There Are Some Things That You Can’t Fake In The Cake World

It’s the last big review of the season...

Spoilers:

Cougar Town – “My Life/Your World” (B+)

The season started with a proposal, it seems only natural that it would end with a wedding.

But we’ll get to that. The first half of “My Life/Your World” played very much like a normal episode (the cut for syndication was quite obvious I thought) with the writers exploring Grayson’s adjustment to actually living in the same house with Jules. Grayson has always been a bit more private than Jules and the rest of the gang, so I thought his reaction off the top of the episode was quite fitting to his character. His freak out in the bedroom was a little scary, but more hilarious than anything and the therapy session with Lynn afterwards made it even more worth it.

And it all ended up playing into a nice little homage to Groundhog Day, probably my favourite Bill Murray comedy of all time, which is saying something considering how chalked full of life lessons they tend to be (just ask Jules).  Overall the “My Life” portion stayed light and saved most of the big finale moments for the second half of the night.

Which unfortunately is sort of where the episode got a little scattered in my opinion. There were a lot of fun moments in the Napa Valley trip but it was obvious that with the wedding reserved for the beach back in Florida the writers struggled to find a suitable ending for that portion of the episode. In fact, most of the big Napa plotlines ended up falling short of the mark. Jules’ attempt to get Jill/Tampa to the wedding was alright, but Ellie’s seemingly out of nowhere crush on the hotel concierge was a little disconcerting and the big twist at the end of the trip – Trav’s naked confession to Laurie about his true feelings – just sort of got brushed to the side for next season. The trip lacked payoff and in the end it felt anticlimactic because of that.

But I think maybe anticlimactic was how it was supposed to feel. The merit of “Your World” really hinges on whether or not you thought the wedding was worth moving back to Florida. Frankly, I do. The Napa trip may have never quite gotten off the ground, but the wedding was an excellent tribute to the series long love story between Jules and Grayson. Everything from the (literally) moving ceremony to Stan’s turn as ring bearer to Jules and Grayson riding off into the sunset was executed perfectly. And none of it would have been possible if they’d kept the wedding in Napa. That fact for me saved the episode.

It’s been a tumultuous year for Cougar Town, one that saw the series pushed back to midseason and to the brink of cancellation, only to be saved in the 11^th hour by TBS.  Most of the episodes were written in a vacuum with even the producers of the show wondering if they were still going to be on the air come the end of the season. But thankfully, much like the question playfully posed in the opening credits, this was just a season finale and not a series finale. Cougar Town still has plenty of life in it yet, and that, my friends, is something to be happy about.

RIP Big Carl

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “The Magician’s Code” (B)

And so the season ended the way it lived –with a so so episode and a twist ending.

I’m going to focus as much as I can on discussing that ending because, frankly, that’s what I care about, but I will say, the writers really need to stop foreshadowing crazy future moments if they don’t have anything planned for them.  The “No Motorcycles on the Casino Floor” was a decent bit if only because of Barney’s bravado in the interrogation room, but Dr. Sonya’s blowout just seemed perfunctory and out of place. The novelty of these jokes, at least so far, aren’t worth the disruption they cause to the future episode they inevitably have to be inserted into.

 In general, the “The Magician’s Code” was fairly average from a comedy standpoint. I liked Marshall’s intense struggle to get up two stairs, but the rest of the drunk act wore thin pretty quickly. Ted’s “that person’s a parent” bit was pretty good too, even if he could only come up with two examples. I would have preferred more of those over the flashback stories Lilly kept demanding.

Regardless, baby episodes are always a bit of a letdown and it looked like the writers were just doing the best they could with a storyline that lends itself to clichés. Using Wait-for-it as a middle name was a nice way to add the How I Met Your Mother touch, but the obligatory delivery room bits combined with the fairly anticlimactic reconciliation of Ted and Robin bogged down the first half of the episode.

The writers are smart though – they know that people still care about the happily ever after of these characters and they use it to prop up these episodes that need the help. But since I’ve been speculating about who Barney’s bride will be for as long as I can remember it’s hard to be disappointed about finally getting an answer. While I’ve always maintained that Barney will end up with Robin in the end, now at least we know it won’t be a last minute catch-him-at-the-altar type situation. She did look worried when she saw Ted though, so I’m guessing there’ll be some potential cold feet involved. Of course I doubt the writers have planned that far ahead.

