What You Should Have Watched #11

TV Schedule for the 2011/2012 Season

It’s that time of the year again, when thoughts turn from reruns and reality TV to new episodes of scripted comedies and dramas. USA and FX have kept me happy with new episodes of Covert Affairs, White Collar, Burn Notice, Louie and Wilfred, but now were back to REAL prime time.

Keep in mind that I’m a single father of three kids, so I really don’t watch anything “live.” My DVR is in heavy use, and I also rely on Hulu and network websites for some stuff.

Here’s what I’m planning on watching:

Sunday

6:00 – The Simpsons (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Family Guy (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Once Upon a Time (ABC/Oct. 23)

7:30 – Allen Gregory (Fox/Oct. 30)

9:00 – Breaking Bad (AMC/current)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC/Oct. 16)

I haven’t really been blown away by The Simpsons in a LONG time. I usually let episodes pile up on the DVR and the end up falling asleep halfway through episodes. I very rarely rewind what I’ve missed before deleting the episode. Sad. I saw a trailer for Once Upon a Time when I went to see Captain America: The First Avenger. It looked pretty awesome with a Fables (comic book series) vibe. Comparisons will be made to Grimm, surely, but in subject matter only. Their executions are different, which is good. It kind of reminds me of a few years ago when Surface, Threshold and Invasion all premiered at the same time. Similarities could be found in all of them, but they were all vastly different. Too bad none of the actually survived their first seasons. I’ll give Allen Gregory a chance based on Jonah Hill. I wonder if Family Guy will move on to making fun of a new movie franchise since they finished with the original Star Wars movies last year or if they’ll move onto the first three episodes. I’d like to see them tackle Indiana Jones. There’s some good material there. Or maybe Back to the Future. Since it’s on well after my kids go to bed, I should be able to watch The Walking Dead live.

Monday

7:00 – How I Met Your Mother (CBS/Sept. 19)

7:00 – Terra Nova (Fox/Sept. 26)

9:00 – Castle (ABC/Sept. 19)

I caught a rerun of HIMYM last week, and it was the one where Marshall’s dad dies. The way they addressed it was WAY too heavy for a sitcom like this. I kind of hope we actually meet the mother this season. I mean, Ted is my least favorite of the characters, but I’d like to see some headway made on the title. I’ll give Terra Nova a chance. I’m most looking forward to Castle. Nathan Fillion is an actor I’ll watch in anything, and I’ve enjoyed every episode of this show.

Tuesday

7:00 – Glee (Fox/Sept. 20)

7:30 – Man Up (ABC/Oct. 18)

8:00 – Ringer (CW/Sept. 13)

8:00 – New Girl (Fox/Sept. 20)

8:30 – Raising Hope (Fox/Sept. 20)

9:00 – Parenthood (NBC/Sept. 13)

9:00 – Sons of Anarchy (FX/Sept. 6)

I’m just about done with Glee. Man Up gets a couple viewings because of Dan Fogler. Ringer gets a view because of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but after watching the trailer I’m guessing that one view is ALL I’ll give it. The preview I saw of New Girl looked funny. What bothers me, though, is that Damon Wayans, Jr. is still listed as a cast member on Fox’s website, even though he’s also in Happy Endings on ABC. Oh noes! And thank you Wikipedia. Looks like all is well…well, for Happy Endings, that is. I got into Raising Hope REALLY late into the season last year, but I’m glad I finally gave it a chance. Garret Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton and Shannon Woodward make this a must-see for me. I loved the first season of Parenthood, but I missed every single episode of the second season. I should probably watch those before jumping into season three. And do I really need to say anything about Sons of Anarchy? It’s the most badass show on TV. Oh, I guess I did need to say something about it.

Wednesday

7:00 – Up All Night (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Free Agents (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Suburgatory (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:00 – Modern Family (ABC/Sept. 21)

8:30 – Happy Endings (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:30 – I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox/Nov. 23)

Will Arnett has a new show? SOLD! What’s that? Anthony Head does too? DOUBLE SOLD!! Holy crap! Alan Tudyk too? Who is answering all of my prayers? Is it TV Jesus? Modern Family is probably the most solid sitcom on TV right now, and Happy Endings was a pleasant surprise last year. I’m giving I Hate My Teenage Daughter a try because Jaime Pressley was good on My Name is Earl, and she’s nice to look at. I think I saw a preview earlier in the summer that I laughed at, but I could be wrong about that.

