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Justified, Ep. 4.07: “Money Trap” sidesteps the central mystery and revives the gunplay

Justified, Season 4, Episode 7: “Money Trap” Written by Chris Provenzano Directed by Don Kurt Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX With its colorful-but-inept villlainry, reams of gunplay, and swift pacing, “Money Trap” surprises by feeling more like a throwback to Justified‘s first season than perhaps any since Mags Bennett cast an ominous cloud over …

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Justified, Ep. 4.06: “Foot Chase” sticks to the show’s periphery, with mixed results

Justified, Season 4, Episode 6: “Foot Chase” Written by Dave Andron and Ingrid Escajeda Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Justified is generally wonderful at balancing a ludicrous array of plots and characters, but “Foot Chase” demonstrates that the show can;t function properly without Raylan at its center. With too much …

Read More about Justified, Ep. 4.06: “Foot Chase” sticks to the show’s periphery, with mixed results

Girls, Ep. 2.05: “One Man’s Trash” a beautifully crafted, if slightly redundant restatement of purpose

Girls, Season 2, Episode 5: “One Man’s Trash” Written by Lena Dunham Directed by Richard Shephard Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Hannnah Horvath can be a deeply tiring individual. She’s self-centered almost to the point of pathology, she has a probably-inflated sense of her own talent, and she has an infuriating tendency to reject …

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The Americans, Ep. 1.02: “The Clock” keeps tension, stakes and poignant family drama in play

The Americans, Season 1, Episode 2: “The Clock” Written by Jow Weisberg Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on FX With its stellar pilot having established some of the rhythms of the Jennings marriage, “The Clock,” also penned by series creator Joe Weisberg, takes the time to examine other facets of our …

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Justified, Ep. 4.05: “Kin” rallies a great supporting cast for a rollicking hour

Justified, Season 4, Episode 5: “Kin” Written by Fred Golan and VJ Boyd Directed by Peter Werner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX As a preface, can we just…? Along with the outstanding regular cast (and an appearance by underrated ex-regular Natalie Zea), “Kin” finds time for past guests Stephen Tobolowsky, Patton Oswalt, Jim …

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Justified, Ep. 4.04: “This Bird Has Flown” boasts comic highlights and a wounded core

Justified, Season 4, Episode 4: “This Bird Has Flown” Written by Taylor Elmore Directed by Bill Johnson Airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on FX Justified is about a lot of things, but one aspect of the show that often gets overlooked is its nuanced take on masculinity, and its subtle rewriting of the Lone Gunman ethos. …

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Girls, Ep. 2.03: “Bad Friend” wedges our heroines even further apart

Girls, Season 2, Episode 3: “Bad Friend” Written by Lena Dunham and Sarah Heyward Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Filling in for Justine Smith, who shall return post-haste.   “What does cocaine make you feel like? It makes you feel like having more cocaine.” – George Carlin Coke is …

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Justified, Ep. 4.03: “Truth and Consequences” outlines the season’s revised game plan

Justified, Season 4, Episode 3: “Truth and Consequences” Written by Benjamin Cavell Directed by Jon Avnet Airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on FX – In case you hadn’t gotten the memo that Justified‘s fourth season is going to be a vastly different beast from those that came before, “Truth and Consequences” might give us a better …

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Justified, Ep. 4.02: “Where’s Waldo?” heavy on comedy, light on plot indicators

Justified, Season Four, Episode Two: “Where’s Waldo?” Written by Dave Andron Directed by Bill Johnson Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX If you were concerned that Justified‘s third season may have suffered from a character glut, now might be a good time to check out entirely. Boyd’s new/old pal Colt isn’t going anywhere, and …

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Justified, Ep. 4.01: “Hole in the Wall” swiftly sets up the show’s latest reconfiguration

Justified, Season Four, Episode One: “Hole in the Wall” Written by Graham Yost Directed by Michael Dinner Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX In a recent blog post summing up the joys of watching Justified, Vulture’s Matthew Zoller Seitz compared the show to Cheers – not because the shows share thematic or structural DNA, …

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The Walking Dead, Ep. 3.07: “When the Dead Come Knocking” readies us for serious bloodshed

The Walking Dead, Season 3, Episode 7: “When the Dead Come Knocking” Written by Frank Renzulli Directed by Dan Sackheim Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC Who will kill the Governor, and by what means? It’s a question that naturally arises while watching David Morrissey and his cronies make life hell for Glenn and …

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The Walking Dead, Ep. 3.06: “Hounded” endangers our dearest survivors

The Walking Dead, Season 3, Episode 6: “Hounded” Written by Dan Attias Directed by Scott M. Gimple Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC So…the ringing telephone. Let’s start there. Either: The scenes in which Rick Grimes picks up a ringing telephone and has an extended chat with his own guilt-riddled conscience are a clever …

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Sons of Anarchy, Ep. 5.10, “Crucifixed”: “Who the hell are you?”