I think the bigger twist was Ted deciding to run away with Victoria. Everything up to that point in the storyline was fairly predictable, but I honestly didn’t see that coming. Shame on me I guess, since it is a finale. It’s another perfect example though of the writers leveraging the goodwill they earned in the show’s early seasons. I said it at the start of the season and I’ll say it again – I like Victoria, I like Ashley Williams, and I like that the writers have recognized her as the one that got away from Ted. What I worry about is that they don’t use her well and it end ups tainting those wonderful first season memories.

On one hand there’s a story worth telling in revisiting an idealized relationship that ended before it should have. In real life that’s a pretty common occurrence and it can hold people back. But at the same time, we know this relationship is doomed from the start, and if the writing staff isn’t delicate it could end up backfiring. It’s at the core of almost all the problems people have with How I Met Your Mother these days – every girl Ted dates that’s not the mother is a stall.

House – “Holding On” (B+)

This was a dark one. Granted it needed to be. “Holding On” dealt with some pretty heavy themes, and even though it was excruciating to watch at some points it was better that it stayed true to them than pull back in fear of turning off part of the audience.

There were a few times where this episode got a little off tone (I’m not sure we needed House using actors to psyche out Wilson one last time) but there were at least a few powerful moments to add to House’s prolonged farewell tour. I thought the scene where House revealed to Taub why he was so angry with Wilson was particularly strong. Before that moment I’d just chalked his behaviour up to House dealing with his emotions poorly like he always does, but after you could understand his anguish. He’s been living in pain all these years, if anyone’s allowed an opinion on that matter it’s him.  Needless to say, I thought it was one of the more intimate glimpses into his character we’ve seen over these past few episodes.

The other moment I liked was the scene where House told Wilson that Wilson was smarter than him. It was one of those easily forgettable moments, but it stuck out to me because I don’t think I’ve ever heard House say that to anybody. For House intellect has always been king. I think at least part of the reason that these two have remained friends all these years is that in some way Wilson challenges him in a manner no one else does. Of course I could spend hours uncovering all the different layers of that statement, so I’ll just leave it at it was a nice sentiment.

As for Thirteen’s appearance in the episode, it was for the most part well done. I’m glad they could get Olivia Wilde back in for at least one more episode. Granted her appearance felt a little “inserted”, but I liked the content of her few scenes as she fit in quite well with a lot of the themes in the episode.

Personally, I don’t think House as a series can finish on a completely upbeat ending, and considering he’s headed back to jail it looks like I’m right. But I do hope the writers leave House with at least some measure of peace. He’s not the easiest guy in the world to cheer for, but he’s been through a lot and he deserves that much.

Cougar Town – “Square One” & “It’ll All Work Out” (A-)

I’m so happy that Cougar Town got picked up by TBS. It’s been a rough couple of weeks speculating about what was going to get renewed and what was going to get cancelled and for a while there it wasn’t looking great for this series. Luckily TBS stepped in and saved the day, which is the second time they’ve done that for me. (They were also the network that picked up Conan. On a related note, watch Conan).

 And these last two episodes are perfect examples of why this series is worth keeping around. Actually ironically enough “It’ll All Work Out” had a nice meta commentary on the show’s long absence in the fall and the potential of its cancellation. It was a nice wink to the fans and a funny little setup for why the series was doing a Thanksgiving episode in the middle of May. Plus I have to agree with some of the points made by Jules, Laurie, and Ellie – I mean what is so great about those new people.

If I had to pick my favourite between the two episodes though it would have to be “Square One” by a small margin. I’ve loved watching Grayson and Jules take to going to therapy this season. Their therapist (played by Nicole Sullivan) made me laugh out on more than one occasion in this episode, which was by far her best appearance on the series. And while I literally said this exact same thing the last time she showed up, Nicole Sullivan is incredible at playing the straight man while still remaining funny herself. Watching her reactions to Jules and Grayson saying she was “off her game” was probably my favourite part of the episode.

