Past Purges
A to Z "B is for Big Glory"
I sure hope the show gets a full 26 episode order or else this naming convention is going to look awful foolish. Zelda and Andrew are still functioning as Tom and Summer clones from (500) Days of Summer so some differentiating there would be nice. As long as both of them stay this charming though, it's hard to see me dropping this. Oh, and there's no way he remembers her from a concert that long ago.
Parenthood "The Waiting Room"
The Parenthood team knows that the cast is always up for a good hospital scene, so there's a lot of worrying and fretting about Zeek's surgery this week. It's familiar but well done. I for one was never worried about if he'd make it, so I wasn't too concerned. What did concern me was the building up of Julia's new boyfriend. Perhaps it's just a case of building him up to look like actual competition for Joel. With their patience so far in this story, I'm beginning to wonder if the series is even going to end up with Julia and Joel together. I sure hope they are.
Girl Meets World "Girl Meets the Forgotten"
I imagine the casting of an episode of Girl Meets World begins with "Who is available that was in Boy Meets World?". That's the only way to explain Harley Keiner showing up as the janitor. Just hearing him call Corey 'baboon' was enough to call this episode a success. I also laughed out loud at the cut to Lucas and Farkle during the elective presentations. Something about Lucas' thousand yard stare and Farkle curled up on the desk worked just right.
Saturday Night Live "Bill Hader/Hozier"
This is the best way to bring back an SNL alum. Bill Hader was incredibly prolific in his time on SNL. He had many recurring sketches. He's only been gone for a season. That means he comes with a cache of successful sketch ideas that are still relatively fresh in the audience's mind. The returns of Herb Welch, puppeteer Anthony Coleman, and especially Stefon were fantastic and would've been enough for me. To add to that though, it had two fantastic recorded sketches in The Group Hopper (a pitch perfect distillation of the current Young Adult movie adaptation craze) and Help Fund (challenging the notion that 39 cents a day could be enough to help African villagers). There were some duds, but aren't there always? This was still the strongest episode of the season so far.
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Jimmy Jab Games"
Yes, this is incredibly similar to "Office Olympics" from The Office (Guess who wrote that episode). I don't care much though, because funny trumps everything. Had it been a bad episode, I'd've cared more. Besides, Peralta and Santiago were downright adorable together. Elsewhere, Jeffords being trapped in the middle of Holt and Wuntch's rivalry was excellent. I particularly enjoyed everyone insulting how Jeffords was choosing to sit.
Mulaney "The Doula"
Oh god, this is so like Seinfeld that it hurts. Anyone who tries calling something like It's Always Sunny a Seinfeld ripoff, please watch this. So far, there's a delicate imbalance of dialogue that sounds like the characters are reciting a stand up routine, Martin Short acting silly, and broad physical comedy that isn't sitting well with me. I'm giving this at least one more episode.
The Walking Dead "No Sanctuary"
That was a short stint in Terminus. Given the normal Walking Dead style, I assumed we'd be getting at least half a season there, learning about the characters and trying to understand their warped worldview. That was not in the cards though. Carol came along and took the whole place down in rather spectacular badass fashion. I'm a little confused about the logistics of how this place that was so well organized, as introduced at the end of last season, got so easily taken down but I'll accept it because it was cool.
The Big Bang Theory "The Focus Attenuation"
The episode won me over with the discussion about the correct verb tense to use in the time travelling discussion. All the distractions were the exact sort of conversation that the guys would waste their time on and really was what the show was like before all the girls showed up. That said, I kept waiting for the moment when they actually did come up with an idea, which never happened. This would've been a perfect time to mention the app they made several seasons back which solved math questions, but that would've gotten in the way of the jokes they were trying to tell, something The Big Bang Theory can't have. The women in Vegas was much more of a time filler. The writers had the plan for the guys so...let's have the girls go to Vegas, but not actual Vegas. A sound stage Vegas with a bedroom suite set. It was an excuse, not a story, which I can forgive.
Gotham "Arkham"
I'm really having a hard time finding anything to say about this show and I'm not sure why. Is it odd that I come away from this episode having trouble recalling anything that the two leads did? Jim is angry with Barbara for her lesbian past, then chooses his job over her. I honestly don't recall anything happening with Harvey. No, this episode was one for the decay of Gotham. Cobblepot is working his way up the criminal ladder rather shrewdly. I would've thought he'd be well enough known to have been recognized by now, but I figure that will happen soon enough. Fish selects a new employee. I'm not sure for what position, but I'm reasonably sure she made the right choice. Sidenote: Did anyone else find it funny how hard they worked around showing the girl kissing Fish?
