MVP: David Anders

Warner Bros. Television, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Oh, David Anders, how many ways must you surprise and delight! When we met, you were the smarmy underling, Julian Sark on Alias, then the sometimes evil, general downer, uncle John Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries, and last year, on iZombie we met Blaine DeBeers who set of the whole zombie story into motion. Sure there were many, many roles in between on everything from Once Upon A Time, to Heroes, to  24, but those are all outside my wheelhouse, I'd rather stick with zombies, vampire hunters and criminal masterminds. The man, a true chameleon, can do it all. iZombie's Blaine is often merciless, regularly a smartass, and always a highlight of the show. Despite what he did to Lowel in Season 1 – I don't want to talk about it – David Anders makes me cheer for the bad guy. Thank goodness he gives us plenty of opportunities to do so! Top left, just look at that face! Who wouldn't love that brain eating face??! Thank you, David Anders! May Blain continue to be a nuisance to Seattle's iZombie residents. 

Jeremy Gilbert Joins Firehouse 51

Warner Bros. Television Distribution, NBC Universal Television Distribution

This week, two characters from my TV watching past have come back to haunt an already fragile Chicago Fire. First up, the doe-eyed younger brother to Elena Gilbert, officially joined the 51st District, trading his Vampire Diaries vamp-hunting, white tank for Chicago’s finest fire fighting gear. Admittedly, Chicago Fire feeds a certain need, however, I don’t know that it has a Jeremy Gilbert level of leeway. Here’s hoping his reservoir goes beyond his former TVD flex-a-thon days. Second up, is the paramedic newcomer, Chili Chilton – formerly Jellybean of Chicago PD, and before that, Becky Sproles, who ushered in the downer days of Friday Night Lights. Not only have these two returned to my screen uninvited, they are also each other's love interest.

Let's make one thing clear, Season 4 of Chicago Fire is even more precarious than usual with the absence of Leslie Shay – which I’m still reluctant to acknowledge. Shay was quality. And she left big shoes to fill. While these two throwback characters seem to have smaller feet, I’ll attempt to trust the Chicago family to make the right call. Here's to shaking off your former selves, Jeremy Gilbert and Becky Sproles. I guess that's something we can all aspire to.