She replaced the uptight boss guy.

who I loved and missed. I still don't really like her, but her character has a definite place in the show.

I don't really like this Criminal Minds. I like the show, but the case is meh, and the voice overs of Gideon's angst is just meh. And the end was -- that just seems extremely out of character.

And I didn't like the storyline from last season where the head woman is gunning for Hodge's badge.

Vortex is me.

[Bones] The uptight boss guy was fun and it made logical sense for the Jeffersonian to have an anthropologist in that position. But with the direction the show has taken they can make much more use of a forensic specialist. The switch was sudden enough that I did wonder if there were other meta reasons though.

It also allowed for some romantic tension. In the beginning, they tried to play up Booth and Angela, but they figured out that it wouldn't work and stopped trying to make it happen (do you hear that Eureka?)

Okay. I'll give her a chance. But I'm keeping my eye on her, do you hear me, show?

So what happened with Bones' dad? Why did Zack leave for Iraq? What's the status of Angela & Hodgins? And srsly, yo, did they both totally lose a bunch of weight or something? They seem all...weird and angular and much more generic looking.

So what happened with Bones' dad?

Booth finally found enough evidence to establish that Dad's current alias was the same guy as wanted criminal Max Keenan and arrested him for the murder of the FBI director who was trying to kill Bones and her brother. Dad let himself be arrested because the alternative was disappearing on Bones again.

Why did Zack leave for Iraq?

The government put out a call for forensic anthropologists to go to Iraq for something. Hodgins wanted Zack to be his best man at the wedding--see below--but Zack told him that if he, Zack, were killed in Iraq he didn't want the memories of the wedding tainted with "and then the best man was killed". He told Booth that he figured Booth would understand why he was going because Booth "knew more about honor and duty than anybody I know."

What's the status of Angela & Hodgins? And srsly, yo, did they both totally lose a bunch of weight or something? They seem all...weird and angular and much more generic looking.

Hodgins kept asking Angela to marry him, she kept saying No until Hodgins realized that it didn't matter if they were married so long as they were happy together, and she was so thrilled to have a man who understood her that she said Yes to getting married. Cue several cute scenes about arranging the wedding, including a re-visit with Angela's Dad, the guy from ZZ Top. During the wedding itself, a guy from the State Department shows up to say, "No, you can't get hitched, because she's still legally married to that guy she jumped over a broom with in Fiji."

What? I watched the repeats.

Is this the place for Life?

I loved it. Loved it to itty bitty bits.

Except for the fruit thing.

I watched Life because I liked Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers, but I didn't love it much at all. I'll watch another ep or two to see if it gets any better, but I don't hold out much hope. And yeah, the fruit thing has got to go.

I liked the partner, Rhys, I liked the LT, I liked Mutt and Jeff. I liked the humor, and all the quiet moments.

And of course I adore DL. Although on second watch, the flashes of Ister Gay has got to go.

I was at the network site, and they have some of the documentary they use in the show up, and they used the cut with Claudia Black playing Crews' ex-wife! Except, seeing it, I'm glad she got replaced (lemme esplain!) because her American accent is still awful. Otherwise she did make me feel for her more than the current blonde lady did.