Sons of Anarchy Season 5, Episode 10: “Crucifixed” Written by Kurt Sutter Directed by Guy Ferland Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX It was clear from the beginning that absolutely nothing in the world of SoA is holy, but just to reassure us of that, Kurt Sutter (aka Otto) brutally stabs Nurse Pam with …

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Homeland, Ep. 2.06-07: “A Gettysburg Address” and “The Clearing” tackle the season’s trickiest plot point

Homeland, Season 2, Episodes 6 and 7: “A Gettysburg Address” Written by Chip Johannessen Directed by Guy Ferland “The Clearing” Written by Meredith Stiehm Directed by John Dahl Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime When it comes to becoming invested in serialized television, faith is a major factor. Showrunners need to build up a …

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The Walking Dead, Ep. 3.04: “Killer Within” the show’s most emotionally wrenching, incident-packed hour ever

The Walking Dead, Season 3, Episode 4: “Killer Within” Written by Sang Kyu Kim Directed by Guy Ferland Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC If there was any doubt that The Walking Dead‘s third season intends to xorrect the show’s pacing issues for good, “Killer Within” settles those fears, though it might actually over-correct. …

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Homeland, Ep. 2.04-05: “New Car Smell” and “Q&A” successfully realign the show’s narrative and characters

Season 3, Episode 4: “New Car Smell” Written by Meredith Stiem Directed by Jeremy Podeswa Season 3, Episode 5: “Q&A” Written by Henry Bromell Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime. Yep, Homeland pulled a Homeland again. The final moments of “New Car Smell” once again offer a scene that …

Read More about Homeland, Ep. 2.04-05: “New Car Smell” and “Q&A” successfully realign the show’s narrative and characters

Sons of Anarchy, Ep. 5.06, “Small World”: Killing as coping

Sons of Anarchy Season 5, Episode 6: “Small World” Written by Kurt Sutter Directed by Adam Arkin Airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX Sons of Anarchy has always been known for its violence and brutality but it seems as if season five is trying to reach a new record in accumulating dead bodies. After …

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The Walking Dead, Ep. 3.01: “Seed” introduces a (hopefully) leaner, more efficient season

The Walking Dead, Season 3, Episode 1: “Seed” Written by Glen Mazzara Directed by Ernest Dickerson Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on AMC Simon Howell: Almost to a comical degree, the five-minute cold open to The Walking Dead‘s third season opener seems to say: “Yes, we did in fact get the memo.” Our not-so-merry band …

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Homeland, Ep. 2.02: “Beirut Is Back” boasts one hell of a twist

Homeland, Season 2, Episode 2: “Beirut is Back” Written by Chip Johannessen Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime Well, it would appear that the greatest issue with Season Two’s credibility is about to be eliminated. In the “holy shit”-worthy final moments of “Beirut is Back,” Saul Berenson witnesses the videotaped …

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Homeland, Ep. 2.01: “The Smile” teases progress and potential pitfalls of new season

Homeland, Season 2, Episode 1: “The Smile” Written by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime It’s US election season. Fears of terrorism, domestic and foreign, are being stoked by candidates from both parties. The release of anti-Islamic videos uploaded to YouTube from the States have …

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Louie, Ep. 3.10-12: “Late Show” saga redeems our sad-sack hero

Louie, Season 3, Episodes 10-12: “Late Show” Written by Louis C.K. Directed by Louis C.K. Airs Thursdays at 10:30pm ET on FX For all of its open disregard for TV norms, Louie hasn’t often strayed from its pattern of getting the job done, story-wise, in 22 minutes or less. Even when the show attempted a …

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Breaking Bad, Ep. 5.08: “Gliding Over All” narrows the possibilities

Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 8: “Gliding Over All” Written by Moira Walley-Beckett Directed by Michelle MacLaren Airs Sundays at 10pm ET of AMC At this point in its run, it’s plain that there is no better-made show around than Breaking Bad. In terms of its distinctive visual universe, its brilliant performances, its clever, ticksy …

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