You Poor Dumb Bastard

Just a short one tonight...

Spoilers:

House – “Perils of Paranoia” (C+)

A step in the wrong direction. I guess it was sort of obvious the show wouldn’t be able to maintain the high level of last week’s episode, but a guy can still hope. This week was back to the usual though, and unfortunately that means weak patient stories and strained attempts at making the current team seem interesting.

The patient did have a decent start. The court room scene was actually pretty well done, and when Park and Adams found his stash of guns it definitely made things more interesting. But I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the explanation for why he was stockpiling and the second his condition deteriorated it didn’t really seem to matter anymore anyway.

I also wasn’t really buying the fact that Park wouldn’t admit the guys paranoid behaviour was a symptom. The writers are really having trouble finding ways to fit the two new team members in with the rest of the cast. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love Charlyne Yi, but her character at this point is not one I enjoy watching. Maybe her date with Chase will turn things around.

Foreman’s story this week may have been little better than the main thread, but they lost me at the end when he decided to go back to that married woman. It’s not even so much about the moral implications – that’s the sort of thing House explores all the time – it’s more just the fact that they’ve already covered this area before with Taub, and to be honest (and this is of course just my opinion) it wasn’t that interesting the first time around. I’ll give it a week or two though before I really make up my mind. The writers may have something else planned for it.

The only real bright spot of the episode was House and Wilson. Sure, it was more of their usual shenanigans, but they’re always so creative about it I never seem to mind that they’ve been pulling the same shtick now for 8 seasons. It really is the most consistently entertaining part of the show these days. I was a bit puzzled though by House’s prolonged stare at the sword near the end of the episode. Was that a reference to something from a past episode or are the writers trying to set something up for a future episode? The fact that the gun ended up being real was a pretty ominous sign for what’s to come.

Bro Parents Activate!

It’s been kind of a slow week for TV, but here’s what was on.

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “The Rebound Girl” (B+)

I can’t help but notice this show’s trend towards loaded endings of late. Before I thought maybe they were just poor attempts to save weak episodes, much like last week’s lackluster affair, but “The Rebound Girl” actually had a decent amount going for it. I’m starting to think now that this is a purposeful effort by the writers to keep the audience feeling like there’s some forward momentum in the major series arc, even if it’s just these little snippets at the end of episodes. Maybe it’ll be enough to help people forget we still have a season to go before Ted finds the mother.

But so long as they’re giving us a decent episode to begin with I don’t mind these big endings. The “I’m pregnant” bombshell during this episode definitely got me excited for next week. Slowly we’re starting to see how exactly Barney winds up at the altar at season’s end and certainly I think Robin has become the number 1 candidate for the bride... that is if she wasn’t already.

 Of course I can’t spend all of my time talking about what essentially amounted to 6 seconds of the episode. I also didn’t mind the storylines that led up to that point. At first glance both of the main threads in this episode were a little out of the ordinary. Just two episodes ago Marshall and Lily had the discussion about moving to Long Island and decided against it, so it wasn’t exactly a natural progression that they would revisit that storyline this soon (story wise anyway... life wise that decision would probably take more than a half hour). Still, there was something quite charming about the storyline, whether it be Robin knocking over lamps or Marshall contemplating becoming a Ghostbuster (it took me a second to see where they were going with that). By the end I didn’t much care that it was a somewhat recycled plotline.

The same went for Barney – yes, Barney – deciding that he wanted to have a kid. Initially it put me off so much I didn’t want to like the storyline, but eventually the writers won me over. There were just too many good one liners and hilarious hypotheticals for me not to laugh. It really did look like Josh Radnor and NPH were having a great time playing off each other on this one. It must have been a fun day on set. I particularly loved how Ted had to keep stressing that the two of them were going through a really hard time. Was it a shameless attempt to justify the premise... probably, but it made me laugh anyway.

To the quotes:

MARSHALL: And then we destroy it with sledgehammers... as a family.

TED: Don’t worry, he’s going to do something crazy.

LILY: If there’s cockroaches they respect us enough to sneak around.

TED: Kids I cannot stress this enough; Barney and I were going through a tough time.

ROBIN: And did Marshall become a Ghostbuster?
MARSHALL: That firehouse is still for sale.

BARNEY: Ted please do not dig in on this whole no banging the nanny policy.
TED: Okay, we’ll get two nannies. One for banging, one for child care.
BARNEY: Slash banging. Dibs on both nannies!

BARNEY: A kid needs a pet cobra Ted, don’t be a pill about this.

And line of the night:

ROBIN: Have you never heard of overhead lighting!

Modern Family – “Punkin Chunkin” (B)

I’ve definitely heard of few of those “Punkin Chunkin” stories before (and unfortunately I’ve likely told a few myself), which is probably what made Mitchell’s reaction to the story so funny. Not the wah wah so much as his little interview to the camera where he told Cam’s drawn out story in three seconds. I know I’ve felt like that before.

