American Housewife Season 3 Episode 10 Review

It's time for a very bittersweet episode of American Housewife. Sweet because it's always sweet when the show is on, but bitter because it's the last episode until February. I'm glad to see the Christmas episode, and I'm even more excited to meet Katie's dad.

It's Christmas, and all Greg wants is for Kathryn to leave. Instead, he gets a visit from Katie's dad Marty. Katie's parents don't get along, so this should be an interesting Christmas. Their arguing gets out of hand, so Katie and Greg have to do their best to keep them away from each other. Anna-Kat hates Pierce because he wouldn't play with her, so she asks Trip to try and win Taylor back by giving her a Christmas present. Back at the Otto house, Greg and Katie discover Kathryn and Marty in bed together. Oh boy.

Marty and Kathryn announce that they're going to move in together, but Katie isn't happy about it, even though that means Kathryn would leave her house. Doris tells Katie to remind her parents why their relationship didn't work. She decides to use Christmas as a weapon against their relationship. Taylor opens her present from Trip, but Pierce tells her that it's from him before Trip can take credit for it. Anna-Kat won't let Trip tell Taylor the truth, because she won't believe him. She tells him to give Taylor a romantic gift that Taylor will know is from him, and he decides on a bowling shirt with the name Lois Lane on it, a reference to their first date. Katie puts her plan into action, but it fails and she has a breakdown and destroys their tree, and Oliver's mask for his production of the Nutcracker.

Anna-Kat's plan fails thanks to meddling from Pierce. Katie tells Marty that he can't fix Kathryn and that their relationship won't work out, so he tells Kathryn he doesn't want her to move in with him anymore. Kathryn confronts Katie about this and they get in an argument. Kathryn tells Katie that because of living with her and Greg, she has learned what marriage is and she has changed. Katie gives them her blessing, and everyone's Christmas is saved.

Wrap-Up:
I loved this episode so very much. This is the show at its finest, when it's firing on absolutely all cylinders and giving every character something great to do. Despite the main focus being on Katie, Marty and Kathryn, Anna-Kat, Taylor, Oliver, Greg, Doris and Angela all had some funny lines and memorable moments in this episode. Anna-Kat's small storyline with Trip was really fun, though the ending was so upsetting because I really like that lovable idiot and want to see him get back together with Taylor. It was nice to see Katie's parents get back together, and great to see Kathryn change her ways, but I really hope we still get to see a lot of her, because she's just hilarious and Wendie Malick is dynamite in the role. She's grown so much on me this year and has been my favorite part of the season. This episode is definitely my favorite of the season, and probably one of my favorite of the series as a whole.

I can't wait for the show to return in February, and I'll really be missing the Ottos in my Wednesday night TV lineup until then. I'll be following the show with it s move to Tuesday, so join me then for continued reviews of the show.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 10 Review

It's time for the final Goldbergs of the year, the Hanukkah (and Christmas) episode. It's been a pretty good year for my favorite family from 1980-something, and I'm excited to see how they sign off for the year. This week features a tribute to Die Hard, plus a Christmas celebration for Bill and Lainey.

Adam falls in love with Die Hard, which he thinks is the best Christmas movie. He's disappointed however, that broadcast TV has changed one of its most memorable lines to make it TV-friendly. Now that he's engaged to Lainey, Barry will be celebrating Christmas. Beverly isn't ready for that. Once he gets to Lainey, he discovers that Lainey and Bill don't celebrate Christmas at all. Uncle Marvin shows up and tells Adam that he's gonna be a huge TV star with a show on Fox. Beverly is trying to make Hanukkah more appealing to Barry to keep him from celebrating Christmas with Lainey and Bill. Despite there being no Christmas at the Lewis house, Barry uses this to his advantage to make Beverly give him an amazing Hanukkah. Adam is pitching Marvin ideas for a new  Die Hard movie, and they settle on one set in a treehouse. Murray lets them do it surprisingly, and Pops tells him to stop it.