Of course I’m always a fan of great Bobby/Andy moments and “Square One” had a plethora of those too thanks to the white shirt competition between Bobby and Jules, another quirky Cougar Town invention. I love how committed those two are to each other (Bobby and Andy that is), with Andy actually taking off work to follow Bobby around and protect him from stains. I mean the man took a meatball for him. They truly are worthy successors to Scrubs’ J.D. and Turk.

“It’ll All Work Out” was a very watchable episode as well though. The touching tribute to Big Carl in the tag was alone almost worth the half hour, but I had at least a few favourite moments in this one. Laurie’s explanation of her outfit, including everybody wondering whether it was supposed to be a costume or not. Stan, the toddler, somehow finding his own way downtown to tag things. Bobby’s touching words to beer. The box head of varying emotion.  Laurie’s vows about sex with Matt Damon watching. Wow, I probably should have just written this out in list form.

In general it was just a good week for the entire cast. To me, Courtney Cox has had incredible delivery lately. She’s always been funny, but somehow she seems even more comfortable than ever as Jules. And of course Brian Van Holt, Ian Gomez, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins, Christa Miller – everyone was on their game in these episodes.  Great comedies are born out of great ensembles and TBS was smart to scoop this one up.

Oh yeah, and Cougarton Abbey – hilarious. It’s nice to see them paying tribute to the British original.

Taters Are For Laters

I’m working on NBC’s Thursday night line up. In the meantime please enjoy this Cougar Town/New Girl/Modern Family recap.

Spoilers...

Cougar Town – “Down South” (B)

Is it just me or did this episode strain its credibility by having the Cul-De-Sac crew run out of wine in the middle of a hurricane. From what I know about Jules and the gang, there’s absolutely no way they would ever let that happen. It’s ironic, because my beef with “Down South” is a direct result of the fantastic character work that came before it, but oddly enough I actually found that it played a factor in my enjoyment of the episode. Totally fine with Tom spending an entire hurricane outside of Jules’ window, but this group of friends running out of wine – grab a pitchfork, we’re storming the Cougar Town offices.

That was a pretty specific example (though I stand by it) but there did seem to be something off about this week’s episode. I think I would have actually preferred it if the writers went for a full out bottle episode rather than having the gang jump from location to location. The cast tend to be at their best when they function as one large group and the constant movement made the episode feel a little disjointed.

I had my issues with the Laurie/Travis storyline this week too. Laurie knows that Trav likes her, so it was odd that she was so oblivious to that fact in this episode. You could argue she was distracted by the break up, but when you have Trav playing Wade’s surrogate I have a hard time believing she would be that clueless. If this is the start of a much larger arc I welcome those two as a couple, but it still feels like they were mishandled a bit here.

I did still like some of their chats though, and while “Down South” may not have been as sharp an episode as Cougar Town in known for, it wasn’t without a few good laughs. I thought Grayson’s search for a new catch phrase was probably the best running bit of the night. I love that the writers have started exploring Grayson’s reasons for owning the bar and his 90s cool guy catch phrase was a great play on that theme. The ending tag between he and Ellie was hilarious – “I used to be so warm”... classic.

My favourite lines:

JULES: I love hurricanes. They’re like adult snow days. You know, you don’t have to go to work, you drink and play games.
GRAYSON: So it’s like every day for us.
JULES: But with wind...

BOBBY: I feel like I’m cheating on Andy.
TRAV: I’m your son, so it’s fine.

ELLIE: I’m only an okay storm, I’m not a perfect storm.

ELLIE: You just ate your hoodie string.

GRAYSON: You know how people say, “hey, you want to come with us?” I was the guy who dropped the “us” part. “Hey, you want to come with?”

And line of the night:

TRAV: You can’t take explosions so personally. You know, sometimes they’re just explosions.

New Girl  – “See Ya” (B)

I expected more from this one, I really did. There was a lot to like in this episode, but for a finale I was disappointed. The last episode of the season, at least in my opinion, should feel like an amalgamation of everything that came before it and for a comedy it should be able to generate a lot of its humour just from that. But too often in this episode the writing staff looked unprepared, inventing storylines or half hearted setups to give it that finale feel rather than going with something that felt organic.

