Mom, Leave The Crusts On!

Ryan asked me to apologise for Castle and The Cape not being up yet. He has a big veterinary exam coming up and if he doesn’t pass it he won’t be qualified to perform squirrel CPR. Well at least one part of that sentence was true. We do however have reviews of Shameless, How I Met Your Mother, House, Californication, and Bob’s Burgers. Not too shabby. Enjoy!

Spoilers.

How I Met Your Mother – “Desperation Day” (A-)

Last week I said I wanted to see Marshall’s high school years and boy did this show deliver. This was another fantastic episode from the series. Honestly, I think the Marshall’s dad dying storyline has been one of the best I’ve seen from this show in the last three seasons.

Obviously, watching Marshall regress was the comedic highlight of the episode for me. From the old school Gameboy to the Super Nintendo (I played a lot of video games as a kid), it was all a welcome blast from the past. It was his interaction with his mother though that truly stole the show.

TED: (yelling from Marshall’s room) Mrs. Ericson, we’re running low on Sunny D!
JUDY: Is orange juice okay?
TED AND MARSHALL: No!

MARSHALL: (in response to hearing his mom tripped over his hot wheels) Is my track okay?

MARSHALL: Mom, can you make us some PB&J for the road? With the crusts cut off. (to Ted) What are we doing? I mean, we’re men... mom, leave the crusts on!

But from the start this storyline has been about a lot more than just comedy, which is the reason why I’ve enjoyed it so much. My favourite scene in this episode was where Marshall describes his father driving him and his family to a cabin at night. He can’t see anything out the front of the car, but he feels safe because he knows his dad is driving. He follows it by saying that now that his dad is gone he can’t see where he’s going anymore. Later his dad appears to him in the car telling him “I couldn’t see worth a damn. I just kept driving forward hoping for the best”. And that’s it. Absolutely no attempt at humour. But that didn’t bother me at all. It was a wonderfully touching moment that reminds us why we care about these characters in the first place.

I also enjoyed Barney and Robin’s story this week. Pairing Barney up with Robin’s desperate friends (including Artemis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) was a pretty genius move, and it led to plenty of funny moments. I also enjoyed watching him fall for Robin’s friend Nora (Nazanin Boniadi). He seems to really like her so I’m interested in seeing where this storyline takes us. Outside of Robin, who herself is a main character, I don’t think we’ve ever seen Barney in a real relationship, and with his dad soon entering the picture I wonder where this all fits in.

The only plotline I found weak this week was Ted’s. Sure I enjoyed all of his scenes with Marshall, but his reason for leaving New York in the first place didn’t really strike me as all that interesting. A lot of people rag on Zoey, and to be honest I don’t think she’s been that bad, but their seemingly unnecessary relationship drama this week didn’t exactly make me love this couple. It’s a pity too, because I really enjoyed the way they got together last week.

Californication – “Lawyers, Guns and Money” (A-)

This week's episode was great on plot points and pretty good on comedy.  

Hank is in trouble after the picture of him with Sasha and Mia circulates online.  Abbey drops him as a client, and Sasha drops out of the film.  But a silver lining remains as Eddie Nero wants to do the project.  So Hank has a meet and greet with Nero where the fantastic Rob Lowe character tells him all about his method acting and how once, to play a gay hit man, he engaged in oral sex with a man.  Just so he could understand the character.  

Hank, Eddie and Runkle eventually come to Becca's rescue when she is stuck in a tattoo parlour without the money to pay for the tattoo.  Eddie pulls a gun, some crazy shit ensues and Hank is left, still daughterless, lawyerless, pennyless, but plus one psychotic actor ready to play him in a movie.

But all is not lost.  Karen goes to see Abbey while all the stuff with Eddie and Becca is going down, and convinces her to take Hank back as a client.  Well... at least that’s the way it seems.  When Hank gets back to the hotel he is living in, he finds Abbey at the bar.  They chat for a bit.  She agrees she could take him back as a client in the morning, but as she says "there is little I can do for you as your lawyer tonight."  So, in true Moody fashion, Hank makes sweet, sweet love to her.

The very lovely lady in my life pointed out that I haven't been talking very much about the other storylines in Californication, so I’ll take a moment to catch up with those and in the future I’ll be more diligent about writing about them.  So Becca is in a band where she is living her youth in revolt lifestyle.  Marcy is pregnant, we presume with Charlie's baby.  But Marcy is also currently being courted by Stu, the producer behind Hank's movie.  In this episode, he tricks her into coming over by scheduling a wax.  They end up watching a movie together and making out in the end.  Karen is dating the father of a girl in Becca's band.  He looks like Ben Harper (at first I thought it was Hank being slightly racist, but really, he does).  Hank does not like that.