Murray tells Marvin to shut down their Die Hard movie, but he just bails without telling Adam. Barry brings Bill over for each night of Hanukkah, which gets better as time goes on. Beverly starts to be burned out on Hanukkah though, and Day 8 goes horribly, with all of the elaborate decor of the prior days gone. Beverly tells Bill to just take Barry for Christmas, and he tells her that they never actually celebrate Christmas. Now, everyone feels betrayed.

Barry comes up with a plan to save Christmas for Bill and Lainey, but it's terrible and Beverly and Erica have to come up with a plan. Beverly decides to steal Christmas for the Kremps, who are away, to make a Christmas for Bill and Lainey. At the movie theater, Barry and Murray see a trailer for the movie Adam and Marvin made together, meaning Marvin finally came through on one of his promises. Beverly and Barry are able to save Christmas and give Lainey and Bill their first good Christmas memories in ages.

Wrap-Up:
This was a really enjoyable episode, even if I didn't enjoy it as much as last year's holiday episode. Adam's storyline started out pretty slow, and I wasn't really interested in it at first, but the ending was so sweet and redeemed the entire plot for me. Seeing Uncle Marvin come through and actually do something positive for Adam was great, and it was even better to see Murray actually proud of him for a change. Barry's plot was definitely the more enjoyable one overall, and it was hilarious to see Beverly way overdo it with her Hanukkah celebrations before just giving up. The plot did seem to end rather abruptly though, and I wish we would have had more time to see the resolution (maybe even a scene of Beverly going into the Kremp home and getting ready to "save Christmas?") All in all though, it was a lot of fun and it was definitely different from the other holiday specials that the show has done so far.

As a side note, I really appreciated the playing of Christmas Wrapping, one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, in the episode.

I'm super excited for the midseason premiere, as we finally get to see the big wedding. Plus, the new spinoff Schooled will be making its big debut, and I'll be here to review that, as well. It's gonna be a big 2019 for the Goldbergs!

Score: 8/10
Grade: B

Weekly Broadcast Finals: NFL Primetime Football Up Huge Year-to-Year (Week 9)

NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' dominated a slow Thanksgiving week in the Nielsen ratings. The game averaged a massive 6.59 A18-49 rating with 21.73 million total viewers, up 11% in the demo from last year's comparable game (5.95 rating), and up 15% among total viewers (18.95 million). FOX's coverage of Thanksgiving 'Thursday Night Football' (6.11, 20.5 million) saw even better gains, up 21% in both the demo (5.07 rating), and viewership (16.91 million) from last year.

Cable Renew/Cancel: Freeform, TNT, Syfy: Bye Bye Nightflyers

Welcome to the latest Cable Renew/Cancel for Freeform, TNT, and Syfy. This may be a change of pace, but we got shows to predict. Here we go.

Show	Prediction
Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger	Renewed
The Bold Type	Renewed
Grown-ish	Renewed
Siren	Renewed
Alone Together	Canceled
Famous in Love	Canceled
The Fosters	Canceled
Young & Hungry	Canceled
Beyond	Canceled

No updates, but Good Trouble's premiere date will go into the table in the next installment.

Show	Prediction
Animal Kingdom	Renewed
Claws	Renewed
The Alienist	Mini-Series
Good Behavior	Canceled
The Librarians	Canceled
Will	Canceled
I Am the Night	Debuting January 28
The Last Ship	Final Season

No updates, but new series I Am the Night will be debuting January 28, as noted in the table.

