End-Of-Year: Favorite 2014 TV Shows, Part 1

2015 is over three weeks old already and there are already fantastic NEW TV shows I've been obsessing over. All of that just means is that it's about time I finally post my list of favorite TV shows from 2014. So here's the first part...

Though a few honorable/dishonorable mentions first:

HONORABLE MENTION to Transparent which is technically a 2014 TV show, but I literally just saw it this weekend so I feel weird about including it in a list I finalized a couple of weeks ago. In any case, Tambor and cast are great and everyone should watch it.

DISHONORABLE MENTION to Gracepoint because even though I only managed to see its pilot and finale, it was still crystal clear what an unnecessary remake it was. Just watch Broadchurch, people!

DISHONORABLE MENTION to How I Met Your Mother whose rocky final season could've been completely salvaged by sticking the landing and instead they tripped and fell into a fire pit. If they had just aired the 'alternate' ending I'm pretty sure the show would've ranked for me.

HONORABLE MENTION to all the awesome reality TV shows (since I decided to stick with only scripted shows in my list) such as American Ninja Warrior, Amazing Race, Face Off, Fake Off, Masterchef, Masterchef Jr., So You Think You Can Dance, and The Quest. The latter was REALLY fun. Google it!

DISHONORABLE MENTION for networks cancelling good or potentially good comedies such as Enlisted, Trophy Wife, Selfie, A to Z, Suburgatory, The Crazy Ones, Benched, etc. Comedy isn't dead, but there's certainly been a lot of comedy murders lately.

Finally, HONORABLE MENTION to the brilliant actors in not-so-great (but still good) shows like Hayden Pannetiere in Nashville, Matthew McConaughey/Woody Harrelson in True Detective, Allison Janney in Mom, and Ian McKellen/Derek Jacobi in Vicious. I dedicate this to Cristin Milioti.

And now my list... starting with a shameless tie for #35!

35. Elementary/Sherlock - I kept going back and forth between the two Conan Doyle adaptations. Elementary is still my preferred Watson/Holmes duo, but Moriarty's brief appearance and Mary's introduction in Sherlock were hard to forget.

34. Once Upon a Time - There's still a large swath of the show I personally don't care for, but Regina as the reformed villain, Hook's sincere dedication to Emma, and the inspired Frozen arc made this an easy inclusion on my list.

33. Silicon Valley - A strong sense of place and characters helped overcome my hesitation over the weak pilot and in the end I honestly just wanted to keep following their journey.

32. Masters of Sex - Its pedigree and quality acting kept this in my list, but a muddled second half and an increasingly dull (to me) relationship between the two leads knocked this down a bit; the supporting characters are still aces.

31. You're the Worst - Got to this show late, but the critical love to this unlikely comedy gem is totally warranted. Full of heart and sarcasm in equal measures and isn't that always the best formula especially for comedies?

30. The Walking Dead - People have dismissed this as either too bleak or too disposable and while the former is true, the latter isn't. There were some nice character studies last year and all without sacrificing action and tense sequences the show is duly known for.

29. Orphan Black - The inimitable Tatiana Maslany was brilliant throughout, but the season as whole didn't quite reach up to her level despite some surprising developments to the increasing mythology of the show.

28. Homeland - It wasn't a home-run season like days of yore, but it was immensely improved from whatever last season was. Getting out of the US and having an actual mission to focus on helped a lot. And unlike most, I dug the quiet finale.

27. Downton Abbey - I particularly found the current season airing in PBS (and aired in UK in 2014) quite good especially in terms of my favorite characters. Still wish the beats were slightly more unpredictable, but this show is hardly going to win prizes for being groundbreaking now.

26. The Affair - The unique structure is a little gimmicky and sometimes got distracting and repetitive while the two leads together is probably my least favorite thing about the show. With that said, the acting is unimpeachable and the compelling family drama were the reasons it's on my list. Oh, and Pacey. With a gun.

25. Enlisted - God, this show was so damn good with a wonderfully quirky ensemble and lots of heart. I still don't understand why this didn't get more viewers, but at least its finale was pitch perfect. Hands on heads forever.

24. The Mindy Project - They did a reverse Moonlighting curse as the show improved greatly once they put Mindy/Danny together. The show finally had a stable focus and in the process gave Chris Messina more to do, which is always a good thing. Especially when it involves dancing/stripping.

23. House of Cards - I actually think they delivered a strong sophomore season with both Spacey and Wright going deeper and darker with their characters than even I expected them to. I'm already fearing what the third season will bring with them currently on top!

22. Black-ish - While the pilot was slightly heavy-handed, the series so far has been quite delightful and most of that has to do with the great family ensemble they've assembled. The youngest kids especially are too adorable for words.

21. Broad City - Apart from how ridiculous and funny the two leads are (and they're plenty both I assure you), I  think I just love the show because it just feels so authentically New York City. Plus I just envy their relationship with each other.

20. How to Get Away with Murder - It was my favorite pilot of the fall season and while a lot of the show falls under "hot mess," it's still incredibly fun to watch especially when it's Viola Davis chewing scenery or when literal gay sex is happening on screen. Both occur quite a lot thankfully.

19. Mad Men - If they had continued with their final season, I have no doubt this would be ranked higher in my list because I felt the season was JUST starting to rev up towards the end. I still have high hopes for it and I'm confident they'll deliver.

18. Looking - This show was highly anticipated for me since I expected it to pretty much be the TV version of Weekend and it pretty much was with the adorable Jonathan Groff as the looking-for-love lead. I was bound to love it.

17. Vikings - They did not withhold anything with this sophomore season! If anything, they just did everything bigger and better from amazing battle sequences to heart-wrenching drama; the season had it all. I mean they crucified one of the characters! Also, Lagertha is my queen forever.

16. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - This show (barely) made my list last year mostly due to my undying love for Whedon and my appreciation for Marvel. Thankfully since then it has gotten SO MUCH better with the writers/actors clearly more in sync with most of the characters as well as the welcome throughline of an actual mission driving the plot forward. Hope they can keep this up!

Part 2 aka my top 15 shows of 2014 soon!

Everyone Loves An Irish Boy

Meant to blog about TV and stuff, but it's been such a long ass week and an even longer weekend that I didn't even get to do a St. Patrick's Day post. Then I saw this very lovely image of Once Upon A Time's Colin O'Donoghue on Tumblr and I think it just speaks for itself really.

And might as well briefly talk about Once Upon A Time, which hilariously didn't feature the good pirate on its episode tonight. It doesn't matter though since they welcomed back the equally hot Irish actor Jamie Dornan to reprise his role as the Sheriff for a special flashback episode.

Seriously, say what you will about this show, but it sure does know how to cast hot men. Oh right, the show. Well, I actually don't have much to say. It was certainly great seeing how the curse played out from the very beginning and how it affected Regina and it's wonderful to finally find out who Ethan Embry's character really is. But I'm curious to see how exactly the show will handle the "real world" encroaching on their little town.

Quick TV Thoughts...

It's difficult to get my head to remember the past week's TV especially with my mind focused on tonight's Academy Awards. Nonetheless, just some brief thoughts on some of the shows...

A Firm Divided in The Good Wife

The Good Wife returns after its brief hiatus with a predictably excellent episode that features not only the welcome end of the debt storyline, but also a storyline that put Elsbeth and Eli together. For the latter, seeing these two breakout characters teaming up to fix Eli's problems was something to behold and I just think the show should find a way to make Elsbeth a series regular already. As for the debt storyline, the firm is all of a sudden in the black and in fact showing profits which makes the existing partners re-think their previous partnership offers to Alicia, Cary, and their fellow fourth-year associates. This creates a fun and tense episode pitting Alicia and Cary against Will and Diane and coloring their mock trial. I love it when Alicia and Cary partner up, but of course in the end the partners decide to offer partnership to just one person: Alicia. Thankfully she accepted showing great growth for her character, but what does this mean for her relationship with Cary? She also kissed Will... drama!

Sad, But Tense Revenge

I've been more frustrated than in love with some of the story beats and character work on this show this season, but I thought last Sunday's episode was quite spectacular especially with regards to anything dealing with Emily-Amanda. Knowing someone was going to die by the end of the episode made every scene in the boat tense and in the end I'm just very saddened to see Margarita Levieva leave the show, since her character, compared to most, was the one that grew the most and I'm really going to miss her. With her death and Helen Crowley's, it's certainly a turning point for the show this season which I'm hoping gets better in the second half. Give Nolan more to do and can we just stop humoring this whole Aiden deal?

Once Upon A Time Expands Family Tree

Everyone probably should've expected this from the very beginning, but this all important pivotal episode of the show finally confirmed it: Henry's family tree is FUCKED UP. We all finally found out that his long-lost father is also Gold's long-lost son! We all predicted this, but to finally see the all of the characters realized this as well was a fun moment for the show and I think everyone involved handled it well. It'll be very interesting to see what this means especially once they're back to Storybrooke. Certainly Regina will be pissed that yet again someone she loathes is blood-related to her adopted son.

I Love You and I Like You Parks & Rec

The wedding episode of Ben and Leslie was everything I could have hoped for. It even seems silly to write about what I loved about it, because it would pretty much just be EVERYTHING. From everyone working together to Leslie's amazing wedding dress to Ron giving Leslie awar to those wedding vows with those black & white flashback scenes... it was glorious. I heard this was written as a series finale if need be and though I would've been depressed if it was, it would've let the show go out with one of its best episodes. They then followed that episode with another one that takes place after the honeymoon is over and it was pretty much an episode to make everything go back to normal again. It was a good and funny episode with Leslie dealing with surviving a correspondent's lunch and Ben getting used to his new job at Sweetums. Renew this show, NBC, or face my wrath!

