No More KRANG!

I’m on a tight schedule this week, so I won’t be able to do my usual slightly more fleshed out reviews. Instead please enjoy my one sentence impressions of each episode.

There are no spoilers...

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

Meh.

Shameless – “A Great Cause” (A-)

*Slow clap*

Alcatraz – “Webb Porter” (B)

Pretty average.

Cougar Town – “Something Big” (A-)

Grayson’s daughter is a very funny addition.

New Girl – “Fancyman (Part 1)” (A)

Hilarious.

Happy Endings – “You Snooze, You Bruise” (B+)

*Golf clap*

Community – “Contemporary Impressionists” (B)

Not the best episode this series has ever had.

30 Rock – “Grandmentor” (B+)

The better episode of the night.

30 Rock – “Kidnapped by Danger” (B-)

The lesser episode of the night.

Up All Night – “Daddy Daughter Time” (B+)

Pretty much par for the course I guess.

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I hope that was insightful for you too.

And How Fiscal Will The Quarterly Earnings Be?

Sorry to all the Alcatraz fans out there. My DVR crapped out on recording this week’s episode. I give it a B though just from its description on the guide.

Spoilers:

Shameless – “Hurricane Monica” (B+)

It’s hard to believe there are only 3 more episodes left in this season. Monica’s return is definitely going to add a lot of drama to the rest of these episodes though. First because I thought her appearance last season marked a real turning point for the series and it only took the writers two scenes in this episode to mention she’s bipolar and off her meds. And second, because I accidently read a brief synopsis of the next couple of episodes.

I’m also a big fan of what they did with Lip and Fiona this week. Parking Lip at Steve’s house was a pretty great move. Not only do I like the dynamic between Lip and Steve, but it gave Steve and Fiona a reason to talk and introduced us to Steve’s big new scheme (which I’m hoping the writers don’t just forget about).

I’m also pretty interested in seeing how this thing with Sheila and Jody pans out. I rarely have any idea how Karen is going to react to anything so it could be big or it could end up turning into nothing, but I don’t think the writers are going to be able to simply brush it off. I will say though, Joan Cusack had a heck of an episode this week. Sheila and Jody have weirdly interesting chemistry with each other, don’t they?

Cougar Town – “A One Story Town” (A-)

And I thought last week was a great week for Scrubs fans. First off, how awesome is Sarah Chalke? She is willing to do just about anything for the sake of the joke. I mean how many actresses would agree to do that burnt thighs bit for almost half an episode! I hope Bobby and her character grow old together. I’m also quite happy that Ted seems to have become a recurring guest on this series. I loved the way they used him in this episode, even more so than his first appearance. He and Jules have a really funny vibe with each other.

New Girl – “Control” (B)

Well, they can’t all be winners. A week after probably my favourite episode of New Girl yet the show just sort of transitioned back into the same old, same old. Another one of those Jess ignores the guys’ advice and finds out that they were right all along type deals. Not that I feel as though show is getting stale or anything. It’s early enough that everything still feels fairly fresh. It’s just the jokes weren’t really landing as frequently as they normally do and the familiar premise didn’t help anything. With that said, even an average episode of New Girl is better than most and “Control” still had its moments.

Modern Family – “Send Out the Clowns” (B+)

I’ll admit, I probably shouldn’t have liked this episode as much as I did. The structure of the episode felt a little sporadic and I didn’t think Manny, Jay, and Gloria’s storyline got as fleshed out as it needed to be in order to reach its full potential. I also thought the big twist in Phil’s plotline wasn’t really much of a twist at all. In fact I sort of assumed that Luke was in the middle of some sort of scheme to get that other realtor to give Phil his listing back, which made it all the more surprising when she fell for it. Still, the clown stuff, while a little obvious, was quite funny, and there were a number of recurring bits that ended up working really well in this episode, my favourite being Phil’s frequent calls to “gather round” and all of his ensuing speeches.