“Punkin Chunkin” was a fairly average outing for Modern Family however. Usually this show does a pretty good job of the holidays but Thanksgiving really just served as the backdrop to the larger dreamers vs. realist theme. I found the episode kind of lulled in the middle, and didn’t come up with the ending needed to save it. Other than that I don’t have a ton of pointed complaints, I just wasn’t laughing as much as I normally do.

There were a few amusing bits though. I mentioned Mitchell’s interview, but I also loved Phil and Luke’s Head Scratcher (TM) infomercial, if only for the aspirin shooter call back. And my personal highlight – Claire’s long speech about how she cooked for 8 hours and would be damned if everybody left before the meal only to reverse that sentiment the second she was taunted by Phil.

I want to say I liked Manny and Jay’s centerpiece storyline too but really I just liked listening to Gloria chime in every now and then. Once again, and it does seem like I say this a lot lately, Sofia Vergara stole the show. Assuming the entire cast gets nominated for Emmys again (and that’s not too far of a stretch) maybe she should win it this time.

My favourite lines:

PHIL: Record scratch!

PHIL: He’s me, and he’s spectacular.

MANNY: Remember that collage I made that helped us get through Katrina?

LUKE: Shoot me an aspirin friend.
PHIL: Maybe someday...

CLAIRE: I did not just cook for 8 hours so you people could run off to prove some asinine point that’s only going to make half of us feel bad! Come on, show a little respect.
JAY: Turkey smells great sweetheart.
PHIL: Is that turkey, because something smells like chicken...
CLAIRE: Okay, let’s settle this.

And line of the night:

GLORIA: My mother used to criticise everything I did, and look at me now... I am a jumble of insecurities.
JAY: I’m not getting that.

House – “Dead and Buried” (B+)

You know what, I’ve got to hand it to the House writers this week. I’ve been giving them a bit of a hard time lately, but credit where credit is due; I actually quite enjoyed this episode. For the first time in a while I actually cared about the patient stories... both of them!

And no, I’m not talking about the multiple personality diagnosis – that’s been done to death – I’m talking about the heartfelt reason behind the multiple personality diagnosis, the poor little girl who watched her father die and blamed herself for it. That was a legitimately emotional moment that I really didn’t see coming. Whoever the young girl was playing the patient did a heck of job selling that storyline.

But even better was House’s quest to find closure for one of his anger management classmates. The storyline combined the ingenuity I love to see from House (the character) with much of the same emotional impact of the previous storyline. That final scene, where the wife finally admitted to her ex-husband that she missed their dead son was really the highlight of the episode. Even after all these years it’s still fun to watch House get vindicated for coming up with the right answer.

 Well somewhat vindicated anyway – he still had to face Foreman after going behind his back and for the most part I think the writers handled that well. I liked Wilson’s description of how Cuddy handled House and I also liked that Foreman laid down his own personal punishment despite taking the advice. It was good for both characters really, and I mean come on – we all knew he wasn’t going back to jail.

The only thing I thought hurt this episode was the filler storyline. Chase’s new TV gig seemed like just a ploy to fill time... and give the rest of the team something to do this week. And honestly, the pay off really wasn’t worth all of the mystery leading up to it. Unless this ends up with Chase leaving the show or undergoing some sort of epiphany (the writers have been hinting there’s something going on with him lately) than his brief foray into television was just an unneeded distraction from what was otherwise a fairly strong episode.

Some Flies Are Too Awesome For The Wall

Sorry about the short post. All of my energy these days is going into ranting about Community being taken off the NBC schedule.

Spoilers...

Community – “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux” (A)

What I’ll never understand is how a smart, funny show like Community can struggle to find an audience while something like Two and Half Men can end up as the most watched comedy on television (thankfully Modern Family just recently overtook it). If you’re wondering what I’m blabbering on about I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Community has just been taken off NBC’s midseason schedule and I’m not very happy about it. From what I’ve heard it still has a full season order and those episodes are still going to air, it’s just not yet known when. It’s probably the most disappointing decision from the network since they let Conan go in favour of Leno. Is there a chance the show could survive? Absolutely, but this is definitely not a good sign.

And that’s a damn shame. From a strictly dollars and cents standpoint I understand Community doesn’t do well in the ratings. It’s a difficult show to get into and it has a rather niche sense of humour. But it’s also in one of the most competitive time slots in television and NBC isn’t exactly a network that’s drawing a lot of new viewers. It’s going to be damn tough to find another show to fill its place, and even then they have plenty of weaker offerings on their line up. Can you honestly tell me Whitney deserves to survive on Wednesday nights when Community already has a fairly loyal built in audience?

And it’s episodes like this one that’ll make that cancellation that much harder to swallow. For any of you still doubting whether the third season of Community has kept up the quality of the previous two, look no further than the solid string of episodes over the last couple of weeks. For my money the show’s still very much in its prime. In fact, I’d say I enjoyed this episode more than I did the original “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking.”