Show	Prediction
Z Nation	Likely Renewal
Van Helsing	Likely Renewal
Channel Zero	Likely Cancelation
Nightflyers	Certain Cancelation
Wynonna Earp	Renewed
The Magicians	Renewed
Krypton	Renewed
Happy!	Renewed
The Expanse	Renewed by Amazon
Killjoys	Renewed for Final Season
Dark Matter	Canceled
Blood Drive	Canceled
Superstition	Canceled
Ghost Wars	Canceled
12 Monkeys	Final Season

Nightflyers: Well, that was fast. Last night's Nightflyers' ratings collapsed to a 0.05 in the A18-49 demographic. That is definitely not a renewable number for Syfy, and ratings have been falling since I have started it at "leans renewal". At that level, Nightflyers is now certain to be canceled.

Van Helsing: With the collapse of Nightflyers' ratings, I'm upgrading Van Helsing to a "likely renewal". Given current Syfy ratings, Van Helsing is in the middle of the pack. It's not doing much worse than Wynonna Earp did, and it definitely does better than what the penultimate season of Killjoys did. If Killjoys was renewed for a final season before getting a 0.08, than Van Helsing likely clears that threshold.

What do you think of this week's predictions? Let me know in the comments below!

Tuesday Cable Ratings 12/11/18: Real Country Goes Out With a Whimper, Nightflyers Gets Embarrassing

Below are the Top 25 programs on cable on Tuesday, 12/11/18. Items of note include the season finale of Real Country on USA, Nightflyers on Syfy, and The Guest Book on TBS.
(Note: Click any show with its name in green or blue to be taken to its page in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Ratings Database.)

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
Below Deck	Bravo	0.83	2.11
Curse of Oak Island	History	0.73	3.22
WWE Smackdown	USA	0.68	1.98
30 for 30	ESPN	0.46	1.21
Chrisley Knows Best	USA	0.38	1.09
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNBC	0.37	3.32
Chrisley Knows Best	USA	0.32	0.99
The Guest Book	TBS	0.31	0.91
Behind the Dig	History	0.3	1.49
Welcome to Murdertown	Invest. Discovery	0.3	1.18
Cuomo Prime Time	CNN	0.3	1.57
Body Cam	Invest. Discovery	0.28	1.10
Brothers In Arms	History	0.28	0.90
Ink Master	Paramount	0.28	0.66
Leah Remini: Scientology & Aftermath	A&E	0.27	0.88
CNN Tonight	CNN	0.27	1.42
House Hunters	HGTV	0.27	1.49
The Challenge	MTV	0.27	0.45
The Daily Show	Comedy Central	0.26	0.83
Chopped	Food	0.26	0.92
Pardon the Interruption	ESPN	0.26	0.80
Tucker Carlson Tonight	Fox News	0.25	2.66
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.25	1.37
The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNBC	0.24	2.63
Sportscenter	ESPN	0.24	0.50
Highlights Below the Chart:
Real Country	USA	0.12	0.39
Nightflyers	Syfy	0.05	0.31

Tuesday TV Ratings 12/11/18: Darci Lynne Christmas Special Struggles, The Conners Rises

Final numbers to come.

Time	Show	18-49 Ratings	Viewers (mil)	Channel
8 PM	The Voice	1.4/7	8.97	NBC
	The Conners	1.4/6	6.67	ABC
	NCIS	1.3/6	12.15	CBS
	Supergirl	0.7/4	2.13	The CW
	Lethal Weapon (R)	0.4/2	1.74	Fox
8:30 PM	The Kids Are Alright	0.9/4	4.35	ABC
9 PM	FBI	1.0/4	8.97	CBS
	Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas	0.8/4	5.96	NBC
	Blackish	0.8/4	3.60	ABC
	Black Lightning	0.4/2	1.16	The CW
	The Gifted (R)	0.3/2	1.13	Fox
9:30 PM	Splitting Up Together	0.7/3	2.98	ABC
10 PM	NCIS: New Orleans	0.8/4	7.68	CBS
	The Rookie	0.7/4	4.22	ABC
	Hollywood Game Night	0.5/3	2.67	NBC

NCIS: Los Angeles S10E10 Review "Heist"

This week the team investigate a bank heist where the only item stolen is a safety deposit box belonging to former Naval intelligence officer Veronica Stephens. Veronica now runs a management consultancy that undertakes work for the Navy and the team delve in to her background and her company and try to realise the significance of the box and its contents.

