Song(s) of the week

What? Posts three days in a row. That’s just how much I love you guys. Or hate I guess depending on your perspective. But if you hate us so much why are you even on here. Answer me that jerk!

This week’s pick:

“Boats and Birds” by Gregory and the Hawk

Where I found Gregory and the Hawk: I was on YouTube, and this happened to be the soundtrack to the Boy Meets World fan fiction I was watching (hopefully I'm lying). I typed the lyrics into the internet and found out the name of the song. And a lot of porn. I mean A LOT. Come on internet.

What I like: The lyrics are adorable, and beautifully delivered by Gregory and the Hawk singer Meredith Godreau. More than anything though, I just love the simplicity of the song. It almost reminds you of one of those children’s nursery rhymes, but in a good way... not a creepy way. Yeah no, that just sounds creepy. Well it’s a good song... just listen.

Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk

You Look Hot Enough To Cook A Pizza On... In

Here’s the rundown from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Spoilers.

Modern Family – “Bixby’s Back” (A-)

Modern Family was back this week with another hilarious Valentine’s Day episode. This show really knows how to commemorate the special occasions, and for a show centered around three couples Valentine’s Day constitutes as a special occasion. Luckily for us, each couple brought something funny to the table in this episode.

Phil and Claire brought back Clive and Julianna again this year, and the result was just as disastrous as the year before. Phil was absolutely hilarious in this episode. Ty Burrell basically put on a clinic in physical comedy, with Phil tripping and falling over pretty much everything. My personal favourite was the champagne cork popping as he was trying to explain to the old lady why he’s naked in her room. I also loved watching him drive around in circles on the old man’s scooter, in the process convincing Claire that they needed some more excitement in their marriage.

And while they were mostly relegated to the sidelines this week Cam and Mitchell’s argument over who Mitchell’s assistant had the crush on was great too. Eric Stonestreet really stole the show here, playing the passive aggressive Cameron to perfection. My favourite line:

MITCHELL’S ASSISTANT: Did I validate you?
CAMERON: Oh yes.

Also in this episode, Jay and Gloria demonstrated one of the foundations of any great relationship – the calculated manoeuvring to win. And yes, in case you were wondering, I have been single for a very, very long time. Nevertheless, the storyline was hilarious, with each of them coming up with a few hilarious lines around that theme.

JAY: Honey, I love all this, but you can’t win Valentine’s Day. I mean you defeat the whole idea if you make it into some silly competition.
GLORIA: Shut up I win.

You tell him Gloria.

But my personal favourite moment of the episode was the return of Dylan. This is the second hilarious song that Dylan has given us and blasting it through the whole neighbourhood had to be the perfect way to debut it. Claire’s reaction was the best:

CLAIRE: Am I a bad enough parent to ignore that?

I’m glad Dylan and Hailey are back together. I miss those two and their crazy shenanigans.

Off the Map – “I’m Here” (B+)

The problem with pilots is they are generally a terrible way of gauging how good a show will be. Good pilots are certainly a good sign, but there’s no way you can really see the ins and outs of a series from just one episode. Now that we’re 5 episodes into the run of Off the Map, I’m starting to see a clearer picture of what the show is turning out to be.

Off the Map doesn’t add much to the genre, but it takes all of its familiar elements and does them really well. One of those elements has to be the crazy patient of the week, and this week’s episode had one of the craziest – an underwater amputation. The scene where they had to explain to the young girl (underwater) that they were going to have to amputate her leg was a particularly great scene. I couldn’t imagine losing a limb awake without the doctors who were performing the procedure able to tell me what they were doing. I guess that’s what made the young girl’s realization all the more painful.

As consequence from this daring procedure Clark got the bends, which might I add, I diagnosed before any of the fake TV doctors, further proving that I shouldn’t need one of those pesky medical degrees to practice medicine (stupid board of physicians). Anyways, because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the development of her symptoms we learned that Dr. Clark is hiding some sort of medical ailment. She’s quickly becoming one of my favourite characters so I hope it’s nothing too serious. I’m sure she’ll be fine (that’s my medical opinion).

Brenner also had a good story this week, when she finds out that the man she’s been crushing on may be a criminal. “When did your life become a Spanish soap opera” asks Mina, causing Brenner to wonder that very question. Eventually she found herself lying to the police in an attempt to protect the guy, with Keeton covering for her with the cops.

After this episode it looks like the two of them won’t be getting together any time soon. Or who knows, maybe the turmoil in each of their lives will drive them together... and then apart again... and then probably together after that. That’s not a metaphor for sex either, that’s just generally how these things go.

And again this week Mina proved herself to be one of the more interesting doctors on this show. Her defence of the amputee girl’s father, a character a lot of shows would villanize, was a highlight for me. I think a lot of people would compare Mina to Christina from Grey’s Anatomy because of her self described coldness, but I think the comparison is misguided. Christina is cold because of her competitiveness, where as Mina seems to care quite a bit about her patients, she just has trouble expressing it. I said this last week too, but it’s nice to see this type of character being represented on a show like this, where characters are quite often on the opposite extreme. Plus I laughed at this little exchange:

MINA: I just had a conversation with a hat.
LILY: What?
MINA: I don’t want to talk about it.

Well done by both actresses.

And I can’t leave without at least mentioning Tommy’s vow of celibacy. It was a great recurring gag throughout the whole episode, and I loved the way it kept creeping into all the other characters’ storylines. The final scene in the bar was awesome too. I thought it was hilarious the way the group (including Charlie, the like 12 year old interpreter) lambasted him over sending his girl away.

CHARLIE: You got to hit that.

V – “Concordia” (B)

After discussing much of my displeasure about Tyler’s character in last week’s review, I was far from thrilled when I discovered this week’s episode would be centered on Travis’s 18^th birthday. And early on in the episode, this storyline was true to form, with plenty of ridiculous scenes to prove it (including an unintentionally funny scene where all the big players in the V hierarchy were huddled around a monitor discussing Tyler’s birthday gifts).

