Blog Posts by Sarah D. Bunting

The episode title, "Two Hats," is how Estes describes Quinn's possibly-suspect dual role in the operation to capture Abu Nazir. Quinn's about the only one still wearing two hats, though; most of the other characters seem to have chosen which ones they want to wear going forward -- which roles to play, what fits best.

Brody's settled on the white hat, and he reveals his choice to the CIA team minutes before they give him up for dead and pick up Roya Hammad for questioning. Missing for 12 hours, Brody calls Carrie from Baltimore on a borrowed cell phone to ask her to move his family to a safe house; later, he tells the team that Nazir and his men took him to a warehouse, hooked him up to a car battery, and…let him sit for a few hours, before Nazir brought him tea and they discussed Brody's loyalties. The team is flabbergasted that Nazir is even in the country (and so was Twitter; user @shancornwall wondered if it were actually Quinn who helped him get into the U.S.), never mind that Brody

Read More »from 'Homeland' recap: Men without countries

Monday, November 26
Watch: Humor us here, but "Guacamole 5 Ways" with co-host Carson Daly sounds kind of amazing. (We really love guac. They're also making margaritas, and that can sometimes go hilariously wrong.) Check it out on "Rachael Ray." Lily Tomlin is on "The Late Late Show," and "Ocean's" franchise fans should check out Tavis Smiley; he's got Andy Garcia.

Skip: Letterman's off all week. So are Fallon and Carson Daly. In the active-avoidance department, Carrot Top is on "Live with Kelly and Michael."

Tuesday, November 27
Watch: Susan Lucci gets her closet weeded on "Rachael Ray," while Mike Tyson is on with Kimmel. Reliably awesome one-linerer Dolly Parton ("It costs a lot of money to look this cheap") is on "The Colbert Report." Mel Brooks is on Conan ("It's pronounced 'Eye-gore'"). Joan "No Seriously I Am Actually 79 Years Old" Collins is on "The View," hopefully with her teenage husband (get it, Joan), and they have Peter Billingsley, the star of the original "A Christmas

Read More »from In the Hot Seat: What to watch (or not) on TV talk shows the week of November 26

Like most holiday-centric episodes, Thanksgiving shows are a roll of the dice. Turkey Day isn't as big a minefield as, say, Valentine's Day...but things can get sappy pretty quickly, and you can only do so many jokes about the "breast side up vs. breast side down" roasting argument.

Fortunately, some shows do a great job with the occasion, whether it's mining the material for jokes and slapstick, turning holiday stress into literal demons, or examining worst-case scenarios with combustible mixtures of parents, exes, and punch.

We've made a short list of our favorites over the years; make them into a playlist while you stuff your own bird, or let us know in the comments about episodes we missed. And now, in no particular order...

"Friends," "The One with All the Thanksgivings"
"Friends" did consistently well with Thanksgiving episodes; highlights include Season 2's "The One with the List" (early Ross/Rachel shenanigans) and the eighth-season guest shot by the then Mr. Aniston, Brad Pitt,

Read More »from 5 memorable TV Thanksgivings

"Homeland" is better than any show on television at exploring the gap between what should be and what is. On its face, "I'll Fly Away" is about Brody coming apart, all the lies straining him at his seams, and Carrie trying to hold him together; or about Dana's determination to right a wrong. Underneath, it's about what the characters do when they come to the edge of that chasm between "in a perfect world" and where they actually live.

