Past Purges
Back in the Game "The Change Up"
Am I the only one who keeps watching this like a family movie that we are getting in 22 minute installments? The scene with Vanessa at the end is straight out Bad News Bears or Little Giants. Like the past few weeks, there's nothing here that I haven't seen before (the parent who never gets out wanting to take advantage of a chance to and getting sick or the meek kid who tries to be a rebel but fails). The shows handles the stories in such a charming way that I don't care though. I would like to see them land on a tone for the Cannon.
Modern Family "The Late Show"
Ugh! Well, it was inevitable that we'd get one of these episodes. There's plenty of good things in this episode, almost all of it was with the kids, unsurprisingly. I won't bemoan Lilly's delivery because she's 5, so what could I expect. The lines themselves were quite entertaining though with her walking Alex through what is apparently a repeated occurrence with Cam and Mitchell. The writers have trouble letting Luke group up but anytime they are faced with it, it's entertaining. Finally, we get the Midnight Train to Georgia karaoke which is an odd cutaway, but very entertaining. No, my problem comes with the writers trying to have their cake and eat it too with the adult cast. Phil gets some physical comedy but most of that plot is him and Clair fighting. Gloria's reason for being late is comically effective, I suppose, but as someone who hates being late, I find it extremely selfish and it hurts my opinion of Gloria that she doesn't care to improve it. Cam and Mitchell are back to being that couple who are only together because this isn't a show in which couples break up. I could've been fine with all of it had it not been for the final scene in which Mitchell admits to shaking the can. Had he simply opened the can and it been fine, that would've said that they are a ridiculous couple who realizes this and at the end of the day still trust one another. Having him admit to shaking the can simply gets a small chuckle and makes me wonder if they even like each other. Them after 20 minutes of all the characters being awful to one another or inconsiderate, it's all made ok because they get tacos. Sorry, if I'm being overanalytic about it, but the voice-over "this is why we love each other" segment at the end of episodes stopped working on me if they aren't earned years ago.
The Big Bang Theory "The Workplace Proximity"
I'm just so tired of Sheldon being a dick. Travellers in the desert dole out water faster than the writers give us Sheldon as a functioning adult. Between this and Modern Family, I'm getting so tired of comedies undercutting character growth out of fear of having to develop the series. I liked that Sheldon was jealous that Amy was fine not sitting at his lunch table. I just wish they would've done something more substantial with it.
Parks & Rec. "Gin It Up!"
So far, the most remarkable thing about this season is the emergence of April without Andy. This is the first season in which she's felt like one of the grownups and I think that has a little to do with Andy not being around. Don't get me wrong, I want him back ASAP, but it has been interesting to see. This week is especially telling because Ann is missing too which gives us a lot more Donna. I sense that'll be the direction going forward when Ann and Chris are gone and I'm ok with it if it is like this week's episode.
The Crazy Ones "Breakfast Burrito Club"
This episode marks the first time that SMG's character got a laugh from me all on her own (I remember the laugh, not the joke, sadly). That's a promising sign. In fact Robin Williams did not drive a lot of comedy in the episode which is a nice indicator that there's a show here, not just a vehicle for actors to react to Williams.
The Michael J Fox Show "Interns"
Is it just me or is this a perfect companion show for The Middle? 9:30 is certainly too late for it. I don't particularly prefer the workplace elements of the show. Remember when Spin City began and it was originally designed to be half workplace, half home-life? I wonder if that is a Michael J Fox trend or something. I'm certainly this swings hard back to just the family stuff.
Parenthood "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities"
Has it really reached trope status to have someone asking a scary [black] man for money only to find out he has a soft spot for kids? I feel like I've seen plots like this a lot of times before. And, they never are ones that I like. Zeke helping out Victor was sweet and Drew [for the moment] being stuck in the friend zone is one of those things that hits any guy in the gut on a certain level, so the episode worked for the most part.
The Walking Dead "Infected"
I quite enjoyed this episode. I'm not sure the show will ever be able to handle the cast size or how anyone new is basically a zombie victim in waiting. Given that, I like the early threat this season being a sickness, in addition to the whole zombie one, of course. It allows for there to be a looming threat while allowing us to adapt to the new (for us) status quo. Unless it leads to a Ben Linus level interrogation, I'm not sure how I feel about the inevitable rabbit hole that discovering the burning bodies will lead down.
HIMYM "Knight Vision"
I was hoping this would be a season of HIMYM I could actively enjoy while it was going on. Sadly, it is looking like the past couple seasons where I only like them at all in hindsight, once I know that it doesn't get better and I need to find a way to enjoy what's there. That's no way to watch a show that I once really liked but it's where I am with it. Oh well, perhaps I choose poorly by deciding to continue with this that past...majority of its run at this point.
SHIELD "Girl in Flower Dress"
Help! My interest is really starting to wane with this show. It's like watching a procedural from the 80s, which isn't bad in and of itself, but there are reasons I never go back to watch The A-Team. I think the biggest thing that's been bothering me though is that I feel like the show should look better. I get that they don't have as much time as a movie to get the effects down, but I don't remember noticing unpolished effects as much when watching something like Heroes. We are still only in the first handful of episodes, so I am trying to be patient. Tuesdays are fulling up though.
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Halloween"
In a year of a lot of perfectly agreeable new comedies, this is still the one I see with the most upside and thanks to Fox's recent back 9 pickup along with post-post Superbowl spot, it looks like Fox is firmly backing it which I could not be more pleased by. I really liked that Peralta won in the end over Capt. Holt. The show needs a power balance like Leslie/Ron to use another Mike Schur show. The rest of the cast is strong in this and I fully enjoyed this episode. There's still some settling to be done, but this is coming along nicely.
New Girl "Keaton"
Hooray! No evil Schmidt. That's all I ask for. Winston's still staying relatively sane, which is nice and CeCe gets a little something to do finally. This week is a good example of how Jess and Nick can be written at odds with one another without forcing them to be fighting. Not a great episode, but a good one and certainly a nice course correction from the past few weeks.
The Mindy Project "Bro Club for Dudes"
I'm slowly realizing that Adam Pally has an Adam Pally character that he plays. I mean, other than the gayness, I can't name one distinctive difference between Peter and Max from Happy Endings. As for positives, I can absolutely say this episode made me laugh more than any other on Tuesday and they were all with throwaway lines like when the doctors were psyching up
Trophy Wife "The Tryst"
I loved the opening tag with Diane on the computer. It worked far better than it had any right too. It should be too early for me to be getting tired of the different character dynamics but I think it's happening. Jackie is a little zany. Diane is uptight and overbearing. Hillary is the standard 8th grade girl model. Bert is lovable and cute. Warren is unfortunate. There's still some wiggle room with Kate and Pete's characters. As the lead and main supporting player, that's optimal although I am looking for some X-factors to lead this away from weekly plots about how Kate will prove herself in this oddly assembled family.
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