Past Purges
The Big Bang Theory "The First Pitch Insufficiency"
An entertaining enough episode. I enjoyed Leonard immediately knowing what it meant when they said that Sheldon ordered game hen ("That poor waiter"). This was an episode that was a little too happy to shit on the characters, from Howard not getting his moment of triumph (seriously, that joke went on too long to be funny by the end) or Penny and Leonard's relationship issues ("Well that's not good. You being blindly infatuated with me was the rock we built this relationship on."). I think it's been established that this isn't my favorite shade of the show but one that is going to happen on occasion. We'll leave it at that.
Gotham "Selina Kyle"
I'm not sure why the episode was named after her. Episode two still featured numerous Penguin references and, of course Selina prefers the nickname "Cat". They are kind of beating us over the head with James supposedly killing the Penguin and everyone knowing about it. Ben McKenzie and Donald Logue are still putting on solid performances and there's some effective world building. Those people with the pins probably have a comic book explanation, don't they? We'll see.
Scorpion "Single Point of Failure"
Walter's got the sick sister. Toby has a gambling problem. Sylvester is so uncomfortable with money that he'd rather give it to charity. Paige is there only to be the polite one in the group. We're still building the group's rapport and figuring out why we should care. Nothing yet to commit me for the season and nothing to make me quit it either.
Selfie "Pilot"
They need to calm the fuck down. Eliza Dooley (Clever masking of Eliza Doolittle, right?) is an insufferable pop culture pastiche (pretty sure I used that world wrong). Every episode can't be this buzz-word heavy, can it? The Pygmalion angle is a great pitch, but not a sustainable series. I have to see how the ensemble rounds out. Karen Gillan and John Cho are enough for me to give it a few episodes. Little else in the pilot is working for it.
-I kind of doubt that future episodes will put down as much money for music. Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Goo Goo Dolls. That can't be cheap.
Manhattan Love Story "Pilot"
One question kept coming to mind when I was watching this: What year is this? Peter is introduced as being obsessed with breasts. Dana is introduced as being obsessed with purses. She assumes he's gay because he cries. They did everything they could to make these two incredibly unlikable, which is a shame for Analeigh Tipton in particular, because I want to like her in her first big lead role. Maybe I'll check back in on this later. It's hard to say. There's a glut of new sitcoms this season about people in new relationships, and this lacks anyone in front of or behind the camera to warrant me trusting that it will get any better.
New Girl "Julie Berkman's Older Sister"
Rob Reiner is back! This time he brings along Kaitlin Olson. I wonder if Fox Tuesday is aware of the It's Always Sunny Bingo they are playing this season. It's been a while since we had a story about Schmidt at work and I enjoy that they found a way to involve Coach, Winston, and Nick in it. Entertaining episode with a healthy infusion of guest stars. Most importantly, they didn't wedge in an unneeded plot about Nick and Jess's breakup. Much more in line with the New Girl I like.
The Mindy Project "Crimes & Misdemeanors & ExBFs"
Yeah, this was definitely farce heavy. The awkward elevator ride was a great reminder of all of Mindy's relationships. In fact, I now want to see how many of her exes they can put in a single scene. Glen Howerton. Bill Hader. BJ Novak. Anders Holm. There's a long list. Something I could happily do without ever seeing again is this love triangle with Jeremy, Peter, and the lady doctor. I only have room for one dating storyline on this show. As always, plenty of good one liners. My favorite this week: "Clutter? This place is tidy like a serial killer's layer."
Agents of SHIELD "Heavy is the Heart"
I'm loving the new configuration of the team. Pretty much every character is improved upon from last season. The new characters like Lance and Mac are working out nicely. Best of all, they didn't force Ward into the episode if he isn't needed. Once Simmons comes back, I hope it doesn't all get too crowded. I'm curious to see if they keep building on the serial story or if it's going to settle back in to procedural stuff soon.
The Middle "The Loneliest Locker"
This had all the chaos we expect from the Hecks. There's call backs like the comforter in the oven. Running gags, like Frankie's alternatives to spoons and other furniture missing because of Axl. Sue's play is a mess but oddly, it's kind of a success. They sneak in an amusing explanation for how Brick got into reading. It even ends with a great little scene with Sue telling Mike and Frankie how much she appreciates what they do for her, which was a little heartbreaking. In short, it had all the elements of The Middle that I love, even if it wasn't an A+ episode.
Modern Family "Do Not Push"
Cam, Mitchell, and Lily: A very simple plot. Cam and Mitchell weren't fighting, so you know I loved that. Their pride over how melodramatic Lily is getting was adorable. The resolution was great too.
Claire and Alex: I love that we got the heartbreaking moment when Alex tells Claire that she wants to be further from home, then resolved the story without ruining that scene retroactively. It short sells Alex a bit that she would consider Cal. Tech for a boy, but they fit in enough reasoning beyond that to maintain the dignity in her decision.
Phil, Luke, and Haley: Did I know it wasn't all a big experiment? Yes. Did it matter? Not at all. Luke admitting that the "You're not mad a me. You're disappointed in yourself" accusation was a shot in the dark was hilarious, as was his attempt to use it again on Haley. Haley's fears of being a failure were handled seriously and the underwhelming result of hitting the button was great. That was a pitch-perfect B-story.
Jay, Gloria, and Manny: They're 0 for 2 for this third of the show so far. They try to make it a more touching story by having each other exchange the meaningful gifts, then regress back to still wanting the nice gifts. It's the only way the story could play out though, so I can't be too mad about it.
In short, this is the version of Modern Family that I like the most: the one where they all seem like loving family members and nice people. After five seasons, I don't expect this to last, but I'll make sure to think of this episode the next time they all start sniping at one another.
Black-ish "The Talk"
A solid second episode. Even though it's not required, it is nice to see the show tackling some topics that warrant the 9:30 time slot versus an earlier time. This early in a comedy series, it's hard to appreciate a lot of what is going on since we are still learning who the characters are. That said, the show has a very clear voice. There were numerous good jokes, like Dre and Junior taking of their shirts before having any sex talks or Pops revealing the trick to not listening but still giving good advice. The twins could easily be a liability, although they were funny this week in their attempts to also get "The Talk". Honestly, the best thing about this episode was that is didn't lean on "white vs. black" jokes to be good. Race is an aspect of the show, not the entire show. This is still easily the strongest new network show of the fall. Wednesdays are looking great right now.
The Bridge "Jubilex"
I know I said I was done talking about this show. I just wanted to say one thing:
Yay! Linder's not dead!
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