Brody is losing it. He can't explain to Jess why he balked at helping Dana confess; he's late to a meeting with Roya, and he can't explain why; in the end, as he screams at Jess during their argument, he just can't, period. He can't balance what he should be (the hero, Congressman, good father, and husband) with what he is (the traitor who compromised, distracted with his family -- when he's home at all; when's the last time a scene had him interacting with Chris? -- and acting like he's cheating on Jess even if he isn't…yet). He calls an audible with Roya

Read More »from 'Homeland' recap: To tell the truth (but not want to hear it)

Monday, November 19
Watch: We love "All on the Line with Joe Zee"; it's between seasons right now, but Mr. Zee himself is on "Good Morning America" to run down the best and worst looks from last night's American Music Award (DJ Kiss lends a hand too). Aimee Mann is on "Kimmel." Katie Holmes might dish on her divorce (probably not, but…we can hope) on "Live with Kelly & Michael." And Dr. Phil checks in with the world's biggest bride -- who had at one point wanted to weigh 800 pounds for her wedding -- to see if she's sticking with a weight-loss program.

Skip: You can "smell along with" Rachael Ray on Monday; her "Every Day" magazine has scented insert cards that let you feel like you're there, all week long. But Smell-o-Vision "technology" isn't any better than it was back in the '60s. Just use your imagination.

Tuesday, November 20
Watch: Dr. Phil's back, this time visiting Rachael Ray to help you mediate family disputes at the Thanksgiving dinner table. (We'll settle this one for you Read More »from In the Hot Seat: What to watch (or not) on TV talk shows the week of November 19

How's that Girl Scout song go again? "Make new friends, but keep the old / One is silver, and the other's…Avery"?

Just kidding -- but everyone's trying a fresh approach in "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)." Not everyone's psyched about it, mind you; Juliette, forced to do a zoo promotion to repair her image, complains the whole time about the possibility of baby animals pooping on her, and about the event's sponsor, a rookie QB named Sean Butler (Tilky Jones of Take 5). When a photo of Juliette's hairstyle getting mauled by a capybara (…we don't actually know what that animal was; tell us in the comments) goes viral, her PR flack is like, hey, how about you two go out to dinner? Juliette is like, hey, how about he's boring and no thanks.

But Juliette winds up having a great time, teasing Butler about his pass incompletions and "choirboy" habits, having a little sing-along with him and being

Read More »from 'Nashville' recap: New pairings, old wounds

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the "I Am Anne Frank, Part 2" episode of "American Horror Story: Asylum." Please stop reading if you don't want to know what happens.

Last week's episode of "AHS," "I Am Anne Frank, Part 1," featured the usual "AHS" complement of disturbing imagery and plotting: Kit and Grace get busted for having sex in the kitchen; Lana undergoes aversion therapy for her "illness" that involves touching a stranger and throwing up a lot; and Dr. Arden's experiments on Shelley take a gruesome turn.

But the centerpiece of "I Am Anne Frank, Part 1" is…Anne Frank. Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run," the "Bourne" films) guest-stars as a disheveled but determined patient who insists that she's the famous diarist -- and that she recognizes Dr. Arden from Auschwitz, where he went by the name Hans Gruper and performed Mengele-esque experiments on female prisoners.

The idea walks that patented "AHS"

Read More »from 'American Horror Story' guest star Franka Potente talks about what's next for 'Anne Frank'

WARNING: This article may contain casting or plot spoilers. If you don't want to know anything about this week's "Law & Order: SVU," please stop reading now.

You'll probably always think of "Quantum Leap" when you think of Scott Bakula. But since Bakula's time-jumping days ended almost two decades ago, he's played everything from a starship captain ("Star Trek: Enterprise") and a spy/nerd's father (his recurring role as Bartowski Sr. on "Chuck") to a struggling actor and aging playboy on "Men of a Certain Age."

Bakula's back on TV this week, playing a law professor and imperfect husband on "Law & Order: SVU" -- which completes the trifecta of "Men of a Certain Age" stars returning to TV, if only temporarily. (Andre Braugher is headlining "Last Resort," and Ray Romano has become a fixture on "Parenthood.")

[Related: 'Last Resort' stars Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman tell us about their new military thriller]



Yahoo! TV spoke with Bakula earlier this week about what it's like to

Read More »from Yahoo! TV Q&A: 'SVU' guest star Scott Bakula talks about complicated characters