But then the gala happened, and the awkward scenes early in the episode all started coming together. The assassination attempt was an exciting sequence, and the fact that they actually got Marcus (though I’m sure he’ll be fine in the same way that Joshua is up and moving again) lent the storyline some legitimacy.

I was glad to see Erica come back to Cohn with some conditions rather than simply trying to thwart his attempt at the assassination.  Each week Erica and the gang seem to move closer and closer to all out working with Cohn which I think is a good thing. Like I’ve said on numerous occasions, this show is better when its heroes flirt with questionable moral decisions.

Ryan also had a good part in this episode, organizing the assassination attempt only to sabotage it later in the episode. Ryan’s motives have been questionable for the last couple of episodes now, but this is the first time he’s actively betrayed the group in favour of helping his daughter.

Which brings me to my next exciting development – the return of Hobbes. Just last week I was commenting on how soft he had gone this season. Well he’s soft no more, and from the looks of it he and the like minded Cohn will be looking for a little revenge on Ryan. Obviously I don’t want them kill him or anything, but just the fact that these relationships are becoming more complicated is a good sign for the show. Now all they have to do is send Tyler on his motorcycle trip and we may have something here.

Get On Board Or The Sexting Stops!

Here’s what we watched from Friday to Monday... we really need to get lives.

Spoilers...

How I Met Your Mother – “Oh Honey” (B+)

I was really worried at the start of this episode that the recent upswing this show has been on would be over, that maybe the great writing present throughout the death of Marshall’s father would be an isolated event, a mere blip in a show otherwise on the decline. Well I’m happy to say that my first impression of this episode was wrong. “Oh Honey” was a delightful episode (yes delightful), making great use of How I Met Your Mother’s inventive use of alternative narratives.

I swear, if How I Met Your Mother developed a spin off series of Marshall during his high school years, I would watch that show. I loved all the interruptions from his mother and brother, I loved watching his brother break down the relationship between Ted and Zoey, and I loved the final strategy session where Marshall explained the situation to the two of them. It was just an awesome way to frame an episode.

And it was the great use of that framing device that led to this episode’s phenomenal conclusion. The phone call ending could have been really corny, but the way the show set it up was perfect. Watching Zoey’s face as she listened to Ted go on about why he “hates” her between the two phone calls was extremely satisfying, as was watching Ted light up as he got his own phone call. I know Zoey (played by Jennifer Morrison) isn’t everybody’s favourite character (nor is she likely the mother), but you had to enjoy watching them discover their feelings for each other were mutual.

I also have to quickly mention Katy Perry’s cameo. She wasn’t bad. Her acting was good enough that it didn’t distract from the story. Of the two main sequences she was in I found her second one – where Barney breaks down because she asks him “who’s your daddy” – to be the better scene. I don’t know if there’s anyone better than Neil Patrick Harris at playing over the top hysterical, but if he’s not the best he’s certainly up there (although now that I think about it Busy Philipps is also a worthy contender for last week’s Cougar Town).

Californication – “Freeze Frame” (A-)

This show makes me angry.  Not because it sucks.  In fact the show is awesome.  It makes me mad because of how Hank cannot catch a break.  I think I've said this before, but I have always been rooting for Hank.  But bad shit follows this guy around like horrible retweets from Judd Apatow.  It just keeps coming and coming.

Carla Gugino's character said it really well when describing Hank in Freeze Frame.  He has all this really dark shit inside him, but he wants the white picket fence.  I guess if I really had to analyze the character, I would say that this is probably very true.  However, it’s the manipulative women in his life that put the "dark shit" there.

The only thing you really need to know plot-wise for this episode is that:

1. Runkle is most likely the father of Marcy's fetus (I say fetus because that’s what it is at this point)

2. At the beginning of the episode it looks like Hank will get off of the rape charge.

3. By episodes end it looks like he is going to jail for a long time.

Basically, Hank tries to be a nice guy when Mia is being all dark and moody.  He literally talks her off a ledge. But then Mia and Sasha conspire to treat Hank like a piece of meat.  They put him in a compromising situation, try to stick their hands down his pants, and some teenage hipster takes a picture of it.  What is up with girls screwing with Hank?  Why can't they be nice to him?  He’s nice to them.  He gives them orgasms.  What is it about him that makes them need to ruin his life?

I really feel for Hank.  I want his life to be OK., but I really don't think it ever will be, unless he stops all contact with women. But this is Hank Moody we’re talking about.  That’ll never happen.

Fringe – “Concentrate and Ask Again” (A-)

Fringe brings mind readers into their lore this week with the case of a disgruntled militia who were inoculated against a biological weapon during the testing for it.  Only thing is, now they can't have children.  So logically, they have to kill everyone involved in the project with the same biological weapon.  Just so we are clear, this weapon is a blue powder that disintegrates your bones.

So the Fringe team stops the men from killing 1/3 of their targets.  The other 2 die.  I don't know if I'd call that a win but it was a cool plot.  They have to use an off the record Cortexiphan trial participant who developed the ability to read minds.  But he can't control it, so he lives alone to avoid human contact.  They ask him to help them and he risks the sickness he gets from being bombarded with everyone's thoughts to come to an event where the men are targeting a US senator who oversaw the weapons testing.  He comes through and it’s a big win.

However... he throws a spike in the Peter/Olivia relationship.  He reads Peter's mind and finds that he still has feelings for the other Olivia.

They also revealed what we already know, that Seamus WIles, is Sam from the bowling alley.  He wrote The First Peoples.  

Sam tells Nina Sharp that the machine has the ability to create and destroy, and that Peter is uniquely tuned to work the machine.  AND... duh duh duh... that whichever Olivia he chooses will be the one whose universe survives.  So, if Peter has feelings for the other Universe, that means that the one we know and love may be destroyed.

