Scott Fullerton

Hey Stranger Friends, I hope you were able to follow-along for my live recapping and reviewing earlier, but if you missed it, the blow-by-blow is outlined below here. A Bahraini diplomat is caught holding his maid hostage in a locked closet in his spacious US home, and MADAM SECRETARY decides they must be prosecuted and diplomatic immunity denied. This could create a problem for a new US airbase overseas that it is imparative to have Bahrain's help with, so the Secretary is not only having to deal with the Joint Chief's at home, but the Prince of Bahrain turns out to be her old best friend in bording school, and needs to save face with his people at home.As always there is the family side to every episode, and they do not disappoint when Tom Skerritt, guest stars as Henry's hard-nosed labor leader father, in from the great steel town of Pittsburgh.

The second half of the season starts off jam packed with a Mexican drug bust gone bad and a Texas Ranger dead, a 25th wedding anniversary get-away for the McCords, and a family injury back at home. The Secretary is having trouble getting Mexico to extradite the captured drug running killer to the U.S., unless the Ranger's family agree's to take the death penalty off the table. The family agrees, but the Texas Governor is using the death penalty for a little grand-standing to bolster a possible future Presidential run.

In the Fall, (series?), finale of the RED BAND SOCIETY, love is in the air, and it's getting stomped on as much as it is being welcomed. While repercussions are boiling over from the disastrous one night stand of Nurse Brittney and Dr. McAndrews, and Leo and Emma and Hunter and Kara are having some withdrawal issues, there are a couple sparks flying between Nurse Jackson and Dr. “Sing-a-long,” Naday. While this was a great episode, it is definitely bittersweet for the fans, still unhappy with the news that FOX is not ordering anymore new episodes for this season. There is no official cancellation notice as of yet, but there are three remaining episodes that do not have a solid schedule date, and could possibly never air. Unfortunately because this was planned as a mid-season cliff-hanger, the episode leaves a lot unresolved issues and unanswered questions.

Maybe it's just me, but every time the opening scene goes past the ten minute mark, I am completely drawn into an episode. MADAM SECRETARY has been using this device better than anyone, and tonight's episode was no exception. We are going one step deeper into the conspiracy theory with the Secretary's decision to bring the team to Venezuela for a little diplomacy, and a check into former Secretary Marsh's secret bank account that came to light this week. The trip also brings daughter Stephanie back home to stay with her sister Allison while they are in South America, and Stephanie still has not gotten over her mother's reveal last week about her participation in torture during the Gulf War.

Hello Stranger Friends, the RED BAND SOCIETY had its last episode before the fall finale last night, and with the cast growing and love in the air over the last couple of weeks, it was a jam packed show. Kara and Hunters relationship continues to add heat, Leo and Emma have some mixed news and their first real date, Dash and Jordi find a new prospect for entirely different reasons when a new patient is admitted, and even the adults are getting into the relationship action. There must really be something in the water at Ocean Park Hospital. After Charlie's big week last week, the eyes are still up and blinking, but he gets some much needed rest, and just narrates this week.

There's gunfire at the State Department tonight on MADAM SECRETARY, and it's put everyone on lock-down in some pretty cramped quarters. The Secretary has an Iranian delegation in for a photo opportunity, and a figure from her past CIA work is part of it as well, causing some uncomfortable memories and secrets to be spilled. Speaking of secrets, Daisy's new fiancé Win, makes his first and maybe last appearance at Daisy's work, after he is trapped in Matt's office with Matt. The eldest McCord daughter, Stephanie, stops by for a mea culpa with mom and to borrow $50 bucks and gets more than she bargained for. Finally, Nadine has charged herself to handle any complaints from the recent foreign diplomat assignments, and gets trapped with one of the Ambassadors that has a personal argument with her newest assignment.

The winter finale of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER finally answered the question to the flashbacks we have been watching all season, who killed Sam Keating. The entire season has been teasing as to who actually murdered him. We knew that almost all of Annalise's student interns, (I call them the Scooby gang), are involved in the cover-up from all of the flashbacks of them trying to remove the body and destroy any evidence. We also knew that Rebecca was involved in it, as well as having Sam's blood all over her, and that Asher was the only intern not involved, because he was out looking for the trophy that Michaela stole from him. Just because we saw who was covering the murder up, there was never any clear evidence as to who actually killed Sam. Until now.

Hey Stranger Friends, we have a whole lot to talk about after watching this week's episode of THE RED BAND SOCIETY. There was a little something for everyone, as every single character, (except Kenji), had a fun moment or two in the spotlight. Charlie is awake and blinking now, so everyone is going a little crazy. The Red Bander's are on the hunt for some of his favorite things to get him moving and talking again; Kara is trading this hunt for Hunter, and trying to find out a little more about what his deal is and who this new woman/girlfriend, may be in his life; and Nurse Jackson and Dr. McAndrews are a little freaked out if the Neurology Specialist they sent for Charlie, may be some quack that was interrupted from his AMERICAN IDOL audition.

The conspiracy theory I have been dreading for weeks has come on full throttle in tonight's episode of MADAM SECRETARY. I have been slowly warming to this plotline recently, but will be very disappointed if it comes back to bite me in the behind if the writing goes downhill quick. The scene starts out with the Secretary, husband Henry, and old CIA spy buddy Isabel, listening to the voice recording from the cockpit of the previous Secretary's downed plane, and looking over the NTSB records and report of the crash that killed him. It was very exciting to see Tony Award winning, Brian Stokes Mitchell, play former Secretary Marsh in the flashback scene of the plane crash.

