The X-Files: Unusual Suspects (5.3)

The Lone Gunmen have always had the potential to bug. Any kind of overly nerdy character is risky like that, their comedic characteristics potentially being overwritten in such a way that they become obnoxious. Even better, that shining the spotlight on such characters could backfire. Unusual Suspects is an odd episode in that it wasn't created organically, but to fill time. With David and Gillian filming the X-Files movie over summer hiatus, this episode was hastily written and shot pre-Redux, to allow our two protagonists time to finish shooting. Surprisingly, Unusual Suspects isn't an epic fail as a result. It's not exactly a work of genius like various other Vince Gilligan episodes, but it's pretty fun.

Nip/Tuck: Duke Collins (5.8)

I'm so over Julia and Christian. It's not surprising that they're overcome with lust once again (Julia just flies between him and Sean every season, anyway), but the sordid details of this particular storyline are ridiculously frustrating. In one corner, we have Christian blindly believing that this time is for real and that they're meant to be together, despite all the past evidence showing that this sexually dysfunctional threesome are destined to orbit around each other until the end of time. Then we have Julia, happy to lie to her frustrated girlfriend, and cheat on her with a dude. Julia with anybody is never totally convincing anymore, but I wish the show would at least try and not write everybody involved so horribly.

Charmed: Deja Vu All Over Again (1.22)

Time loop episodes are almost always guaranteed to be fun. Pretty much every fantasy series has played around with that formula, and this is one of the best variations on the idea. By turns, Deja Vu All Over Again is entertaining, enlightening and pretty darn heartbreaking. Plus it features the first use of that old Charmed stand-by: when in doubt, send characters flying into random glass objects located in the Manor. For real, they always do that.

Charmed: Love Hurts (1.21)

In the rush to the season finale, we have an episode where a lot of interesting stuff happens, only none of it is given the considerable weight it probably should have deserved. Power switching? Cool. Piper desperate to save Leo? Romantic. Darklighter stalking? Internal affairs? It's all pretty great, but a little rushed when condensed into forty minutes. It's also annoying that the Piper and Leo story didn't really drive the episode. I don't know if the writers hadn't figured out how important their coupling would be to the entire series at this point, but it's disappointing to see such a huge chapter in their relationship get the screentime brush-off.

Dirty Sexy Money: The Silence (2.4)

Nick George is officially an asshole. Despite ignoring her for the last year, putting his work ahead of his family and failing to convince her that he isn't interested in another woman, Nick bars Lisa from getting financial and status-based help from Jeremy in her continued quest to run her own art gallery. Sure, Lisa and Jeremy have a history, but it's out of line to expect her to deal with his continued dealings with Karen while at the same time forcing her to not see Jeremy ever again. I hope that the show is writing Nick like this intentionally, in the hopes of conveying that he's being 'corrupted'. Otherwise it would just be ridiculous...

The X-Files: Redux II (5.2)

Okay, so I was wrong about the unimportance of the vial. Redux II is a major improvement on part one, an episode that cuts the obnoxious voice-over, seems to have more of a drive and a purpose, and puts character before shiny action sequences. There are certain areas which stink, however, but the general quality of the hour makes it pretty fun. The episode is most successful in reshaping the series for the future, at least in regards to Mulder and Scully. Both experience major growth here, which should echo throughout the rest of the season.

Nip/Tuck: Dr. Joshua Lee (5.7)

Unlike so many other episodes which seem to at least attempt to parallel the personal lives of the doctors and their significant others to the patients they're treating, Dr. Joshua Lee has absolutely no thematic link between the various stories on offer. Here we have Nip/Tuck at its structural worst, with so many random elements thrown in that it becomes a chaotic mess of an hour spinning into a variety of directions. Miraculously, that doesn't dent the quality of a couple of those subplots, some of which are the strongest in a while.

Charmed: The Power of Two (1.20)

It's a little frustrating that an episode centered around Prue and Phoebe's relationship doesn't result in any real surprises. Prue's mad at Phoebe's lack of responsibility and the fact that she hasn't got a job while Prue's job is hanging by a thread due to all the demons they're constantly battling. And that's pretty much it. You would have thought the show could have created some differing dynamics between them, but it turns out there isn't a whole lot to explore. It's all pretty one-note.