Wow, I Have Not Lived a Hard Life

This is a sad, sad day for me. My TV, the one that’s served me faithfully since my days as an undergrad, died unexpectedly this morning. I could never express in words how much he’s meant to me other than to say he was irreplaceable, and he will be missed... *pours malt liquor on the floor*. Godspeed Tubey, Godspeed.

Spoilers...

Cougar Town – “Walls” (B+)

It feels like forever since the last time I was watching an episode of Cougar Town. I almost missed this episode being that it was aired on a Monday night (to capitalize on the Dancing With the Stars crowd according to the title card), but I’m glad that I’m not going to have to wait too long on that Travis proposing cliffhanger. Mostly I was just happy that I was back watching the unique energy this show has to offer.

First up on the docket we had Jules trying her best not to interfere in Trav’s life. I really like the storyline for her character because as anyone who’s ever watched this show knows, Jules is a meddler. So to not stop Trav from proposing to Kirsten (who is pretty hilarious so I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen) it’s a pretty trying moment for her character.

I’m really interested in seeing whether Trav actually does propose. At the start of the episode I thought for sure he wouldn’t, but the fact that they left this as a cliffhanger has me questioning that judgement. If I were laying bets down I’d say he’s not going to do it and that it’s probably just a ploy to get some of that Dancing With the Stars audience to follow them back to Wednesday night, but you never know. I could also maybe see him proposing and Kirsten turning him down, leaving Jules to pick up the pieces. It’s only two days away so we’ll find out soon enough.

And no matter how it turns out, the storyline had some pretty funny moments to make it all worthwhile. I loved Ellie’s truck ghost (who ended up just being Jules messing with her, but Ellie still doesn’t know that) and the fact that over the course of the episode every inch of Jules’ lawn was dug up looking for that time capsule. Oh and of course everyone continuing to rip on Tom. I love ripping on Tom.

JULES: Hey Trav, did you happen to find any of Tom’s business in those holes?
TRAV: Let me check, no.
JULES: Sorry Tom, none of your business over here.

I think my favourite storyline of the episode though was Bobby and Laurie’s penny can venture. These two just have fantastic chemistry with each other. They are endlessly quotable together. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything for this show so I can’t remember if I’ve said this before, but I wouldn’t mind seeing them potentially paired up as a couple, provided they can keep this same energy.

They stole this episode. I loved Laurie’s description of the screenplay she’s working on and her radio jingle had me laughing out loud. And the way the two of them, along with Andy, decided to change the meaning of “kicks ass” was hilarious. Of course you’ll be able to find all of these examples in the quotes section below:

LAURIE: Oh! We could give her a puppy that would blow up if she took it across town lines. It’s from my new screenplay, The Blow Up Pup. It’s a prequel to Speed.

ANDY: (demonstrating the concept of forbidden fruit) Laurie, what if I was to tell you I had an apple in my pocket from lunch?
LAURIE: So what, who cares.
ANDY: What if I was to tell you this apple is so special you couldn’t even look at it?
LAURIE: What’s so special about it? I want to see the apple! Gimme.

BOBBY: I just earned $600 from borrowing it from Andy and Jules.

BOBBY: (receiving bad news) Oh that really kicks ass!
GRAYSON: No when something kicks ass it’s a good thing.
BOBBY: How? Every time I’ve had my ass kicked it’s been horrible?
ANDY: We’ve been misusing that phrase for years. So all agreed to change it?
LAURIE: Absolutely.

BOBBY: Man, my names got a lot of B’s in it.
LAURIE: My name doesn’t have any B’s in it.
BOBBY: Oh I’m sorry I brought it up.
LAURIE: It’s okay.

BOBBY: They give out awards for radio ads right?
LAURIE: Well they better! We worked on this for well over an hour.

And of course the line of the night, Laurie’s radio ad:

LAURIE: (sirens) Calm down, it’s not the real police, it’s the fun police! And we’re bringing you the greatest coin-based game since heads or tails. Do you love having a good time? Then call 1-855-PENNYCAN. Hold for an operator, then ask for Carol. Say you’re ordering penny can, and not any weight loss products or sexual aides and she’ll contact us with your order. It’s that simple! Ask for Carol, no sex stuff, Penny Can!

How I Met Your Mother – “Hopeless” (B-)

The return of John Lithgow. I enjoyed his last appearance on this show so I had some high expectations coming into this one. There were a few funny moments in the episode – the whole gang pretending to be a band in place of the opening credits, Barney and Jerry’s drunken night on the streets of New York – but for the most part “Hopeless” seemed a little light on the jokes, or at least the laugh out loud variety. Once again, what I found most interesting was the more dramatic and story based elements of the episode.

The car ride home between Jerry and Barney was another great moment in Barney’s development. Barney’s admission that he felt like he was just “too far gone” when it came to settling down was a poignant moment, but even more interesting was his response to Jerry’s comment about meeting the right girl. The writers were playing pretty fast and loose with the Barney and Robin hints in this one, but Barney’s “maybe I’ve already met her” response to Jerry’s advice seemed less like a hint and more like a giant pointing arrow in the Barney and Robin direction.

With the wedding shown at the beginning of the season fast approaching (assuming it’s the subject of the season finale) the renewed talk of Barney and Robin as a couple again has me super pumped. Though that’s not to say the wedding will be for the two of them. The writers have been throwing out a lot of red herrings (though I guess they’re only red herrings if they don’t pan out) and in this episode that included Robin’s guy crush, which narrator Ted commented isn’t quite over with.

