This Is In No Way Emotional Extortion

Sorry gang, I’m way behind this week.

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “Mystery vs. History” (B)

I read an article a while back about what children born today will never know. One of the items was the bar room argument. Like the episode points out, with the emergence of smart phones almost any argument can be settled in a matter of seconds. A show like Cheers couldn’t exist set in the present day. Cliff Clavin would be shot down almost the instant he started talking.

That’s why, despite the general goofiness of the episode, I liked “Mystery vs. History.” It’s hardly a classic, but it did what it did well. I liked watching Barney and Robin slowly turn into a crack research team, or Ted obsess over whether or not a girl likes Annie Hall. It’s silly and it could just as easily have bombed, but it worked for me.

“Mystery vs. History” was also notable because for the first time it put a microscope over some of the more unhealthy elements of this group’s dynamic, something I think we’ll see a lot more of this season. They did it in a rather loose and light-hearted manner, but if you remember back to “Ducky Tie” I think the theme the writers have set up for the season is that certain aspects of this group were going to change, and maybe this episode was the first step in that direction.

And if that’s the case I like the way the writers handled it. The idea that the old gang needs to grow up is a little depressing at first, but at least the reasons why are funny. Kevin’s outsider perspective was used well here to point out all the weird habits this group has formed over the years. I’ll just ignore the fact that he’s a psychiatrist dating his patient.

I especially liked the montage of all the ways the group has physically abused each other over the years, appropriately set to the series’ long-running favourite “Murder Train”. By the way, when are we going to get another slap bet episode? Are we saving that last slap for the series finale?

Also great was the short scene where Robin’s dad sent her off into the woods for her birthday. It was pretty stupid, but again I laughed. Is it just me or is Cobie Smulders getting a lot more screen time this season? She’s stolen at least a few episodes this year.

Line of the night:

BARNEY: Oh my god, they’re six minutes into the date! Ted’s probably already told her he loves her.

House – “Charity Case” (B-)

Completely adequate. Delightfully average. There’s just not much the House writer’s can do these days that’ll surprise me. Not with the same old, same old anyway. There was actually a moment during this episode, where House was having one of his revelations, where I actually checked the time on the DVR recording just to see if he’d actually figured it out yet or if it was just another red herring. So yeah, I’m a little jaded.

Again, it’s not that I hated the episode, it was just par for the course. Wentworth Miller was a pretty decent get as a guest star. Poor guy, I wonder what he’s been up to since Prison Break ended. But as for his story it was another classic (that’s the nice way of putting it) House diagnosis – treating altruism as symptoms of a disease. It may have been intriguing five years ago, but you’re going to have to do more than that to get me to sit up these days.

It was nice to see Thirteen again, if only for an episode. Her goodbye with House at the end was a sweet moment, especially since this is likely the end for her character. The two of them have always seemed to share an unspoken bond, so I liked what House did for her by firing her. Part of me hope she comes back, at least for the series finale, but if this was the last we’ll ever see of Thirteen at least she got a somewhat happy ending.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Love, Loss, and Legacy” (C+)

Yup, that was a penis transplant. I’m surprised it took them this long.

I’m getting sick of these famous visiting surgeon storylines Grey’s keeps throwing out. I swear we get at least one or two a year, and they’re always the same. The staff spends the first act gushing over whoever this new surgeon is, thus giving them their back story. Then they fight over who’s going to scrub into that surgeon’s fancy surgery. Then there’s the inevitable tension in the OR. The only way it could get worse is if say, one of the famous surgeons were related to somebody on the staff. Oh right...

Needless to say I was not a fan of Avery’s mom Catherine. She was pretty much the stereotype of an overbearing mother and to be honest I didn’t find her bluntness as charming as I think was intended. The fact that for some reason Sloane felt he had to impress her just made things worse.

The only storyline I cared less about than Avery’s mom visiting was Bailey hemming and hawing over her relationship with that nurse. I don’t think it’s a secret that I haven’t been a fan of those two from the start, and suffice to say I cared as much about their ending as I did the rest of their relationship. I’m guessing the whole point of this is so that Bailey can get back together with Jason George’s character now that he’s back from his brief stint on Off the Map.

The one snippet of this episode that did peak my interest was Kepner running off with that guy in the closing moments. That’s a pretty big deal for her character and I’m wondering whether that was meant to be just an ending tag or the start of a major turning point for her character. Maybe the mystery of what happened will be one of the focuses of the next episode. I don’t know, but if she did sleep with him I don’t want the writers to just breeze over it like it was nothing. They should give it its due.

Modern Family – “Go Bullfrogs!” (B+)

I don’t know what to tell you. Whoever came up with the idea to have Phil go back to college is a genius. The second he jumped into that cheerleading routine while on the phone, they had me hooked. How do you get any better than that, seriously? They should have saved that for the end because nothing was going to top it.

The rest of the episode, while not nearly up to the standard of that Phil storyline, still managed to amuse. I was a big fan of Jay and Gloria this week. Jay’s obsession with her Spanish soap opera was one of those classic gags that seem to work no matter what era they’re done in.

I was also a fan Claire’s story this week. It was a little up and down – I kind of wish they’d kept Cam and Mitchell with her for more of it – but it’s always fun to see Claire unleash her wild side. Her closing speech to the moms at Luke’s sleepover was a great way to cap off the storyline. Julie Bowen really nailed it there.

The reason I’d wished Cam and Mitchell had stuck with Claire, is a) the three of them were really funny together and b) their storyline kind of got a little scattered once they’d left the party with Claire. The stolen car thing didn’t really go anywhere and I found it a little odd that they didn’t try to warn Claire once they found out that her companion wasn’t gay. In the end I don’t think I was ever really satisfied with where the writers decided to take the storyline.

To the quotes:

GLORIA: What do you mean she blossomed? Like the puberty?

CLAIRE: Are you really comfortable with what you just said?

PHIL: Was I wrong? Are these not the best wings you’ve ever had in your life?
HALEY: Oh my god.
PHIL: And you didn’t want to get 40!

And line of the night:

CLAIRE: It’s not my fault this one decided to be straight.
TRAINER: I’ve always been straight!