The case itself is rather dry in terms of both characters and narrative. The investigations at the bank with Kensi and Deeks briefly sees them ponder about the overly polite bank robbers. They helped an old lady to the floor, had exquisite manners and left everyone’s mobile when they exited, together with their fake guns. The mission was purely to retrieve the box without injury to anyone.  The bank scene also sets up Veronica to be a liar, concealing the truth about her box. Unfortunately there is nothing particularly sinister, intense or even dramatic about her and Sam and Callen go through the standard fare of asking questions, receiving half truth answers, revisiting Veronica and eventually bringing her in for a boatshed interrogation. Veronica herself is an oddly drawn character, seemingly very self-composed and unconcerned about pretty much everything. The only time she almost develops a personality is at the end when she’s out of interrogation and having a friendly chat with Sam and Callen, and there seems to be a tiny bit of chemistry between her and Callen and a little bit of flirting going on.

The other guest character of note is the stereotypical dumb young male who has travelled to Hollywood alone to pursue his dreams of becoming an actor. His stupidity is on another level and tracks back to episode writer Jordana Lewis Jaffe’s love of over the top characterisations. Deeks chasing a suspect on a scooter is becoming old hat and rather predictable with his non-stop talking during the action. This is reminiscent of the scene in The Patton Project two episodes ago, when he was giving chase on a skateboard.  Again he fails to catch the suspect and it is Kensi who smacks the suspect to the floor with - ironically enough - a skateboard. Once caught, Deeks used overwatch spray, apparently for no purpose whatsoever as they proceeded to track him by car and then had Eric track the van from Ops.  Sam and Callen believed Veronica was selling secrets to Iran, whilst she proclaimed to be a CIA agent feeding Iran bad intelligence. Their next scene together (after Deeks found the box was found unopened in the van - off screen), saw the three chatting cosily and allowing Veronica possession of the unopened box.  It seems part of the scene(s) was missing which does not make the narrative run smoothly.  At which point did they verify her story?    

The intro to the episode featured a throwback to season four when Kensi gave Deeks ‘the box’, prompting a running joke about "what’s in the box?". In actuality the box has become insignificant as it represented everything Deeks wanted - Kensi - and now they have each other.  It seems most fitting that Deeks has actually lost the box.  However for those clinging on to what’s in the box, the episode cruelly teased its return only for it be ignored throughout the episode. As per the recent trend, the episode is bracketed, this time with Deeks’ bar.  At the start, the pair are discussing names for the bar; Kensi stating the bar names itself and then not revealing her thoughts as Deeks struggles with his ideas.  It was amusing that Kensi made reference to Callen as the vagabond living above the bar, clearing referring to his homeless state and natural tendencies as a drifter.  There was nothing malicious in this comment, in fact it is said with affection. And it appears Callen is not really living there for free as Deeks said Callen will bounce for him at weekends.  Really? Well maybe - until the novelty wears off or Callen reveals he was only winding up Deeks. Regardless, the bar will be a new central location for the team to gather. Seeing snippets of how the agents interact together outside of their work environment is a new element which is welcomed. There is however a small amount of negativity and character digs in Heist. Nell revealed her somewhat ruthless streak, leaving Eric to cope with Special Prosecutor Rogers on his own, and Sam was a little harsh with Callen, commenting several times that not everything is about Callen. (Note this has been referenced before in a Jaffe episode (S7 Defectors) when Kensi and Sam both had a dig at his character.)

