Sunday, March 1, 2026

DOA On TV: The Rookie, Will Trent, Best Medicine, Paradise, Rizzoli and Isles, Starfleet Academy, The Pitt, Matlock, Elspeth, Sheriff Country, Scrubs, Jurassic Park Rebirth

 


The Rookie  Grand Theft Aircraft

Nolan helps the FBI transport a planeload of ultra dangerous prisoners to Los Angeles.  What could go wrong, besides a pilot paid to take the plane off course, then a crash and dramatic pursuit of the villains through the streets of LA with our finest chasing them down?

 

Paradise

Season 1   Using a series of flashbacks and present day events, it’s revealed that the world experienced a life ending tsunami three years ago.  An underground bunker in Colorado houses 25,000 hand picked individuals who survived and now live in something of a Paradise, where life is pleasant and structured to make people feel safe.

When the President of the United States is murdered, everything begins to unravel, and the fragility of the world these folks now live in is exposed.  

The story focuses on Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins, who failed to protect the President this last time, and who is determined to find his killer.   Collins is distracted and obsessed with the fate of his wife, who was in Atlanta and did not make it safely to the bunker.

Also in focus, the woman who made the bunker possible with her money and brilliance Samantha  (Bradford).  She hired the best thinkers to plan and construct the bunker in secret.  She’s the real power in the story, before and after the world ends.

Season 2

Three episodes dropped this last week of season 2.   Xavier has piloting skills, so he takes a small plane and flies towards Atlanta.  He’s determined to find his wife Teri, and to see what the surface is really like, and who may have survived.

Before we see how that plays out, the first episode shows what happened to those who didn’t have a bunker to retreat to.  Through the eyes of former med student Annie, who holes up at Graceland, we see the panic of the world falling apart, the ash gray skies and cold temps brought on by the destruction of most of the world.  While she initially has a companion, that person succumbs to injuries and she’s alone. 

A group of men invade the Graceland Compound, but in a post apocalyptic first, they’re a group of good guys, nerds who are headed to Colorado to find a bunker that’s supposed to exist, where they plan to kill someone named Alex.  Since we don’t know anyone named Alex from season one, here’s the first mystery of season 2.

Feeling safe where she is, Annie stays behind though they offer to let her come with them.  When she hears a plane then a crash, she decides to go investigate.

In episode two we see Xavier’s plane crashes as a result of a storm.  He’s temporarily rescued by some children, then attacked by a man who has seen the fire from the crash.

By the time Annie arrives on the scene, Xavier has lost all of his belongings, and is deeply wounded.

In episode three, we are back at the bunker, where things continue to unravel.  Sinatra, as Samantha is code named, recovers from injuries.  She’s suppressing dissent and getting rid of anyone who stands in her way.  It’s revealed she has a side project that is siphoning a great deal of power from the city. 

For me, the third episode is most interesting, because I’m invested in the city and the characters from season one, and have yet to become attached to the surface denizens of season 2.  I’m sure that will change.

 

Will Trent   We’re Looking For A Vampire

A pretty humorous episode in which Will and his father help solve the mystery of a vampire killing at an old drive in.  One of the employees at the drive in thinks he is a vampire, and he dresses as one and sleeps in a coffin in his home.  Will’s father can’t help making vampire quips, while Will tries to keep things professional.

 

Best Medicine   The Bogfather

A body is found in a bog during a local history demonstration.  Everyone in town gets DNA tested to see if someone still in town is a relation in order to solve a potentially very old murder.

 

Rizzoli and Isles    Pilot

 I’m just bouncing around this week.  I watched maybe half of the pilot episode and had to stop.  One, it was a serial killer episode, and not a light hearted one, but an extremely creepy one.   Two, in walks Billy Burke as a consulting FBI agent.  I have just finished the last season of The Closer with serial killer Philip Stroh as an ongoing character played by Billy Burke.  Nope. Too soon.  Those things aside, I am sure I’ll come back to the show, which aired in front of the Closer back in the day.  How cool that night of viewing must have been.

