Agents of Shield "The Bridge"
Is Mike doing a story arc, has been added to the cast, or is it a temp-to-hire situation? I think he is a good addition although one that makes Grant completely redundant. They're handling his powers smartly. By making it tire him out, it's not like Superman hanging out with a bunch of mortals. He's a strategic weapon. I enjoyed that Skye was more immediately willing to accept him into the group since they are tied together in the pilot and all. It looks like coming weeks will put to rest Coulson and his "death" which excites me. I like them mentioning the woman he had to leave behind (reminded me a lot of Agent K in Men in Black). Any character depth is welcome.
Trophy Wife "Twas the Night Before Christmas...Or Twas It?"
Very fun structure to the episode. I appreciate that they didn't get too intricate explaining how the flashbacks came back to them. They just remembered with triggers. That's more accurate to drunken blackouts in my experience. They gave Natalie Morales something today. That doesn't make up for her being otherwise completely wasted. All of the drunken adults were hilarious and very well-played. Singing Ace of Base was a touch of brilliance. I was giggling along with Jackie and Pete when he called his boss back, asking why he hadn't called him back. I shouldn't ignore the kids either who were great simply reacting to everything they found Christmas morning. Overall, one of the best Christmas episodes of anything that I've seen in a while.
The Middle "The Christmas Tree"
How do they do that? The whole episode is a slight one, albeit with with the oddly creepy yet hilarious visual of Sue as a "bubble-girl" until the last couple of minutes. Then, Mike has that talk with Axl about "Cats in the Cradle". Wow. Neil Flynn does not get enough credit for what he does in the show. Like Kyle Chandler on FNL, he is so reserved that anytime he does show some emotion, it packs a wallop. Then, capping it all off with Axl and Brick tearing up over the song was great and sweet and not as exaggerated as it seems. Damn that song! Excuse me, I'm going to call my dad now.
Back in the Game "I'll Slide Home for Christmas"
Again, why is this show being cancelled!? So frustrating! I'm consistently impressed by the kids on this show. Not many shows trust kids to carry as much of it as this one does (and for a reason) but this show has bucked the trend so far, especially with Griffin Gluck who is possibly my favorite child actor on TV right now (Nolan Gould still edges him out slightly). There's not much to the "world shits on Terry until it all works out" plot that I haven't seen before. We get a little of Dick being a nice guy, Gigi being over the top and fabulous, Cannon having a change of heart. Heck, the team even scored their first home run, unsurprisingly, on a bunt, with a lot of luck, and still barely.
Modern Family "The Old Man & the Tree"
Have I mentioned that I love how much they've improved new Lilly? This week gives us her busting Mitchell's chops about not working. Excellent. Other things I liked: Alex and Santa arguing like a married couple, an endless supply of Canada wordplay between Phil and Luke, "...besides, all my tools are stuck in it.", a non-Haley related appearance by Dylan, and re-interpreting Pepper's invitation as he would say it. Notice, they kept Cam and Mitchell mostly apart and they were both more likeable. They laid the charity event farce on a little thick, but that's a part of the Modern Family DNA that I need to get over by now. All in all a find episode.
No comments:
Post a Comment