Callen typically lead by example with the return of Rogers, walking down the stairs towards him and saying he thought they’d sprayed the place. Admiral Kilbride’s comment that the OSP has a reputation for insubordination (among other things) and Ochoa’s warning has fallen on deaf ears. Later he point blank refuses Rogers’ request to travel with them in the field by simply saying ‘no’. Such attitude allows the others to follow suit. Callen demonstrates a suitable and characteristic level of paranoia to Sam, now they are without Hetty and Granger to protect them. Sam does not seem bothered and Rogers does not represent a threat at all during the episode. In fact at the end, Nell reveals that after office hours, Eric and Rogers are playing Fortnite in Ops, using Roger’s own console. If Rogers presence is to audit and thus threaten the status quo of OSP, throwing their future in to doubt, this was not evident. He was really superfluous to the episode. He did however have the best line of the episode:

You guys managed to exercise, discuss documentary films, and identify an alleged traitor to the United States, and it's not even lunch. Bravo. Bravo.

The deeper the look into this episode, the more faults can be found, however it must be remembered that NCIS: Los Angeles has its fair share of fun and light-hearted episodes to counterbalance the more serious and intense ones.  Heist does little to forward any character development or the seasonal arc (although Special Prosecutor Rogers returns), but it is fun and harmless and sets to tone for what is hopefully a similarly toned but more engaging Christmas episode next week.

The Conners Season 1 Episode 8 Review

On this week's midseason (but really three-quarters-through-the-season) finale of The Conners, Dan misses some signs from Katey Sagal. Also, Jackie and Peter travel back to old-timey Norway (?) and drama involving Harris causes drama between Darlene and Becky.

Dan starts talking with the bartender at the restaurant Becky works for, Louise, and she asks him out. That night, Becky answers the door to discover Harris, who was taken home by a police officer because she was drinking in the woods with her friends. Becky decides not to give her a lecture, and agrees not to tell Darlene as long as she doesn't keep drinking with her friends. The next day, the officer shows up again to drop off Harris's sweater, and reveals that Becky knew about it. I think Harris is gonna get murdered, guys!

Jackie's Norwegian experience that she's taking part in with Peter is going terribly, for her at least. Becky and Jackie warn Dan about Louise wanting to date him, but he just thinks they're being crazy. Darlene confronts Harris about the cop stopping by, but she brings up Becky as an example of how bad choices can ruin anyone's life, and Becky overhears her and gets offended.

Becky tells Peter that he's not bringing anything to their relationship, but he brushes her off and tells her to get to work. She refuses, and won't take part in his school assignment anymore. Dan stops by to talk to Louise, and she makes a move on him. He confronts her about what Becky and Jackie said, and she tells him they're right. He tells her he's not interested because he still loves Roseanne. They agree to remain friends anyway. Darlene tracks Becky down to talk, and she talks about why she felt so hurt. It goes back to when she lost Mark and Darlene didn't comfort her like she wanted.

Wrap-Up:
This was the strongest episode of the Conners so far. All of the storylines were very funny, and Jackie's in particular was very creative. The other stories were definitely similar to other plots we've seen on other TV shows, but they added their Conner flair to them and made them their own, so I can forgive their familiarity.

Dan's storyline was really funny, especially since he was so oblivious, but it was also really touching. I'm glad that they didn't have him get over Roseanne so quickly, because it would be such a huge disservice to both Dan and the Roseanne character for him to be moving on already. There will be a time for that for sure, but right now, he's just not emotionally ready for that and it has shown throughout the season.

Darlene and Becky's story was also really enjoyable, and it was good to see her addressing Mark's death, which we haven't heard menitoned at all. Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert work so well together, and I'm really enjoying the increase in screen time together that we're seeing with them this season. It's been great to see the show explore Darlene and Becky's sisterly bond, and this episode dealed with that bond the best so far.