Happy Endings – “Party of Six” (B+)

Solid episode. I loved the concept of Brad’s break up restaurant as well as the fact that he and Jane apparently have sex in the bathroom of pretty much every restaurant they go to. I also have to give it up to Max’s creepy “curse” voice and unbelievably stupid plan to get a table (quickly rectified by eating just a tiny morsel of food).

Community – “Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts” (A-)

You have no idea how happy I am to be reviewing this show again. What a great comeback episode too! The entire cast was at the top of their game. I thought Gillian Jacobs in particular had a standout episode. Her “this is who I am” line had me in hysterics. I was also quite impressed with the direction given to Pierce and Shirley in this episode. I was a little disappointed their sandwich shop didn’t work out – far less disappointed if Subway starts paying the bills to keep this show on the air – but I hope at least in Pierce’s case they keep trying to find him a new business venture.

Oh also, Abed and Troy being weird simply by trying to act normal – priceless!

30 Rock – “St. Patrick’s Day” (B)

Nothing too glaringly wrong with this episode, it just wasn’t as outwardly funny as I would have liked. I think my favourite storyline was Kristen Schaal’s character dealing with the intricacies of Tracey and Jenna. It was interesting to see the writers use the fact that Jenna’s celebrity has now risen above that of Tracey’s. I could see that leading to a few more good stories down the line. Also, Jack plays what can only be described as a giant Settlers of Cataan rip off exactly how I play Settlers of Cataan, which is awesome. It makes me happy that I’m finally using my business degree the right way.

The Office – “Get the Girl” (B-)

Okay, so I’m happy that Erin and Andy finally got together, but it did feel a little anticlimactic. The fact that it occurred in some random episode in the middle of the season didn’t help things, but I don’t the writers really tapped into the characters the way they needed to to convey the proper magnitude of the event. Add to that the stupidity of the other storyline where Robert California just watches Nellie steal Andy’s job and you have an episode that, given its subject matter, should have been better.

Up All Night – “Baby Fever” (B)

It’s not exactly a great idea to condense an entire episode down to its last few minutes, but the ending tag was so funny I have to give it the biggest shout out of the night. Perhaps the reason the rest of this episode felt so average was because the writers couldn’t find a way to get that kind of face time between Chris and Reagan. I’m still not sure how I feel about the big shake up at Ava’s show. I kind of liked it when Reagan and Ava were the ones calling all of the shots and I’m not a big fan of watching Reagan fawn over her new boss. It seems like a lot of the show’s energy over the last few episodes has went into integrating these new characters into the mix and so far there hasn’t been a lot of pay off for it.

Grey’s Anatomy – “One Step Too Far” (B-)

I think there are going to be some rough times ahead for Grey’s and me, at least in the foreseeable future. I’m getting really sick of watching all of this drama between Christina and Owen and instead of backing away from it the writing staff seems to be doubling down. Even with the Summer Glau guest appearance I can’t stop my brain from shutting down whenever the two of them start fighting again. I do however see some promise in Karev and this new intern and Lexie’s screw up was pretty interesting to watch so... B- it is, for now.

I’m Partial To Things Like Karate And Brief Nudity

Hurray for TV! (Officially out of things to start posts with).

Spoilers:

Shameless – “Parenthood” (B+)

Lip is going through some shit.

What a great ending. I know the writers are manipulating us a bit, but damn it if it wasn’t heartbreaking to watch Carl chase after Lip as he stormed out of the house. They really know how to use the younger Gallaghers to tug at your heart strings. Obviously Shameless is great when it’s going for laughs, but it’s that much better when it throws a little pathos into that mix. Now I just hope the next episode picks up where this one left off. The show tends to shift back into the familiar at the start of every episode, and from a tonal standpoint that bugs me a bit sometimes.