Schmidt and Cece’s sudden break up was a perfect example. Everything before this episode suggested the two of them were happy with each other. I understand the concept of a reversal, but after two weeks of showing these two head over heels for each other apparently all it took to break them up was a short visit to a photo shoot and one side of a text message. Schmidt had visited Cece on set before. He’s always known she was a model, this isn’t foreign territory for him. And because of that his sudden surge of jealousy just struck really false to me. The White Fang reference was funny, but it could have been a lot funnier if it didn’t feel like a poorly executed excuse to drum up some finale drama.

From a story perspective that was probably the worst offender but there were more than a few setups I had to role my eyes at too. Winston’s sudden fear of the dark was ridiculous. And I thought Nick deciding to go search for the keys right before his run in with the coyote was more about that bit than an actual change in the mindset of his character. Also isn’t New Girl set in Chicago? Forgive my geography here, but what desert were they in?

It was hard to deny the charm of their little camp out though, and I did enjoy watching them reminisce to the sound of Nick’s 90s mixtapes (sadly I think all of those songs are currently on my iPod). If this episode had one saving grace I’d say it was probably in some of the more collaborative group scenes. It’s hard to deny the chemistry of this cast when they’re thrown into these big scenes with each other.

I also quite liked the way they capped off the episode, which counter to my earlier criticisms is exactly the sort of thing I like to see in a finale. Nick’s AC/DC return was a fantastic sequence – it didn’t go for too much, in fact it was entirely free of dialogue, and yet it felt entirely earned. A perfect no frills celebration of the season that was. It’s a pity the entire episode couldn’t live up to those last few minutes, but I’ll take what I can get.

To the quotes!

JESS: You think just cause he’s a snappy dresser the mice don’t see the hammer?

SCHMIDT: What the hell war is this?

NICK: I took my fair share of rubber bands so I don’t want to hear about it.

And line of the night:

JESS: Wow, look how pronounced Nick’s couch hole got. All this time I thought he was just sitting here drinking beer and complaining... he was making something.

Modern Family – “Disneyland” (B+)

I quite liked the Disneyland setting in this one. Not because I have any great affinity towards that particular amusement park or even amusement parks in general, I just thought structurally it gave us the best of both worlds – it allowed for some great group scenes while still leaving the writing staff room for a variety of different characters pairings. Not every storyline was a hit, but there were enough of them that if you didn’t like one, another would be around soon enough.

My personal favourite was Lilly’s leash. The number of great one liners that came out of that premise was incredible and I especially loved how immediately ashamed of himself Mitchell was as soon as the leash went on. But I was also partial to Manny’s stock project. Having been given a similar project in high school I completely understand the corrupting influence fake money has on a man.

Of course Phil and Luke had a pretty good week as well, and while I wasn’t as enthused about Claire setting up Haley with the kind of guy she’d like her to date, I am happy that Dylan is back (I loved watching Phil’s reaction to the news – it was subtle but his reaction was priceless). On the other hand, I could have done without Gloria and the shoes. It did end up leading to a nice ending for Lilly’s leash storyline, but something seemed off to me the way Jay attributed a lot of Gloria’s anger simply to the fact that she wears uncomfortable shoes all the time.

The big danger in an episode with this many storylines though is that it can tend to lose its cohesiveness which is where I thought Jay’s Abraham Lincoln story came in handy. Admittedly, I spent most of “Disneyland” wondering why he was telling the story at all (though on repeat viewing I figured I probably should have seen where it was going) but all in all it provided a nice throughline for the episode and produced a much better ending than the sum of those smaller storylines ever could on their own. Say what you want about the content of Jay’s final aside to the camera, but I thought for the most part the writers did a good job.

Alright, now for my favourite lines:

MITCHELL: Okay we just got a glare from Mr. Socks With Sandals.

LILLY: Chip and Dale!
CAM: Oh great now she’s chasing squirrels. (Technically chipmunks. I’m sorry if that seems arbitrary to you but I take my Rescue Rangers pretty seriously.)

MANNY: Ruben, if you heard about that stock at a birthday party it’s already too late.

GLORIA: Fake money has changed you.

CLAIRE: Oh my goodness, you are burning up. You might have the flu.
PHIL: A bunch of guys at work have the flu and we all drink orange juice out of the same carton. We should get cups...

And line of the night:

MITCHELL: Okay, it’s Toontown not Toonton. You’ve been watching too much PBS. (Man, I love Downton Abbey.)

