What If I Had A Croissant Blog?

Here’s the weekly roundup...

Spoilers:

Shameless – “Father’s Day” (B+)

Another step in the right direction. I thought “Father’s Day” did a great job of carrying the momentum from last episode, and that’s a little odd because I can’t think of any developments that were that major – it was just funny all round. I’m glad Steve’s back. I quite liked his scene with Fiona. Very understated, but I think that’s probably more true to life than most would care to admit. I also loved Sheila’s reaction to hearing that Frank slept with Karen. I have to admit, I didn’t see that coming. I probably should have, but I didn’t.

I’ve noticed that the writers have kept up with this spare room idea. I’m kind of wondering if this is going to be a recurring thing they do all season long, just a revolving door of tenants. Or perhaps this new stripper is here to stay (and if that’s the case I hope they keep her as undeveloped as she is now – these brief glimpses are so much funnier than giving her a real backstory). Either way I’ll be keeping an eye out.

How I Met Your Mother – “The Burning Beekeeper” (C)

This episode was painfully unfunny. I respect the show for the ambitiousness of the concept – it’s no secret How I Met Your Mother is willing to try things – but I sat in silence through most of this one. It felt a bit like some poor stand up comedian bombing out on stage. You could tell they were trying, but the harder they tried the more painful it got.

None of the rooms really had any cohesion. It seemed like the more foreshadowing they did for each of the 5 minute segments the more the episode disappointed. Each set up seemed to be perfunctorily dealt with, as if they were something to get out of the way rather than something to build off of. It felt like there was a different writer for each room and none of them were speaking with each other that week. Needless to say, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises.

And the last room was the worst. There was a chance, had something, anything, panned out over the course of “The Burning Beekeeper”, that it could have salvaged the episode, but it didn’t really give us anything to make it worth sticking around the whole half hour. Not the reason for Robin and Ted’s fight. Not the reveal of the mystery man in the beekeepers outfit. Not even Marshall quitting. It was the underwhelming cherry on the top of a forgettable episode.

House – “Nobody’s Fault” (B)

So it’s official – House is sailing off into the sunset at the end of the season. It’s bittersweet to say the least, but I don’t think I’ve kept it a secret that I think it’s the right move. The show has struggled over the last couple of seasons, and I hate watching once great TV series get bled out in their waning years. I think it’s better to end House now than to watch it implode simply for the sake of keeping it on the air.

And hopefully this allows the series time to give itself a proper send off. This final string of episodes should be better than whatever the writers had planned to keep the show going. There’s nothing like finality to creatively reinvigorate a series.

In fact, armed with the knowledge that the show was coming to a close, I found myself pleasantly surprised with “Nobody’s Fault.” I like it when they bring in an outsider, someone who isn’t familiar with House and his methods, and shine a different perspective on the character. After this many years on the air viewer fatigue is a huge problem, and it’s episodes like this one that really remind you why the character was so interesting in the first place. Obviously, I doubt there’s much of a chance the writers had any idea the series would be ending when they penned “Nobody’s Fault,” but it was definitely timely.

Alcatraz – “Guy Hastings” (A-)

I actually thought, outside of maybe the original set up in the pilot, that this was Alcatraz’s best effort to date. For once I felt like the episode found the perfect balance between connecting to the overall arc of the series and showcasing the inmate of the week (or in this case guard). The bread crumbs just seemed to be trickling a little faster in this one and that was good for a couple of reasons. One, it made Ray’s character infinitely more interesting and likely just gave us somebody else we know to watch for in the prison flashbacks. And two, it gave Madsen some leverage over Hauser which is probably going to lead to a more adversarial relationship between the two of them and in the process hopefully a deeper exploration of the mythology of the series.

New Girl – “The Landlord” (B+)

While it may have gotten a little silly at the end, I couldn’t help be charmed once again by the remarkably fresh writing on this series. When Jess talked down the guy brandishing a pistol into giving her and Nick the parking spot I laughed out loud. And many of her early interactions with the landlord were equally as funny. You also had to love watching the guys clear out a bedroom in under a minute. Who left the library in such a mess?

Winston however still seems to be struggling to find his place on the show, and you can tell the writers know it. They’ve made a few attempts to give themselves something to build off of, but nothing has really stuck so far. Wasn’t he going to be a nanny? Or what about his hilarious skills playing the bells? Can we not make a thing out of him quickly picking up random, completely unmarketable skills? Even the way the writers tried to give him a love interest last week felt a little forced – he wasn’t developed enough yet for any of us to care. Cece may be able to skirt by as a background player, but Winston lives in the apartment, and the disparity between him and the rest of the guys is starting to become distracting.

