The Week in Entertainment

Live: A brilliant and very funny Falstaff at the Met, with Ambrogio Maestri absolutely owning the title role. And then a terrifically good Waiting for Godot, with Ian McKellen as Estragon and Patrick Stewart as Vladimir.

TV:Almost Human - okay, I admit they made me tear up at the end with Maya, even though I knew it was going to happen. Nice acting by Megan Ferguson. Sleepy Hollow - this gets crazier. Plus, what kind of "Sunday School" teaches about golems? The Mentalist - seriously. Did they pay any attention at all to Jane? Breaking the deal may have seemed clever to Abbot, but it was bound to put Jane against him. Abbot may have 'almost forgotten' what a 'sense of trust' feels like, but I'm not sure Jane ever knew... The Neighbors had a funny Christmas episode ("I have a mug that says I am the World's Greatest Father -" "He does; he bought it himself." "And they couldn't sold it to me if it weren't true. That would be illegal." "Oh, Larry, I have a mug that says I'm Mrs. Clooney."). Funny Modern Family ("Girls! No fighting! I don't have a favorite." "Why the hell not??") and Sean Saves the World. Michael J Fox Show - again, very predictable. It's pleasant, but I'm not surprised it got canceled; nowadays the networks have no patience for letting even really funny shows build an audience (Ted! Ted, I miss you), let alone merely pleasant ones. On the other hand, it had Sting! The Crazy Ones was also predictable in the A-plot (not so much in the B), but the whole cast is so good (not just the big name) that they elevate predictability to funny. Grimm did two eps in a row - the first one sort of blah, but the second excellent. And Agents of SHIELD had a helluva midseason break.

Read: Finished Gone Whalin', which had a very satisfactory ending but iffy epilog. The Cape Cod Mystery - I'm not sure why I put off reading any of these Asey Mayo books for so long because I really enjoyed this one. The Sandman Overture part 1 - an intriguing opening.+