Anticipation was immediately ignited when Awake was announced. To the dismay of many, it wasn’t on NBC’s fall lineup. After a long wait, the premiere of Awake’s pilot is set for March 1, at 10 pm, but NBC has released the first episode online.

The show follows Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs).  The opening sequence shows Britton, his wife and son getting in a horrible car accident. 

Cut to Michael and his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) at their son Rex’s (Dylan Minnette) funeral.  Sometime later, Hannah’s completely redecorating the house, Michael’s back at work and on a murder case, and also visiting a shrink.  Unsurprisingly, they’re discussing the accident.  More specifically, Michael’s explaining how that while he’s awake, he’s with his wife.  At night, he goes to bed, closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he’s awake and with Rex. 

That’s when we see Michael and Rex at Hannah’s funeral.  Rex returns to work: different partner, different case, different shrink; different life. There is no discernible way of knowing which of Michael’s realities are real.

Take a second.  Wrap your mind around that. 

For the rest of the hour, we follow Michael between his two worlds, seeing the contrast between each: two different kinds of sadnesses, two broken families, and two different shrinks fighting to convince Michael that this reality is the real one.

 What remained constant, however, was Michael’s desire—his steadfast belief—that both realities were true.  For Britten, this fact was essential to his survival. 

There was a scene in the pilot where Michael wakes up alone when he should have woken up with Hannah.  The elastic band he uses to determine which reality he’s in isn’t on his wrist, and he loses it.  He calls for Hannah and Rex multiple times, and in those moments, we were able to see how scared he is of being alone, of losing both of them.  Hannah returns to reassure him, but it’s not a realization Michael—or the audience—can move on from. 

What I found to be especially intriguing was Britten’s insistence that he had not consumed a drop of alcohol the night of the accident, despite two medical reports indicating otherwise.  Why was this a crucial item to point out?  Does it mean there’s something more going on that we’re missing?

Awake is television at its best.  Those bemoaning the fact that yet another procedural with an added “twist” need not fret, as the cases in the pilot weren’t very predictable, nor did they dominate the entire hour.  The storytelling is absolutely incredible, and every performance is solid, with Isaacs giving the role everything he’s got.  My favourite aspect was noting not only how each reality differed, but where they were similar too.  It provides an amazing dimension to the show.

Often, you personally judge a television show’s quality by taking into consideration how it makes you feel.  Do you care what happens?  Are you engaged in the story?  Do you want what’s best for the characters?  Do erratic pulses of emotion knock you over—or at least, freeze you in your place? 

These are all things shows wish to achieve, but very few are able to do it in one episode.  In this aspect, Awake succeeds.  Within fifteen short minutes, I cared, I was engaged, I was frantically trying to figure out a way where Michael would end up with a happy ending.  By the end of the pilot, I wanted more. 

For this reason, I have such extreme confidence in Awake.  If things continue as they did in the pilot, there is no doubt that this show will be incredible.  I went into this first episode with very high expectations.  I came out, and all of them had been exceeded. 

GLEE
Glee was a show that was an underdog that was actually about underdogs. It soon became the little show that could. Even quicker, it became overwhelmed by its success, and we’re left with the tattered remains of something that used to be amazing. I usually spend each Glee episode getting illogically angry at my tv. This week was no different. There was just SO MUCH that was SO STUPID, and I can’t bring myself to go on about it any longer tonight. 

NEW GIRL
I loved Julia upon meeting her a couple of weeks ago, so I was disappointed with how annoyed she made me tonight. Logically, I knew both of her issues were quite realistic (if overdone). However, the game she and Nick were playing was ridiculous, and it was SO obvious they both hated it. Julia being rude to Jess was completely uncalled for, and I really don’t see where it came from. But in the end, everything was reconciled, so I still get to like her. Also, was it just me, or did Jess’ friend not-named-Cece show up out of nowhere? The closing segment was hysterical though, right? 

HART OF DIXIE 
Hart of Dixie has a knack for making me very, very happy (it’s just so charming), but tonight, it broke my heart. Tonight’s episode made me both love and hate Wade even more. On one hand, his handling of this Zoe situation is completely ridiculous. It had been nice to see him step slightly away from the sleeping around, but at the first sign of trouble he gives up. On the other hand, watching him try (the shirt!!!) was endearing and adorable, and his reaction to Judson really got to me. At least it gave us some great Lavon/Wade scenes. On the topic of Judson, I question Zoe’s choice. He seems like a sweet guy, but I’m still not over what he did with Gigi. Zoe’s hesitant towards Wade because of his nature, but at least he doesn’t hide who he is. Judson acts like a nice guy, but his actions said otherwise. As for Annabeth, I loved seeing her friendship blossom with Zoe. We haven’t really seen this side of Zoe, so it was great to see. Annabeth deciding to end their friendship, however disappointed me. After all, it was sort of rendered what Zoe helped her accomplish useless. 

