Past Purges
Hannibal "Sakizuki"
I'm not sure how this show is on NBC. This episode literally featured a pits of naked people sewn together. How does that exist outside of premium cable, let alone on broadcast TV? Hannibal and Will continue their little dance. I'm still not sure how Will is supposed to get out of this mess because Hannibal has a counter-move ready for everything he tries. I assume Dr. Du Maurier cutting her ties with Hannibal means that's the last we're going to see of Gillian Anderson, which is a shame because it's so much fun to watch her and Hannibal dance around each others' words.
SNL "Lena Dunham/The National"
Through Weekend Update, that was probably the best episode of the season. It ended a little week but nothing horrible. Let's recap quickly, what made this such a great episode:
-Liam Nesson evoking his Taken persona in the opening.
-Sex talk with Lena Dunham.
-The "Ooh Baby" short, that was funny in it's own right, having the dark twist ending.
-A Scandal parody that I completely understood because I recently binged the first 2 seasons.
-The Adam and Eve sketch which was every bit as perfect a parody as Girls as the one with Tina Fey in the premiere.
-Taran Killan's amazing Matthew McConaughey impression.
-The white rap group, which wouldn't've been that funny if not for some impressive live "rapping" by Dunham, Strong, and the gang.
-Jon Ham showing up in another closed circuit talk show sketch.
Just a wonderful episode.
The Walking Dead "Alone"
I like the balance of this episode a lot. Trying to follow every group doesn't allow enough time to let any story shine. Focusing on one group for an episode gets exhausting, especially if done too much. Switching between two groups is a very happy middle. I'm kind of digging the dynamic between Beth and Darryl. It's a shame it had to be ruined by her going and getting abducted. The opening with Bob was a great one for establishing his character. Until now, he's been one of the least sketched out characters and just following him around by himself did a lot to establish him and his motivation. With the dual combining factors of the camp promised by the railroad tracks and the gang of thugs, I curious to see how this all comes together, and which groups are going to collide first. The show is heading somewhere and I'm genuinely interested to know where.
How I Met Your Mother "Daisy"
Fourth to last episode. We find out the Mother is dying last week. So, of course, we get a hijinks filled episode without the Mother that doesn't address anything from last week. Not only that. They ruined my favorite joke of the season with Lilly being pregnant. What is the point of the Kennedy package now? Not only are the writers not giving us any good new jokes, they are also ruining ones that did work. Oh, and this stuff about Barney being the same as Robyn's dad is wrong. Plain and simple. Her father and Barney have never been presented as parallels so they are forcing it now. And they didn't even have the decency to reshoot some of the scenes so that we could see a side by side of her dad and Barney doing these things.
Sidenote: I was watching this episode with a friend who, early on guessed that Lilly was pregnant. I assured her that this wasn't the case because they've had the season-long joke with the Kennedy package and no one would be so stupid as to waste a season of jokes for that. When will I learn, at this point, it is impossible to set the bar too low for this show.
Archer "Archer Vice: Smuggler' Blues"
I'm not sure what I expected this season. It's still very much feels like Archer, which is good, but I kind of thought this season was going to arc a little more than it has. That's probably for the best. It isn't a show built to be much more than a joke machine, albeit a very well written one.
Agents of SHIELD "Yes Men"
Major Asgardian episode. One of the first times this really felt like part of a larger world, and that's still the fascinating thing about it: how they allow it to coexist with the movie universe without having to bring in Tony Stark every other week. I found Skye's reaction to how she was healed very refreshing because Coulson has been harping on this for a while and I'm not completely sure what the big deal is (you're cool with other dimensions and super powers but not technology that brings you back from the dead?). I like that the show can at least get someone like Lady Sif to show up. I don't expect All-Star cameos but that feels like the a big enough one to matter and small enough to not overpower the show.
New Girl "Fired Up"
This episode made one thing above all else incredibly clear: Jess crying vs. Coach crying is not even a competition. That's not even to say that Zooey Deschanel was unfunny crying. The writers are finally figuring out how to use Damon Wayans Jr. as a weapon and I couldn't be more pleased.
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Fancy Brugdom"
Ok, Diaz and Holt saying "I'm sorry" back and forth is simply a beautiful application of both characters. I saw it in a promo before the episode and it still got me laughing when it happened. Again, my overall thoughts of the episode are a little boring because it's much easier to dissect flaws. When it's this good, there's not as much to say other than I'm enjoying it a lot.
The Middle "Stormy Moon"
I freely admit that I am a highly impressionable viewer sometimes. For example, Axl is not my favorite character on this show (perhaps on all of ABC). Do you want to know why? He had a Carbon Leaf calendar in his room. It's as simple as that. The rest of the episode was fine, but few things please me more than any exposure for Carbon Leaf. That is all.
Suburgatory "I'm Just Not That Into Me"
Carly Chaikin is amazing! I have no idea if she has a wide range of talents or if this is a Jack McBrayer playing Kenneth situation. Regardless, she plays the hell out of Dahlia. This week alone had two absolutely fantastic moments with her. First there's her lengthy and detailed description of her ideal man. Then, there's here horrified yet still indifferent response to Dallas de-glamorizing herself. Finally, she capped it all of with a surprisingly sweet moment at the end when she talked Dallas back up. Beyond that, it was a pretty unremarkable episode continuing Tessa's transition from lead character of the show to narrator.
Modern Family "Other People's Children"
A lot of good, not great. The smart person group was a funny idea as was them slowly getting picked off before realizing Alex was taking it easy on them. I think the point of Claire and Gloria's story was to get to the image of Claire running to find Lilly in the mall while wearing a wedding dress which wasn't all that funny. I'm not a huge fan of whatever's going on between Haley and the manny but he plays off Phil's energy well, so I'll allow it. Jay and Luke's story was rather pointless until they added some good sentiment at the end.
The Americans "The Walk In"
Elizabeth threatening the warehouse worker was incredibly intimidating in the most obvious yet unsaid way. Well played by Keri Russel. For the most part, I like the flashbacks we got although I'm not sure how much any of them told us they we didn't already know. I guess the point was the letter and her decision to burn it. Ok, now that I think of it, I have no issue with the flashbacks. Ignore me. I clearly am not done processing the episode. It continues a strong start to the season though.
The Big Bang Theory "The Mommy Observation"
The countdown begins for when we meet Sheldon's mother's suitor. I was pleased they made this week a continuation of last week's episode. The Sheldon/Wolowitz dynamic is one of the lesser explored ones and it is proving to do a good job humanizing Sheldon. I'm getting a little tired of every other episode following the pattern of Leonard and Penny fight about something stupid or that they should've addressed years ago and then get back together because someone says or does something conveniently diplomatic enough for them to get back together.
Community "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing"
It's hard for me to ever complain about a week with Brie Larson. I also really appreciate how much the show has dealt with Troy leaving, especially in seeing how Abed is being dealt with. At times, you can really feel the void left by the departures of Donald Glover and, yes, Chevy Chase. Still good, but still finding a new status quo.
Parks &Recreation "New Slogan"
The show has done a good job of slowly revealing Duke Silver and of course Andy would need some prodding to get there. While it feels like a bit of a cheat, they did come up with a pretty good reason for Leslie to not want the job.
The Crazy Ones "March Madness"
I took two things away from this episode: 1) I imagine the instructions for the music were "I want a generic sounding Dropkick Murphys" and 2) I know the NCAA and Illinois high school basketball share the rights to the phrase "March Madness" and I wonder if this show wasn't on CBS, would they still be allowed to use this title?
Parenthood "Limbo"
First steps toward Joel and Julia getting back together. I am pleased.
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