So this brings me to new theories.  Only one this week.

The observers talked about how they now know that Walter will be willing to let Peter die when the time comes, so I think the observers are following the path of the Universe to see if both worlds can survive.  Their plan is at odds with what the prophecies (or whatever you want to call them) say about the machine.  The machine is made to destroy one universe, but, the observer wants to see both survive.  That may mean that Peter has to die.

Shameless – “Three Boys” (B)

From proposal, to I’m married to someone else, to wedding in one episode. This show works fast.

I have to say I was a little surprised at the way this episode developed. The way they started with Fiona sort of covering for Kev I thought the episode would be about them keeping the secret from Veronica, but then Kev told her, and I thought the episode would be about the fallout from that. Well that was only a passing thought because Veronica took the news incredibly well. I guess it’s my fault for thinking a cable show would play out like a network show, but the randomness of this storyline gave the episode a sporadic feel, which made it less enjoyable than the previous few episodes from the series.

I also didn’t like the little detour they took with Vee’s brother. Anthony Anderson played the part fine, but it didn’t really add much drama to the wedding storyline (it was a fake wedding anyways), nor was it particularly funny. It just seemed like a bit of a ploy to kill time.

Steve was relatively absent in this episode, but despite this they covered a lot of ground with Fiona and him. I really like the way they’re developing this relationship. “That’s the problem with the exciting ones, their unpredictability” notes Veronica, probably the perfect summation of the dilemma facing Fiona. I’m glad they’re keeping Tony around as a viable love interest for Fiona – he’s a good character. Although I thought it was a little ridiculous that he was the one who pulled them over. What is there like one cop in Chicago?

Frank had a lot of the good comedic moments in this episode. I love how he assumes everybody at the doctor’s office is trying to scam their way into a disability cheque, and that he’s got the perfect system. I also thought it was hilarious that both he and Sheila immediately assumed he was dying (she even offered him a plot of land to be buried in) despite the fact he hadn’t even done the biopsy yet. But the highlight of the episode for me had to be watching Frank take part in a breast cancer support group. His attempts at “support” were so terrible you just had to laugh.

Speaking of Sheila (Joan Cusack), she’s actually turning into quite the heartbreaking character. It’s hard to watch her get herself all pumped up to go out only to get to the door and have a panic attack. I mean she literally made a dress for the wedding. She even made Frank a matching vest. Judging by the way they’ve set up her character I don’t foresee her leaving the house any time soon. I think the agoraphobia is just of a way of explaining why she would put up with Frank. Who knows though – this show seems to surprise me with something new every week.

House – “Family Practice” (B+)

This was a dark episode for the series, and I mean that in a good way. The majority of this season of House has been a light hearted affair, but in this episode the characters were pushed to their limits, and the drama was palpable.

It’s hard to find a scene that encapsulates just that better than House’s scene with Cuddy near the end of the episode. House was downright cruel in his approach, but you could still tell that he was acting out of concern for his relationship. “One day, maybe a week from now, maybe a year from, you’re going to decide that the man sleeping next to you killed your mother” laments House, in one of the better dramatic scenes I’ve seen from the show in a while.

But the drama didn’t stop there, with House also becoming locked into an ethical debate with Masters over the treatment of Cuddy’s mother. What House did to Masters was ruthless, but her response to it gave us her character’s first real payoff. I loved all of the story beats as Masters found out that House had set her up, processed that information, and ultimately risked her career as a doctor to do what she thought was right. It simultaneously portrayed her as a character with uncompromising morals (and guts), and a med student in way over her head, a complexity played perfectly by Amber Tamblyn. My only question is, why would she ever go back to work with him?

Taub also had a great storyline this week. Much like Masters, he risked his career because he couldn’t sit on the information that a young boy may be dying. He’s never been the most likable character, which makes feeling sympathy towards him over his divorce a difficult sell. But “Family Practice” showed us, that despite Taub being a terrible husband, deep down he’s still a good person. I really hope the writers don’t forget this aspect of Taub’s personality in future episodes. It makes his character wildly more interesting.

The Cape – “Goggles and Hicks” (B)

This episode brought another twist into the world of the Cape – the revealing of his secret identity.  Not to everyone mind you, just a comedically dark duo of assassins who are hired by Peter Flemming (aka Chess, aka Orwell's father) to kill the Cape.

Reviewing The Cape gives me a chance to rack my brain for interesting examples of how the show parallels comic books.  My brain is somewhat dead this morning since I watched The Cape instead of sleeping an extra hour last night.  But you readers demand excellence, and part of excellence is timeliness, and if one is not on time, what is one?  And if one doesn't know who one issssssssss........... *falls asleep at desk*

OK I'm awake again, I think my point there was that I’m sure I will miss some glaring examples of real comic book parallels in this week's episode but here goes my best shot.

From what I can make of it, the Cape's world grew with the addition of another villain in Palm City this week.  I guess I should say set of villains, because this is Goggles and Hicks.  Some serious names that’s for sure.  They strike fear in my heart every time I hear them.  Goggles and Hicks are an assassin team who hunt down Vince.  In doing so they discover who he is and put all that information on a jump stick (why they don't make extra copies is beyond me).  The Cape and Orwell go on the run from these assassins and end up putting the fat, wheel-chair bound one in jail at the end of the episode, only to have his brother trade the jump stick with Vince's identity for his brother's location.  And that is it.  The Cape lives to fight another day.

Oh and Goggles and Hicks are another part of Tarot, who is lead by someone Chess refers to as "The Master."  Their card is "The Chariot."

Anyway, Vince's identity coming out reminds me of Spiderman.  When the Superhuman Registration Act comes into play, as the fuel for Civil War, Tony Stark convinces Peter Parker to unmask and reveal his identity.  This has some serious issues for Peter because all of his foes come out to get him and that puts his family in danger.  I worry for Vince's family if word gets out that he is alive and is the Cape.  Bruce Wayne is also known by Ras al Guul to be Batman I believe.  It was this way in the movie, and in Hush (a great graphic novel for anyone interested in a fantastic detective story) Ras gets into the bat cave to leave Batman a message.  Dangerous.

