Quick TV Thoughts

No rankings this week since only about a handful of shows were actually on, so just a few quick reactions to each.

The Amazing Race - Didn't blog about this past season at all, but the team that I randomly picked to root for in the first episode ended up winning. Cindy/Ernie may not have been the most lovable team or even the most exciting and Cindy at times had a painfully holier-than-thou attitude, but they ran a good and consistent race and made all the right decisions in the final leg to win. I was especially glad they beat out Jeremy/Sandy who I couldn't believe actually made it that far. Props to Marcus/Amani for making it to the final three as well. Not the most exciting season. The casting was a bit bland and I've already forgotten what happened, but it's a show I will only stop watching when they stop airing it.

The Good Wife - This was the perfect episode to leave us until the show comes back in January. So many juicy things transpired and storylines I'm dying to get back to. First there's the beginnings of the thawing of the Great Cold War between Kalinda and Alicia after Alicia finally learned how Kalinda found Grace. The episode also gave us an "angry Alicia" scene, which I always love, when she threatened to sue Cary in some civil action suit if he didn't release Kalinda (arrested for harassing jurors). Speaking of angry, this was the first time I was impressed with Chris Noth's portrayal of Peter. The way he turned on the charm at the beginning only to delve back into his darker side towards the end was bone chilling. Finally, I loved the bombshell twist Wendy Scott Carr delivered Will. I already miss this show!

Once Upon A Time - I'm not exactly sure what I thought of this episode. It was a great showcase for Jamie Dornan of course, but the writers didn't really do anything new and exciting with the Hunstman story. First of all, my friends and I predicted he'd be the Hunstman from the first episode and were just a bit disappointed at how obvious it was. In any case, Graham remembering his fairy tale past after kissing Emma (just have her kiss the whole town!) was intriguing, but did they really have to kill him off? Is he really dead? I wished I cared more.

Terra Nova - When I saw this week's episode, I thought it was the season finale and when it ended I was ready to tear down the show for not only giving us a relatively disappointing season, but also for providing us with the worst/weakest finale ever. So when I saw the promo for next week's action-packed two-hour finale, I had to re-evaluate my feelings for the episode which in this new context wasn't terrible, but still a bit anti-climactic. From Skye's exposure as the mole to Taylor/Lucas' big reunion, it all felt rushed and a bit inconsequential. Despite my negative/neutral reviews this whole season, I am still rooting for this show. Hope it can end on a high note then have some time to tweak itself if it comes back.

Glee - Not the worst episode this season, because wow that bar has been set below sea level, and it actually helped that there really was no discernible plot marking this episode almost as a one-off. If you approached the episode as some weird gay Christmas dream that you can forget about the next day, it becomes tolerable. A few of the numbers were cute and I did miss the whole gang together again after the faux drama of splitting everyone up this season. The black-and-white show was cheesiness to the max that was equal parts cringe-worthy and fabulous. I'm also enjoying Sam's new-found levelheadedness and maturity which I'll just hope would be contagious in the new year for everyone else. I'm looking at you, Sue.

New Girl - I think the episode was good? I honestly wasn't paying attention, but it really wasn't the show's fault since I find myself multitasking with some of these shows I'm not fully invested in. Nick being involved with Jess and Paul's break-up was pretty funny, but I found Schmidt's sexy Santa thing only mildly amusing. Winston bonding with the boy, and also having scenes with Schmidt's boss, has potential. The end was supposed to be cute, I think, but I just found it forced and a bit annoying. Hm, I just described this show in one sentence didn't I?

The Year With Katie Couric - Basically it was two hours of Katie recapping what transpired during the year. It was on the background as I did other stuff. It was pretty much lots of people protesting, lots of people being obsessed with the Kardashians, lots of people affected by disasters, lots of people breaking through and loving Ryan Gosling or Adele or being obsessed with the royal wedding, and people like Liz Taylor and Amy Winehouse leaving us. Bring it 2012.