I don’t really have a point to any of these ramblings other than don’t cancel Community. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s good enough that it should be winning (or least getting nominated for) awards, and to me that makes it worth a second look. I don’t really want a new Arrested Development... Firefly... Freaks and Geeks... heck, even Undeclared. All of them eventually found large followings long after they were cancelled. Just give the show a season or two more to play itself out and everyone will be satisfied, instead of lamenting about what could have been. Alright, I’m done with the rant. We can talk about the episode now...

First and foremost, bravo Jim Rash. I can’t remember another episode where the Dean has been featured so prominently and he really took advantage of the opportunity. As soon as he put on that wife beater and started having epiphanies he became a pretty much unstoppable comedic force. Twelve hours of Brita and Troy hugging – priceless.

I also had a great time watching Joel McHale give us his Jim Rash impersonation. It’s such a great take on his character that he would go to as much trouble as he did just to get out of participating in the commercial. But his bald cap melt down after 14 days (god forbid it last more than 2) of sitting around waiting for his time in front of the camera was definitely one of the major highlights of the episode for me.

JEFF: I have made bald friends!

As good as those two were though, the real star of the episode was director Joe Russo and the way he captured the documentary feel. I’ve never seen Heart of Darkness (which is unfortunate because I’ve heard it’s better than Apocalypse Now) but I’m sure I’ve seen at least a few documentaries trying to capture the same vibe, and seems like he hit it pretty close to mark.

I also really liked Abed’s ending monologue on the nature of documentaries in general. That was actually a pretty intelligent assessment of the genre, and to be that funny and that smart at the same time is something special. Special enough you’d think the show would be able to find a place on the schedule of a fourth ranked network. Okay, I guess the ranting wasn’t done...

To the quotes, aka the Dean Pelton show:

PIERCE: Yeah, I always see it during late night marathons of Fantasy Island.
DEAN PELTON: That’s not an accident; it’s the result of intensive targeting.

DEAN PELTON: You know I love to be seen agreeing with you Troy.

DEAN PELTON: We open on a typical day at Greendale, only the students all look happy and you can’t smell that smell.

DEAN PELTON: I am trying to pull a 400 year old dagger out of this nation’s heart, and you two are “hugging”.

JEFF: What if this shoot goes on another day, or god forbid 2!

ABED: Are you by any chance familiar with Stockholm Syndrome?
ANNIE: Is it something that the Dean created because if not I don’t care.

BRITTA: As a licensed psychology major I am declaring this production a violation of human rights.

And line of the night:

DEAN PELTON: Okay, you get this wrong one more time I’m segregating the school.

Parks and Recreation –“Smallest Park” (A-)

Well... I totally saw that ending coming. Does this mean Leslie’s political ambitions are over? Probably, but I’m still holding out some hope that she’ll figure out a way to do both. I don’t necessarily think Leslie in City Council is a show ending experiment, even though it would take the focus away from the Parks Department a little bit.

I do have to admit though, I am somewhat surprised at how fast she and Ben got back together after last episode. I guess it’s good to keep up the momentum, but they really laid all of their cards out onto the table with this one. I also found that there was a bit of overlap between this week and the last. At the end of last week it seemed like the two of them were going to try to be friends and this one just sort of ignored that and went straight back into Ben trying to distance himself. Luckily everything was forgiven with that marvellously acted finale. I can’t wait to see what happens next week.

I was also fairly happy with Tom’s return to the Parks Department this week. His new font project was good for a few laughs, and honestly, I don’t think anyone takes better shots at Jerry than he does. Ironically, I thought at one point Jerry was being a little too mean to him. Probably at least somewhat deserved though. Anyway, there were a few scenes in the storyline that were a little slow, but on the whole it hit more than it missed.

Plus it had the unfortunate circumstance of having to go head to head with Andy’s first trip to college. Now that is just one of those dream scenarios you didn’t know you wanted to see until it was right there smacking you in the face. Everyone did a great job in this storyline. Chris Pratt hit all of the right marks. April was an awesome sidekick for all of his shenanigans. And Ron provided the perfect mix of funny and sentimental (in Ron’s own way of course) to give the storyline enough arc to succeed. I really like that he and Andy have built up such a strong friendship over the past few seasons.

Now for my favourite lines:

CHRIS: Jerry, I am making you my number 2 guy on the new font project.

APRIL: Horizons are dumb, never broaden your horizons. Just take something you’re great at and get an easy A.

LESLIE: No Ann, please, I beg of you, will you just shut your beautiful pie hole. Just sit there, let me stare at you, while you silently support me on this game plan.
ANN: Leslie...
LESLIE: Shhh Ann. Your quiet support means the world to me, as well as your tacit endorsement of all my behaviours.

APRIL: I want to be burned at the stake.

ANDY: Hello ma’am, who is just as equal as men, I would like one ticket for a... women.
APRIL: He would like to register for women’s studies.

