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 29th?
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.
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