I honestly can’t figure out what Frank’s deal with his mother is. He wants her dead, he celebrates when she dies, but then he runs to his ex-wife to console him in his grief. I guess it’s a complicated relationship. Karen’s sort of the same with the baby. At one point she was slapping Lip for telling her to get an abortion and now all she cares about is what she can get for the poor kid. I guess her marriage sort of ended in between those two things, but it feels more like a convenient turn for the sake of Lip’s storyline then it does an actual development in her character. I’ll reserve my judgement though until I see how she reacts to Lip telling her he wants to keep it.  

Oh and what do you think the over/under is we ever see Carl play football again?

Alcatraz – “The Ames Brothers” and “Sonny Burnett” (B)

I’m not entirely thrilled that these episodes are apparently so interchangeable they can air them out of order without any sort of repercussions continuity-wise, but I didn’t mind what they gave us this week. “The Ames Brothers” was a good bottle episode, and I’m hoping the Warden’s discovery of the gold plays some sort of factor later on in the series. I could see his character popping up in the modern day as one of the masterminds behind what happened in 63. He has that sort of vibe that he knows more than he’s letting on.

Sonny Burnett introduced the concept of healing blood, an interesting little addition to the mythology, but I found the core of the fairly predictable. I don’t think the inmate story was as good this time around. I’m hoping all this build up between Tommy and Rebecca ends up going somewhere soon, but considering next week’s episode (tonight’s actually) was supposed to air before these two, I’m not holding my breath.

New Girl – “Injured” (A)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is the first time this show has gone serious. And wow, hats off to the writing staff and the cast for how it was executed. “Injured” was funny, poignant, heartfelt – I found myself really connecting with Nick and his drunken confessions. I think the writing staff waited the perfect amount of time to tackle this type of subject matter too. You do something like this too soon and the audience just doesn’t care enough about the characters. But even Cece made an impression in this episode, and she’s probably the least developed of the 5 main characters. Obviously, the show can’t do an episode like this one every week, but it’s certainly nice to see it’s in their repertoire. While “Injured” may not have been the funniest episode this series has ever done, it was probably my favourite so far.

Cougar Town – “Full Moon Fever” (B+)

There was a lot to like about this episode. You had Andy doing a hilarious Braveheart impression, Laurie starting a very funny (and sweet) relationship over Twitter, and Sarah Chalke making a guest appearance! A guest appearance that actually looks like it’s going to last more than just an episode. Every time I see a Scrubs cameo on this show my heart grows three sizes.

Happy Endings – “The Kerkovich Way” (B+)

Speaking of Scrubs alumni, I have to once again express my absolute adoration for Eliza Coupe. She was the one that earned this episode’s B it’s +. I loved the flashback to Jane and Alex’s great grandmother, saving her village from the Nazis by convincing them they’d already been occupied. But while the main story in this one was strong, the B story felt a little flat to me. I’m not a huge fan of watching Max pine over Grant. With all the fanfare around him finally getting a boyfriend, I thought it was going to last a little longer than it did, and now that it’s all over I’m not sure the relationship earned the kind of fanfare it got in this episode.

30 Rock – “Standards and Practices” (A-)

It’s unbelievable to me how good Chloe Moretz is as Jack’s nemesis. I’d even put Kaylie Hooper up there with Banks, which considering her age and my love of Will Arnett is just downright impressive. How awesome would it be if those two teamed up?

I’m also quite enjoying Kenneth’s new role this season. Taking him out of the Page program was great for his character, and since then I’ve liked almost all of the decisions the writers have made with him, particularly placing him in standards and practices. The combination of his history and unbelievable naivety seems to fit that department perfectly.

Parks and Recreation – “Lucky” (A-)

Sadly, this is the last episode of Parks and Rec we’re going to get until mid-April. But I guess at least the show went out with some pretty good laughs. Not only am I glad that the writers followed up on Andy’s Women’s Studies class, but I also like that they kept Ron involved in proceedings. That Tiger Wood’s outfit still haunts me. At the end of the day though this was really Andy’s time to shine and Chris Pratt absolutely hit it out of the park (Moneyball, anyone?).