I really liked this episode.  As I wrote last week, I struggle with the way the women in Hank’s life manipulate him, but I realized this week, that I’m also pissed off at him for being so weak about it.  He never stands up to them.  For example, Sasha really fucked with him with that photo thing and then this episode he’s ready to sleep with her.  Sure she has nice tits, but come on Hank. Grow up.  It’s not so much that he’s a bad guy.  He’s a good guy, he’s just weak.  

I would have liked this episode to have a few more laughs though.  It just wasn’t quite up to the standard set by auto-erotic asphyxiation and other such moments this season.  But the plot was fantastic.  I like that Hank and Abbey hooked up and the way in which it was filmed at the end, cutting between them having sex and them talking at the bar was fantastic.  Becca and Marcy are doing a fabulous job as the filler storylines this season and I’m holding out hope that the trajectory of the show can handle a Hank that is not as majorly fucked up.  In Entourage, they’re able to shift focus every season, with characters go from being successful to not.  Why can't Hank change too?  Why can't he be helping people for once?  Have him settle down with Abbey, and give us a season or two with Hank holding it together for the people around him, not just him.  And then a big happily ever after.  I don't know why but I am really adverse to the dark endings this show is so good at.

Shameless – “Killer Carl” (A-)

At its core Shameless is a comedy first show, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bring the drama when it wants to. “Killer Carl” was an excellent example – a wonderfully poignant episode that highlighted a number of interesting character revelations, and kick started some equally interesting new storylines.

The main story revolved around Fiona doing everything she could to avoid Carl getting kicked out of school (potentially leading to a call from social services). I thought the families talk with Carl after their meeting with the principle was a particularly good scene, as was their celebration of his crippling of Lip’s assailant. It just goes to show how this family can support each other when they really need it.

But more than anything, this storyline did a phenomenal job of highlighting some of the emotional issues at stake for these characters. First they showed Fiona’s insecurities about letting people into her life. Her refusal to let Steve help her despite her desperate need for it was perfectly called out by Steve in their revealing scene towards the end of the episode. And while Fiona definately realized he was right she’s too proud a character to ever just let him have one, which made her response to his observation all the better.

FIONA: How come every time I want to fool around you can’t shut up?

Probably even more brilliant though was the way the writers used Carl’s troubles to take a deeper look at Frank. Frank actually did a really nice thing for Karen and Sheila this week, and even though he agreed to it under a great deal of duress you could tell he enjoyed how happy it made them. But it’s the way they sharply contrast his success with his new family to his failures with his old that made the storyline so smart. You couldn’t help but feel for Fiona and company when he walked into that school with Karen. The writers managed to simultaneously give us hope for his character, while revealing some of his deepest flaws.

I also thought Lip’s story this week showed a lot of promise. We knew he was smart, but up until this point we didn’t know he was perfect SATs smart. I thought all of his scenes with the investigator from the education board (or whatever it was) were particularly good. When the guy said he was from the University of Chicago I envisioned a Good Will Hunting type scenario in my head, but even if they don’t go that route I hope they hang on to the storyline – Lip working at a University would be fun to watch.

House – “You Must Remember This” (B-)

This episode lost some points from me for not following up on some of the lingering issues left from last week’s episode. Masters, who in the last episode was tricked and blackmailed by House came back this week as if nothing had changed in their relationship. Cuddy, who was really at the forefront of the previous episode, was barely shown in this one. I understand the show is somewhat of a procedural, but you can’t ignore changes like that.

The episode itself though, despite not tying up its predecessors loose ends, was still alright on its own. Not perfect, but not without its moments either. The main patient story, a woman who could remember every moment of her life, was interesting enough, if not a tad over done. I liked that, because of her memory, she couldn’t forgive people for anything. It was a well thought out side effect of the condition that played out nicely with patient’s sister. Yet, as is often the case on this show, the ending diagnosis came down to take the treatment or lose the gift, a dilemma this show has used just a little too often. It may have been nice to see the show break the mould here, if only for one episode.

I had mixed feelings about Taub and Foreman’s storyline this week as well. Just a week ago I was talking about how Taub was starting to become a more sympathetic character. Well following that up with him cheating on an exam wasn’t necessarily the best way to maintain that momentum. Still, I really liked the chemistry between Taub and Foreman, and I am unbelievably excited to see what storylines the writers come up with now that they are living together.

House and Wilson also provided a nice side story, adding some much needed comic relief to the episode. The plotline itself was a nice little reminder of how much his character, despite his gruff exterior, has changed over the past couple of seasons. It was clear he was only antagonizing Wilson out of concern for him, and the House of old would have never given Wilson the ten days he asked for at the end of episode.

Bob's Burgers – “Sexy Dance Fighting” (B+)

I laughed out loud many times during this episode.  It was very well done from a jokes perspective.  The plot was a little weak this week though.