I think maybe the more likely scenario is Robin will attempt to get married and Barney will rush to the altar to stop it. Barney putting himself out there like that would be a major step forward for his character and fits perfectly with his current arc. Along those lines, another possibility would be that it’s actually Barney’s wedding and he’s marrying that Nora girl from earlier in the season, but since I’m rooting for Barney and Robin ending up together I kind of hope that’s not the case (I don’t see Robin rushing to altar to get Barney back). Of course, it could just be Punchy’s wedding, but that would be pretty boring.

A few other closing thoughts on the episode. Marshall’s impression of a playwright was hilarious – “we’re all writers, just some of us don’t know our story yet” – and I loved the call back to Ted’s red cowboy boots.

Unfortunately this show is going on another two week hiatus before finishing out the season, so we won’t get any more answers on any of those lingering questions for a little while at least. What that does give us though is time to speculate, so if you have a theory please post it in the comments.

Oh, before I forget, the line of the night:

ROBIN: (responding to Ted being a hypocrite) So get off the field at the Super Dome, because you ain’t no saint.

House – “Last Temptation” (B)

And Masters takes her final bow. I’m a little disappointed to see her go after spending so much time getting to know her. Now that I know she probably won’t be back I feel a bit letdown by the character in general (for those of you who don’t know Amber Tamblyn has signed on to another Fox pilot). I thought the writers were going to build to something a little more, and now that the character’s gone I’m just left with an empty feeling.

That’s not to say her exit was bad. I think this show does a lot better when the focus is on the characters more than the case. This was another one of those episodes told from the point of view of a character other than House, and like the show’s previous few attempts at this type of episode, the results were a refreshing take on life at Princeton-Plainsboro.

I think once the suddenness of Masters’ departure wears off (I didn’t know she was leaving until after I watched the episode) I may warm a bit to the way her character was written off. We’ve seen plenty of examples over the years of the way House’s influence can corrupt even some of the most idealistic doctors, so it is nice to finally see one of them leave him rather than let that happen. Even I’ve complained in the past about Masters’ lack of response to House’s bullying (I just thought she would be sticking around a little longer) so perhaps this was the right way for the character to go.

Despite the obvious focus of Masters’ departure, “Last Temptation” was actually one of the funnier episodes I’ve seen this season. House and Wilson’s chicken war was pretty hilarious. I’m happy that most of the damage Wilson’s chicken received was emotional, despite the fact the way they filmed it made it seem like exactly the opposite. I also really liked House’s rehab explanation for Thirteen’s absence and the fact that now she can’t drink around any of them, which according to her is her “main bond with Chase.”

I’m looking forward to next week and the opportunity to explore Thirteen’s return a little more, but I will admit, I am going to miss Masters. Farewell Amber Tamblyn.

Fringe – “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” (A+)

Look, I don't have much time. As much as I wish I could spend it thinking about television all day I need to learn the histological structure of like 1,000 organs by Thursday. That being said, I have found time to watch many of my shows over the past few weeks. When I looked up whether there was a new Fringe last Friday and saw that the episode was named after LSD, I knew it was an hour that had to be spent watching TV. So I watched, and I never wrote about it.

But that lack of commitment has been bugging at me. Not because I feel a deep seeded obligation to Brian or you, my readers. No offence to any of you. I do feel like we have this special bond where I write things and the world completely ignores me, and I appreciate you all for it. However, I feel like I need to review it because it was hands down the best episode of TV I have watched since Richard's back story on Lost.

The reasoning is simple. When a SciFi/Drama is able to write half of the episode as a cartoon and not make it seem absolutely ridiculous, but instead a logical progression of the show, it deserves an 'A'. Second, when a show drops a cliffhanger on you with the words "I'm not sure, but I think he's the man who is going to kill me" it deserves the 'plus'. That’s it. Sweet and simple. Now the thyroid follicles and zona fasciculata require my attention. Good day blue universe.

The Event – “Cut Off the Head” (B-)

So Sean is the chosen one. I guess I should hand it to the writers for taking my advice yet again and giving Sean something important to do, I just sort of wish they didn’t kill off the one person with any sort of information about the sentinels. Pretty sneaky writers. But hey, I guess now that he has that tapestry he can slowly uncover their secrets in small manageable pieces.

And I guess no one’s doubting Dempsey’s allegiances anymore either. There was something a little unsettlingly about the way his character was killed off. I’ll admit, I didn’t see it coming at all. And while they managed to kill him off in a way that gave his normally veiled character a very clear ideology, I couldn’t help but feel as though we’ll never truly understand why he was doing what he was doing. For example, what did any of this have to do with those age experiments? They very well may explain this (that is if they don’t get cancelled), but my gut is telling me they won’t.

The rest of the episode was spectacularly mediocre. I’m still not loving Sophia’s new attitude. This week she was trying to manipulate the Vice President into assassinating the President and you could notice a stark contrast from the Sophia of old. She just seems evil now. She talks about killing off the human population without even a hint of remorse and at the same time gleefully manipulates the people around her. It bothers me because this is just not the character I’ve been watching over this past season. They can easily justify what she’s doing – her whole species is at risk of extinction – but what they can’t justify is her lack of conflict over it.

I wasn’t that into the President’s story this week either. If his wife had ended up actually being a sleeper agent I would probably be singing a different tune, but they really didn’t have my interest with this storyline until right when he confronted her, and then it didn’t take long for her name to be cleared. Of course if she somehow still is a sleeper agent, then bravo writers.

Even though some of Sean’s story was interesting and I liked the reveal of the frozen dead guy at the end of the episode, my interest is really starting to wane on this series. I really don’t see them getting renewed and while they’ve improved the show from its lackluster beginnings, it’s still not where it needs to be.