Anybody Up For A Hobo Adventure?

I’m working my way through the week. Here’s Tuesday and Wednesday for your reading pleasure.

Spoilers:

Cougar Town – “Southern Accents” (A-)

I feel like I’ve said this before (I can’t remember and I honestly don’t read this blog) but Grayson’s daughter has been an excellent addition to the show. Her introduction has provided many good storylines this season, allowed the writers to sidestep through Grayson’s desire to have kids, which had sort of been played out, and it gave us Holly, who was the basis of some truly hilarious moments in this episode.

I quite enjoyed watching Jules and Holly get acquainted with each other this week – the story really hit you from every angle. Having Trav make out with Holly led to more than a few hilarious confrontations with Jules, and some even funnier banter with Grayson, who was in the peripheral this week but still found a way to make his presence known. Holly too has found a nice niche for herself confirming just about anything negative anyone ever says about her within a matter of seconds. She infringes on Laurie’s character a bit but because she’s an outsider to the group she doesn’t distract from her.

And the story actually ended up having quite a bit of heart. I liked the way the writing staff humanized her in the end and pointed out her very similar situation to Jules’ struggles to raise Travis as a young mother. The Cul-De-Sac crew have always been a sort of de facto family and Holly and Tampa/Jill are funny enough that I wouldn’t mind seeing them around for more family functions. Though this show has a knack for creating great bit players and could say that about more than a few characters (I used to say it about Tom and thankfully they listened).

The fun didn’t end there though, as Bobby and Laurie had a great episode discussing the nature of racism. Those two are always funny paired with each other and having them discuss a real issue like that was an oddly hilarious use of their characters. Plus it allowed Laurie to start telling stories and I dare say she is never funnier than when she’s off on some bizarre tangent about her life outside of this group. I particularly loved that the moral she drew from the whole race panel was that “all you need to fix minority problems is a really pretty white woman.” Classic.

Andy’s decision whether to run for mayor was probably the weakest thread of the episode, but that’s only because I enjoyed the other two so much. Frankly it’s a pretty promising storyline for future episodes and it wasn’t without a few great bits. I think it’s hilarious that Andy’s view of being mayor is riding around in parades wearing a top hat. I want this for him more than you know...

Alright, to the quotes!

LAURIE: Oh my god, look at your black and white cookie! You’ve only eaten the white part.
BOBBY: I’m a monster.

BOBBY: I don’t really like it when my food talks to me. It’s why I don’t eat monkeys.

TRAV: There’s just something so innocent about Holly. I just want to protect her. Plus Jill could really use a father.
GRAYSON: She has a father.
TRAV: I meant a good one.

JULES: It’s like my life is flashing before my eyes... I should have drank more wine.

GRAYSON: You know when you’re kissing Holly and she pushes her gum into your mouth and then sucks it back out onto hers? Why is that so hot?
TRAV: Probably her big boobs.
GRAYSON: Probably.

LAURIE: Oh my god, my race panel worked. If there is one thing that we’ve learned from Michelle Pfieffer in Dangerous Minds, or Sandy Bullock in The Blind Side, or Hillary Swank in that movie no one ever saw, it’s that all you need to fix minority problems is a really pretty white woman.

And the longest line of the night ever:

LAURIE: So you accidentally said the wrong thing. One time I accidently asked this blind lady when her baby was due. Turns out she wasn’t pregnant. AND she wasn’t even a lady. But he really was blind which was good because when he went to go throw his coffee at me he totally missed and he hit a real pregnant lady and I was like “dude, you’re such a jerk you just hit a real pregnant lady”... and then it turns out she wasn’t pregnant either so...
BOBBY: There’s a lot of fatties in this town.

New Girl – “Backslide” (B-)

Well first and foremost I want to acknowledge New Girl’s generosity of spirit in taking the time to discuss the dangers of backsliding. It’s an issue most people are unaware of and its consequences can be painful, if not for the people backsliding than for the people around them. Don’t backslide people, it’s not worth it.