Modern Family – “Me? Jealous?” (B)

I didn’t really have strong feelings either way for this one. I liked Cam and Gloria together, especially Manny’s masterful manipulation of the two of them. His friend does sound like a real piece of work. I was less enthused about Jay and Mitchell. That storyline just didn’t seem to go anywhere for me. Phil and Claire had a decent week as well, but I’m having a hard time of remembering anything that really stood out for me other than Betty Luke, which I guess is good for that joke but bad for the rest of the episode.

Happy Endings – “The St. Valentine’s Day Maxssacre” (B+)

This episode didn’t quite live up to the hilarity of the one that came before it, but there was one joke in particular that bumped it up for me almost singlehandedly, and that was Dave’s middle school e-mail address. Capital H Hilarious. The rest of the show had its moments though. I liked Alex’s numerous retellings of the story of St. Valentine, each revealing an even worse demise for the protagonist. And Brad’s plaque plaque was pretty clever. That dude really loves the dentist. Overall I didn’t think it was a bad outing for the series.

30 Rock – “Hey, Baby, What’s Wrong” (B)

The big hour long Valentine’s Day episode. I thought Liz and Criss’s Ikea storyline was clever. With the amount characters on TV talk about that company it’s about time one of these shows actually went there. I’m also kind of wondering if perhaps Criss is here for the long haul. It’s a little naive of me to think that a guest star on a sitcom will be around for any length of time, but it would be a new look for Lemon and if I were a writer in the sixth season of a comedy series I’d want to take whatever creative springboard I could get. For this episode anyway that does seem to be where it’s going, but who knows – these things can turn on a dime.

The rest of “Hey Baby, What’s Wrong” was fairly average for me though. I didn’t care much for Tracey and Frank leading Lutz around. Jack and Avery’s mother had good bit going with their trip to the UN, but once they left the building they came back down to Earth. And while I love the fact that Pete used to be an Olympic calibre archer, there wasn’t much else that stood out for me in his guest producing stint (I didn’t know that was a thing) on Jenna’s new hit TV show.

I do have to commend casting choice of Kristen Schaal as Kenneth’s Page replacement though. That part is just tailored to her exact style of humour and since Flight of the Conchords went off the air I’ve missed her. She’s almost definitely going to flame out of the Page program, but it should be a good ride while it lasts.

The Office – “Special Project” (B)

Second episode in a row without an appearance by James Spader. I don’t know how much I should read into that, but I’m pretty sure he’s only on a one year contract, and the way they’ve been sparingly using him of late doesn’t bode well for his future with the series. I’ll let you decide if you think that’s a good or bad thing.

I didn’t think “Special Project” was the funniest episode I’d seen this season, but I am looking forward to the titular special project. That’s a rag tag group of characters with a lot of potential for laughs. I like that they’ve gotten Ryan involved. It’s not that he needs to be as main a character as he was in the first few seasons but it’s nice to see him with a little more screen time. And Erin – I think there’s going to be some drama there. She’d better not stay in Florida, dammit!

The only thing I could have done without is the writers turning Kathy into a home wrecker.  Despite being painfully underdeveloped before this episode, she didn’t even seem to like Jim that much, so her infatuation with him just didn’t seem earned. I’ll give the storyline a chance though, seeing that it hasn’t really even started yet. Otherwise I think I might be doing some book cover judging or whatever...

Up All Night – “Day After Valentine’s Day” (B+)

You know, it doesn’t really matter what they’re given, I could watch Christina Applegate and Will Arnett do just about anything and like it. And sometimes I wonder if that maybe covers up for the odd weak script here and there. “Day After Valentine’s Day” felt like one of those episodes. Not terribly clever, but fun nonetheless thanks to some great work by the show’s two leads. There’s not much more to say than that.

Grey’s Anatomy – “All You Need Is Love” (C+)

I don’t know what it was about this episode, but it just seemed like it epitomized all of Grey’s bad habits. Perhaps it was the Valentine’s Day theme. Give an already melodramatic show that kind of ammunition and you can’t be that surprised when they turn up the schmaltz.

It does seem though that this hospital has had more than its fair share of accidents befalling it. That car barrelling through the front door was completely unnecessary. They didn’t even follow up with it – no one from that point on even mentioned the big hole in the side of the hospital. Hell, the patient that crashed through the door barely even registered.

And while I like that Derek and Meredith are finally happy, their happiness finally became annoying in this episode. Now I get that it was more for Lexi’s storyline then it was for them, but give the actors something more than “crash through the house giggling.” There had to be a better way to do that scene. Add to that a few terrible monologues by both doctors and patients, and you had a pretty good reason not to like the episode. I can see more than a few Grey’s haters pointing to this one as an example of why they don’t watch the show anymore (or in the first place).