The campaign had a pretty good week as well. I liked that Leslie’s strong relationship with the airport staff ended up getting her out of the jam. It reminded me a bit of her cute relationship with the police department. As for Tom and Ann, I’m still not totally sold on the two of them as a couple, but I’m happy that the writing staff is at least having a bit of fun with the mismatch. Their frequent break ups do seem oddly appropriate. Still, it does beg the question why they keep getting back together at all. They have a long way to go to justify those two staying together for any extended period of time.

The Office – “Last Day in Florida” (C+)

While I was happy to see Andy finally set off to win Erin back, the rest of “Last Day in Florida” was so weak by the time they got to that moment I was pretty much over it. Dwight and Jim’s shoving match seemed to drag on and on with pretty much zero comedic payoff and the B story in the Scranton office was as forgettable as most of the storylines that have come out of there since half of the office left for Florida. I’m looking forward to seeing Andy chase down Erin next week, but the little teaser at the end of this one just wasn’t enough to save the episode.

Up All Night – “Couple Friends” (B)

The whole couple friends idea is a bit of a worn out sitcom cliché. Usually writers pull it out when they have a married couple that’s proving difficult to write for and they need to give them the kind of material their single counterparts are having so much success with, hence why finding a couple to be friends with is always comparable to starting a relationship. I guess it’s somewhat inevitable that a show centered around a married couple would end up traversing down that path, but one would have thought it would have taken them longer to do it considering the show is still in its first season. Either way, Christina Applegate and Will Arnett did an admirable job of spicing up the storyline, once again proving they can elevate an episode just on the strength of their chemistry alone.

Judgements Are The Gluten Of Thoughts

Kind of a light week, but that didn’t stop this post from ballooning out of control. Enjoy!

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “Karma” (B+)

I’ve quite liked the last few weeks of this show. “Karma” had a few distractions along the way, but for the most part I thought it had enough charm to get us through to the ending, which is where the episode really shone. I have to admit, Ted moving out surprised me. I didn’t see it coming until Marshall and Lilly showed up to an empty apartment. But the writers set it up perfectly, and though it’s a bit of a cop out to have Marshall and Lilly move back into the city so soon, the writers handled it well enough that I didn’t feel cheated. This is exactly the sort of change up this show needed and I’m looking forward to seeing how Ted makes out.

On a side note – and by all means let me know if you agree in the comments – I think a really strong indicator of a good How I Met Your Mother episode is that it ends with Ted walking the streets of New York alone. It’s probably something I should have picked up long before now, but whenever there’s a big turning point in his quest to find the mother, they leave him in that she-could-be-anywhere metaphor. Now all I need is a supercomputer and a crack team of researchers to prove the relationship exists.

House – “Love is Blind” (B)

I’m such a huge fan of what Michael B. Jordan has done on The Wire and Friday Night Lights that I think I got more out of this episode than I probably should of. For the most part it was just a run of the mill case, granted one with some terrific acting, but pretty average nonetheless. I liked that they finally let Charlyne Yi loose with Park’s acid trip. That was pretty funny. And so far House’s wife has been a great source of comic relief as well. Now I just wonder how much they’re going to follow up on House’s search for his biological father. I thought the Irish guy was a good match, but perhaps the writers have got something better planned.

Cougar Town – “Lover’s Touch” (A-)

You know I love a good Tom episode. The fact that he’s a neurosurgeon just makes his entire character that much funnier – the scene in the hospital hallway had to be the highlight of the episode for me. But the writers just did a really great job overall of ramping up the goofiness in this one and that’s what made it so enjoyable. The callback to Grayson’s rollerblading skills was fantastic, especially the nice added touch of a 1980s boom box on his shoulders. And I would really love to see Bobby’s blue prints for the dog on skateboard thing he had going on. What an invention!