Bobs is really settling into the same routine as many cartoon comedies.  Each character has their role, and as a show develops these characters settle into their roles and consistently play them for laughs.  Family Guy has Meg as the character to make fun of and Quagmire as the sex crazed loony.  The Simpsons have Lisa as the level-headed family member and Marge as the worrier etc. etc.  There are tons of examples out there and Bobs is starting to develop their own routine.  Louise and Gene continue to be a great source of one line drops and this week we got a closer look at Tina.

This episode starts with Tina depressed about a boy she has a crush on.  To get over it her siblings blindfold her, make her walk down the street (they don't lead her so she runs into everything) and they take her to what they think is the most hilarious thing in the world.  Capuera.  Brazilian dance fighting.

 Tina immediately wants to join the class because of the good looking instructor.  Louise and Gene can't understand because the place smells awful due to the bare feet of the participants.  But Tina buys the $14.95 DVD and much to Bob’s Chagrin starts to take the classes.  This prompts Bob to go down to the Capuera studio to get his daughter to come home because she has to work the grill.  The only problem is that it is 4:30 and time for Bob's daily "board meeting" (aka bowel movement).  Bob offends the class instructor who decides to dance fight him and after being whipped in the face by the man's ponytail and then sweep kicked to the floor, Bob promptly shits his pants.  

To make a long story short, Tina continues to take the classes and when she has a test to get her next level the instructor fails her.  This prompts a second fight between Bob and the instructor.  Bob gets knocked on his ass 20 or 30 times, but gets his daughter back.

The plot of the show makes relatively little sense, but Louise and Gene seem to be good for 3-4 solid laughs an episode and Bob is always good for a couple himself.  What more can you ask for?  That’s like 6 LOLs in 20 minutes.  I'm not looking for too much more.  I stopped watching family guy 5 years ago after I had to sit through the "Shipoopee" song or whatever that was in the Peter plays for the Patriots episode.  I haven't ventured back to Sunday night cartoons since.  I enjoyed this episode for the laughs but I need more plot points to feel really good about an episode.  

The Stains Are Intentional... I Asked

Ryan wrote two thirds of this post despite being pretty busy with school this week. As you’ll find out in his Bob’s Burgers review, Ryan goes to vet school. So every time you complain that there’s not a new review of Fringe up, remember – you just killed a gerbil.

Spoilers ahead.

Shameless – “Aunt Ginger” (A)

Poor Tony.

This was an absolutely phenomenal episode. It was funny, it was sweet, it was downright inappropriate, but most of all, it was the break out episode this series truly needed.

Fiona’s aforementioned love triangle with Tony and Steve was the perfect example. Watching her try to choose between the perfectly nice guy she grew up with and the troublesome new guy who excites her was absolutely heart wrenching. For the record I was cheering for you Tony. I mean I knew it was never going to happen, but I was cheering for you. I love how according to every other character the only two reasons Fiona could have possibly slept with Tony was either mercy or to get back at Steve. Kev’s reaction to the news was by far my favourite.

KEV: You hooked up with Tony? How charitable of you.

And it all led up to an absolutely spectacular ending, with Fiona watching Tony from a distance, wondering why this perfectly nice guy, who is crazy about her, just doesn’t do it for her the way Steve does. It was an absolutely relatable storyline, and when she goes back to Steve against her own better judgement, you can completely understand why.

And honestly, if that was all we got from this episode it still would have scored high in my books, but there was much, much more here. The rest of the main plot, about Frank stealing his long dead Aunt Ginger’s social security checks was extremely well done as well.

Deb (Emma Kenney) was the standout of this storyline. Her reaction to discovering Aunt Ginger was dead was the funniest moment of the episode for me.

DEB:  Noo!
LIP: You’ve never even met her.
DEB:  And now I never will!

A close second to this moment would have to be watching the family shop for a new grandma at the nursing home.

Not only was the storyline funny, but it was really sweet as well. Like I said, Emma Kenney was the standout of the episode, and the way Deb grew attached to the new grandmother just goes to show how desperate these kids are for any sort of parental guidance. When they finally took the new Aunt Ginger back to the nursing home, the way Deb broke down was absolutely heart breaking. It was just the perfect combination of heart and humour.

Ian’s storyline was more of the same. After rejecting the advances of Mandy she sends her brothers after him in order to kick his ass. I really liked the scene where Lip stood up for his brother and took a beating as a consequence. The look that went over his face right before he basically called her slut was perfect, as was the reaction of his girlfriend (or whatever they are) Karen getting out of the way after he said it.

The final few scenes where Ian informs Mandy he’s gay were also really well done. It was cute the way Mandy offered to pretend to be his boyfriend at school in order to protect him. It’ll be interesting to see that relationship in action.

Californication – “Home Sweet Home” (B+)

My first thought in the first few minutes of “Home Sweet Home” – this is a dream. I could not figure out why Karen was being nice to him, why they had sex, why she was letting him sleep at home again.  But of course, the writers as usual stayed one step ahead of me and had the "Hank has fucked up again" storyline all ready to go.  I knew that it was too good to be true, but it was nice to see Karen and Hank enjoying their fucked up life together for about 15 minutes.