ANDY: Why didn’t you tell me it was so expensive?
APRIL: I didn’t know. My parents paid for my classes. I’ll just have them pay for yours too.
ANDY: Oh god no, that’s embarrassing. I know, I’m gonna beg for money in the street like a drug addict.

And line of the night:

RON: Of all my coworkers he is one of a small number who I do not actively root against... there I go getting all sappy.

The Office – “Gettysburg” (B)

A pretty average episode. I think it says something when the biggest laugh of the night comes from watching Gabe get hit in the face with a hat. Most of the storylines in this one were just passable at best and I think part of the reason for that was that they all felt like B stories. Nothing really took over as the main thread and it sort of felt like I was waiting for a real story that never came.

The closest “Gettysburg” got was with Andy’s trip, but I don’t think it had the intended effect the writers were hoping for. Andy’s been the boss now for a decent chunk of episodes, and for the most part I’ve liked what it’s done with the show. Establishing him as the new lead really gave the series a shot in the arm. But that storyline has played out somewhat, and his trip to Gettysburg and all of the forced conflict it brought with it just didn’t seem necessary. We’ve already seen the scene where Jim comforts Andy about his new role. We didn’t need it again. And that has me a little worried, because if the writers have already stretched Andy as far as he can go then we’re in for a long ride over the rest of the season.

I wasn’t crazy about Dwight’s little subplot about the Battle of Schrute Farms either. Save for a pretty funny bit with Erin, which granted was a sizable portion of the short storyline, it just seemed like everybody was trying a little too hard to force the issue, and in the end I couldn’t help feel a little let down by the rather mediocre way they wrapped it all up.

Robert California probably had the best week of anyone, but then again his character seems designed to excel in these short side stories. I really enjoyed watching him shoot down everybody’s ideas in the conference room. Actually, just a little side note, I think this is the first time in a while we’ve gotten see Ryan in the spotlight for any length of time. Although, from the looks of it that’s likely a trend that’s going to continue after this episode. Anyway, Robert and Kevin made a good pairing in this episode, and I loved the scene where Ryan tricked Kevin into sharing his Big Mac idea and Robert realized that it was, in fact, just about the cookie.

Some of my favourite lines:

ERIN: Oscar, I’m so glad you just got here. I would have believed everything he said.

OSCAR: In the African American community...
ROBERT: No.

And line of the night:

PAM: When you’re this pregnant it’s kind of like senior spring. The other day I spit my gum out on the carpet.

What Is This Hold You Have On Me?

More reviews to come over the next couple of days.

Spoilers...

Modern Family – “After the Fire” (A-)

“After the Fire” was a great return for the series after a short week off. I always love it when the writers mess with the typical pairings and this was a great example of just how effective a deviation from the status quo can be.

First up, I thought Cam had a heck of an episode. How am I just learning about a debilitating disease like sleep clowning? Too funny... but again I think one big reason why Cam did so well in this episode was that he was paired with Haley and Alex. It may have been a little put on that Claire would send them with Cam, but it certainly paid off so I’ll give it a pass. I like it when the show explores Cam’s obscure talents (or at least perceived talents) and with the girls constantly condescending him it made for some truly funny lines:

CAM: That question, it was like a hate crime.

You’ve also gotta love it whenever Modern Family pulls out the Luke/Manny combo. The rapport between Rico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould is pretty awesome considering their age. My favourite part – how quickly the two of them turned on the poor kid who had his house burned down the second they found out he was getting the helicopter they wanted.

The star of the episode though had to be Gloria. She was really just popping in and out of scenes, but her one-liners were through the roof funny. Half of it is the accent, and I don’t think I’m giving away any secrets there, but I was also pretty impressed with how well Sofia Vergara handled the physical comedy in this episode. I laughed out loud at her tube man impression.

But probably the most enduring storyline of this episode will be Phil’s decision to quit his job and become a partner in his own real estate company. Depending on how the writers handle that it could be a pretty interesting development, especially considering last I checked Claire was running for City Council at the same time (she’s still doing that right?). Regardless, it really helped improve Jay and Phil’s scenes together this week. As much as I laughed at the fact that Phil still brings up how he fixed Jay’s printer on a regular basis, I was glad that we didn’t have to watch Phil overreact to Jay saying “I love you” to him. It gave us a great moment where Jay actually gave Phil some legitimate respect, not to mention some decent advice.

Alright, my favourite lines:

GLORIA: Okay, when your house burn down you get one of these... no don’t burn your house down.

MANNY: You’re a terrible influence.
LUKE: You need me.

JAY: I can’t take another farm story.

PHIL: You know, the Native Americans believe that burning sage kept bad energy away.
JAY: How’d that work out for them?

MITCHELL: Why are you making those cruel sounds with your mouth?

CLAIRE: What the hell is that?
PHIL: An alpaca. I got the last one!

HALEY: What just happened?
ALEX: You have your fans, I have mine. Someday your fans are going to work for my fans.