SHAMELESS
This show continuously shocks me and I love it. Also, I never actually saw Jane Levy’s portrayal of Mandy, but I’m 100% certain I would’ve preferred her to her replacement. 

HOUSE OF LIES
While I find the group dynamic between the main four intriguing, this show is not working for me. I can’t bring myself to care. I also find the whole talking-to-the-camera-like-no-one-else-is-there (asides?) annoying and inorganic. Their demise would please me a great deal. 

CALIFORNICATION
These characters me want to scream at my tv because they all kind of suck. You don’t like the woman, Hank? TELL HER. DON’T HAVE SEX WITH HER. (Additionally: Carrie? Completely terrifying.) I found the group dinner to be more awkward than funny. Actually, I found most of the episode to be awkward—which was maybe intentional? I really like (always have) Hank’s relationship with though—despite how messed up it can be. 

Unsurprisingly, tonight’s series finale of Chuck made an emotional wreck out of me. Forty-five minutes after the fact, I’m still crying, to be honest. To put it simply, Chuck ended its five year run perfectly. 

A few hours prior to the finale, I watched the pilot again for the first time in a long time. I was instantly reminded why, and how I fell in love with this show. The action, the romance, the endearing cast, exciting stunts, and the humorous tone all worked together to create an amazing first episode—which is no easy feat. 

Somewhere along the line (okay, let’s be real: it was season four), Chuck kind of lost me. I still loved some of the core concepts contained in it, but week too week, I found myself wondering what happened to the show that  had entrapped me. 

While I will spend the rest of my days deeming Chuck and Sarah as one of TV’s most realistic couples, the show had become to focused on their romance. Supporting characters were taking a back seat (as addressed many times throughout the season), and so was most of the secret agent related plot. What remained wasn’t as well done as it used to be. 

So when NBC announced that Chuck had been picked up for a final thirteen episodes, I was ecstatic. Despite it not being as good as it used to, Chuck deserved a resolution, and that’s what we were getting. 

Then something amazing and unexpected happened: bit by bit, the Chuck I fell in love with slowly started to return. It still wasn’t what it used to be, but each week, Chuck won back my heart a little bit more. In fact, it got to the point where my parents started watching—and enjoying—the show with me. 

I was anxiously looking forward to tonight. How would it all end? Would I be happy? Would it reflect what I knew Chuck could be? What would happen to Team Bartowski? Chuck and Sarah? 

All season, Fedak and Schwartz have been saying they’re going back to season one roots. This has never been more evident than it was tonight. 

The first hour produced a lot of anxiety and heartbreak. Sarah had no recollection of her life with Chuck and co. Everything had fallen apart. She was ruthless, and her skills were being used against the characters we adore. 

Thankfully, in the second hour she was no longer working against her team, but she still didn’t remember them. She didn’t want much to do with them either. Until the end, Chuck and Sarah’s ending remained in question. 

These precious, final hours had everything I’ve ever loved about Chuck. Everything I listed earlier? All there. Only, unlike in the pilot, there was a deep bond, a feeling of connection not only between the characters, but with the fans as well.  It has never been more clear to me why I stuck with this show—why I love this show. 

For me, what made tonight’s episodes even more special were all of the throwbacks, to past seasons, and especially the pilot. There were nerdy references, Jeffster rocked out one final time, and more. Bryce Larkin’s initial action scene from the pilot was recreated by Sarah. There were heartbreaking flashbacks. Wienerlicious made a comeback. IRENE DEMOVA RETURNED. Chuck has the Intersect once again. And just like the end of the very first episode, the very last episode ended with Chuck and Sarah on that beach. 

Casey went off to find Gertrude. Awesome and Ellie got super great promotions (although the fact that they’re moving away bummed me out). Alex and Morgan moved in together. Jeffster got the recognition they’d been trying so darn hard to get. Everyone was happy. 

Except Chuck and Sarah. Sarah didn’t know anything about her life. Chuck had lost what made up his. 

But when they ended up on that beach, and Sarah asked Chuck to “Tell me our story,” the fans got something we didn’t really expect. We got to see Sarah fall in love with Chuck all over again, and in the process, we fell in love with them again. The series ended with Chuck and Sarah on their beach, kissing. Open ended. We don’t know what happens to them after that. 

Well, we know what we believe. And what I believe is that, maybe Sarah didn’t get her memories back, but she got her feelings—and the love she felt for Chuck—back. For this couple to be happy, like I know they are, that’s all they needed. 

So, now that I’ve finished first semester, I would like to attempt to resurrect this blog.  I don’t want to promise to start up recaps or reviews again, because I’m not entirely too sure regular posts of that length will be possible.

That is why I want your opinion on something.  A copule of TV critics I follow make daily posts on the TV they watched that night. They include what they liked, didn’t like, overall thoughts, stuff like that.

I’m thinking of doing something similar.  This way, I’ll be updating more often, and it won’t take as long for me to get something up.

Thoughts?

Thanks to George Clooney for making my night