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.
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