Scorpion "Shorthanded"
Was this Vegas night on CBS?
Regardless, I needed this episode of Scorpion. The first couple weeks have been about special government task force stuff, which is all good and well, but it's the stuff on the private side that allows for the team building. They specifically refer to the government aid being a safety net. I am a little disappointed that they still had to get government aid at the end. Until then, it was all about using the characters' specific strengths to accomplish the mission in a way the show hadn't done before. It was especially fun to see Toby in Vegas, home to all his vices. Simply put, this was a fun episode of a show that is quickly finding its voice, even if it isn't priority viewing.
Selfie "A Little Yelp from My Friends"
I can't tell if I'm not supposed to find Eliza this annoying or if it's all part of a "long con" which will make me appreciate her change by the end of the season. Right now though, there's no two ways about it. She's insufferable. The show hasn't figured out how to make her narcissism funny yet and I wonder if they can. Is there another show out there that puts the audience in the head of someone like this? Jenna Maroney is the nearest example I can come up with and she works because she's a supporting character. There's a chance that we are still meant to be at rock bottom and Emily Kapnek is about to give her the Dalia treatment. Who knows? Oh, and that opening music has to change.
Agents of SHIELD "Face My Enemy"
A low stakes episode that was all about bonding. Coulson and May get to do a mission together where they don't feel like administrators and do feel like spies. May gets to do a lot of fighting (never a bad thing). The rest of the gang have beers and reminisce. That's good in and of itself and even better when coupled with Fitz's internal debate about getting involved. I'm not sure that this imaginary Simmons thing won't wear on me. For now it's been very effective.
New Girl "Landline"
As stupid as it was, I could've listened to them marvel at the analog phone for the whole episode ("Whats the rope attached to it?" "It's like the movies."), even though, yes, they are all old enough to remember phones like that. The episode had plenty of other good gags like the sexy CPR board and Coach messing with Vice Principal Day's presentation.
The Mindy Project "The Devil Wears Lands' End"
I dislike stories based on misunderstandings, especially ones that could be easily fixed with about a line of dialogue. Luckily, The Mindy Project is consistently packed with enough jokes and great lines ("The bride was older than me and weighed more than me. Did you notice that?") that I still really enjoyed the episode. There's much worse things to be than a comedy that I only like because it makes me laugh.
Arrow "Sara"
So here's the story. I watched the first season over the summer because I reached critical mass of people saying "you should watch it"and I've wanted to add something CW into my rotation. The second season made it to Netflix recently. I quickly discovered why people were raving about that season and finished in about two days. The CW aren't dicks about posting episodes, so I could easily find the season 3 premiere. All of the sudden, I'm caught up on this show, Wednesdays aren't all that busy, and I want to know what happens next. So, now it's in my DVR.
Specific to this episode, there's a lot of fallout over Sara's death. Expressing emotions is not the biggest strength of the cast as a whole, but they handle it as well as could be hoped. The countdown has begun for how long before Brandon Routh is revealed to be a bad guy or ally or someone who is in a fight scene. I can't wait to see Thea being a badass in the coming weeks. That'll be fun.
Modern Family "Marco Polo"
What is going on with Modern Family this season? It has been a show I'm happy to watch each week. They found a way to have fun with Mitchell being bad luck while still having Cam realize that he wanted him there. Jay and Manny got to have a great talk at the end where Manny got to be a kid for a change. The eponymous Marco Polo game was a sweet moment for Phil and the family. After five seasons, any audience is used to the beats of a show, so Modern Family won't make me laugh as much as it once did (although Lilly criticizing all the gifts was great). As long as they get the heart of the show right though, I'll happily continue on with it.
Blackish "Crazy Mom"
Another good episode. Dre chasing the "cupcake dad" high went predictably and entertainingly sour. Determining that Rainbow actually likes the "mom stuff" felt like a bit of a cop out. My big takeaway from the episode was actually a throwaway joke at the end. When Dre suggests roleplay and says "You be Harriet Tubman. I'll be Frederick Douglas", Tracee Ellis Ross' reaction is great. Something about it was so honest, it made me believe that was a riff by Anderson and that was the first time she'd heard the joke. It felt like a genuine moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment