting to see what happened at the hospital when Shane left Rick. It was very touching to see him trying to carry his friend out before he realized the machines were attached and he might need them.

Rick telling Jenner all they were looking for was a chance.

Jenner joking with Carl in the elevator.

Cracking up at Carl’s reaction to tasting the wine. It was kinda like mine the first time I tried it.

Glenn calling Shane a buzzkill. He was totally right, too.

The dichotomy of seeing Rick and Lori sharing their shower while poor Shane was sharing his with a bottle of booze.

Rick getting drunk enough to admit to Jenner just how scared he’d been.

Shane’s attempt to explain to Lori why he thought Rick had been dead when he left and seeing how much he still wants her.

Carl asking Rick if he was hung over and Glenn begging everyone to never let him drink that much again. LOL.

The little girl asking if what was happening on screen was what happened to Jim.

Getting to see the entire process from death to walker on a screen.

The group finding out that the whole place was going to destroy itself in less than an hour.

The computer’s calm description of the destruction that was coming.

Jenner using Rick’s words against him and telling everyone about what he’d admitted the night before.

Jenner calling what was about to happen their “extinction event”.

Finding out that I was right when I figured that Jenner’s wife was Test Subject 19.

Wondering what the hell Jenner whispered in Rick’s ear.

Rick’s “ooohhhh…..shhhhh….” as he ran away from the grenade.

Dale telling Andrea that she didn’t just get to make her way into someone’s life, make them care, and step out.

Dale and Andrea coming out of the building just in time.

Jenner and Jacqui holding hands as the clock counted down.

The caravan driving off away from the destroyed building.

More The Walking Dead Reviews….
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1 “Days Gone By”
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 2 “Guts”
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 3 “Tell it to the Frogs”
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 4 “Vatos”
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 5 “Wildfire”