Score Roundup

The networks are winding down until mid- January, so not a lot to review this week.

How I Met Your Mother: "False Positive"- Best episode of the show in quite some time. Worked on every level. I particularly liked the use of Ted towards the end. In a way, he was yelling things the audience were yelling at the characters last season. He was tired of Robin easily being swayed in any which way someone felt like it, Marshall and Lily always changing their mind about the baby, and Barney...well, just being himself. It looks like the show is setting Ted up at several weddings to be the best man, leaving us to wonder which one is THE wedding. If we want it to happen this season, it'll most likely be Punchy's unless Robin hooks up with someone really, really fast. 9.4/10

Burn Notice: "Out of the Fire" and "Last Stand (Season Finale)"- Most of the time, Burn Notice's story arcs are just dumb. They advance slowly in the beginning and end of each episode and drag the same idea out for way longer than they need to. The one time the arcs seem to shine are the finales. And this arc shined all the way to the end. Although they were both very strong, the first half was better. Not only did it bring back Brennan AND Larry, it also made the list arc a lot more interesting. What was most interesting about the second part was that it seemed to bring a close to the main arc of the show thus far and preparing for something new. Obviously, Micheal's not going to remain a spy (how will the opening credits go? "My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy, then I was again, but now I'm not"). But the death of the charger and all the 'last stand' business and the defeat on Vaughn certainly seem to be pointing the show towards something else.
          Just one little gripe though: when Michael and Larry are breaking in to use the computer with a method they did on an old mission, how did they pull that off in 1994 when it required cell phones?