TELEVISION: What were the top entertainment moments of the week?

Things are starting to heat up in television land – and that’s why this is one of my favorite times of year.

Of course, I should point out, I’m also a little sad because this is the time of year where shows are being cancelled left and right, like my beloved Psych (sniffle).

Still, there’s a lot more to love than hate right now.

So, what were this week’s top entertainment moments:

5. Dallas: You need a score sheet to keep track of who is double-crossing who on this manic sudsers – and

yet it’s still entertaining to watch. One minute Bobby has the upper hand and the next minute John Ross does. Then, suddenly, it looks like Emma might be in control – that is until John Ross yanks the rug out from under her. Then you have Christopher still reeling from losing Elena – only to find out it looks like she’s double-crossing the Ewings, too. Of course, she is, but she’s doing it because JR ripped off her family first and she wants revenge. Emma is trying to prove she’s in control – but she’s losing it – and poor Pamela is going to get a punch in the gut when she realizes what John Ross is up to. This is what a nighttime soap should be. I find I have shifting alliances throughout the episode every time I watch one -- which is the mark of a good soap.

4. The Following: To absolutely no one’s surprise, Joe Carroll killed his rival cult leader this week, made a spectacle of himself on television, and was pretty much his old narcissistic self. Can’t help but be mesmerized by the performance. To absolutely no one’s surprise – seriously, anyone who has ever watched the show guessed this – Claire is alive and in witness protection. I did think it was interesting that Mike knows – and I can’t wait until Ryan finds out that little tidbit. I think the best scene of the episode, though, came when Leslie Bibb’s Jana showed her true (mentally unbalanced) colors and stabbed her ex and shot herself in the head rather than turn on Joe. Seriously, is Joe somehow magic? I really wish the police weren’t shown to be such idiots in this, though.

3. Justified: This show is good, even when it’s bad. And, when I mean bad, I mean naughty – because the

quality is always outstanding. This week was no different. You see, things in Harlan County are spinning out of control. Dewey Crowe went nuts last week and ran down a federal marshal as he made away with a huge pile of drugs that belongs to his wayward Florida kin and Boyd Crowder. Because he’s Dewey, he’s not very bright, and he goes to old friend Dickie in prison for help. Dickie, of course, sets him up and sends him to a guy that’s actually loyal to Boyd. With no other option, Dewey has to flee, leaving behind his drugs. Raylan is also looking for Dewey and, in the course of the search, he stumbles across a deranged Danny. Raylan warns Danny to put his knife down, but when Danny rushes Raylan the exact opposite of what you think is going to happen occurs. No, Raylan doesn’t shoot Danny. He doesn’t even get to scrap with him. Instead, Danny stumbles in a hole in the ground, shoving his own knife through his jaw and killing himself. Raylan apologizes to Danny – even sounding like he means it – and tells him he would have told him about the hole if he saw it. Only Justified could pull a scene like that off.

2. Hannibal: Because of the timing of when this is published, I’m referring to the March 14 episode – just FYI. Anyway, this show is more psychological nightmare than anything else. Sure, it’s gruesome (boy is it gruesome), but it’s also thought-provoking. As viewers, we know that Hannibal is setting up Will Graham to take the fall for the crimes he has committed. Interestingly enough, it appears that someone (most likely Hannibal) is also working to free Will from suspicion in regards to these crimes by dropping bodies all over town. If I had to hazard a guess, Hannibal wants to keep Will behind bars – where he has access to him – but he doesn’t really want to see him convicted of the crimes. For his part, Will is starting to realize what’s going on – so the mouse is starting to hunt the cat – and the whole conundrum couldn’t possibly be any more delicious (just as long as you stay away from Hannibal’s dinner table, that is).

1. The Walking Dead: If someone would have told me during the first season that Carol would have turnedThe Grove, we got to focus in on Carol, Tyrese, Mika, Lizzie and Judith as they try to regroup after the siege on the prison. While out looking for water, Carol and Mika happen upon a house that is ideal to defend – as well as being located adjacent to the water. Things aren’t good for long, though. Viewers have known there was something seriously wrong with Lizzie for a while, and that was before she shredded the rabbits and tried to smother the baby. This time, though, Lizzie guts her younger sister to “prove” that the walkers aren’t really dead, they’re just different. She’s about to move on to baby Judith before Carol and Tyrese stop her. In one of the best acted scenes ever by Melissa McBride, Carol reluctantly leads Lizzie out to the grove where she tells her to “look at the flowers” and then shoots the child in the back of the head, reminiscent of that memorable scene in Of Mice and Men. If Twitter was any indication, fans were fired up about what happened – and the show was shaken to its core – and that was before Carol admitted to Tyrese that she was the one that killed Karen. I can’t wait until this week. It looks like some of our heroes will (finally) be reuniting with one another.

into one of my favorite characters, I would have called you a filthy liar. Yet, here we are. In,

Honorable mentions go to:

Psych: This really wasn’t my favorite episode – but there’s only one show left, so I’ve got to give it some love. I did love the “nods” to old horror movies, but my favorite moments came from the hilariously deadpan Bruce Campbell as he was hawking his book.

Once Upon a Time: This show is struggling creatively. It’s like the writers don’t know what to do, so they keep doing the same thing. Still, the scenes of Regina and her “sister” hold a lot of promise for double trouble down the road, so I’m sticking with the show (for now).

Switched at Birth: This is a guilty pleasure for me, but I am enjoying Regina’s continued growth – and the

realization that she’s being used as a pawn for a greedy conglomerate. I can’t wait for the spring finale this week – where it looks like things are going to get down and dirty between several people (fingers crossed – please let Bay and Emmet be one of the couples).

Criminal Minds: This show has pretty much fallen off the rails, but this Morgan-centric episode had enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Nice change of pace for a (really old) show.

Bones: The revolving door of interns kept revolving this week (seriously, wouldn’t we be better off with one?) and the new arrival told Brennan he wanted to have sex with her, which had to be one of the funnier scenes this tired show has pulled out in a while.

What do you think? What were the best entertainment moments of the week?