And line of the night:

GLORIA: In my country it’s considered very, very bad luck when your house burns down.

How I Met Your Mother – “Tick Tick Tick” (C)

So for the record I was right that one of Barney or Robin would freak out about their hook up and run back to their current relationship, just not about which one. That was a tough ending to watch, from the freeze frame moment in the bar to Ted discovering Barney cleaning up rose petals on Robin’s bed. You can definitely see why it’s going to take most of the season for these two to even be in the position to get back together again.

Unfortunately, a brief moment of brilliance at the end of the episode was far from enough to save it. “Tick Tick Tick...” was perhaps the worst episode of How I Met Your Mother I’ve seen in a few seasons. And the awful part is it should have been one of the good ones. The big character moments, moments like Robin abandoning Barney after he’d just left his girlfriend for her, those are the moments this show traditionally steps up for. They’re what keep me watching after all these years.

But the writing didn’t deliver. The cruise was just an unfunny way to delay the inevitable ending. Sure, it allowed the two of them to split off to deal with their respective breakups, but there was no reason why they couldn’t have done that earlier, like say... when they were discussing their relationship in bed with each other at the start of the episode. There just weren’t a whole lot of laughs in between their various freak outs over being stuck on a boat with the two people they had just cheated on.

Yet I can forgive the cruise storyline somewhat, because at least it had some real story development in it. Marshall and Ted’s marijuana induced journey through a crowded stadium was just a waste of time. Not only did most of the jokes fall flat on their face, but they were repeated seemingly over and over again. The ladies room/nacho line bit wasn’t funny the first time it was tried, it’s certainly not going to be funny the fourth time. And the “surprise” twist at the end, where it turned out their whole ordeal had taken place over a matter of minutes, well I didn’t find it all that surprising. Hands up if you too saw that coming.

Okay put your hand down, you look like a fool.

House – “Parents” (C+)

Oh man, House is in such a rut these days I’m having trouble even distinguishing one episode from another. Hugh Laurie is a funny guy, and a great actor, so every episode there’s the odd moment here or there that makes me laugh, but from a storytelling perspective this show is so stagnant even the actors look like they’re bored.

I could have sworn again this week that I’d seen this exact same patient story before. A kid with unexplainable symptoms eventually attributed to past sexual abuse – as bad as it sounds this stuff seems old hat for House. And with diseases and twists becoming this interchangeable, it makes it harder and harder to get invested in these patients every week.

I was also somewhat unimpressed with the random clinic patient House saw this week. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching House in the clinic – it’s always good for a laugh or two and this episode was no exception – but usually the writers find some of way of tying it in, either through the main patient story or with some sort of emotional conflict House is going through at the time. This one just seemed to sit there on its own, which left me somewhat unsatisfied when it was all over.

As for Taub and the rest of the team, they aren’t really helping matters. I’ve found Taub’s two baby storyline over the past couple of episodes more bizarre than entertaining. I’m glad he’s growing as a character, but I don’t think we needed his big rush to his ex-wife’s house to let us know that he loves his kids. The whole storyline seemed a little put on.

And Wilson, shame on you. If anyone should have caught onto what House was trying to do, it should have been you. It did seem like he had a lapse of uncharacteristic stupidity in this episode, which speaks more to poor writing than it does to the character. Why again couldn’t he go to that fight? Even if House is stuck in house arrest, it’s one night and something tells me he knows House isn’t that needy.

I Liked Horsebot 3000

So it’s really late right now... please forgive any spelling/grammar/giant chunks of missing text mistakes that may very well be scattered throughout this post. Enjoy!

Spoilers...

Community – “Studies in Modern Movement” (A-)

I don’t know if this is precisely the right rating for this episode, but the last act of “Studies in Modern Movement” made me laugh so hard I couldn’t help but look back over the rest of the proceedings with rose coloured glasses. It still amazes me how well this show manages to mesh its extremely outlandish style with genuine heart, but once again the writers impressed me by delivering just the right combination of humour and sentiment to make it all work.

I was quite excited about Annie moving in with Abed and Troy when it was casually mentioned all the way back in “Remedial Chaos Theory,” so I’m pretty happy that it’s actually stuck. And just based on what I saw in this episode I sincerely hope we get to see more of their adventures in the future. Every time we get a glimpse into Troy and Abed’s personal lives it’s a treat. I loved both of the puppet shows and the call back to Troy’s candy cigarette use (“picked the wrong week to quit”), but more than anything I loved the sweet ending where the boys told Annie that they needed her. There speech about how to use irons and get out Kool-aid stains had to be the highlight of the episode for me.

Of course I thought Jeff’s story with the Dean, or as we came to know him this week, Craig, was also really well done. The storyline got off to a bit of a slow start, but once the two of them were rocking karaoke together the jokes seemed to be firing on all cylinders. I hate to say it, but that might have been the most hauntingly beautiful rendition of Kiss From a Rose I’ve ever heard.

