DOA On TV

Monday

Manifest  

There appears to be a mystery of the week aside from the larger mystery of the time traveling aircraft.  This week it was a touching story of a father from the plane trying to get help clearing his son of robbery charges.  The father had been on the plane for a single day trip to play with the Philharmonic.  He'd left his thirteen year old son with a trusted neighbor.  Then he disappeared for five years of his son's life.  Played by a real life father and son, they were a heartbreaking pair.

The episode ended with one of the survivors of the plane being shot while she proudly watched herself talking about the plane and the security circumstances on TV, though the government investigators had told all the passengers to talk to no one.


Tuesday

This Is Us

Kate and Toby try in vitro fertilization despite only a ten percent chance of success because of Kate's weight and Toby's long use of anti-depressants.      Incredibly Toby tosses his pills down the toilet without thinking out how to safely come off from using them.  He soon develops some odd twitches and behaviors, clearly going down a rough path.

Randall tries to save the world again by getting a local politico to help fix a local (North Philadelphia, where the heck does everyone live in this show?) rec center.   I was horrified he just dropped Deja off there to mingle with some kids he thought she might identify with.  He was gone driving around like the whole day, leaving her there.  There weren't any consequences we saw, but that girl is really in a tenuous place still, and abandoning her anywhere is a terrible thing to do.

The story lines come together at Kevin's film premier as Kate and Toby's effort to be the" only ones who can pass Jack's genes and self along by having a baby" insults Kevin and deeply wounds Randall, who is truly the best of all of them, and the most like Jack.


Wednesday

Survivor

Favorites:  Elizabeth  and Christian

Most likely to leave by episode's end:   Jess or Natalie   Jess!

Standouts:

Jeremy   went through Dan's coat pockets where he found Dan's idol, then went out and found his own!

The Goliath "power girls"    Kara, Natalia and Angelina  figure they have the "boys wrapped around their fingers"  so they're all set.

Natalie    Tries to promote herself as harmless and old, and thus a silly target.  That argument could work later in the game, but not this early on.





Thursday



The Good Place

Bad Place crud ball Trevor reaches earth and sets out to tear the foursome apart.  He is hilariously obnoxious.   They go out to dine at a horrible "American restaurant.

Ha!  The Judge catches up with Michael and Janet, really telling them off for their interference and describing their upcoming well deserved ill fate.   Somehow they escape back to Earth.

Murphy Brown

The second episode has Murphy trying to get into the White House press room because her son has gained access via a campaign trail alliance with Sandra Huckabee Sanders.

She is so competitive with him.  She miraculously gets in with a ridiculous disguise, which she sheds in a planter before going into the press room and castigating Sanders and everyone in the room before being shown out.

I thought she should have kept her disguise on to have at least a few moments of journalistic credibility, but she just plowed in and tried to take over the room.   This was a terrible choice, and if she is buffoonish like that all the time, my dislike of sitcoms having people do outrageous things to get a laugh is going to play out.

I hoped the show might get in some actual commentary on our society and politics, but that might get tossed aside to play to the laugh track.




Friday 

Van Helsing

The uber grisly and grim vampire hunter is back.  The season last year ended oddly with little of Vanessa Van Helsing in episodes because she was pregnant in real life and couldn't do all the stunts and fights.

Vanessa is in fine form, and two big bads from last season were quickly dispatched by Vanessa and her sister.   Two more to go!

A show not for the faint of heart.  I'm borderline myself.



Sunday

Doctor Who!  

A great day for Who fans.   Great cast, enjoyable episode.   I like seeing the emergence of a new Doctor.