That’s all for today in Cape world. Still a really fun show.

Castle – “Lucky Stiff” (B+)

Lucky Stiff is a pretty good episode all around.  The Castle Beckett love story takes a back seat to the crime in this episode and it sure is an intriguing one.

This is the story of a murdered lottery winner.  Murdered for his money?  Sort of, there is $100,000 missing.  But what of his hundreds of millions?  Still there, and the cops never play the "inheritance" card.  Castle suggests it’s the butler (yes this man has a classic English butler).  They track down what the guy has been doing and it turns out he has been giving most of his money away.  Long story short, he bought the lottery ticket for his old neighbour, who died the day they announced the winning numbers.  So the dude kept the ticket and the millions.  Who killed him?  The old dude's non-biological son (their relationship is sketchy at best, but the show makes it out that they were close).

An interesting sub-plot is what would you do with a lottery winning?  Beckett has no answer the whole episode.  Ryan would buy a winery, Espisito would also do something frivolous that I can't remember, the captain would buy a giant fishing boat, but Beckett has no answer.  In the end Castle realizes that she would want to honour her mother's legacy, so Castle arranges to set up a scholarship in her name.  Wow.  Cute.  They should get married.

Martha inherits a million bucks from her dead fiancé who she was going to break it off with.  She keeps the money.  Sleazy.  She wants to honour him, so of course she sets up an acting school in his honour.  The Martha Rodgers School of Acting.  But don't worry, a portrait of him will hang in the foyer.  Now that’s an honour.

This Is Why I Wanted To Play Chutes and Ladders

I’m posting this during the Super Bowl out of protest. I’m pissed off my boys (the Pats) didn’t make it. It’s a damn travesty is what it is.

I’m too depressed to keep writing... spoilers... or whatever.

Community – “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” (A)

This was a sad episode. I actually felt genuinely bad for Fat Neal, a character I’m fairly certain was only introduced last week. Community has really grown a heart this season, and the use of some serious pathos has become an integral part of the series. Normally a show like this, with zany off-beat characters and out of the box stories, doesn’t want you to start feeling for its characters. That would require them to feel like real people, which makes it a lot harder to find comedy in their misfortunes. The fact that Community can do both is a testament to how deep its level of writing is.

Just look at Pierce in this episode. Early in the episode his insults towards Neil were so mean it bordered on not being funny at all. But the show uses Pierce’s outward aggression to veil his hurt over being excluded from the game. When Neil realizes that Pierce is going through the exact same torment he is, he reaches out in the third act climax, and both of them become a little less lonely because of it. I mean talk about depth from a comedy.

But even the little character moments in this episode stood out to me. Of course Brita needs to take on the plight of the gnomes, or wonder why the goblins are attacking them (because “maybe these woods are their rightful lands”).

JEFF: Brita, he was an imaginary waiter.
BRITA: I wouldn’t expect you to understand!

And how funny was it watching innocent little Annie describe herself (in mute of course) having stable sex with Abed’s Elf maiden. The fact that Troy decided to start taking notes through whole ordeal made it that much more entertaining.

But it’s the little details that are exactly why Community does the parody better than any other show on television. It’s the altered title music, the voice narration throughout the episode, the solemn music and fading exit after Chang’s death. Or how about Pierce standing behind Abed as his character rides the dragon that Abed emphatically provides the voice for.

Oh, and I can’t forget the names. In case you were wondering here’s the list:

-          Jeff, The Liar

-          Annie, The Day Planner

-          Troy, The Obtuse

-          Shirley, The Cloying

-          Abed, The Undiagnosable

-          Brita, The Needlessly Defiant

-          Pierce, The Insensitive aka Pierce, The Dickish aka Grandpa, The Flatulent

Needless to say, this was a phenomenally written episode that brought out all the best elements of this series. I’m having trouble ending the review right now because there’s just so much I want to say about this episode. I guess I’ll just leave you with these quotes.

TROY: (to Brita) You’re the AT&T of people.

TROY: Shouldn’t there be a board, or some pieces, or something to Jenga?

ABED: You do ten points damage.
JEFF: Look at that. What am I not good at?
BRITA: Sex.

ABED: (rolls the dice) You have successfully rubbed your balls on the sword.

PIERCE: I’m sick of you threatening me and talking to me like a kid, and giving me that look you give me like I can’t get erections.

The Office – “The Search” (B)

This episode wasn’t that funny. I mean yes, it had its moments, like Michaels trip to the pet store (high praise to Steve Carell on that one) or Erin’s system of rating women (including two categories for ears), but I think most of the gags that were supposed to be the real comic moments fell flat.

Really what saves this episode doesn’t lie in its humour, but in watching the show slowly reveal why Michael and Holly are meant to be together. In my books, sitcoms that have been around this long are allowed to do this every once in a while because they’ve earned it by building strong characters that people actually start to feel for. Michael and Holly’s final scene on the rooftop may not have been Jim confessing his feelings to Pam in the season 2 finale, but it was perfectly in line with each of their characters, and certainly a moment I’ve been anticipating for a long time.

I find it a little odd that they didn’t draw the Michael/Holly tension out a little longer. The will they won’t they awkwardness is something this show used to excel at. Maybe they thought it had been overdone. From what I’ve been reading there weren’t a whole lot of fans of Andy and Erin’s courtship last season, and to be honest those two are sort of filling that role again this year. Either way, Michael and Holly’s reunion didn’t feel rushed or out of place in this episode so I’ll give the writers credit for knowing what they’re doing.