We left Hank collapsed on the floor with way too many pills in his system last week and this week we find him waking up in the hospital to a concerned Karen who takes him home to make sure he is ok.  They play off the "death made me realize how much I love you" storyline and Hank and Karen enjoy 5/6ths of an episode together.  Of course in the end, it comes out that Hank did not actually try to commit suicide, he just drank too much and "miscalculated" the amount of drugs in his system.  So where does this leave us? With one of Californication’s best plot driving scenes to date. 

HANK: "Wait it was more romantic when you thought I wanted to kill myself? How fucked up is that?"

KAREN: "It’s completely fucked up, which is why I can't be with you anymore.  You're fucking toxic Hank."

HANK: "Look I know I've done something that makes it impossible for you to live with me.  But I can't keep apologizing for something I can't change.  All I can do is keep moving forward and try to become someone you can love again."

KAREN: "Well good luck with that."

And with that two things happened.  

First, Hank got his balls back. It’s about time he said what I’ve been thinking forever.  How many times can he apologize?  I know he fucks up a lot, but as Becca said in another season (and I'm paraphrasing here), "you have to love him for who he is, not who he can be". I know he needs to change, but the dude really seems to care.  It’s weird that as a viewer I can care for a sleazebag like Hank, and it’s all the more impressive that women viewers seem to like him.  I think Duchovny said it best in my favourite BS report in the last few months – Californication is a world driven by the women.  Hank is under their spell, their control.  He fucks up, and much of that is on him – the drinking, the drugs, the lack of willpower – but    Californication has an oddly large number of strong, yet manipulative women.  By saying “but I can't keep apologizing for something I can't change”, Hank is asserting some control.  Finally.  Let’s hope he can turn it around.  This show is probably going 6 seasons (again out of the Duchovny BS report).  By the end, I wouldn't mind seeing a reformed Hank.  It’s a change, but it’s a good one.

The second thing that happened was Hank was sent back out on his own.  We see him check into a hotel with his typewriter and start hammering out a script.  Moody is back, and he's writing.

Also in "Home Sweet Home" Runkle continued his quest for triple digits, this time sleeping with a woman who wanted it from behind so that she could check her blackberry at the same time.  Ridiculously funny.   If Hank ever reforms Runkle could easily carry the insanity forward.

Who am I kidding?  Hank will never change.

Fringe – “The Firefly” (A)

“Firefly” was a set-up episode, but probably the best set-up episode in television history.  I can't complain about anything this episode did.

Christopher Lloyd guest stars in an episode that featured time travelling (great stuff) and Walter finally giving up his desperate attempt to keep Peter safe no matter what the consequences.  Walter has changed as the observer noted and I think it’s for the best.  

“Firefly” dives further into the ripple effects caused by Walter's decision to save Peter and take him from the other universe.  We see that he’s responsible for one of his idol's losing a son, and consequently the breakup of his favourite band.  Now the repercussions are hitting closer to home.  There are no reality tears, like in the alternate universe, but things are different.  Peter and Olivia continue to struggle with the repercussions of the other Olivia having a love affair with Peter and seem to slowly be making progress.  She obviously still really cares for him. 

I truly believe that this is developing into one of the best sci-fi shows ever.  I like it as much as I liked Lost in its last few seasons.  It has intrigue and a plot that is unique and yet just familiar enough to stay within the sci fi comfort wheelhouse.  I hope that the Friday night time-slot switch doesn’t mark the end of Fringe.  The previews for next week's episode show the Doomsday device in full force and that’s certainly something to look forward to.  

I can honestly say I’m not sure where this whole thing is going.  I have some theories and I will lay them out for you right now, but I like that I’m sure my theories are wrong and ill formed.  Unlike Lost where I felt as though I had a handle on their creative style and could predict some plot points I have nothing here.  I could be totally right or totally wrong.  Either way, if you’re not watching Fringe you’re an idiot.  

1.  The other universe: So we know that the 'Doomsday' device is meant to destroy one of the universes and that Peter is the special one who can control it. I think that somehow, Peter will prevail and use the device to save the Universes.   It’s either that or in the next season, Peter will be evil and both Universes will be working towards destroying him/returning him to normal. The doomsday device is the ultimate power, and power corrupts, so who knows.

2. The Observers: We have seen that the observers can travel through time, they know Peter is special, they submit to the “millions of possible futures are all happening simultaneously” theory of time and that the decisions made will shape those futures.  I think that the Observers are a “system” built in to reality.  Their job is to record important events and most importantly, keep the universe on the right track.  However, I believe that within the Observer group there’s conflict in regards to how large of a role the Observers should play.  So some take a more hands on approach, and some just want to watch. Ultimately, I think that there’s potentially a two world experiment. The Observers monitor the experiment and direct it towards a conclusion – “the war between worlds”.  They want to see if it can play out in a peaceful manner.  How are there lots of Doomsday pieces scattered around and how are there these "prophecies" with Peter's face on it?  Well that’s because”all this has happened before and all this will happen again” – thanks Battlestar.  I knew you’d come in handy.