Thursday

7:00 – Big Bang Theory (CBS/Sept. 22)

7:00 – Community (NBC/Sept. 22)

7:30 – Parks and Recreation (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – The Office (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Person of Interest (CBS/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Bones (Fox/Nov. 3)

8:00 – Burn Notice (USA/current)

9:00 – Wilfred (FX/current)

9:00 – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX/Sept. 15)

9:30 – Louie (FX/current)

9:30 – The League (FX/Oct. 6)

Out of all of the shows I plan on watching, only four of them are on CBS. Two of them are on Wednesday nights. The Big Bang Theory is a well-written sitcom that panders to the nerd in me. Person of Interest has Ben Linus from Lost, so that’s why I’m tuning in for an episode or two. NBC’s Thursday night comedy block (well, ¾ of it) is some of the smartest comedy that I’ve been fortunate to watch. Community seems fresh and new every week, Parks and Rec has some of the best characters to ever fill a show, and The Office is solid comedy that (to me) hasn’t gotten stale yet. I’m really interested to see what kind of dynamic James Spader will add to the show for however long he’s on. My eight o’clock hour seems pretty full, but Burn Notice will probably end its summer season soon (Sept. 8 according to Wikipedia), and Bones doesn’t start until November, so I’ve got plenty of time to lose interest in Person of Interest (pun…intended?) by the time it starts back up. The FX sitcoms are some of the funniest I’ve ever seen. Not necessarily the smartest and usually pandering to the lowest common denominator, but, hey, look how far that’s taken Two and a Half Men. Right now, Louie is my favorite show this summer. It speaks truth without talking down to the viewer. I’m enjoying Wilfred, but it’s darker than I anticipated. Always Sunny is probably the most crass and unredeemable show on TV, but it’s so much fun to hate the leads. The League is just solid comedy, and when talking about great characters, one always has to mention Jon Lajoie’s Taco.

Friday

7:00 – Chuck (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Grimm (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Fringe (Fox/Sept. 23)

8:00 – Supernatural (CW/Sept. 23)

Chuck has been my popcorn show since it started. I watched it because of Adam Baldwin and continued to watch it because of Yvonne Strahovski. They don’t even try to make any of their stories even slightly believable, but they’re incredibly fun to watch. It looks like I’ll be DVRing Supernatural and Fringe (these two will ALWAYS be priorities for me) and catching up with Grimm on Hulu.

Saturday

7:00 – Rules of Engagement (CBS/Sept. 24)

A show on Saturday that isn’t a rerun? Sometimes I don’t like to admit that I like this show. It’s not original or very clever, but the acting really sells it. Patrick Warburton is another guy I’ll watch in anything, and I really like the characters played by Oliver Hudson (relationship to Kate aside) and Bianca Kajlich (so so SO pretty). If this show were up against anything else, it would lose, so putting it on a Saturday is a pretty good idea on CBS’s part. Also, I may have included the wrong picture.

Mid-Season Shows of Interest

Alcatraz (Fox)

The Finder (Fox)

Touch (Fox)

Covert Affairs (USA)

Psych (USA)

White Collar (USA)

Southland (TNT)

American Horror Story (FX)

Archer (FX)

Justified (FX)

Cougar Town (ABC)

Apartment 23 (ABC)

