Howdy folks it’s Allen from the rural midwest. I’m back to talk about the TV shows of the week. Admittedly I picked a poor week to start since only two of the shows I’m talking about have new episodes, but let us persevere. As a reminder, I spoil, so read at your own risk.

Walking Dead – Since I’m still feeling my way this may seem a little disjointed but it makes sense in my head.  Personally I think Sasha has PTZD and I’m interested in where they go.  The community offered Rick and Michonne jobs as constables and asked Daryl to scout. I got the impression (or they said it) that work equals purpose. I laughed out loud at waking up startled looking at other peoples pictures. I understand why every gun has a silencer but I also know silencers don’t work exactly as they use them the show. I don’t mind but I don’t want them to think I’m not onto them. I’ve decided Carol is the brains, Rick is the heart, and Daryl is the muscle, not that all 3 haven’t done all of them. Carol is so innocuous that everyone underestimates her (including me). The community has some issues, starting with their creepy leaders, cocktail parties, and stamping people. It was very creepy.  Plus they have a heck of an armory, wow, that is a lot of guns! Before I get to what I consider the best scene of the episode, I must make a confession. At the end of last season when the group was scattered and they all ended up in a train car at Terminus (a place I would never have went to!), I told my twins that the Terminus folks would regret that because they gathered the baddest people on our green and verdant Earth in one place. I now admit I was wrong, because the baddest one wasn’t there and actually saved them. You all know who I’m talking about! Carol literally creeped me out when she threatened the kid, wow! A good but not great episode.

Flash – No new episode so I will discuss a few things I love about the show. First of all, it is just plain fun. Barry Allen is engaging and enjoys helping people. Secondly, the bad guy is excellent. I have two theories about Harrison Wells that I continue to oscillate back and forth about. Every time I think I’ve figured it out either I think of something else or they show something that throws doubt on the villain. Lastly, the Rogues! Any Flash fan knows that the enemies of the Flash are some of the goofiest villains ever imagined. Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Trickster, Weather Wizard, Girder, etc. That being said, when they join together as the Rogues, they can be a force to be reckoned with. The show does a great job of making them credible. Oh, and one last thing, Firestorm, the first comic book I followed from the beginning. I’m not sure he could support his own show but they need to do more with him.

Agents of SHIELD – Not my favorite episode but lets get into it. I did not recognize Sif, my fault not theirs. I thought the guy playing the Kree looked familiar but I didn’t recognize his voice. I finally realized it was the actor who played Pete on Warehouse 13 (a favorite of mine). I’m not sure what Mockingbird and Mac are up to but I can’t believe it is bad. I would love to have a net gun like the one the used on the Kree (I forgot to write down his name). They finally mentioned the Terrigen mists, thank Cthulhu, since the speculation in the community has been that Skye and Raina were Inhumans. I really enjoyed when Mockingbird was fighting the Kree and when he asks why, she says, essentially, so he can take you out. I loved how Sif shook Coulson’s hand but nodded to May, who nodded back, like two warriors. You may be able to tell, based on the length of my discussion, that this was not my favorite episode. I couldn’t figure out why till I realized that this show is defined by the villains. The best episodes had the best villains requiring the agents to work together and figure out what to do. There were no “real” villains in this episode so it was only good. That being said, after seeing the previews for next week, I will be writing a lot next week.

Arrow – Again no new episode this week so you get some of my general thoughts.  Arrow is a much darker show than I would have liked. In fact it felt like a knock off of Batman to start with. That being said, I think the actors on the show have really made it there own and make the show very interesting. There are some great dynamics between the characters and in general the plots aren’t too bad and there is a great use of villains from the comic (except for Count Vertigo, ugh!). I will love anything Paul Blackthorne does and Stephen Amell is great. They have actually started putting together the Green Arrow team (there, I said it) and if they can continue to pull it off it will be great. I’m not sure where they are going with A.T.O.M but I can’t wait to see. Also John Barrowman, need I say more.

Grimm – Time to come clean, I only recently started watching Grimm. I found it because I was watching Constantine and would end up watching the end of Grimm. When it came out I thought the concept was poor and that it wasn’t worth watching but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I loved BtVS, Angel, and (yes) Dresden Files and I had been missing my Urban Fantasy and Grimm fills that to the brim. All of the characters are interesting and the monsters are even better. The only thing is I can’t do is to pronounce the monster names (German is hard!). I recommend this to anyone who might be interested in this type of show because this one is good. I ended up binge watching it from the beginning and enjoyed every episode.

Constantine – This is going to be a tough one for me for two reasons. One – the season is over and I’m not sure it will get picked up (but one can hope). Two – I’m not as familiar with Constantine as I am with other comic book characters. That being said, I really enjoyed this show. The fact that he knows he is damned to hell but he is still trying to do good, not to get out of Hell but to just do things better. This is my number 2 new show of the year behind Flash and I will be hoping it gets renewed and gets a chance to shine.

This is the part of my column where I discuss things other than the above. I mentioned that myself and my daughters were going to Indianapolis Comic Con. Well, it didn’t happen. A failure in the cooling system of my vehicle caused us to stop short of Indy while we got it repaired. By the time it was done there was no sense in continuing on. I was really looking forward to my first comic book convention with my daughters but maybe next year.

One thing I will ask if anyone is reading this. Please give me feedback so I can get better. I’m enjoying this but if I can do some things better please let me know. Also if I’m missing something I should be talking about, let me know.

I’m Allen from the rural depths of the midwest signing out.