I don't think any other theories are ready.  Those are half formed at best but I figured it was time I put something out there.  Hopefully I can retool those two theories over the next few weeks and we can get a sense of where the show is going.  If you have any ideas please share them in the comments.

Bob's Burgers – “Sacred Cow” (B+)

Wow Bob.  You really picked up your game this week.

So a little background here – I haven't eaten beef for a couple years now.  As a general rule, I eat grass fed beef, and this is because I don't want to cut out wonderful steak completely and the ecological footprint of grass fed cattle is supposedly lower (this is now under debate in the scientific community).  So needless to say this week’s episode featuring a documentary film maker accusing Bob of murdering "100,000 hamburgers worth of cows" was close to my heart.

I’m also a veterinary student and one of the challenges we face daily is balancing the need to provide a safe and healthy food supply to the public with a proper concern over animal welfare. Those are topics for another blog, or perhaps one day a book, but just know that the subject matter covered in Bob’s Burgers this week was very much a relevant topic in our society.  These jokes coupled with the now running gags of Louise maliciously attempting to get her father in trouble and tease her autistic sister, Gene's insanity and Bob's complete lack of regard for his children's feelings made this episode great.

The plot of the episode was simple.  Documentary film maker shows up with a cow in a wig (for extra cuteness) and accuses Bob of having blood on his hands.  A few jokes about bloody meat, Louise repeatedly accusing her father of being a murderer, the cow communicating to Tina through his shit and Bob eventually showing that he cares about the animal.

What I liked most is that in the end, the cow dies of a heart attack right as Bob needs to make the decision of whether to send it to slaughter or save it.  This is a fact that is often lost in the vegetarian/carnivore debate.  Often times, the best thing for a food animal is to go to slaughter.  I'm not suggesting that we should needlessly kill animals, or that there aren’t some issues with the food production industry that need to be worked out, I’m just saying that in the end, animals die, and an old age death is not a pretty one for a food animal.  They don't just peacefully go. For anyone who has lost a family member or a pet, often times old age illnesses are horrific to watch, manage and go through for all involved.  Now picture that with a 650kg cow.

This show really did an excellent job of exploring a relevant issue while maintaining its running jokes.  I can’t wait to see what they do next week.

House – “Carrot or Stick” (C+)

This wasn’t House’s best effort. Too much of the story revolved around Chase’s story – a quest to find who posted unflattering photos of him on the internet – which just fell flat. There were a few laughs, but nothing I couldn’t do without. To be honest I can’t really see why nobody suspected House as the culprit. This kind of stuff is right up his alley, and even though he wasn’t there for the picture, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had somehow obtained a copy.

But alas it ended up being the sister of one of the girls Chase had slept with. The way they flirted at the end there definitely suggested that something may happen between them.  I thought it may happen at the end of the episode (thankfully it didn’t) but maybe we’ll see old what’s-her-face (did she have a name?) again in subsequent episodes.

The patient of the week wasn’t that entertaining either. To be honest, I don’t really watch this show for the patients anymore. The show has done so many episodes there aren’t a whole lot of places left to go. And that’s kind of where this episode rang in – both the twist and the disease (the classic rare genetic disorder) had been done many times before. The important part of the patient’s role now is how they relate to the doctors’ stories that week, and I didn’t feel like the drill instructor and his student really helped in that regard.

I did enjoy watching House’s story though. His scenes with Cuddy’s daughter were hilarious, and I love that his idea of helping his girlfriend is cheating her daughter into preschool. It was also great, that after calling her daughter a “paste eater” for most of the episode, he began to act like a proud parent because of the child’s ability to lie to her mother. It’s interesting character development and perfectly in tune with House’s character.

Castle – “Knockdown” (B)

Knockdown was a letdown.  It wasn’t horrible or unwatchable, but I feel like it could have been way better.  This is supposed to be the conclusion to the whole "Beckett's Mom" storyline, or at least another step forward towards finding the person pulling the strings, but it lacked that certain something that makes monumental episodes... monumental.

Beckett gets a call from the detective on her mother's murder.  Turns out him and his old cop buddies were involved in some bad stuff back in the day, and they killed her for getting too close.  But he’s silenced by a bullet before he can tell her anything of value.  Now the hunt is on for the man who shot him and hopefully the link to the person pulling the strings behind Beckett's mom's murder.  In the end, this guy is caught, but he’s a pro and won't talk.  So we end up back where we started.  The person really responsible (maybe the mayor, or Barack Obama) is still hidden in the shadows and making sure that Beckett doesn't get any closer to finding the truth.