I know nothing about Alcatraz or Touch except that one has Jorge Garcia in it and the other has Keifer Sutherland. That’s enough for me to at least give it an episode to grab me. I’m slightly pissed at The Finder, but it’s not the show’s fault. I have a problem with backdoor pilots. I was all prepared to watch an episode of Bones last season, but instead it’s The Finder with Bones and Booth thrown in every now and then. I liked Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan, but Saffron Burrows just seemed like a poor-man’s Fiona (from Burn Notice), bad first season accent and all. Speaking of Burn Notice, USA has some really top-notch original programing, most of which has been entertaining me during the summer. I know that Covert Affairs and White Collar will be returning some time later in the fall, but Psych starts sometime in October. I’ve given up on straight-ahead cop shows (no more CSI or Law & Order for me), but a friend talked me into watching Southland over the summer and I fell in love. I have no idea when the fourth season will start, but I’m looking forward to it. I am not a fan of horror movies, so American Horror Story wouldn’t usually interest me, but Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) is one of the stars, so I’m in for a bit…at least until I can only watch it with all the lights on. Justified and Archer are two more top-notch FX shows. I’m glad that Justified received some well-deserved Emmy nominations. I’m also glad that H. Jon Benjamin has Archer to fall back on since Jon Benjamin Has a Van was such a bad show. I was disappointed to see that Cougar Town was not on the schedule for this fall. Despite its misleading title, it’s a funny show. And what little I saw of Apartment 23 made me laugh, but it was a great scene with James Van Der Beek cashing in on his Dawson fame to have sex. Simple but funny.

So, I think that’s everything. Isn’t it enough? I’d embed some trailers, but there are just too many, so I hyperlinked all the shows to their official web pages. It’s a little more work on your part, but you can do it. I believe in you, you lazy bastards!

What You Should Have Watched #8

A New Season of Awesomosity

We’re a couple of weeks into the new television season, and I think it’s time to bring back a post from either last year or the year before and update it a bit.

A quick check in the blog archives, and I learn that the post I’m referring to was actually from this year, and it was the first installment in my “What You Should Have Watched” series: Bad TV Made Better, Good TV Made Awesome, Awesome TV Made…Awesomer?” I guess this is Part Two, then.

I’ll quickly reiterate my thoughts from this previous post: Erica Durance (Smallville) is hot. Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) is hot. I’ve given up on Criminal Minds, but Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook are still hot. Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) is hot (although she's got a weird smile). And Anna Torv (Fringe) is hot.

Now, who should I add to that list?

Alyson Hannigan hasn’t looked this good since…well…this is probably the best she’s looked, and I’ve always had a crush on her. I balked at watching How I Met Your Mother when it first aired because it looked extremely lame. But it was NPH, he turned me around (wow, that sounds a LOT dirtier than I meant it to). Turns out it’s a good show, as long as you can get past the main character and just enjoy the supporting ones, one of which is Ms. Hannigan. She looks gorgeous this season so far. Maybe it’s the hair, which is darker and longer than in the past.

Following HIMYM on Monday night’s is Rules of Engagement, a truly horrible show that I watch solely for the comedic stylings of Patrick Warburton. But he can’t be on screen all the time, and when he’s not we’re sometimes treated to Bianca Kajlich, previously of….nothing important. Y’know, I take that back. I thoroughly enjoyed her and her character on Boston Public. She’s not the best actress, and her character in RoE is pretty cardboard, but she’s pretty so I don’t fast-forward through her scenes (which I’m starting to do anytime we get a David Spade scene that doesn’t have Puddy in it).

Rounding out Mondy night is Castle, starring the always sexy and classy Nathan Fillion. Crap, I meant to type Stana Katic. According to her IMDB profile, I’ve apparently seen her in a number of things, but it took standing next to Capt. Reynolds every week for me to take notice, I guess.

Tuesday night showcases another Joss Whedon alum, Julie Benz. No Ordinary Family is about a family with super powers starring Ms. Benz and Michael Chiklis (The Shield). Watching it was a no-brainer for me. She’s not really sexy in the show, but I know it’s there. We ALL know it’s there, right? What, you need proof and never watched Desperate Housewives? Yeah, me neither, despite the aforementioned Capt. Reynolds and Darla appearances. So, enjoy this clip. You’re welcome.

We’re skipping Wednesday and moving onto some Must See TV women, starting with Alison Brie on Community. On the show she’s funny and cute. In real life, though, she seems funny and sexy. And it’s amazing that I haven’t started watching Mad Men, yet. Alison Brie, Christina Hendricks, John Hamm (who was awesome on 30 Rock) and Vincent Kartheiser (another Whedon actor. I tend to follow them around everywhere).

I’ve got a nerd crush on Tina Fey, but I don’t know if I’d ever call her sexy. Pretty and cute, sure, but I don’t know if I can get behind sexy. However, Jane Krakowski’s Jenna Maroney has looked incredible so far on this season 30 Rock. It’s difficult to pay attention to a person’s appearance on this show, though, because so much is going on that you have to focus on so many things. It’s really a chore to focus on something so superficial when there’s excellent acting and comedy happening.