Jess unfortunately didn’t head that warning in this episode and in her grief over breaking up with Russell called up Paul, who unbeknownst to her had a pretty serious girlfriend. The storyline had its moments but it wasn’t as uproariously funny as one would have liked. The revelation that Paul is a terrible crier felt like a plot device invented specifically as a cue for Jess’ change of heart near the end of the episode. Give Justin Long credit, he sold it, but I rolled my eyes when that was literally the first thing that came out of Schmidt and Winton’s mouths when they saw him leaving the apartment. It’s been a while though, so by all means correct me if we’ve seen Paul cry before.

Regardless, Jess and Paul’s final scene with each other was still enjoyable. Jess’ speech to Jen – you know, the one that ended with her proposing to Jen for Paul – was a good one, staying both funny and meaningful. And it also led to a pretty good ending, with Jess saying some more very sweet things to Nick just before he told her that he is moving out, all the while confirming that those two are destined to end up with each other.

Schmidt and Cece spent another week making me feel those warm fuzzy feelings I tucked away and swore I would never bring out again, even if I found their storyline lacking a bit in terms of laughs. The writers milked Schmidt’s broken penis for all it was worth (that sounded terrible and yet still I’m not going to change it) but it wasn’t enough to carry the entire comedic load on its own. Still, I’ve been having a good time watching these two slowly fall for each other and this episode was no exception. There’s a bit of a danger that as a confirmed couple the two of them will lose some of their appeal but so far I haven’t seen anything yet to make me worried about that happening.

The rest of the episode revolved mostly around the guys trying to convince Nick not to get back together with Caroline with Winston’s new earring tucked in there somewhere too. I enjoyed past Nick’s video to himself, but it felt like the writers could have done better with it, even if just the image of him with that beard was priceless. I didn’t like the earring side story at all though. It would have been fine if Winston had kept it simple – there were one or two good one liners that came out of it – but as his choice of earring got more and more ridiculous it became harder to buy into the fact that he had that little self-awareness. It just didn’t feel like the writers were challenging themselves enough.

To the quotes!

JESS: Why is she dressed like a woman’s studies major?

SCHMIDT: You backslid all the way down the hill and back into the parking lot. Take off your skis and wait for your family in the lodge Jessica Day.

JESS: I hate to have to break it to you but that is the way the Electoral College works man.
PAUL: It just seems so unfair. So votes don’t mean as much.
JESS: It upsets me to.

NICK: Hello Nick, you magnificent dumbass.

NICK: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? No, a summer’s day is not a bitch.

NICK: Do you want to be a grown man who dresses like an unsponsored professional skateboarder?

JESS: I thought you were Asian me, but now I realize I was just Caucasian you.
JEN: What?
PAUL: What?

And line of the night:

JESS: For someone with a soul mate you sure did have sex with me.

Modern Family – “Planes, Trains and Cars” (B)

It only seems appropriate Modern Family would hit on a couple of sitcom tropes in this episode considering its title is a riff off the classic John Hughes film. This time around it was Phil buying a car without asking the approval of his wife, naturally having been egged on by one of his friends. But hey, at least they spared us from the overzealous salesman on top of it all.

To the credit of the writers past the initial premise they did a pretty good job of avoiding clichés. Claire didn’t immediately fly off the handle at the purchase and while she eventually came around to the car she didn’t fall in love with it or claim it as her own as so many other sitcom wives before her have done. Still, it didn’t feel like this story arced as much as it needed to. I liked that Phil enjoyed driving the kids around and Claire felt liberated at the beach but they were nice sentiments more than they were a story. It was like the writers were so busy trying not to do what had already been done before that they forgot to actually write their own narrative.

Jay, Gloria, and Manny were the ones that took on the storyline that most resembled that of the episode’s 80s movie namesake, scrambling through several different methods of transportation on their way to Pebble Beach. Manny provided some funny background comedy for the trip and Gloria was certainly on her game as well, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the premise that Jay was still seeking validation from the guys he went to high school with, what, 40 years prior? While most of the episode was just about them finding a way to get there, I’d be lying if I said that the ending didn’t bug me a bit.

I thought the best thread of the episode was Cam and Mitchell looking for Lilly’s stuffed animal. There were a lot of great little moments I liked, like Mitchell’s failure to recognize Nemo and the way the two of them quickly decided that Jay’s relationship with Mitchell was good enough when they saw the homeless guy coughing on Lilly’s bunny. Plus the revelation that Mitchell is a Star Wars fan made happy, especially since it aired so close to May the Fourth.