The B story this week, in which the remaining office members had a caption competition with one of Pam’s doodles, fell a little flat. I mentioned in my last review that I didn’t think Gabe was entirely unlikable, but in this episode the writers went to back to making him feel like an outsider. Maybe they realized if they want to get Erin and Andy back together then the audience can’t have too much sympathy for the odd man out.

Parks and Recreation – “Time Capsule” (A-)

“Time Capsule” was a slow starter. The first half of the episode had its laughs, I don’t mean to suggest it didn’t, but it wasn’t until (as Ron describes it) the “crackpot convention” started up that this episode gained its legs, and I mean really gained its legs.

Now full disclosure here – I am not a big Twilight fan. Part of that has to do with me not being a 12 year old girl, but mostly it’s just because I never really got into the books. When the first movie came out was the first time I’d ever heard of the series. I know the basics, the whole Jacob or Edward debate, and that Bella is the main character, but past that my Twilight knowledge is pretty minimal, so I’m willing to admit that some of these Twilight jokes passed right over my head.

Still, I had to laugh at how into the series Tom got. I loved Leslie’s reveal as Tom, Will Forte’s character Kelly (I love Will Forte), and Donna discussed Twilight in her office.

LESLIE: Can you please, please be quiet!

Awesome. I also loved the moment over the closing credits when Tom tells the guy who introduced him to Twilight to shut up during the Twilight movie. This is exactly how I feel when I’m watching movies – I just say it a little more quietly and in my head.

And who could forget the hilarious Twilight exchange at the aforementioned “crackpot convention”. Every time that woman said “quivering” it got funnier and funnier. I didn’t know a book could be “pro quivering”. Actually, I didn’t know “pro quivering” was a position you could take.

The whole town hall meeting was phenomenal though. There are so many quotable lines from the crazy towns people it was hard to keep track of, but If I had to pick my favourites (other than the quivering monologue) it would be these two:

 LESLIE: Please, remember this is a government project so we need to refrain from corporate promotion and religious items. Who wants to go first?
MAN: I think we should put in the bible.

WOMAN: That’s ridiculous! Now why should the bill of rights be in the official time capsule, but this painting of my dog is in time capsule 7.

Some of my other favourite moments:

-          Tom’s scene with his now ex-girlfriend. I love that Tom thinks Ron is the Angelina Jolie of men. Plus, the scene just really nailed down Tom’s insecurity. I was actually wondering when this conversation was going to take place after seeing how Tom reacted at the basketball game in “Go Big or Go Home”. Well done writers.

-          Leslie listing off all of the town’s old slogans. Pawnee has got to be the most cowardly town in the world.  “Welcome Vietnamese soldiers” – hilarious.

-          The scene where Andy and Chris work out what’s great about Andy, only to come up with “nice” and “in a band”. I especially liked Chris’s enthusiastic encouragement between each quality.

-          Leslie including in her note to future Pawnee: “And sorry about the weird blank gap in the middle. A man name Jerry Gergich screwed up the recording somehow. He had one job to do”.

30 Rock – “Que Sorpresa!” (B-)

There comes a point in the life of any hit show when what they’ve previously been successful with just doesn’t feel fresh anymore. That’s sort of how I feel about 30 Rock right now. Their characters are the same as they’ve always been, and I don’t fault them for that – if anything they should be commended for slowly developing these characters without changing who they are – just look at what happened to The Office (though the crazy nature of 30 Rock’s characters makes keeping them consistent a little easier). But here’s the thing with 30 Rock – almost all of their comedy is generated from the one-liner. One character throws out a set-up, and the other characters do their best throw out as many off-beat remarks as they can. If the one-liners aren’t doing it that night, there’s not much left for this show to fall back on.

That’s how Thursday’s episode made me feel. All the bits that I think were designed to be the episode’s real laugh out loud moments just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t find the Liz is pregnant storyline to be all that funny, and the moment it felt like it was leading up to – Liz’s pregnancy photo shoot – just didn’t work for me. Jack’s story about meeting the head of Cabletown had its moments, but it was nothing I wouldn’t miss.

Now I want to be clear to all the diehard 30 Rock fans out there – I don’t mean to say that this episode, or the show itself, is unfunny. Bad episodes of 30 Rock are still better than most comedies out there. I’m merely stating that this show can be up and down sometimes, and this week felt like a down week to me.

The Big Bang Theory – “The Thespian Catalyst” (B+) by Ryan

This was a great episode of The Big Bang.  The main story had Sheldon employing Penny to give him acting lessons because he believes it will make him a better lecturer. The highlights of this episode weren’t really based around the main plot though, it was the side jokes that really stole the show here.  I'm feeling like it’s a list day so here’s my list of why this episode was solid.

1. The Tweets: In a week where Twitter is playing a very important role in global conflicts putting a Twitter joke in this episode made it extra good.  I have no idea if the writers had this intention from the start but either way I’ll give them credit for it.  Basically, Sheldon is giving a lecture and the students are tweeting during the lecture about how TERRIBLE he is.  Someone tweet pics a shot of the entire class giving him the finger... that’s a picture I would actually like to see.

2. iChat with Amy: Again, technology playing a large role in this episode.  HOWEVER, iChat never works that well.  I try to iChat all the time with the girlfriend and I always try to use the crazy backgrounds.  WELL GUESS WHAT – it’s   never that solid.  The picture becomes all grainy and the fish go over your face and it kinda just makes the chat suck.  That is all.

3. Raj's Daydreams: This is a step away from the normal formula of the show but Raj's daydreams in this episode were fantastic.  Basically Raj is horny and continually dreams that Howard is dying of going away and he has to take care of Bernadette.  Its fabulous.  After one daydream Howard asks "What are you thinking so intensely about?" and Raj replies "Just that I'm definitely not gay."  In the last one Raj and Bernadette act out and sing a Bollywood style song.  Fantastic.  The best part is that Raj can talk to Bernadette in these dreams so we get an insight into what a sober Raj would say to women.