I'm looking forward to a few mid-season replacements, including Mr. Sunshine with Andrea Anders (Better Off Ted and Joey) and Perfect Couples with Olivia Munn (whose acting ability is in question having only seen her briefly in Chuck and Iron Man 2). 

It's time for an awesome video dump!!

“The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret” starring Will Arnett and David Cross. It's in Englad, though. Me sad.



You're watching Sons of Anarchy, right? See if you can spot Jax in this clip from the pilot of "Undeclared," a show created by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up) and starring Seth Rogen (again, 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up) with a strong recurring role for Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother).



Why does England have shows I can't watch? Here's a new show following a group of delinquents with super powers.



Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman. It's Barney. As Frosty. It's awe-wait for it...some.

TV Reviews for the Week of Dec. 14, 2008 Pt. 1

“What are you looking at? You’ve never seen a hypocrite before?”

The Superman discussion at the beginning was awesome and actually raised some good points. But they saved the best for last this episode. Starting with the kiss Penny gave Leonard (which was a very sweet moment), it was hilarious (sorry Louis C.K., it was). All of the gifts were perfect, and Sheldon’s reaction to his was priceless.

Wow. Carl Winslow, who was already big to begin with, has put on some weight. And seriously, has he ever played anything besides a cop? Die Hard, Family Matters, now this? I thought this was going to be a really nice, non-Intersect episode, but no, it went that way. All the relationship stuff was touching, though. I feel for Morgan. The little guy is just confused. I’m confused as to why Sarah is lying to Chuck about killing the Fulcrum agent. She did it to protect him and the Intersect, end of story.

“You’re like Weird Al Yankovick if he only wrote songs about banging my sister.”

So do we have a hot new cast member? I hope so, at least for the hotness. It might end up getting a little crowded, though. And they brought back Robin’s song! Yay!!!

Okay, before killing Meredith or myself, were I Noah I’d have Meredith start working her mojo on the glass. It may be bulletproof, but she’s gotta register some serious heat. That doesn’t work, take her out before you’re baked. Yay! He listened to me! Sort of. Hold up…that’s the end of the season? That seems…odd. So what do we have. Hiro has no abilities, but Ando does. We’ve got one new hero, two if you count Tracy as a new character (which technically she is, so let’s just say two). All of the non-central characters are dead, and they even took Sylar with them. So all in all, it’s business as usual, except next season they’ll be on the run. Kind of like Prison Break with powers, I guess. I’ve got to say, this season (I hate calling half a season a season. It doesn’t seem right) left me a bit cold. It started out with so much promise, then sort of petered out (hah!). It became too circular. Let’s hope they do a bit better next year.

Well now, that’s a pretty big callback. I never thought we’d see Charles (or D.B. Cooper) again, what with him being dead and all. I a bit disappointed that Sucre left, and I hope he’ll eventually find his way back. But I do understand why he left. I think it’ll a fun time watching Linc order around Self, T-Bag and Gretchen. And as for the big reveal next week, I do believe I called that one last week.

TV Reviews for the Week of Dec. 7, 2008 Pt. 1

"Bart, stop Milhousing your sister."

Lisa-centric episodes are pretty boring and predictable, where Homer will eventually, whether by accident or on purpose, will save the day and be his daughter’s hero.

"Oh, you know I’ve always wanted to live in the city and pretend I was poor."

Wow. She started showing quickly. It almost seemed like the wedding and the baby softened up Dick a little, but that still doesn’t mean what’s-his-name can’t act like an ass a little.

"Why do I feel like I’m the one who just got the prostate exam?"

Good for Leonard, gettin’ his swerve on. And the trick his lady doc pulled on Sheldon to get him to shut up? Priceless. I wonder how long they can keep doing that before he figures out that nothing is actually wrong with him. He strikes me as a hypochondriac, so I bet it would work a number of times.

"Go ahead and do the typey type."

It was nice to see a bit of Sarah’s past, and who doesn’t like watching Jack Cole? Will Sarah and Chuck finally get together (for real this time) at all this season?