Alright, now that you can fully comprehend how big of a nerd I actually am, I give you my favourite quotes...

CAM: Let’s catch the next train and ride it until it catches up.
MITCHELL: They don’t catch up. It’s called a collision.

JAY: How do I say this without sounding like an ass... I’m kind of a legend to these guys.
GLORIA: Not like that.

CLAIRE: I have nothing to say.
PHIL: That just says it all.

MANNY: A lot of amenities disappear when an H becomes an M.

CAM: Really, you don’t know Nemo? It’s on an endless loop in the den.
MITCHELL: I have a job.

CLAIRE: Phil I did cartwheels.
PHIL: Without me?

And line of the night:

PHIL: Honey, I’m not leaving your mom.
LUKE: It might not be your call.

Sandwiches And Sex? I Want That!

Yup, I’m writing reviews again. Spoilers will follow...

House – “Body & Soul” (A-)

Finale fever is in the air, isn’t it? There’s certainly been some added tension to these last few episodes of House. You can sense that the shackles are finally off for this writing staff, which is probably why these past few weeks have seen such a major uptick in quality (though I’ll let you decide if the show is actually getting better or if it’s just that creeping sense of closure making average episodes seem that much better).

House and Dominika are probably the best example of that added weight. If this storyline would have popped up in the middle of season 4 I probably wouldn’t have thought much of it, but since the series finale is looming just over the horizon I find myself asking questions like “is this House’s happy ending?” and “is it possible for House to have a happy ending?” If I were to wager I’d probably put my money on the bittersweet send off, but a lot can happen in 5 episodes.

I’ll admit, on the surface it seems a tad conventional to end the series by giving House that elusive happy relationship he was never able to find during the show’s run (sorry Cuddy), but since House and Dominika have been anything but conventional in their time together I don’t feel particularly cheated with the premise. House has always functioned as one part medical drama and one part comedy, and Dominika seems to be a nice bridge between the two. She crept her way onto this series simply because she and House just have great chemistry together and it’s not hard to cheer for that. I just hope this wasn’t her last episode.

And I say that because of Wilson’s announcement of his cancer diagnosis at the end of this one, which is almost certain to dominate these last few episodes. There’s not too much to talk about at this point – the announcement was mainly there to serve as the episode’s cliffhanger – but it’s obvious what this represents for House. Wilson is essentially House’s saving grace. The one actual stable relationship he’s had over the course of the show. I think it’s safe to say that this is going to dishevel him in a way we haven’t seen before.

New Girl – “Tomatoes” (B-)

Well I don’t think I’m stretching too far to say that the Jess/Nick relationship, which has seemed almost inevitable since the series began, is closer to fruition than it’s ever been. Friends who aren’t into each other don’t fight the way those two did at the end of this episode, at least not on a sitcom anyway, and add to that the fact that Jess broke up with Russell... I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to say they’re headed in that direction. Something tells me it won’t be hard to get Caroline out of the picture either.

But back to Jess and Russell – while I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the storyline that broke them up, it could have been a lot worse. When Russell and his ex-wife had that “passion” filled argument in the restaurant, I thought for sure the writers would take the predictable route and have Russell realize he still had feelings for her. I’m glad that they at least made it about Jess and Russell, instead of Russell and his ex-wife. That was smart. Still, the whole situation that led to that final conversation felt contrived and devoid of laughs. There wasn’t a whole lot of life in that storyline.

Nor was there much in Schmidt’s storyline either. I quite like Schmidt and Cece as a couple – I could actually see them becoming the staple couple of this show – but while the ending was sweet, the bulk of the episode was between Schmidt and Cece’s weird Russian roommate, who just wasn’t doing it for me. Her mean broken English bit just went on way too long, and reduced Schmidt, one of the most explosively funny characters on this show, to a series of reaction shots. Give Max Greenfield credit, he did his best with it, but he just wasn’t given enough to save the storyline.

I quite enjoyed the episode’s cold open however. Actually most of Nick’s tomato farming scenes were good, primarily because of how terrible he was at it. His inability to complete such basic tasks as watering plants was pretty awesome. The storyline came weirdly out of nowhere, and perhaps it’s somewhat contrived (alright, majorly contrived), but it was funny so I’ll let it go (that tends to be the best criteria for these things).