4.  Penny's Spock Impression: Penny does a spot on Leonard Nimoy.

And that’s it.  I really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately I watched Community right after it... and Community is the best comedy on television right now, so... that may have made my hindsight review a little lackluster.  Oh well.  We can't compare a molehill to a mountain.

Grey’s Anatomy – “Don’t Deceive Me (Please Don’t Go)” (B)

The vast majority of this episode focused on the fallout from the Callie is pregnant bombshell from last episode. Actually, maybe fallout is the wrong word, because there wasn’t nearly as much anger as I thought there would be. I really thought Arizona was going to flip, and I mean sure there was some yelling early on, but in no way did I think they would have her back on board in a single episode.

Now while I wasn’t a fan of watching Callie’s insecurities about pregnancy (this was a little stupid), I was a fan of watching all the quips about Sloan being the father. Derek’s comment about Sloan being “the classic example of failing up” was a particular favourite of mine, as was Teddy’s reaction to Arizona telling her “I might be having Mark Sloan’s baby”:

TEDDY: Oh good god, he got you too!

As expected Lexie didn’t take the news well. I’m guessing this will be the continuing fallout from this episode, as like I mentioned Callie and Arizona seem to be fine at the moment. As pissed as she was at him I couldn’t help but find her reaction funny:

LEXIE: How the hell did you get me in this position... twice!

The other stories this week were more about the intricacies of being a doctor. Derek starting his drug trial had its moments, but I was much more interested in how a trial like that is run than I was about the patient story. I can’t believe they actually drill into a person’s head just to give them a placebo. I mean I guess the patient has to believe it right? It’s just a tough one to swallow.

And on the other side we had Bailey and the Chief in a story about how modern technology is changing medicine. As formulaic as the story was, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like watching Chief Weber slowly being won over by Twitter. His mispronunciations of the name early in the episode are exactly true to life, and it was just fun seeing him realize he had a group of people interested in hearing what he had to say.

Song(s) of the week

It’s no secret – this blog is huge in Denmark. For some reason they love us there. I mean I get it, we’re very lovable, but still – you guys have really embraced us like one of your own. So it seemed only appropriate that this week’s song of the week come from a band from Denmark.

This week’s pick:

 “Heart of Stone” by The Raveonettes

Where I found The Raveonettes: I found them on a music video channel. Hmmm, that’s kind of anti-climatic. No wait I’ve got something better. I had just escaped from an ice monster intent on eating me when I stumbled out of its cave and into the snow. There I saw a vision of my old mentor, who gave me this message – “check out The Raveonettes”. After passing out and spending the night sleeping inside an odd bipedal creature, I did just that, and I was happy to find this Danish duo.

What I like: These guys are hard to explain. If you like airy reverb-ridden harmonies combined with indie sensibilities and a hint of pop than you’ll love this group. Actually, I think I’d have a hard time finding anyone who doesn’t love those things, so I guess I’m preaching to the choir.

My real advice though – instead of listening to me fumble along with descriptors just listen to these guys for yourself (if only for the great guitar riff in this song). I promise you won’t regret it.

Heart of Stone - The Raveonettes

What's A Showman Without A Show? Just A Man...

Here’s the rundown from Tuesday and Wednesday. Now I prepare for the storm that is Thursday night. Enjoy! 

Spoilers.

Cougar Town – “Cry to Me” (B)

I really like Kirsten. Every time she’s on the show she’s good for a few laughs. I think it’s the way she brings out all of Travis’s insecurities that makes her so funny. That or the fact that as I’ve mentioned she’s an outsider looking in on this bizarre group. Either way, her appearance in this episode was the highlight for me. When she asked Trav for a sexy picture I knew it was going to be good, but I never anticipated that the picture itself would be so funny. I also loved the little exchange between her and Grayson at the start of the episode.

GRAYSON: (pulling out flowers) Happy day before Valentine’s Day Kirsten. You know just in case Travis forgot.
KIRSTEN: He did.
TRAVIS: Forget what! It’s not a thing.

Poor Trav.

On the Jules/Grayson front this week Jules decides that Grayson doesn’t open up to her enough and goes on a quest to see him cry. The story itself wasn’t the funniest, but I did enjoy the banter between the two of them. I particularly liked Grayson’s “why are you always trying to change me” line. That was a long time coming considering Jules is Jules. As a fellow emotional cripple it was nice to see Grayson finally get respected for who he is, although he does make a compromise by letting her watch him watch Field of Dreams.

There were also a few random moments that I can’t leave without talking about. I love that Bobby and Andy penny canned a proposal. I love even more that the guy proposing laughed out loud at the penny being from 1969.

And who could forget the phenomenal closing sequence where Bobby and Laurie fake a break up to get a free meal. Busy Philipps is sooo good at playing that character. Her hysterical fake freak out was absolutely legendary. Bravo madam, bravo.

I’ll leave you with my favourite Andy quote of the week (also the name of this post):

ANDY: What’s a showman without a show? Just a man...

Off the Map – “On the Mean Streets of San Miguel” (B+)

Wow. Keeping your wife alive in a coma so you can continue to fund your South American jungle clinic – I did not see that coming. I like that they’re portraying Keeton as a tortured hero. I was worried when the show started that his character may show a lack of depth, so it’s nice to see them give him a complicated back story. It also throws a nice little bump into the budding Lily/Keeton relationship (I mean on top of the fact he and Ryan are still making out).

Speaking of Lily and Keeton, this week instead of trouncing out into the jungle again they took their weekly trip together to the city of San Miguel. I really enjoyed watching Lily’s trip through customs, as she stumbled from department to department trying to get medicine for her patient. Her final freak out at the end of the ordeal was well done, and certainly put a smile on my face.