"Okay, it’s clobberin’ time."

Will Sasso was one of the only actors I consistently enjoyed on Mad TV, so it was nice to see him here. I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a recurring character. He seems to be a fun, quirky character.

"No urinating in the stairwell. That’s the golden rule."

Okay, now I think they’ve done one switcheroo too many. So the company is helping save Michael? And it looks like someone, I couldn’t tell who but it looked like a woman’s hand and not the General, actually cared for him. Is their mother still alive? The doctor said he had seen Michael’s condition only once before. Could it have been his mother? After being a dick for two seasons, Alex got shit on a lot this season, and I felt sorry for him when he realized he wasn’t going to meeting with the Attorney General. I hope things turn out well for him in the end. Right now I don’t give a crap about Don or what’s-her-name, and really, T-Bag got what he deserved. With Michael out of the picture for a bit, it’ll be interesting to see how Linc, Sarah and what’s-his-name (I’m blanking on names lately) will get Cilla (sp?) back.

"Cake?"

I’m a bit disappointed that Elle is dead, but only a bit. I like Sylar as a villain, I just hope he finally stays that way. It’s like they went all this way just to get back to the beginning. And I thought it was odd that nobody heard...Sam?...scream when Sylar cut her open, because three people were apparently right outside the door. Hiro’s scene with his mother was pretty touching, the stuff with Claire, not so much. She already had a good home life and both parents, hell, all four parents, are still alive. Then Arthur had to go and steal the last gift Hiro’s mother gave him. When Arthur telekinetically threw Hiro off of the building, it looked like he was tossed pretty damn far. Either that flag pole was really long, or he was just tossed off the side rather than thrown. At least Sylar is up to his old tricks again.

Sometimes I wonder if criminals or wannabe criminals ever try to use any of the ideas on any of these crime shows? Is there really a drug out there that bends the human will and steals memory? I guess only Gob Bluth knows the answer to that. Olivia has had it rough lately. At least the scumbag was put away. Happy days all around.

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Listening to: Beck - Heaven Hammer (Missing)
via FoxyTunes

TV Reviews for the Week of Nov. 23, 2008 Pt. 1

Jack Bauer is back! Yeah!!!!!! This is one of the most unrealistic and ridiculous shows that has been on TV in the last, what, 6 years? But damn, the action, the suspense, the backstabbing…it’s riveting. This was a very good teaser for the new season in January. It was very much a stand-alone story, where you didn’t have to know anything about Jack or his past. But it’s very good at making you want to come back in January to see how it ends up. What’s going to happen to Jack? What’s going to happen with the coup and who are the Americans that are funding it? Why did the outgoing President not consult with the President Elect since everything transpired within hours of her inauguration? These are the questions that’ll bring me back in January. These and the fact that Jack kicks much ass: lobbing dynamite, stabbing people, withstanding torture and red-hot machetes, and killing people with one leg.

So now Riley is from the future, too? Damn, John just can’t catch a break. I think having Cromartie as the mouthpiece for John Henry is a good idea. That’ll end up creeping people out.

Who knew transporting a bride to a wedding could be so hazardous? That part of the episode was good, but it seemed to be going through the motions. The meat of the show was actually what was going on back home. Bob and Kim are working together to see what’s going on with Kim’s employer. He’s now got Bob working for him, and he’s trying to get into Kim’s pants. Oh, and his last nanny just turned up dead. Hmm.

“I’m so excited right now that I’m sporting a yule log.”

I’m not much of a Christmas special kind of guy, but I’m very much a Stephen Colbert kind of guy, so this is a no-brainer for me. The one thing I’m not enjoying is the laugh track. I’m actually just into this for Stephen and his persona’s un-PC views. I can actually do without the guests (well, Jon Stewart can stay) and musical numbers. Okay, Willie Nelson as a wise man with the gift of pot was pretty funny, and the song was pretty damn good. And the Jon Stewart bit, and John Legend’s nutmeg. Maybe I dismissed the songs too quickly. I think I’m going to have to get the soundtrack for this. This version of Peace, Love and Understanding probably tops A Perfect Circle’s version as my favorite.