Actually, that karaoke moment transitioned into what was a rather surprise musical number in the middle of the episode. Although being that this show jumps the shark on almost an episodely basis (it’s a word) I don’t know why it caught me off guard. Either way though, I liked it... especially Pierce’s paint fume induced hallucination.

In fact, there were a few great little side stories that really rounded out the episode. I mentioned Pierce, and that had to be maybe the most perfect Chevy Chase geared storyline the writers have come up with in a while, but the Brita and Shirley pairing also panned out quite well. I don’t mention this enough, but I love some of the subtle line deliveries from Yvette Nicole Brown. She’s great at those under the breath comments Shirley loves to make.

Alright, to the lines:

ANNIE: Brita, don’t make jokes... you’re bad at it!

ABED: And if the rooms a rockin’ please come a knockin’ because there’s something probably terribly wrong.
TROY: Yeah, we’re pretty chill in there.

DEAN PELTON: This is gonna be fun... or else.

ABED: The dreamatorium is non-negotiable, read the lease.
TROY: Especially the part we added in Crayon.

ANNIE: I mean I can rearrange the throw pillows. You have them arranged by size instead of colour.
ABED: What did I say?

And line (or you know, extended sequence) of the night:

TROY: There’s a couple of things that we were hoping that you’d help us with.
ABED: Yes, like where does the water go in the iron?
TROY: And what’s the iron for?
ABED: And what gets out Kool-aid stains?
TROY: Yeah, we already know that the opposite colour Kool-aid doesn’t work.

Parks and Recreation – “The Treaty” (A-)

Ah, the good ole’ Model United Nations episode. Didn’t Community just do this like 5 or 6 episodes ago? Oh well, it’s pretty easy to see the appeal from a writing standpoint. There are just so many hilarious bits you can do with a Model UN. It’s like a springboard of good ideas, and Parks and Rec capitalized on many of them in this episode.

Honestly though, as funny as war breaking out in the Model UN was, I thought the emotional conflict between Ben and Leslie really stole the show. The writers are clearly setting the groundwork for the two of them to back together, but regardless I’ve really enjoyed the way they’ve handled Ben and Leslie dealing with their breakup thus far.  Ben’s speech to Leslie about how you can’t just pick and choose which aspects of a relationship you want was spot on. I want the show to make me laugh, but it’s a nice added touch that it can also be so pointed as well.

Speaking of people getting back together actually, I’m going to make one of my bolder calls in a while – I  think the writers may also be gearing up to get Ann and Chris back together. Ann got to clear the air a bit about their break up in this episode and to me that seems like a nice first step forward towards the two of them starting things back up again. Just watching the look of surprise and realization on Chris’s face after she broke it down for him suggests something more might have been at work there.

Ron and Tom’s storyline this week sort of played off the crackpot convention bit this show does so well. I must say, though it’s been done before, the people they interviewed to replace Tom were all quite funny. Especially the last guy, who was so sketchy and so out of it I wouldn’t mind seeing him pop up again somewhere around town.

I think it was sort of inevitable that Tom would return to the Parks department, so the tidiness of his return is somewhat forgivable, but I would have maybe liked to see Tom’s absence from City Hall extended even a little longer. The writers didn’t seem to be having much trouble keeping him involved so it’s not too far of a stretch that they could have given him a more natural story progression than they did. Still, part of me is just happy the band is back together, so I don’t entirely know why I’m complaining. It’s a just a minor note at best.

Last but not least, I want to make sure I mention Andy’s contribution to the episode. With the exception of maybe the last episode, he’s played sidekick for most of this season, and I find it amazing how effective he can be in the little moments he gets. Andy is pretty disproportionally represented in the quotes section this week considering the amount of time he spent on screen.

Speaking of which:

LESLIE: I need a few more volunteers. Andy, will you be Iceland?
ANDY: The bad guys from Mighty Ducks 2? I don’t think so.
LESLIE: Okay, how bout Japan?
ANDY: The bad guys from Karate Kid 2... even worse. How about Germany, they’ve never been the bad guys.

CHRIS: I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I am romantically involved with Jerry Gergich’s surprisingly hot daughter, Millicent Gergich.

CHRIS: See I just don’t believe in this whole don’t-let-people-know-how-you-feel nonsense. I love telling people how I feel, mostly because I love those people. And I love telling them that I love them.
DONNA: You didn’t tell that girl that you loved her, did you?
CHRIS: No, I’m not crazy.

TOM: A fact is not an anecdote Gary!

LESLIE: God, it’s time for you to nut up Switzerland.

BEN: It’s a white flag, and you may as well start waving it right now Leslie!
LESLIE: The only thing I will be waving is your decapitated head on a stick in front of your weeping mother!
BEN: Good lord.

LESLIE: And I ask all of you, who is ready to join the coalition of the willing?
APRIL: The moon shall join your coalition.
LESLIE: Yeah! We got the freakin’ moon. What are you going to do without tides Peru?

ANDY: Did we win? I think we won? What were we trying to do? I learned so much today.