I was also a fan of Mina’s plotline this week. As patient stories go this was actually a really cool one. As it turns out, the gentle old man loved by all that Mina started treating, was actually a Nazi escaping prosecution. Incredibly enough, this does still happen, so kudos to the show for picking up on it. There was definitely an interesting debate between Ryan and Mina over what to do with the old guy, and watching Mina try to keep him alive made for some good drama. It’s nice to see Mina finally shining through a bit more – she kind of got lost in the clutter of the opening few episodes and think she’s turning into a great character.

I wouldn’t mind seeing the Zee and Cole relationship end though (the speed bump in this episode clearly won’t last). Both of these characters are fine on their own – Zee had a great speech to Tommy in the middle of the episode, and I know I’ve expressed my dislike for Cole, but most of that stems from his scenes with Zee. It’s just when they’re together they’re really annoying. The first scene of this episode was a prime example.  “Not if you kiss it better”— seriously?

V – “Unholy Alliance” (B-)

V returned again this week with another uneven offering. This episode had Erica and the gang (this should be their permanent nickname) searching for the elusive Eli Cohn – a Fifth Column leader with more questionable methods than our local chapter.

I have to say, I was a little surprised at how reluctantly Erica entered into the deal with Cohn. I don’t condone what Cohn did – it was a truly jack ass move. But still, you’re fighting a war against a technologically superior enemy, and right now you have like six people. You don’t always have the luxury of choosing who you work with. Cohn’s methods may be highly questionable, but they could desperately use his resources.

It’s like those early season three (I think) episodes of Battlestar, when the humans were under Cylon occupation. The human resistance resorted to a lot of questionable tactics to fight the Cylons – including killing fellow humans. You may not have agreed with their tactics, but putting your heroes on shaky moral ground provokes thought, and makes for some truly compelling television.

I was a little disappointed with Hobbes this week as well. Last season he was filling the role that Cohn is filling now – a skilled soldier with questionable methods.   If he didn’t like a decision the group was making, he would take matters into his own hands. Now he just defers to whatever Erica and Ryan decide. Come on Hobbes – when did you get so soft?

As I said though, they do end up working with Cohn, who agrees to set up two of his men – the two men responsible for killing three Peace Ambassadors at the start of the episode – for the murder of agent Malik. I noticed they decided to go with the Breaking Bad method of disposing bodies. If Breaking Bad has taught me anything though (other than science teachers make great meth dealers), it’s that there’s no way that bathtub would be able to withstand that acid. There should of been a giant hole in that thing.

I’ve also gotta say that I am not in any way a fan of Tyler’s character. He’s so irritating to me that every scene he’s in is hard to watch. They’ve kept him pretty oblivious for the sake of Erica’s character, but it’s turned him into an almost unbearable character in his own right. I think it’s that he’s just so reactionary that annoys me the most. And for the record, it’s never a good idea to film yourself vandalizing things. That will only get you caught.

I was a fan of Erica’s new partner however. I like that the FBI is finally investigating Erica, and the fact that’s it’s being done by an old friend of hers makes it all the more intriguing. When he finally uncovers that she’s Fifth Column, will he turn her in, or listen to what she has to say? If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally (isn’t Star Wars awesome). I look forward to seeing where they take it.

Not A Great Week For Shapeshifters

What’s this? A somewhat timely post? Holy crap it is! Don’t worry – none of us have gotten any more productive. There are just a lot of reruns this week.

Spoilers ahead!

Shameless – “Casey Casden” (A)

Man – this show is fun-nyyyy. The Gallaghers followed up last week’s great episode with another terrific outing. This week we follow Fiona and the gang as they deal with the fallout from Deb (who also happened to be the standout from last week’s episode) kidnapping a child because she was mad they took Aunt Ginger away.

I loved the way they set up this episode. It really felt like a homage to that old movie The Sting (starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford), with title screens setting up each stage of the plan to get the child back to his parents without anyone going to jail (or the family splitting up – the montage of the last time that happened was hilarious). I was a huge fan of watching Fiona and Steve try and coax Deb through the lie, especially after she told them the original story about how she coaxed the kid to come with her in the first place.

DEB: I waved a snickers bar at him.

I also loved Fiona reaction to how good of a liar Deb turned out to be with the cops (I thought it was hilarious she got an award for bringing the kid back). It’s kind of sad, and I could be misinterpreting it, but it seems to me like Deb is just so desperate for any kind of adult attention that when she got in front of the police she just went wild with the story. It seems to be same the reason she took the kid in the first place.

But it’s the way this show can mix the humour with the really sweet moments that makes it so fun to watch. After the whole ordeal was over Fiona admits to Steve “I hope I’m not fucking up the kids”. It was a really nice moment on its own, but they go from that to the wonderful sequence after the credits where Deb informs her she can’t go to school because the doll Steve bought her has Diarrhoea and kept her up all night (she does all this as she smears peanut butter on a diaper), and it’s because of that previous moment that we know exactly what the look on Fiona’s face means.

The Gallaghers weren’t the only great part of this episode though. I really liked watching Tony and his partner together, particularly the scene where they fought over whether they’d be asking questions or not (“why the fuck wouldn’t we ask questions?”). I was worried maybe Tony would be brushed aside now that his relationship with Fiona seems to be stagnant, so I was glad to see him get ample screen time in this episode.

And finally I have to mention my favourite recurring joke in this series, which is watching Kev (Steve Howey of Reba fame) react to the Gallaghers using all his stuff. I literally laughed out loud when he got out of his cold shower, saw the mess his bathroom was in, and just yelled out “fucking Gallaghers”. He had the big twist ending this week, so I’m looking forward to seeing more Steve Howey in the next episode.

Fringe – “Reciprocity” (A-)

This week’s episode was not quite as good as last weeks for 2 reasons.

First, the trailers at the end of "Firefly" made it seem like the doomsday device was going to be the predominant focus of the show.  It was not, and that was disappointing.