 

The Pitt 2 pm

The ER goes analog.  Robbie knows all the ropes and so does Dana, but it’s a confusing system and there are loads of problems.  Santos whines she won’t be able to chart.  She finally helps the deaf woman who has a simple but painful problem that could have been resolved hours ago.   Gross out of the week: sewing up a woman’s tongue.

Starfleet Academy   The Life of the Stars

After Sam the photonic academy student begins to glitch out, the Doctor and Ake take her home to see if the Kasqians can help her.  They’re told no, but the Doctor suggests a way that she could be repaired that involves her living 17 years in 2 weeks, Starfleet time.  Time is different among the Kasqians.

At home, a special teacher is brought in to help the cadets deal with their trauma on the Mayasaki.  They work through aspects of the play Our Town.

 

Matlock    Collateral

The show has finally returned, with Senior waking up and treating Julian kindly.  Julian is onto Olympia and Maddie, even tracking Maddie down to her real home where she confronts him with her real reason for being at the law firm.

 

Elspeth   A Hard Nut To Crack

When a director of goth, gory stories wants to take over the annual Nutcracker ballet, it isn’t long before he’s been cracked open in a giant Nutcracker head which has been tampered with.  Elspeth zeroes in pretty quickly on a proud dad whose daughter was to play Clara in the ballet this year.

Scrubs (Revival)   My Return and My 2nd First Day

I never watched the original show, so I don’t know what made me watch the first two episodes of it’s return.  Maybe I thought it sounded fun the first time but I never watched?  Anyway, I think I’m watching intense medical shows right now and that’s what I want, and bizarre fantasy sequences dropped into the story pretty regularly isn’t for me.

 

Jurassic Park: Rebirth

It had all the good jump scare moments.  My dogs don’t like it when I jump and shout out while watching a show!   The film would have been much better without the insertion of the family whose small craft was tossed over by a leviathan dinosaur.  They had minimal interaction with the main cast but at some point everyone was supposed to sacrifice themselves for them.  I liked the movie despite them.

 

Sheriff Country   The Crucible Part 2

The show returned where they left off-with members of a religious cult attacking the sheriff’s office to free their leader.   The battle is epic.  Mickey and the few people who were in the office are under siege, making preparation for a final battle and care for an injured Travis almost impossible.

 

 

 

 

 


Welcome March!

 I like March. It feels like spring is imminent.  Easter approaches. We aren’t just turned back towards the light, we are ready to be out in the sun in any way we can be.


I have gardening plans in my head every day.  Here are some ideas for planning your garden this season.











Saturday, February 28, 2026

Librariandoa's Saturday Puzzles A Fallen Phrase for 2 28 26

 Here's a quote from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.  A simple one, but I found it irresistible.   Enjoy!  The Puzzles answer will be posted Saturday March 7, 2026 at 7 am.

 


 

Librariandoa's Saturday Puzzles An Answer Key for the 2 21 26 Rebus

 Doesn't this sound vaguely like Gandalf?  It is a quote from our previous puzzle source book Pendergast The Beginning.   I love traveling, and so does Mr DOA, yet we can be a bit skwinky (made that up) when traveling together these days.  If you enlarge, you can see hints for any some of the icons you may not have gotten.

 

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving 

 


 

Friday, February 27, 2026

Mary's Recipes Week 14

 

Oof! I zoned yesterday and missed this post.  Never fear, here are the recipes for this week. It could just be me, but I found myself thinking "should I create a Gross Meter for recipes that are, well, gross?"   You be the judge.

 


 

 


 


 


 


 


 

Sunday, February 22, 2026

DOA On TV: The Rookie, Will Trent, Best Medicine, The Pitt, Starfleet Academy, The Night Agent, Rockford Files Reboot, The Brave Pilot

 




The Rookie  Baja

I am no fan of the Lucy undercover episodes.  She’s just too soft a character to be able to lie and be tough.  In this episode they have her paired in an operation with Harper, who spent a long time undercover and who can do anything.  Not a good comparison.

 

Will Trent   Call Paul

Another serial killer episode.  I really disliked Will finding himself in the mind of the killer and enjoying the kills.