Yet another excellent Sheldon episode. I actually expected him to ruin Leonard’s relationship, but kudos to Sheldon. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m glad they quickly dropped the Leonard/Penny thing. It’s actually probably better for the show that they went and got through it early on so it wouldn’t rear up and destroy the show during later seasons.

“You already broke my heart. Is it necessary for you to shoot it, too?”

Converse to the Leonard/Penny situation in Big Bang Theory, I really want Chuck and Sarah to end up together. You know what they say, “The family that spies together, stays together,” or something like that. I will miss seeing Jordana Brewster, though. I’m sure she’ll rear her gorgeous head again.

This was probably the funniest episode of the season so far. I just wish I had an opportunity to use the naked man. Hell, I guess if Lily can use it, so can I.

This season may actually surpass the first season in its greatness. Of course, it doesn’t take much to top the crap that they gave us last year. Every time there has been a double-cross or a new trick pulled out of a random hat, it’s made perfect sense. ALL the guys in the vault with Scilla (sp?) when it only looks like Michael is there. Agent Self showing his true colors. That lady turning out to be that guy’s daughter (yeah, so I don’t know EVERYONE’S name). Good acting, good stories, good twists…I’m looking forward to what is coming next for our heroes.

Good but average episode. Mohinder and his cocoon was disgusting. I’m interested in seeing how everyone gets their powers back, whether it’s natural or if it’s Mohinder.

Oh, that’s awesome. I always wondered how you set a swimming pool on fire. And who didn’t see the confrontation with the preacher coming (pun slightly intended)? I was surprised that they went and got the wedding finished this episode. It makes me wonder if there are any other episodes left, because they seemed to gloss over a lot of possible misadventures at the reception.

“I just got an erection.”

Normally I’d rail on a show using a clever device more than once within months of each other, especially when it’s the first season for the show. But they used the memory tank thingy differently this time with different results. Nice. And once again I’m floored by Walter and his social ignorance. As for the science, well, Eleventh Hour used the hallucinogenic frog trick earlier…but not near as well.

Andre 3000 is a good actor. Too bad we won’t get more of him against Aceveda. From the beginning of this episode I had this horrible thought of Shane killing his wife, killing his kid, then killing himself. His frame of mind, the choices he has left, I have no doubt that he would do it. As I type this I’m only an hour into the episode with 45 minutes left. I’d like to think I was wrong, but I don’t think it’s going to go that way. Shit. And it looks like I wasn’t wrong. Dammit. But I couldn’t see any other way out of it. After Vic told him he and Ronnie had immunity, it was all over. I just hope Vic doesn’t take care of the Ronnie situation by taking him out. I know Vic is the “hero” of this story, but I hope he doesn’t get off scott free. His family is gone, so that’s one thing, but Shane was right…he’s not the high and mighty family man that he claims to be. Oh holy crap Vic is in Hell. A cubicle, a desk, a suit, no weapon, no family, no friends, no contacts…Shane’s option may look pretty viable right now. At the end, you could see him weighing all of his options until it hit him…this is the best it will get for him.

Fuck the Sopranos. There, I said it. Fuck the Sopranos. You want a superb drama with a bad guy at the center, something that hits every episode with top-notch acting, great stories, and believable characters, start renting (or heck, it’ll be worth your money to buy them) each and every season of The Shield until you’re done watching it. Then go back and watch it again, because Tony Soprano ain’t got shit on Vic Mackey, and Christopher Montisani (sp?) ain’t got shit on Shane Vandrel. I only wish I could watch this for the first time again. It was so good that I want to get amnesia, forget I ever saw it, then watch the whole damn thing all over again. Fuck the Sopranos.

This may sound mean, but this is the best I’ve ever seen Clea Duvall look. She actually looks pretty, rather than mannish in Heroes, The Faculty or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode was a bit tricksy. One murder leads to another one that happened decades ago. It was some good writing that, at the end, paralleled the older woman with Clea’s character. Judith Light scares me. She needs to eat a burger or something.

TV Reviews for the Viewing Week of Nov. 16, 2008 Pt. 1

"Will and shorts, two things I’m no longer allowed to change by myself."

Homer’s new job was a lot funnier than Lisa’s crossword addiction. Homer or Ralph, those are the two characters that’ll make an episode for me. Doesn’t matter if they’re the focus of the episode or just show up to make a couple of quips.