Second, it was predictable in a way that Fringe has not been recently.  When Peter lies to Walter about being out and they find a dead shapeshifter the next day, my first thought was "Peter did it."  The team assumes it was Walternate and so Peter isn’t found out, but to me as a viewer it was fairly obvious when it happened.

Still, to call "Reciprocity" bad would be insanity.  This is the best show on the air right now, and it didn’t disappoint this week in excitement or mythology.  

“Reciprocity” focused heavily on the few remaining sleeper agents from the alternate universe being hunted down (by Peter), having been identified from the notes uncovered from Fauxlivia's computer.  By the way, the name Fauxlivia is brilliant and I give kudos to the writers for using it since I’m fairly certain that people commenting about the show on the web have been using it for months.  Anyways, the episode looked heavily into the notes taken by Fauxlivia and discussed some of the fallout from them in terms of Peter and Olivia's relationship.  They seem to be on the mend – hopefully the fact that Peter is now a psycho-killer doesn’t hinder their relationship.  

The episode also brought back the idea of "The First Peoples", a book introduced earlier in the series written by Seamus Wiles.  There are a few things I would like to say about this.  To start with, the name Seamus Wiles, as pointed out on a number of online forums, is an anagram for Samuel Weiss.  Samuel is the man from the bowling alley that helps Olivia.  Creepy... no?  I can't wait for someone to make a page like this for the connections in Fringe.  It would have to be a Venn diagram though with the two universes and Peter in the middle.  That would be awesome.  Internet world... get on that.

Back to the “The First Peoples”.  If you go on the forums you can find out a lot about what people's theories are.  I’ve read reference to a number of real books (“The First Peoples” is fictitious) as well as the anagram thing.  At the end of the episode we find out that Massive Dynamic has been acquiring copies of the book from museums and collectors.  It turns out that William Bell was also looking for copies of the book back in the day.  Interesting little cliffhanger.

Finally the episode drops a real bomb on us.  Peter is a weapon.  Walter hypothesizes that by touching the weapon on the other side Peter has picked up some of its "ideas" and has become weaponized.  Hence the name, "Reciprocity."

So where does this leave my theories?

Well it only really helps one of them.  Peter could very well become evil by next season.  I predict him trying to get back to the other universe to retrieve the stolen parts and use the machine, forcing both Olivias to try to get him back to normal/kill him if need be.

That’s all for this week.  Listen if you liked Lost, or Battlestar, or TV in general, watch Fringe.  It’s amazing.  I can't say enough good things about where the show is right now.  It takes 6 episodes out of Season 1 to establish the Fringe Universe... but after that... WOW.

Californication – “Monkey Business” (B+)

This episode was full of so many great lines, I can't even think of one to quote as my favourite.  If you watched it than you know that Marcy talking about a baby and Runkle and Hank discussing auto-erotic asphyxiation makes for some pretty funny TV.  Even if you don't watch this show, just spend half an hour watching this episode for the one-liners.  

Highlight of the week: Runkle attains #17 on his quest for 100... even though it was just the tip.

This week Runkle, Hank, Stu and the director whose name I can’t remember meet with a billionaire financier named Zig.  After some insane rambling on Zig's part and him pulling a Billy Walsh and referring to Runkle only as "agent," they decide to take the party to Zig's mansion for a script read through.  Hank reads the part of the male protagonist (based off the character based off of him in the novel) and Zig's sexually liberal sister wives play the female roles of Karen and Mia.  This performance has miraculous consequences and Zig gets his first "hard on since the Clinton administration."  He decides that this miracle boner is too precious to waste on mediocre head from his wife so he retires upstairs to get to know himself a bit better.  Runkle retires to a room with one of Zig's wives where he conquers #17 by playing "just the tip", but then kills Zig's pet monkey while trying to get it to leave the room.  Obviously everyone freaks out a bit, and Runkle has to tell Zig what he has done.  The only problem is that everyone is high and Zig has killed himself through auto-erotic asphyxiation.  OK... I have decided on my favourite line.

HANK: I am not adverse to the occasional choke and stroke but this is a prime example of why one must always use the buddy system.

And that really sums up the episode except for one part – how are they getting themselves out of trouble?  Well... Hank decides to call his lovely lady lawyer, who commends him for the small amount of maturity he showed in calling her to help deal with the problem of a dead billionaire.

I'm proud of you too Hank Moody.  Mazel Tov.

The Cape – “Dice” (B)

I am worried about The Cape.  I still really enjoy the show, but I worry that other people do not.  It’s still the same show, exciting and whatnot, but it lacks the sophistication and wide spread appeal that makes modern shows gain a following.

The Cape is still very much a comic book in TV format and they’re doing a very good job of writing it as so.  We learn more every week about the back story of the characters and it continues to build the myth of the cape itself.  This week they gave us information in the form of flashbacks, which is a technique quite commonly used in actual comics to give insight into how past events transpired.  This time we saw a bit more about the day that Vince was framed and how Max Malini knew that he would be the one to wear the cape from some sort of prophecy (or something that he read off of a piece of parchment).

This episode also featured Dice, a character with her own powers – she could see the universe in terms of its quantum pieces and therefore possessed the ability to see the future.  Chess killed her father and now she’s out for revenge.  This puts our hero in a tight spot – if he lets Chess die at Dice’s hands he may never be able to clear his name.  This forces him to save Chess' life twice over the course of the episode.

While the episode was good it continued to remind me that the characters in The Cape are really just versions of comic book characters already in existence.

The Cape = Batman

Peter Fleming aka Chess = Norman Osbourne/The Green Goblin

Orwell = The Oracle (Jim Gordon's daughter in the Batman series... she does exactly the same thing, that is, use technology to help the hero)

I still think The Cape has potential and I hope people can find a way to get interested in the show as a real interpretation of a comic book.  It’s very much the campy sort of stuff that golden age comics were made of.  Again I will be tuning in next week, same cape time, same cape channel (That channel is NBC in case there was any confusion).