 

Best Medicine   There Might Be Blood

Port Wenn, festival capital of the world, hosts their annual Blood Factory event.  This town is crazy.  There’s an annual event wherein they celebrate an awful sounding horror novel written by a local author.  There are re-enactments of scenes from the book, and problematically for Doc Best, there are copious amounts of fake blood.  He thinks his blood phobia will not kick in because he knows it’s not real, but his body reacts as if it is.

 

The Pitt 1pm

As always, there are many little moments that add up to my being surprised each week when the screen goes to black for the credits.

Langdon tries to apologize to Robbie, and Robbie says I want you out of my ER.  This destroys Langdon’s confidence for the rest of the hour.

Dr Al-Hashimi continues to act as if she’s in charge already, though she has another moment where she gets a one thousand yard stare, and then calls for an urgent appointment with a neurologist or a shrink?  It’s not clear, but something is very off.

Santos continues to ignore a deaf patient who has been waiting to be examined for hours, even though an in person interpreter has been found and is on site.  She just hasn’t the patience to deal with not being able to ask the patient her questions directly for some reason.  This is making me so angry.  Any other staff member would have found a way to help this woman.

The best thing about the episode is Dr Abbott charging into the ER in full SWAT gear, a volunteer position he’s taken.  He’s a wild but competent doctor, and I’m hoping he is the one to take over when Robbie goes on sabbatical.

We find out why the other hospital has shut down services.

 

Starfleet Academy   Ko’Zeine

A lackluster episode wherein there’s a holiday and all cadets are expected to leave the facility for a four day vacation.  Caleb of course won’t go, and to his surprise, Genesis ditches her family vacation time to try to get into her academy files.  The ever unlikeable Darem is kidnapped by his betrothed since childhood bride, and Jay-Den follows him through a portal, thinking he needs a rescue.

 

Night Agent  

In Istanbul, Peter works to find and bring to safety Jay Batra, a numbers guy who uncovered corruption in his organization and who is coveted by The Information Broker from last season.  I’ve only watched the first three episodes, but it’s great and so intense!

 

Doc and High Potential were not on this week and return March 3rd.

 

The Rockford Files Reboot

In exciting news, Davide Boreanz will be starring in a re-boot of The Rockford Files.  Mom watched the show and I didn’t, but my love of James Garner goes back to the original Maverick TV series.  Can’t see Boreanz as Garner but I’m willing to give it a try.

 

New Pilot for Emily Deschanel

I watched all 12 seasons of Bones last year for the first time, then immediately re-watched season one.  I didn’t write about it, but it is one of my favorite shows ever.  I miss it terribly!  Now, Emily Deschanel, who played Temperance Brennan so brilliantly (alongside David Boreanz’s Seeley Booth)  will be starring in an untitled pilot that sounds perfect:

Emily Deschanel to Star in NBC Pilot From Dean Georgaris, John Fox 

 Please make it so, and may both series be successful and long running.

 

 


Saturday, February 21, 2026

Librariandoa's Saturday Puzzles A Rebus for 2 21 26

 He we go, it's Rebus time!  My usual Rebus generator has a pop up box all of a sudden that asks you to watch an ad to get 24 hour access to the puzzle maker.  Ya, no.  I clicked on A BAD LINK a week or so ago, and suddenly my PC was screaming at me.  I think not.  The Festisite Rebus maker uses larger pictograms, so it is easier to use when the Rebus source is short.  Blah, blah.   The answer key will be up February 28th at 7 am 

This rebus is a quote from a recently read book.  Enjoy!

 


 

Winter Sowing

 Ta da, after decades of saving milk jugs to sow winter seeds and never using them, I have three, count em, three sets of seeds in jugs and outside.  I had trouble cutting the line around the jug in a straight line. I forgot to cover the seeds in the first one. Wider duct tape would have been nice. This could work!






Librariandoa's Saturday Puzzles An Answer Key for the 2 14 26 Word Search

 Sir Chompers was a huge alligator being fed by a barkeep, FYI.  Nice scene.

 


 

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Mary's Recipes Week 13

 

When you move back up north and miss your cactus friends, what to do?

Most of the recipes in Mary's box look so good!  This week, only the Swedish Meatballs are something I would eat.  I appreciate the small amount of Allspice used, that stuff can be so overpowering.