 Modern Family – “Leap Day” (B)

Wow, the number of TV shows taking advantage of the fact that this is a leap year is staggering. Personally I think 30 Rock had the best take on it, but there have been a few good ones. What’s probably most disconcerting though is how many characters just happened to have a leap day birthday. Who knew so many people were born on February 29^th?

Not that that was a huge deal here. I just didn’t feel particularly connected to any of the storylines. I was actually a little surprised that Cam didn’t just love the idea of his original Wizard of Oz party when he found out about it. I guess I should never underestimate his ability to become faux offended.

Phil and the girls never quite got off the ground for me either. On one hand, I loved some of the scenes Phil and Luke had with each other. Give them the right material and they play off each other incredibly well. But the whole period storyline just felt a little too played out. I wouldn’t mind hearing a girl’s take on the episode, because there were times where it felt like the writing was just playing into the stereotype. I don’t know though, I’m not a girl (I like to work that once into every post – I have some grade school demons I’m still getting over).

Happy Endings – “Cocktails & Dreams” (A-)

When Jane woke up from her sex dream at the start of the episode, I thought to myself “oh, okay, they’re doing that.” You can probably figure out the inflection on your own. Sex dreams are funny, but they’re done a lot. Awkward glimpses, embarrassing admissions... you get the gist. But then Brad woke up, with that familiar sex dream howl, and showed exactly why Happy Endings has developed into such a fresh new comedy.

I love the idea of contagious sex dreams. The writers took a well worn comedic trope and subverted it, making it that much funnier in the process. If that doesn’t sound like familiar praise then you haven’t read any of my Community reviews. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough. Watch Happy Endings!

Oh, and some other stuff happened, Colin Hanks and so forth. It just didn’t seem as relevant. Contagious sex dreams!

30 Rock – “Alexis Goodlooking and the Case of the Missing Whisky” (B)

I quite liked Jenna and Tracey’s storyline in this one. The writers had a great take on many of the “good looking female cop” show clichés. The rest of the episode was pretty average though, especially when you compare it to what the show did the following week.

I’m excited to see where this storyline between Jack and Kenneth ends up. I’ve been watching some of the older episodes in syndication, and I couldn’t help thinking of Kenneth and Jack’s poker game back in the first season. I think Jack’s quote was somewhere along the lines of, in five years from now everyone will either be working for Kenneth or dead by his hand. Well not quite, but the story really does seem to me moving in that direction doesn’t it. Their back and forth in this episode may not have always brought the laughs as much as I would have liked, but I see a lot of potential with where the writers are taking this.

Sadly, I felt Liz ended up with the weakest of the three main threads in the episode. As much as I liked watching her get locked out of various rooms that belonged to her, it didn’t make up for the fact that I’m just not that invested in Frank’s relationship with his former teacher (played by Susan Sarandon). The last time she was even on the show was so long ago I think I kind of assumed they’d already broken up. Either way, it didn’t generate the kind of humour I would have liked.

Parks and Recreation – “Campaign Shake-Up” (A-)

With all the campaign events and preparations over the past few episodes remaining largely standalone, it was nice to finally get an update on how well Leslie is actually doing in the race. I liked that all of the hard work put into the campaign had Leslie polling at higher than her original 1% (a fact that I don’t think the writers had yet divulged since her scandal with Ben went public) probably almost as much as I liked that Kathryn Hahn’s Jennifer Barkley came in and threw a wrench into the whole thing.

And I know it’s only been an episode, but I quite like Hahn’s character. Her vibe is fun to watch. She’s not malicious, but she’s shameless when it comes to getting what she wants. While I may not have been a fan of her quickly cancelled show Free Agents this season, I respect Hahn as a comedic actress. She and Amy Poehler already seem to have good chemistry. It certainly makes it easier to ignore the fact that the whole reason her character was probably introduced was because Rudd was unavailable for the number of guest spots the writers needed (oh well, there’s still the debate to forward to).