Hmm, a couple of call-backs early on. You’ve got Cleveland in his bathtub falling out of his house, and you’ve got Frank Sinatra, Jr. singing with Brian. Okay, if you can find it, it’s probably on YouTube, that news special that Stewie did is actually based on an actual news feature. Otherwise it was a pretty lackluster episode. Maybe it’s just my mindset lately, but it’s taking a lot to impress me.

Good for Mac, but I’m wondering what will end up happening to Col. Ryan. Will he stay as their commanding officer? If not, I would hope they would find a role for him in some capacity. Robert Patrick is a good actor.

Ah, poor Wolowitz. Always unlucky in love. But good for Leonard. And seriously, why didn’t someone just pick something that would beat Spock?

Angie made a comment while walking through the room, and it was so obvious, yet I hadn’t seen it. It’s a weekly dose of Meet the Parents/Fokkers. Except this guy is more likeable than Ben Stiller. Actually, all the actors are more likeable than their movie counterparts.

Of course. Something was going right for Chuck, so there had to be something wrong about it. I guess we won’t be seeing as much of Jordana Brewster as I was hoping we would...although we saw a decent amount of her toward the end of the episode. Same with oh my God I have forgotten the blonde’s name. Sarah, that’s her. Yeah, shower scene. Not all that sexy, but still.

Hmm, not a bad episode, but not all that great. I do need to start implementing conference calls at the office. I just don’t think my company is big enough or I’m important enough to actually get away with it, though. I forgot how Barney and Ted met. Would anybody believe that they’re best friends rather than Ted and Marshall?

On the surface, I am really enjoying this season. But underneath, fundamentally, there are flaws. Now, I don’t know if this is because it’s trying to cram in things that were supposed to happen last season but didn’t because of the strike, or if the writers are just trying to do too much, or if the writers are just sloppy. Gabriel and Elle were cured of their bat-shit craziness way too easily. I mean, it’s good that those two crazy kids (pun not intended, but enjoyed by the writer nonetheless) found each other and are able to know love and blah blah blah, but really, they were cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and one bowl doesn’t magically cure that. I’m very excited about next week. Seth Green shows up, and it’s a shame that there’s been too little of Seth Green on TV.

Watching Gretchen and the General together seriously nauseates me. The last half of the episode was pretty intense. The fact that there was no dialogue and no sound other than some mood music really ramped up the tension. You knew something bad was going to happen, but Sucre’s slip-up still got to me.

Well, if I’ve heard correctly, this show has been cancelled. I would have thought it would have at least gotten a full season, what with Slater’s star power. And of course after the cancellation notice, we get more into a conspiracy against Edward/Henry, going back to the murder of his parents by the KGB.

"I guess that depends on if he has succeeded in killing himself yet."

Another excellent episode with a brief look into Walter’s time at the institution. It seems as if there is something hinky going on with Walter’s former doctor. He was too eager to keep him locked up, and not just because he thinks Walter isn’t fit for human interaction.

Wow. Now that’s an inventive way to kill people. I personally enjoyed the, how many was it? Five? Five hyenas that killed the rapper. Who knew that animal smuggling was such a high-risk, high-dollar enterprise. And all that work just to teach Stabler the importance of family.

"How much memory does that thing got?"

The look on Blondie’s face when Vic tells her about killing Terry and then about reselling confiscated drugs, oh my God that was priceless. And her boss in the back room? The realization that Vic was a master criminal with a badge? Fuckin’...priceless. Oh, and then there are Claudette and Dutch when they hear that Vic has full immunity on everything he confesses to. It’s too bad about Ronnie, though. He’s followed Vic through everything, even after getting his face burned. And as things seem to have all worked out in Vic’s favor, everything has gone to shit for Shane.

Are John and Cameron going to hook up? That would be weird. Would the Terminators make themselves anatomically correct? Is it just some inherent flaw in robots that they always want to be human? Considering what John grows up to do, it would be incredibly kinky and messed up if he hooked up with a Terminator. I always enjoy seeing Buffy alums working, even though they usually don’t get major parts.

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Listening to: Free - All Right Now
via FoxyTunes