Beckett and Castle also kiss in this episode.  It’s pretty dramatic but it‘s only a cover done so that a door guard doesn't shoot them.  But still, there is that "wow" moment after the first kiss.

When are they going to do it already?

Spoon Full Of Sugar... Grow Up

Another week, another gigantic post. Enjoy!

Spoilers follow.

How I Met Your Mother – “Last Words” (A-)

What a great follow up to last episodes emotional ending. I was really wondering what they were going to do with this episode considering the tone of its subject matter, and I think they struck the perfect balance between comedy and addressing the obvious elephant in the room (Marshall’s dad died).

Robin’s role as “vice girl” was definitely the comedic highlight of the episode for me. Watching her slowly turn into a dealer was hilarious, especially how excited she was about it.

ROBIN: I’m gaining a reputation!

So perfect.

I also really liked Marshall’s somber lawyereds as each character went through the last words their fathers said to them. Robin’s excitement that her dad remembered her birthday was a great follow-up to her story (Cobie Smulders was really on her game this week).

And it all led to what was a very satisfying ending. While I think it was obvious that Marshall’s dad would eventually say something after the pocket dial, it didn’t make it any less enjoyable for me. I particularly liked that he saved his father’s last words for himself and made his eulogy funny instead. I’m a fan of a little levity at funerals. Marshall’s dad was right too – Crocodile Dundee 3 totally still holds up.

 Californication – “Suicide Solution” (A-)

What a great episode.  Hank's continued troubles with the law drive him further down a self destructive path than we‘ve seen in quite some time.  After finally getting his reunion with Becca, he comes to the realization that she loathes him for what he’s done and that redemption can’t come in the form of a brand new Les Paul.  Hank continues work on the film adaptation of Fucking & Punching and meets with actor Eddie Nero (Rob Lowe) to play the role of "Hank" in the film.  The addition of Rob Lowe to the cast this season is an impressive casting call and the role that Lowe plays truly speaks to his versatility as an actor.  The normally clean cut Lowe is decked out in the Brad Pitt style beard and "rock star" style clothing, a serious variation from his normal on-screen suit and tie.  I have been a Lowe fan since the West Wing days and thoroughly enjoyed his cameo in Thank You For Smoking, so I have high hopes for him this season.

As Hank's serious legal troubles continue, so does the sexual tension with his lawyer Abby Rhoads (Carla Gugino).  With Hank formally being charged with statutory rape, Rhoads' role in the series becomes a lot more interesting. Carla Gugino has done a fabulous job on Entourage for the last few seasons (a show I will be covering for Stuck on a Channel once it returns this summer... look forward to that sports fans.)  Her feud with Ari Gold as Amanda Daniels, Vince's one time lover and former agent, is one of the great on screen rivalries.  She plays the power suit better than any woman I can think of (our friend @Maxmillien, writer for SportsHaze and fantasybasketball.com, is all over that – man loves the ladies in power suits),  so who better to play the female 'suit' in Hank's life than the sexiest business woman in showbiz?

The legal troubles plaguing Hank this season also provide a nice opportunity for the writers to discuss an ongoing theme throughout modern day Hollywood.  Athletes seem to consistently find themselves in sexual scandals and while I cannot think of a Hollywood star who has committed statutory rape, I can think of countless stars in some kind of trouble with the law.  Whether the writers will take that route and create some kind of social commentary remains to be seen.  The show in itself is often a commentary on the plagues of success.

This episode ends on a seriously dark note as Hank steals pills from Sasha (playing Mia in the movie and his current tryst) and takes way too many while writing his apology note to Becca.  The note itself is a fabulous piece of writing, ending with the line "its getting dark, too dark to see" from 'Knocking on Heavens Door'. The narration done by Duchovny while his character is literally spiralling downwards towards the floor is fabulous.  Since there is still a whole season to go, I have no fear that Hank is dead.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the show end with a dead Hank one day.  Duchovny said on the BS Report that they are never sure whether they’ll get another season, so the writers try to wrap each season up as if it were a series finale rather than just a season finale.  Since last season they were willing to let him go to jail as an ending, I worry that a happy ending is not in store for Hank.  Personally I want to see him back with Karen and Becca but that seems entirely unlikely.  Maybe Carla Gugino's character offers Hank his best shot at redemption.

Shameless – “Frank the Plank” (B)

I think I’m finally starting to get an understanding of what this show’s all about. I was a little confused about where last week’s episode was taking the series, but clearly it’s not meant to be as serialized as I thought it was. That’s okay though, as what they’ve brought to the table is still interesting and more importantly, quite funny.

In this week’s episode we got a better look at Frank (William H. Macy) as we watched him wake up on a park bench in Toronto (woo Canada). I thought it was a pretty funny bit, and I laughed pretty hard when they revealed the CN Tower in the background. For the record though, Canada doesn’t have Mounties roaming around the streets on horseback. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

The one sequence I particularly enjoyed was watching Frank rant about all the things he pays for only to have Lip calmly refute everything he says. On top of being pretty hilarious it’s a perfect character moment for Frank (of course he feels like he’s the victim), and also demonstrated just how self-sufficient these kids are.

