Charmed: The Witch Is Back (1.9)

Another vaguely flat early season one episode, this does at least advance the show's mythology a little, even if it is contained in an episode full of obvious humor, obvious characterization and generic plotting. Nobody ever said Charmed was subtle, but this episode essentially smashes you over the head with a sledgehammer, in terms of both the writing and the acting, the latter presumably performed by a bunch of daytime TV actors and ex-models. Essentially, Aaron Spelling-types.

The X-Files: Small Potatoes (4.20)

Comedy works at its finest when there is an undercurrent of tragedy. Eddie Van Blundht, the shapeshifting, once-tailed gentleman at the center of Small Potatoes, is a schlubby loser who uses his abilities to become what he never has been as Eddie. With his powers, he doesn't have to be the ignored fertility clinic janitor, he can be the businessman or the lovable husband or the gun-toting FBI agent. What he's responsible for is genetic rape, but in Eddie's mind it's merely an escape from an unfulfilling existence. And then there's Mulder. Now, Mulder appears perfectly happy leading the life he leads, but somebody like Eddie automatically thinks different. Mulder is a handsome, charming government employee with a hot work partner. And yet he associates with nerds, calls up phone sex lines and keeps to himself. Why should a life that great be wasted? These are the themes raised throughout the hour, one of the show's finest comedy episodes.

Nip/Tuck: Carly Summers (5.1)

For a show all about transformation, Nip/Tuck rarely transformed itself as a series. Characters remained pretty stagnant throughout the show's six seasons, antagonists usually came in the same package of attractive psychotic women, and stories were repeated. One area that actually did transform was in the location of the series, the characters deciding to up sticks and relocate from the sleaze-filled streets of Miami to the destructive Los Angeles. It's a decision that proved irrelevant in the long-run, but did inject the series with some temporary mojo.

Undercovers: Funny Money (1.10)

There was a moment in Funny Money where Steven and Hoyt manipulated the bad guy of the week into saying the seven-digit code needed to open up his secret vault. What made the scene even more fun was the use of on-screen graphics which appeared every time a new number was spoken. It was such an odd moment of visual flair that stuck out like a sore thumb in a series that has lacked any kind of visual identity. Sure, you can see that expense has been poured into the sets and the various international locations the show has explored, but visually the show just hasn't been memorable. I guess the travel-card location titles were interesting, but paled in comparison to the floaty 3D wording on Fringe, or the comic book typeface on Heroes years ago. But, man, the password scene here was pretty darn great, and a step in the right direction.

Birds of Prey: Feat of Clay (1.12)

I understand that the WB allowed Birds of Prey, even after cancellation, to fulfill its 13-episode order with a rushed two-part finale, shot on a low budget and featuring some immediate resolution to the show's various story arcs. It was a nice gift for the, oh, six people that were watching. Feat of Clay was all about the breaking down of secrets. There was nothing new on the Helena and Reese front, but we had Barbara forced into coming clean to Wade about her double life, Helena discovering her mother's killer, and Harley stumbling upon Helena's secret.

Charmed: The Truth Is Out There... and It Hurts (1.8)

This episode's subplot was pretty fun, featuring the aftermath of an ill-advised truth spell. So far, so Sabrina. However, the show puts enough dramatic weight behind the storyline to increase its power, in particular where Andy and Prue are concerned. While it's a little silly that Andy discovers the secret, thinks it over, and eventually decides he's against the whole "witch" thing in less than a couple of hours (with few questions asked), I'm excusing it. Everybody's allowed at least a little bit of artistic license once in a while.

Charmed: The Fourth Sister (1.7)

Season two saw the introduction of Jenny Gordon, a neighborhood girl who (in her brief tenure on the show) asked about tampons and sex and threw herself into dangerous situations. Then she vanished. It was never explained what the writers had intended for her, or why anybody thought she would be an asset to the series. Watching The Fourth Sister, I can almost see what the show may have had in mind. Here we have a lonely teenage girl, desperate for some kind of acceptance, turning to the Halliwells for wicca-related guidance. While the character bugs at times, her presence isn't entirely reprehensible, and I'm a little surprised that they never asked Danielle Harris back. Which leads me to thinking that maybe Jenny was supposed to be a new incarnation of the same character?

The X-Files: Synchrony (4.19)

While entertaining, Synchrony works better as a series of ideas than as a logical slice of science-fiction. I'm a huge fan of time-travel episodes in general, and the allusions to Back to the Future in the teaser were pretty great. Equally effective were the guest characters, from the sadness of the older Jason to the icy resourcefulness of Lisa. But there was a real feel here of a missed opportunity, and a significant lack of emotion when it came to its time-bending conclusion. Here we have two versions of the same person, the older version killing his younger self to prevent chaos, and it doesn't deliver the sucker punch it probably should have.