In Treatment: Week Five (1.21 - 1.25)

I understand that "breakthroughs" are an important part of therapy. That moment where the patient suddenly hits a realization, or reveals something about themselves that suddenly casts all of their problems in a new life. In terms of In Treatment, this week was a real "breakthrough". We really do know these characters now, but all of these episodes managed to create new conflicts and expose previously unknown secrets about our protagonists. By far the best week this show has produced.

The X-Files: Die Hand Die Verletzt (2.14)

Glen Morgan and James Wong certainly threw everything into the pot for their (at the time, at least) final X-Files script, from occult curses, killer snakes and eyeballs stuffed into desk drawers: this is a memorably gross episode. It's also one of my personal favorites. Nothing much is explained by the time the credits roll, but there's a palpable sense of terror running throughout the episode.

The X-Files: Irresistible (2.13)

After a run of bad episodes, Irresistible is vintage X-Files. Eerie and planted firmly in reality, compared to the more fantastical hours surrounding it, this episode is almost a pre-cursor for Millennium, from the graphic depictions of corpses to the rain-soaked cemeteries.

The X-Files: Aubrey (2.12)

Aubrey had a lot of ideas. Subjects covered include motherhood, adultery, genetic reincarnation and psychic visions, but there's also a clear sense of a script unsure how to balance them all. As with many of the weaker episodes, Mulder and Scully are left as mere observers to the action, substantial screentime given to the lead guest star. In this case, it's Detective B.J. Morrow (hate the name). Despite some notable scares along the way, the episode quickly derails.

Nip/Tuck: Julia McNamara (2.12)

Julia finally learns at the end of the episode that her problem isn't that she chose to be with Sean all those years ago, it's that she always wants what she doesn't have. In both realities, she finds herself desperate to be with the man she isn't with, and it took her near death experience to make her finally realize it.

Nip/Tuck: Natasha Charles (2.11)

The audience has always been made aware of the good soul lurking beneath Christian's man-whore façade. Just look at his relationship with Wilber. But before Natasha Charles came along, nobody had really made Christian aware that he is a good person, no matter what kind of personality he tries to put across.

Nip/Tuck: Kimber Henry (2.10)

Kimber was so great in this episode. While it's depressing that she's ended up in the porn industry, you can tell she has her head screwed on right, seeing her sex doll as a "business opportunity", instead of some new way to become a bigger whore or something. I also liked that she acted generally nice toward people, especially Julia. Kimber's conversation with Sean about masochism was particularly intelligent for her to be talking about, and it looked like Kelly Carlson enjoyed exploring that side of her character. She's an awesome actress, and when given material like this she can shine.

The X-Files: Excelsis Dei (2.11)

An unusual episode that starts off suitably violent, before spiralling into altogether different territory with a script that doesn't seem to know where it's going. From the atmospheric spookiness of the convalescent home itself to the contrived "room-filling-with-water" coda, it runs the gamut of intriguing to plain dumb.