Also funny was the fact that this family only seems to watch the Discovery Channel – I love how into Deadliest Catch they are – and when they cheered as they discovered the dead body wasn’t Franks.

The last thing I want to briefly mention is how good the music on this show has been. Apparently their music supervisor and I have really similar tastes because I’m pretty sure so far somewhere around 90% of the music that’s been played on this show is already on my iTunes.  Keep up the good work.

Episodes – “Episode 2” (B-)

Episodes is not doing that much for me.  There are more funny moments in the second episode than in the first, but none of them are laugh out loud funny.  Matt Leblanc seems good in his role.  They gave me the Joey joke I was looking for which made me chuckle and his character seems to have potential to save the show from the mostly dull humour of its British leads.  Their shock at Hollywood culture got old very fast.  The recurring joke about their gatekeeper not knowing who they are is the funniest dialogue they seem to engage in. All the rest seems to drive the plot of them getting screwed over and has very little comedic relief.  Again I will tune in once more next week to see where the show is going.  I was listening to an AV club podcast and one of the contributors had seen the whole season and claims that the show gets much better after the pilot.  So for that reason I am willing to hang on for at least one more week.

House – “Larger Than Life” (B)

I know a lot of you would write House off as your typical patient of the week show, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong either (it has an obvious formula), but for my money House is still one of the most interesting characters on television. Now sure, he’s maintained his familiar gruff exterior, but don’t mistake that for a lack of character development. His characterization may have remained the same, but over the past couple of seasons (starting with a phenomenal episode in a mental institution) House has slowly started turning his life around. This was capped off in last season’s finale, in which House and Cuddy finally started a relationship.

Which leads me into this week’s episode, where House got the unfortunate experience of meeting Cuddy’s mother (Candice Bergen) for the first time. This show has gotten really funny in recent years (I watch it for the comedy almost as much as I do for the medical drama), and I can’t think of a better example of how hilarious this show can be than watching House drug both Cuddy’s mom and Wilson at Cuddy’s birthday dinner. I especially liked how Wilson started defending the drugging right before he realized he was drugged himself.

I also have to say I’m enjoying the new med student Masters (played by Amber Tamblyn). I like the dynamic she has with the other characters. She can compete with House on an intellectual level, but at the same time she’s also a med student, and needs one of the other doctors to be with her whenever she’s performing a procedure. It led to a great moment in this episode where Forman and Chase realized that even though they didn’t support her theory (and she was annoying the crap out of them) one of them had to go with her to test it.

Now I want to talk about one last thing that’s a little off topic (they let you do that on blogs) – I had read before that House was based in part on Sherlock Holmes, but it never really hit me how much they were alike until I watched the Sherlock Holmes movie the other day. There were times where it felt like Robert Downy Jr. and Jude Law were almost channelling House and Wilson in their performances (obviously Sherlock Holmes the character came first, but House came before that movie). I just thought it was cool – if you get a chance check it out and let me know if it’s just me who sees it.

The Cape – “Kozmo” (B+)

This week we saw the writers of The Cape plant some potentially massive plot points.  Orwell (Summer Glau) appears as if she could be Chess' daughter and Vince's wife is starting to find the trail of his framing (obviously with a little help from The Cape himself).  We received some more information on the origin of the cape and a second villain (distinct from the Ark crime contingent) has been introduced. 

This week in Palm City we found ourselves confronted with the former owner of the cape, Gregor the Great, an escape artist trained by Max.  But the cape brought out the evil in him and he went to prison.  Being an escape artist that obviously did not last very long, so Gregor returns to Palm City to find Max and retrieve his cape.  Obviously, he can't have it back as it has a new owner and who’s using it for more noble purposes.  The Cape wins out in the end, but it is understood that Gregor will be back for his cape.

With this type of storyline, The Cape is further defining its role on television.  On the same podcast I mentioned in my Episodes review, they also discussed The Cape.  They hated it much like every other critic I have read but one of the contributors did mention an article that discussed why television super heroes rarely succeed and if I understood it correctly it’s because the shows try to appeal to too wide an audience.  The Cape is succeeding in my opinion because it is not trying to take it too far.  It knows what it is – a fun, action packed superhero show.  It sticks to the superhero formula and introduces new characters and plot points at appropriate intervals.  This is not the Oscar winning Dark Knight, but it’s also not the old school Adam West Batman either.  The show has enough of a dark side to appeal to modern audiences but still has enough of the old school comic mentality to appeal to that niche audience.  The Cape is truly bringing the comic book format to the screen.