Campaign Shake-Up wasn’t just about Leslie though, it was a great Ron episode as well. Whether it was his spectacular scenes with Chris or the continuation of his hilarious bond with April (though Ron seems to have a great connection with just about everybody... other than Ann), it was hard not to love the guy in this one.

I have a feeling that by season’s end we’re going to see some changes on this show. I’m already excited to see April in an expanded role in the Parks Department. You could kind of see that ending coming more and more as the episode developed. But considering all the recent interactions between Ron and Chris, I could see Ron getting promoted into Ben’s old job too. It’s kind of a cool idea and frankly, the prospect of it doesn’t bother me. Whatever keeps things fresh, right?

The other big hint dropped in this one too was the casual mention by Chris that City Council is only a part time job. The writers played it off as simply a way to set up Ron’s hiring storyline – and that could very well be all it is – but to me it sounded like the writers were creating the conditions so that Leslie could win her election without completely uprooting the show. Obviously, that’s a promising sign. First because I love Leslie and I want her to do well no matter what. And second, because I think Leslie in City Council would be hilarious. The Parks and Rec writers already do great work incorporating the town of Pawnee, could you imagine what they could do with a couple of crazy city councillors? That’s something I want to watch.

The Office – “Test the Store” (C+)

So word is out that Spader won’t be back next season. Not too shocking, but it’ll kind of leave a black mark on his remaining appearances this season. It’s hard not to feel a little slighted considering the writers have a spent a decent chunk of the season getting us invested in his character, but from the sounds of it he was never that well liked to begin with. Add to that all the other rumoured cast departures (Dwight getting a spin-off, Mindy Kaling leaving the show), you have to wonder how much life The Office has left.

It also rubs me the wrong way a bit that Jim has been pushed into the background when it comes to career aspirations. I still remember when he shared Michael’s job, and while that may not have been the best move comedically, it rubs me the wrong way to watch him get ordered around by Dwight as if he were just some giant screw up along for the ride.

Dwight’s character in particular can tend to grate on me after a while too and this was one of those episodes where I found myself wishing they’d tone down his shtick a little bit. It might have been nice to see Ryan shine again instead of having him flake out as his character always seems to do these days. He was probably never anyone’s favourite character, but I do remember a time when he was one of the leads on this show. For old times’ sake, give him a decent storyline every now and then.

Up All Night – “New Boss” (B)

Did I miss something or did they just break up Ava and Kevin off screen? I’m guessing Jason Lee suddenly became unavailable, but wow – that was way too abrupt for my tastes. It’s along the same lines as the Spader situation on The Office. They spent so much time developing that relationship, to see it (or not see it in this case) end off screen makes me feel a little cheated.

Which probably isn’t the best way to introduce the titular new boss character. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure where I stand on either of the new characters, Yvonne or her ex-military underling Luke. It may have just been my chagrin over Jason Lee’s sudden departure, but both of them rubbed me the wrong way at various points in the episode.

There were definitely some decent bits in “New Boss” though, and I fear I’ve been a little overly negative in my description so far. Chris’s motorcycle ride was certainly fun to watch. I always love watching Will Forte be Will Forte. And despite my reservations about Luke, he did have a very funny purse strings bit with Reagan that made me laugh.

Still, I’m interested in seeing how permanent these new characters end up being.

Awake – “Pilot” (A)

Normally I’m not a huge fan of pilots. I mean I understand their limitations, and there have been a few in the past that have impressed me, but most of the time I find myself making excuses for the episode while throwing around the term potential a lot.

I have no idea how Awake is going to shape up – it could easily turn into a by the numbers procedural – but based off what I saw in the pilot episode, there are a lot of reasons to get excited about this series. The interplay between the two therapists was fantastic. The detective work didn’t have that stale, cheesy dialogue many of its television counterparts have. And overall, the episode was quite moving. If the series can capture just a fraction of the magic of its pilot, then it’s not too far of a stretch to say that it is going to do very, very well for itself (or get cancelled out of nowhere by NBC).

I’m definitely looking forward to next week’s episode already.