ANDY: If you rearrange the letters of Peru you can spell Europe.
BEN: That’s not true.
ANDY: Well, you have to rearrange them.

And line of the night:

ANN: I mean I was jogging... I hate jogging.
CHRIS: Jogging’s amazing.
ANN: Jogging’s the worst Chris! I mean I know it keeps you healthy, but god, at what cost?

The Office – “Pam’s Replacement” (B+)

Maybe one of the better Pam/Jim storylines I’ve seen in a long, long time. Really, ever since the two of them got married and had the first kid the writers have been having trouble figuring out what to do with them. That’s why whenever I see that original spark that made this couple so fun in the first place I take note. Oh and if you didn’t get where I was going with that, this was one of those times.

Of course, I guess you could argue the storyline was as much a Pam/Dwight affair as it was a Pam/Jim affair. For the second week in a row the writers decided to showcase the bizarre friendship Pam and Dwight seem to share. Regardless, it’s just nice to see the original cast playing off each other the way they used to. I really enjoyed the back and forth between all involved, from the game of matchmaker to the makeshift lie detector test.

Unfortunately, other than that there wasn’t much else to this episode. I guess I liked the opening phone call bit, mostly just because of Darryl’s phone commentary as it was all going down, and there was a decent scene in the break room involving a large chunk of the cast that was good for a few decent laughs, but the rest of the episode seemed pretty bare.

It certainly wasn’t a good week for Robert California. His displacement of Andy and the rest of the zits really didn’t generate much from a comedy perspective. I dare say the writers overestimated the effectiveness of watching Andy, Kevin, and Darryl slowly become the groupies of their own band. I did enjoy the little scene where they broke off on their own though. It’s just too bad what came before it was so forgettable.

Line of the night:

DWIGHT: Does your husband have very soft erections? Cause if not I just grabbed a very soft penis for nothing.

Hurricane Eriksen!

Hurray, real reviews!

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “Disaster Averted” (B)

You’re playing a dangerous game How I Met Your Mother...

A good 80% of “Disaster Averted” was sheer nonsense. Unfocused, uninspired, nonsense. But... and this is really where the writers were crafty, they gave us just enough story momentum, just enough of that slap bet magic, that I couldn’t help smiling to myself when it was all over and done with. It’s a cheap trick, but it worked... this time anyway.

Let’s start with what I didn’t like since it’s going to be tough to do it once I get into the ending. First off, Marshall’s Edgar Allen Poe bit got old very fast. I can forgive the first couple of jokes, but the bear attacks were stupid, and its effect on Lily – all that smothering – just seemed really forced. Plus there’s something off about the continuity of them conceiving their kid in that bathroom. Hurricane Irene was in late August, wasn’t it?

What’s worse is that after that initial Edgar Allen Poe monologue, the one where the music got intense and the camera crept in on Marshall’s face, the writers decided to keep using the technique completely out of context. They stripped the gag of its meaning and then just threw it out there hoping for a few cheap laughs... not good.

And there were a few more things along those lines I didn’t like, but they don’t seem worth getting into right now and honestly, I can’t wait to talk about it – slap bet’s back you guys! I’m so happy the writers worked that into the episode. Slap bet is one of my all time favourite How I Met Your Mother memories and with Marshall only having one slap left, it hasn’t made it onto to the show in a while. But this is great news – the writers managed to give us not one, but two slaps in this episode and still had the good sense to leave Marshall a spare for future use. If he’d just used up his last slap it would have been bittersweet, but now he can slap away and still have one left for, dare I say, the series finale... I think that may be how important slap bet is to the series.

Of course I can’t forget Robin and Barney hooking up in the cab. I kind of wish there was a little more build up to that moment – it really did come out of nowhere – but I was happy to see it happen. I may be alone in this but I’ve always been rooting for that couple. Though if I were to make my big call for next week I’d say that Barney’s going to renege on the kiss and he and Robin are going to play the will-they won’t-they game for a little while longer.

Alright, now for my favourite lines:

TED: If we don’t make it through the night I want you guys to know, and I really mean this, I wish I’d branched out and made more friends in my 20s.

TED: Pink is just easier to spot from the rescue chopper.

And line of the night:

BARNEY: I think I need to go home and re-evaluate how I make life decisions.

House – “The Confession” (B-)

“The Confession” was an improvement over last week’s lackluster affair, but I’m still not really feeling House this season. It’s no secret that the show’s been on the decline for a while now, but I was kind of hoping, what with all the talk of this being the last season, that the writers would break the mould a little and give us something we haven’t seen before. Perhaps they just need to get the confirmation that this is it before they go ahead with the big send off, but business as usual just isn’t cutting it anymore.

I was disappointed with the patient story again this week. I’m a big fan of Jamie Bamber going back to his Battlestar days and I didn’t think he was used well in the episode. It seems like it doesn’t really matter what they do with the cases these days, there’s not a whole lot left this show hasn’t already done. Just listen to how apathetically the old team says “everybody lies” and you can tell even the writers know the game is fixed.