For those of you who do not understand how comics work I will give you a little rundown.  Comics are published monthly or sometimes twice a month (The Amazing Spiderman is one of the only titles I can think of that’s published twice a month).  The story arcs go for about 3-6 issues, but sometimes if it’s a major "event" they’ll go a bit longer.  An "event" is something that shakes up the comic book world, like Marvel's superhero civil war, or DCs Blackest Night.  The storylines are self contained but follow within the timeline of a given character.  For example, a recent Spiderman storyline had him fight against the Kraven family (Kraven the Hunter's wife and children) as they hunted all of the "Spiders" (Spiderman, Spidergirl, etc etc.) in an effort to prevent Kraven from coming back to life.  Some heroes die, Kraven comes back, and Spiderman fights him off in the end – all in all a typical story arc.  I know how cheesy that sounds, but it was a good fun read.   It’s not about the dialogue – it’s about interesting plots and great imagery.  

The Cape does the same thing for TV.  Each episode is a mini story-arc that follows within the overall timeline of The Cape.  There are the main arch villains (Chess) and the mini villains (Scales, Gregor and likely more to come).  In each episode there are on-screen titles which dictate the chapters of the story arc or the individual issues.  Each one provides us with a little insight on Cape and pushes the plot forward toward a culminating event, probably a fight scene with the villain of the day.  If the Cape fails to get rid of a villain for good, we know they will be back some day.  We know what his overall goal is and this is how each episode fits into the timeline of The Cape.  Like Spiderman wants to live a normal life and Batman wants to rid Gotham city of evil, the Cape wants his family back.  Each episode will bring us closer to that point, but the path is not a straight line.  We will get more cape lore, more understanding of the background and depth of the characters, and we will continue to be immersed in the Palm City world.

My hope is that Chess will be defeated by the end of the year, but that Tarot (some crime contingent they mentioned in episode 2) will emerge as the overall target for The Cape.  The nice part about a superhero story is that it can evolve in any number of directions. By season’s end Vince could be back with his family and acting as Palm City's guardian angel.  More likely is that his wife falls in love with her boss, but that is another story all together.  By season 4 we could jump ahead 20 years to where Vince is training Trip to be the new cape, just like how Robin is now Batman, and Bruce Wayne is now creating a global Batman army (yes this is the real, current, Batman storyline).  This is what’s wonderful about creating a superhero.  The lore of the cape is what can drive the show.  That is what makes people fall in love with certain heroes.  

Wolverine is my favourite because of where he comes from and what he stands for (and also because he is the best there is at what he does, bub).  Spiderman is still one of the most popular comics out there because of his back story, what he stands for, and because twice a month people know they can pick up a book and simply be entertained.  I know that barring any serious plot writing catastrophes or plummeting ratings, I can tune in every week and simply be entertained by The Cape, and that’s exactly why I will continue to watch.  The Cape is a good comic book show and I'm kind of tired of hearing otherwise.  So I'll see you next week, same cape time, stuck on the same channel. 

V – “Laid Bare” (B-)

This show gained points this week for doing all the things I hoped it would do in my last review. First off, the writers had our local chapter of the Fifth Column finally start making some more difficult decisions. I really liked that the show brought our characters into a more morally gray area, specifically in Erica and companies decision to torture an undercover V agent for information. You may remember this is exactly what Anna did last season to an undercover Fifth Column member. I like that this show is comparing the methods of its heroes with its villains – it keeps both sides accountable and makes for a far more thought provoking hour of television.

Lisa’s story this week was along these same lines. She had to essentially torture a human to death or risk exposing her secret Fifth Column leanings to her mother. This led to what I thought was a very well done ending, where each of Erica and Anna’s respective children went to the other for comfort. The juxtaposition of these two relationships was a great stylistic choice, while simultaneously setting up a chilling image of what’s to come. Major props to whoever came up with it.

The other development I liked in this episode was the addition of Chad to the Fifth Column. Not just because this finally gives his character something interesting to do, but because this group desperately needed to increase its membership. His eventual introduction to the rest of our main characters was a promising scene, and Chad’s increased proximity to the main storyline will hopefully help make his character a little more noteworthy.

The only reason this episode didn’t score even higher for me is because V continues to spend a huge amount of its time covering up for its various plot holes. V DNA starts to disintegrate, so you can either find out her mission or help your son. She’s been drugged, so she will conveniently never remember any of this. Please start using more natural plot progressions so you don’t have to spend half the episode covering up your holes in logic.

Bob's Burgers – “Human Flesh & Crawl Space” (B+)

This review will be short and sweet.

Watch Bob's Burgers.  Seth McFarlane doesn't need another TV show (Family Guy is great but the other 2 take the formula and beat it to death), the Simpsons are almost out of ideas and South Park cannot carry us forward forever.  We need another comedy, so watch this show.  It’s fresh and I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes.  It has some really great subtle moments like the sign in “Human Flesh” that says "Don't taste me bro" or the Child Molester Burger that comes with candy on the side.  The most you can say for any pilot is that it has great potential.  This show has great potential so give it a watch.