Angel: Untouched (2.4)

Sexual abuse is never an easy subject to explore, with the risk of exploitation and ignorance ordinarily outweighing the story's dramatic potential. To avoid this, Untouched features a victim of abuse who is crazily multi-faceted, Bethany being vulnerable, aggressive, self-destructive and eventually badass. She also has a messy relationship with her own sexuality, and in that regard reminded me a little of Faith. This is another episode in which Angel sets out to help a damaged young woman, but the involvement of Wolfram & Hart and the Angel Inc. team themselves raises the bar.

Buffy: Out of My Mind (5.4)

While I never thought Marc Blucas' acting was as terrible as so many other folks insisted it was, Riley's presence really dragged the show down, especially whenever he was positioned center stage. He feels redundant and is far too petulant to work, while by proxy Buffy as a character has been suffering since the back-end of season four. At the same time, Riley's presence means the continuation of the Initiative, one of the few story misfires this show ever presented. I love that season five is exploring that very fact that Riley doesn't have a place anymore, but I'm really at that point where I want him to go away.

Angel: First Impressions (2.3)

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I love how the cast is coming together this season. Angel's first season felt a lot like it was Angel and the other ones, while this season the ensemble is really working wonders as a real team instead. First Impressions continues the theme of splitting Angel Investigations down the middle, but it split the team off into two winning pairs, Cordelia and Gunn creating sparks while off on a demon-hunt, and Angel and Wesley generating a lot of laughs and sexually ambiguous chemistry with the nakedness and the motorcycle-sharing. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into things...

Buffy: The Replacement (5.3)

I've always had an unsteady relationship with Xander. Sometimes he's been petulant and moronic, other times straight-up obnoxious. There's also the fact that he's so self-consciously nerdy and awkward, something that has bothered me with other Whedonverse geek characters that seemed to be based somewhat on Joss himself (Andrew, Wash and Topher also spring to mind). But every once in a while Xander is portrayed in a way that doesn't entirely bug me, and The Replacement is one of those times.

The Others: Pilot (1.1)

Whenever people bring up their favorite TV shows that were canceled ahead of their time, I always mention an obscure supernatural drama series called The Others, which aired for one season back in 2000 as part of NBC's Saturday night 'Thrillogy' programming. As an eleven year-old, The Others was one of the coolest shows around, something which had just as much earnest humanity as it did horror movie ghoulishness. I guess it was tonally all over the place, but it left enough of an impression on me to become that one show that I always talk about despite nobody having heard of it. Last year I re-watched Birds of Prey, another show I was a fan of as a kid, but found I was looking at it through rose-tinted glasses and that it was, in fact, pretty terrible. As a result, I was nervous about watching The Others again, since I would hate to see my opinion of it change. But so far I'm impressed.

The X-Files: The Sixth Extinction (7.1)

It's difficult to review this since it really feels like middle section of a three-part story, but generally I enjoyed it. Season seven is the last 'ordinary' X-Files year ahead of major changes for its final two seasons, and you can already spot the building of groundwork for the future. With that in mind, The Sixth Extinction is an important episode for Scully, her determination more notable than ever before as she pursues the truth about the downed UFO in the Ivory Coast. She also comes undone at Mulder's bedside, and later tells Skinner that Mulder has been taken ill by something of extra-terrestrial origin. It feels like the birth of a new Scully, somebody with a greater appreciation for extreme possibilities, and someone more open with her feelings for Mulder. Of course, I've said this in the past only for the characterization to switch out of nowhere, but it's a good sign for now at least.

American Horror Story: Open House (1.7)

I sometimes wonder what Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy and Denis O'Hare all think about this show, in light of the scene where two of them stood around while Conroy's sexy doppelganger chewed a guy's penis off. Lange especially, as she's always been pretty vocal about her appearances in bad projects (check out the 'mother-in-law-from-hell' Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle Hush... or don't). American Horror Story isn't at all a bad show, but I don't think anybody can deny that it's a series that waves its shlock flag proudly. Seeing these esteemed actors perform scenes like that feels so arresting as a viewer, and you can almost imagine them asking "has it really come to this?"

Ringer: Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna (1.9)

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm at that point where Ringer has lost me. I still watch the show, and I'll tune in and review for the rest of the season, but my general interest in the characters and the storylines has drifted, and I don't think I'm ever gonna be completely drawn in again. I bring this up because Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna featured a ton of movement in several story arcs, but I was never particularly engaged with any of it. When that sort of thing occurs, you can't help but feel that the show's general tone just doesn't work for you.