My favorite plot, though, was Jackie's. That entire plot was just so hilarious and I absolutely loved it. Matthew Broderick's Peter sure is annoying, but Broderick has done a wonderful job in the role and his scenes this week were absolutely hilarious. I could have taken an entire episode of just this plot, I loved it that much. Her standing up to Peter and finally telling him that he contributes nothing was just what I've been waiting for, and I'm so Excited to see where their relationship goes from here. No matter what, it'll probably be hilarious. I do wish we could have seen Jackie talking with Dan about what she told Peter, considering Peter and Dan's argument last week and Jackie and Dan's discussion about it. Maybe in January.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A

Marietta, Our House and Network Holiday Specials Coming to The TV Ratings Guide

Three of The TV Ratings Guide's original TVRGO comedies will have special holiday episodes next week to celebrate the Christmas season.

On MARIETTA's Christmas special, Marietta Christmas, Darling, Patty Lynn is excited to finally spend Christmas as a family, including with Marietta, but that gets turned upside down when Milton and Marietta are asked to serve as the grand marshals of the New Orleans Christmas Day Parade. Meanwhile, Tammy’s flight home to New York is canceled due to a blizzard. Coming to The TV Ratings Guide Monday, December 17 at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/5 PM Pacific.

On OUR HOUSE's Christmas special, Our Christmas, It’s Christmastime, and Teri and Betty purchase gifts for everyone, despite the fact that they all agreed not to. Meanwhile, Jerry and Frank try to put up decorations, but Jerry falls and breaks his leg. In the house, Cindy, Tammi, and Danielle try to bake pies and cookies with Steven, but Betty keeps budding in. Coming to The TV Ratings Guide Thursday, December 20 at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/5 PM Pacific.

On NETWORK's Holiday special, The holidays roll in on network headquarters, and Ash, Leah, Jesse, Kasey, Matt, Holly, and Charlie reflect on the Christmas spirit as well as the highs and lows of the fall season. Jack and Noah from Writer’s Block stop by network headquarters to pitch a second season of their hit limited series drama. Coming to The TV Ratings Guide Sunday, December 16 at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central/5 PM Pacific.

Make sure to tune into all of the seasonal fun here at The TV Ratings Guide and TVRGO, next week!

Monday Cable Ratings 12/10/18: No Sleep Til Christmas Does OK for Freeform, Real Country Collapses

Below are the Top 25 programs on cable on Monday, 12/10/18. Items of note include No Sleep Til Christmas on Freeform, Real Country on USA, and Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network.
(Note: Click any show with its name in yellow or blue to be taken to its page in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Ratings Database.)

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
Monday Night Football	ESPN	3.46	11.39
Monday Night Kickoff	ESPN	1.36	4.58
Sportscenter	ESPN	1.08	2.84
Love & Hip Hop	VH1	0.79	1.60
WWE Entertainment	USA	0.78	2.35
WWE Entertainment	USA	0.76	2.19
WWE Entertainment	USA	0.73	2.05
Teen Mom	MTV	0.5	0.95
TI & Tiny	VH1	0.5	1.08
Vanderpump Rules	Bravo	0.46	1.17
Monday Night Countdown	ESPN	0.45	1.24
Holiday Baking Championship	Food	0.45	1.79
Sportscenter	ESPN	0.35	0.83
Street Outlaws: Memphis	Discovery	0.34	1.05
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNBC	0.32	3.12
Christmas Cookie Challenge	Food	0.31	1.35
Love It or List It	HGTV	0.3	1.21
Pardon the Interruption	ESPN	0.3	0.89
People Magazine Investigates	Invest. Discovery	0.29	1.14
Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant	MTV	0.28	0.55
First Take	ESPN	0.24	0.61
House Hunters	HGTV	0.24	1.16
Around the Horn	ESPN	0.23	0.67
The Daily Show	Comedy Central	0.22	0.71
No Sleep 'Til Christmas	Freeform	0.22	0.60
Highlighs Below the Chart:
Real Country	USA	0.16	0.49
Nightflyers	Syfy	0.08	0.30
My Brilliant Friend	HBO	0.04	0.23