If you were ever wondering why RED BAND SOCIETY is such a fantastic show, you don't have to look past tonight's episode to find out. Nurse Jackson has her back story filled out; Emma and Leo have their first, “date;” newbie patient, and bad-boy, Hunter, leads an adventure; and there's something funny going on in the, “In-Between.” Rounding everything out, we have some more funny moments with Nurses Kenji and Brittney.

MADAM SECRETARY had a little something for everyone this week as our Secretary enters into a Moldavian conflict, Henry enters back into the spy game with his NSA work, and son Jason, enters into the dating pool with a new girl at school. Also back, is our conspiracy theory about the death of former Secretary of State Marsh, and I am almost embarrassed to admit how I am slowly coming around on that topic.

Two-week break is over Stranger Friends, RED BAND SOCIETY is back and not a minute too soon. I have been holding my breath ever since Nurse Jackie went all sneaky on everyone with Charlie's blood sample at the end of our last episode. All sorts of unanswered questions left us hanging over the World Series break, and almost all of them were addressed tonight, with a couple new one's added to the list. Two new characters were added to the mix as well; Dr. Erin Grace, played by singer/actress Mandy Moore, is the newly hired Chief of Surgery for Ocean Park Hospital, as well as the ex-fiancé of Dr. McAndrews, and a new mysterious bad boy patient, Hunter, played by Daren Kagasoff, immediately gives our snarky cheerleader, Kara, a run for her money.

Tonight's MADAM SECRETARY was a real barn burner Stranger Friends, (or technically a chemical filled silk dye factory burner), as our Secretary went on her first diplomatic visitation to India. I have to say that I was sweating more than the Secretary's Aide Blake during his Indian meal, with all of the twists, turns, and reveals on tonight's episode. Guest star's this week included Corey Cott, fresh off his stand-out performances as Jack Kelly in the recent production of Broadway's NEWSIES, and one of my favorite actors of stage and screen, John Shea, who played one of the best Lex Luthor's ever in THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.

Hey Stranger Friends, MADAM SECRETARY is going rogue this week as Secretary McCord is prepping for her first big speech in front of many countries' leaders at the World Affairs Committee. She has not been inspired by what she is rehearsing, as her staff tries to remind her that she must be neutral and positive, while her speech writer Matt, says that finding the right tone is, 'super hard.' After admonishing her team to find something to talk about that she actually cares about, she goes with Blake to find out how his investigation is going on Nadine, her Chief of Staff.

Hey Stranger Friends! No, there wasn't a “very special episode,” of THE RED BAND SOCIETY or MADAM SECRETARY on last night. I have been invited to guest recap and review this week's episode of MARVEL AGENTS OF SHIELD, and am happy for the opportunity. I am not sure whether I owe BroadwayWorld a hearty “Thank You,” or a huge, “What have you gotten me into,” response, after baring witness to probably one of the pivotal set-up nights in the show's second season. Not only do we have the long waited reunion of a beloved duo, we get introduced to a beloved Marvel Universe character that is joining the team this year, and it is quite possible, we have been introduced to the season's Big Bad character.

Hey Stranger Friends, it's your tried and true MADAM SECRETARY recapper and reviewer here, and this week had both McCord's, our Secretary and husband Henry, refusing to suffer fools gladly. Our Secretary had two healthy servings of issues on her plate this week, and once again the writers do not shy away from taking stories out of our recent, real-life headlines. One of my favorite and versatile character actors, Robert Kline, guest stars as Canadian Ambassador Clark, who is pressuring the Secretary to release a report that supports a controversial oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S., and negotiations to get inspectors back into Iran's nuclear program, are souring badly. Henry is the subject his son's most recent school assignment, and a casual lunch to discuss dad's past takes an interesting turn

All right Stranger Friends, we have made it to episode 5 of the RED BAND SOCIETY and FOX is sticking with it so far, even with ratings that are lower than expected. If you picked this episode to start watching, or if the studio heads need a reminder why to keep the show on the air, this was the one to watch. Octavia Spencer reminds us that she is in fact an Oscar Winning actress, and shines so bright in this episode, I had to wear shades. I knew we would find out why our series narrator, Charlie aka Coma Boy, got into his current condition, and I was really hoping it could change his name to something cool, like Motorcycle Dude, or Rock Climbing Kid. No such luck.

He's Baaack! Hello Stranger Friends. Time to gather around our virtual water cooler and discuss last night's episode of MADAM SECRETARY. Just when I thought the show's writers were listening to me about burying George's, (the CIA friend of MADAM SECRETARY), conspiracy theory, we get a double helping of reminders. I was happy however, to get some back story filled in about Secretary Marsh, Secretary McCord's predecessor, and even more excited that it came to us from Broadway's own Bebe Neuwirth.

Hey Stranger Friends, week four of RED BAND SOCIETY is behind us, and last night's episode had our favorite residents of Ocean Park Hospital stepping outside their rooms and walls, and to be honest, it wasn't a great night for any of them. This week covered Jordi's first adventure in his Chemo treatments, and that teenage rite of passage, Homecoming. I don't know about you, but my homecoming was stressful enough picking out the right corsage and cumber bun for the tuxedo, I can't imagine going back to school after being in the hospital, let alone accompanied by a recently single and highly emotional, Nurse Brittney.

Hello Stranger Friends. It looks like we are back to being, 'Ripped from the Headlines,' in our third episode of MADAM SECRETARY, as our favorite Secretary of State is ambushed at a photo-op with the French Foreign Minister, by leaked memo's and emails from the hallowed halls of Washington D.C.. Marin Ireland, 2009 Tony nominee for REASONS TO BE PRETTY, guest stars as Gina Fisher, a State Department reporter for the Washington Chronicle, who follows an Edward Snowden type informant, to South Africa, where she is handed all of the stolen and hacked damning memos.