Don’t get me wrong though, I was very glad to get Chase and Taub back. They really seemed to breathe some new life into the show. I was a big fan of the old team-new team comparisons sprinkled throughout the episode and just watching the two groups interact gave the show some of the intrigue it had been missing of late.

I also thought Chase’s return gave Foreman a chance to break into his new role. Up until this week we’ve really only gotten to see the administrator side of Foreman, and I don’t think I’m saying anything too profound here, but the man is not likeable when he’s in charge. Chase allowed him to let down his guard and open up a bit more, which probably provided the best storyline of the episode.

In the end though it just wasn’t enough to hold my interest. I think the best thing the writers and producers could do right now is commit to ending the series as soon as possible and use the remaining episodes to give these characters the send off they deserve. House probably still makes a ton of money, but from a creative standpoint I think the time has come to walk away.

No, That’s Not True. That’s Impossible!

Sorry for the long wait between posts gang, it’s been a busy week. Since I have such a backlog of shows to cover I’m going to have to keep my write ups brief, but everything should be back to normal by next week. Enjoy!

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” (B)

You’ve gotta hand it to the writers for what they’re trying with Ted this season. The parade of old flames from episodes past is certainly a good way to keep people interested in his pre-mother relationships. Unfortunately, the Slutty Pumpkin just wasn’t as effective as Victoria was. At the end of the day she’s just masking the problem – none of these relationships have any future. Still, I really liked the quarter Canadian subplot. Barney’s reaction when he found out, ala Luke Skywalker in Empire, was priceless.

House – “Risky Business” (C+)

Another filler episode. It’s not that I hate the new team (I love Charlyne Yi just for her numerous appearances on Conan) but the show really seems to be struggling in the absence of some of its more familiar faces. Let’s just hope all that money House made from betting on his patient’s company means that Taub and Chase will be back next week.

Modern Family – “Treehouse” (A-)

I thought Leslie Mann’s guest appearance was actually pretty solid. I wouldn’t mind seeing her character again someday.  I maybe could have done without Jay’s fake ecstasy experience or Claire driving Haley out into the middle of nowhere and leaving her, but the good parts of this episode definitely outweighed the bad, especially that awesome ending where Phil made a new friend while building his treehouse.

Community – “Advanced Gay” (B+)

I loved the call back to Troy’s Good Will Hunting like plumbing skills. I loved the room temperature joke (“this is the room temperature room”) much like the rest of John Goodman’s second appearance on the series. Just based on his little conversation with his number 2 at the end of the episode, the battle over Troy’s plumbing soul looks like it’s just gearing up.

As for Pierce’s father’s appearance, that was a little more hit and miss, but I did love the jump cut from Jeff berating him right to the old man’s funeral. I actually quite like the psychological focus that Brita’s new major has brought to the show, especially in the writer’s choices of what she gets right from her classes and what she screws up.

Parks and Recreation – “End of the World” (A)

This was a surprisingly sentimental turn for the series. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them use music over an entire sequence that wasn’t somehow introduced naturally in the background of a scene (although I guess April did turn something on in the car). But I loved the way the writer’s handled Ben and Leslie’s first episode together since their break up, and kudos to Amy Poehler and Adam Scott for really selling the storyline. I felt legitimately bad for both of their characters.

But even the side plots in this episode exhibited the funny yet touching sentiment of the episode. Tom’s last hurrah was pretty special, and contained an unusually poignant performance from Aziz Ansari. And I don’t think I’ve disagreed with a single move the writers have made with Andy and April’s marriage so far. Their loss for words at the end of this episode may just turn out to be one of those signature moments that fans of the series (or least me anyway) will remember for a long, long time.

The Office – “Doomsday” (B)

I wasn’t a huge fan of the premise of this episode –most of the major plot points were a little too ridiculous for my liking – but “Doomsday” was at least funny enough to hold my interest over the entire half hour. I guess that’s saying something.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Put Me In, Coach” (C+)

If you’re going to have an episode based around a baseball game at least research the sport enough that you know some of the basic rules of the game. Last time I checked you can’t hit a home run and have the same player at first before and after the at-bat.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Heart-Shaped Box” (B)

I really enjoyed Lexie’s obsession with her patient’s series of novels, especially after the scene where Avery broke up with her. That whole storyline was really well done. Oh, and you just had to laugh at the scene where Sloan and Avery got back together – that was a pretty funny way to cap off the episode.

Unfortunately, with the way Henry was coughing up blood at the end of the episode and with Scott Foley spending so much time on the series of late, I have a sinking feeling that the writers are planning on killing him off. Unless the producers make Foley a series regular – which won’t happen because he’s not a doctor – I don’t think there’s much hope that they’ll keep him around. There are just too many more good storylines for Teddy with him dead than alive. Hopefully I’m wrong though, because I really do like him.