The writers have got to figure out what to do with Winston though because he has consistently been the weak link on this show. And you can tell that the writers aren’t oblivious to that fact either, which is why his circumstances seem to shift drastically on an almost episode by episode basis. He was downright annoying in this one, and I know he was supposed to be annoying in this episode, but it didn’t lead to any laughs, which should really be the goal for his character since I have very little investment in his relationship with Shelby, which is to say I don’t care about it at all.

Now, I am please to once again say – to the quotes!

NICK: Thank you guys for joining me on this momentous day. As you guys know it’s become a rough year for me. I got dumped by Caroline, and Julia. I opened myself up to love. I was hurt badly, I closed myself up again. The downstairs neighbor put a password on their wi-fi...

SCHMIDT: Beautiful women, you guys can say just about anything, can’t you?

SCHMIDT: You’re gonna sex me in my face?

SCHMIDT: I think I finally understand what The Tree of Life is about.

SCHMIDT: You like my personality?
CECE: I was surprised too.

And line of the night:

JESS: Stop making that face at me, I hate that face!
NICK: This is my only face. I don’t have a lot of faces.

Cougar Town – “Money Becomes King” (B+)

Krazy Kakes sure developed quickly, didn’t it? That’s the type of storyline a writing staff tends to string out over multiple episodes, but I think Laurie’s baking skills were just introduced last week so clearly they weren’t too concerned with making this one last. It’s a fun storyline though, and it should prove to be good material for future episodes. I mean, clearly that’s where this story was headed, so it doesn’t bother me that the writers rushed it along. Although, I do remember a partnership with Grayson at his bar – where did that go?

Anyway, the core of this story revolved around Jules and Grayson sorting through their finance. Well that and Jules dragging people into therapy. We’ll focus on the finances for now though. I thought it was a bit of stretch that the two of them didn’t realize that they would be living together when they got married, but the comedy in this one was strong enough to overcome some of these finer points. I thought the storyline really gained its edge when Andy started looking over their finances. That was a very funny scene.

I’m also a big fan of Jules aforementioned new therapist (she is new, right?). Nicole Sullivan is one of those familiar Scrubs players from back in the day (yup, back in the day) and she did a fantastic job in this episode playing off of Jules’ craziness without falling too sharply into the straight man (or in this case straight woman) role. She’s the type of guest star that could easily be brought back again and again, and if this episode was any indication that is a good thing.

By far my favourite storyline though was Andy and Bobby. Bill Lawrence, Kevin Biegel, and whoever else is on their writing staffs just know how to write the guy love (bravo to those of you who get the Scrubs reference in that). I laughed out loud several times at these two, from Andy’s torment over having to mess with Bobby to their hilarious tear filled reunion. It’s a B story that was so good it actually crept up and stole the episode for me.

Alright, line of the night:

JULES: Laurie, Andy wants to fire you!
LAURIE: Seriously Andy!

Life Is Happening!

I apologise once again for the short post... it’s exam season. Another week though and I’ll whip this blog back into shape.

How I Met Your Mother – “Now We’re Even” (B-)

House – “We Need the Eggs” (B+)

Cougar Town – “Ways to Be Wicked” (B)

New Girl – “Kids” (B+)

Modern Family – “The Last Walt” (B-)

Community – “Virtual Systems Analysis” (A-)

30 Rock – “Murphy Brown Lied To Us” (B-)

The Office – “Angry Andy” (C+)

Parks and Recreation – “Live Ammo” (B+)

I Don’t Want To Be Around When Something That Tight Unravels

Another quick one for you...

How I Met Your Mother – “Trilogy Time” (A-)

House – “Gut Check” (B)

Cougar Town – “You Can Still Change Your Mind” (A-)

New Girl – “Normal” (B+)

Modern Family – “Election Day” (B+)

Community – “Origins of Vampire Mythology” (A-)

30 Rock – “Meet the Woggles” (B)

The Office – “Welcome Party” (B)

Up All Night – “The Proposals” (B+)

Grey’s Anatomy – “Support System” (B-)

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.

--

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.