Miscellaneous TV Thoughts

No time to talk about any more TV, but just want to say quickly that I think How I Met Your Mother has been slightly on fire this month with a strong episode this past week that highlights the show's unreliable narrators. Castle also began its usual sweeps two-parter this time putting Alexis in danger. I just wish the threat was actually real, you know? I also liked this week's Girls episode though a step down from two weeks of really great episode, but I liked putting Ray and Adam together and that Marnie/Hannah phone scene in the end was genius. And finally, how could I not love Community's Inspector Spacetime convention episode?

End-Of-Year: Favorite 2012 TV Shows, Part 1

I watch a lot of TV. A lot. I can't even tell you the number of shows I regularly watch, because you will probably think I need to see a specialist. All of this is just to say that coming up with a top 30 list of my favorite shows is not at all easy. Ranking them is even more impossible to the point that most of the rankings are quite truly arbitrary. This year, I've decided not to include any reality TV shows so I can make room for scripted shows. My top 10 post will come tomorrow, but for now without further a due...

30. Suburgatory - This should've been included in last year's list, but I guess I didn't realize how much I would like the show until the end of its first season making me super anxious for their sophomore season, which thankfully has kept up with the quality of its first.

29. Castle - Clearly I love the show since I'm still watching and it perhaps doesn't deserve a relatively low rank. But it's that kind of show that while I'm watching it I love it, but seem to forget when I'm not watching it. This is not a knock though on the actors as Fillion and Katic are great together, even more so now that they are officially a couple.

28. Political Animals - In some ways this show could've been much higher on my list or not at all. It was that kind of show that really felt like it was going in a bunch of directions. What truly set the show apart though was the glittering cast and while plotlines could get too insane, I just kept wanting to see what happened next.

27. How I Met Your Mother - I began this latest season with much apprehension and unfortunately nothing they've really done have allayed my fears save for Barney's proposal. But I will always be an apologist for this show, because I still truly love these characters and will stick with them through thick and thin.

26. Girls - The voice of a generation? Well, I don't know about that, but Lena Dunham did create a show with a unique voice that slowly, but surely sucked me right in. These girls' lives are a mess and I can't help but watch it all unfold.

25. 30 Rock - For me the show lost some of its freshness a couple of seasons back, but it has truly found itself again the past year especially as the show does its victory lap towards the end of the series. This show, like Jenna's whole life, is thunder.

24. Last Resort - This show had my second favorite pilot this year offering a real adrenaline rush so rare for TV that I immediately knew they would never be able to sustain it and also it would be cancelled after this season. Fortunately, they were able to sustain some of it mostly due to the cast, but unfortunately they still got cancelled.

23. Ben and Kate - I was a little lukewarm to the pilot (though I still liked it), but the more episodes I watched, the more I realized I'm going to really miss the fun sincerity these characters brought. I'm a sucker for sibling relationships also, so this hit all the spots. Plus, best theme song ever or best theme song ever?

22. The Walking Dead - Last season, spent mostly in Hershel's farm, wasn't great, but the latter half of that season ramped up the drama and stakes and kept it going through the first half of the third season that has given us a rawer, visceral experience to this zombie-filled world. Leading man Lincoln has never been better.

21. Dexter - Talk about a much improved show! Who knew all they had to do was pull the wool over Deb's eyes? The way they handled her arc this season was pretty great with Carpenter selling every "fuck" that came out of her mouth. Couple that with Dexter forcing to do some real soul-searching about his dark passenger, LaGuerta's chilling quest, and a three-dimensional villain made for a damn good season.

20. Once Upon a Time - Last year, this show barely made my Top 30, but the end of the first season focused on more interesting characters (Ruby, Mad Hatter) then orchestrated a magnificent reboot of sorts to start the second season giving more meat to previously one-dimensional characters and a much-needed urgency to the plot.

19. Revenge - This show's relative high placement is mostly due to the extreme goodwill the show built up in its freshman season with its addictive soapy drama and excellent use of Stowe and Mann. This second season has been more perplexing and just a bit underwhelming at parts even if I still enjoy the heck of it.

18. Cougar Town - How thankful am I that last season wasn't its last? I wasn't at all prepared to say goodbye to those lovable idiots most especially during the beach wedding finale that make me laugh and cry simultaneously. I just can't help but love these crazy drunks.

17. Happy Endings - I'm just going to repeat what I said last year. This show is "a piñata filled with candy and crack" and while some of the material and relationships seem a little less fresh this time around, it's all still damn addictive. Plus Hip Hop Santa end tag was too awesome for words.

16. Mad Men - Don't ask me why this isn't ranked higher, because unlike what some people seem to think, this wasn't a "weak" season of the show. It wasn't perfect, of course, but off the top of my head I could name so many great moments, episodes, character development that happened. Hendricks and Moss continue to be the series' MVPs.

15. New Girl - Not sure when it happened, but I suddenly fell head over heels in love with this show. It's weird since for most of its freshman season, I felt like I was watching it more from obligation than desire. But then the show became much more of an ensemble and the writers suddenly figured out how to write each characters better. And voila!

14. Awake - Even though this just missed out being my favorite new show of the season, it does get the honor of being my favorite pilot of the year. I was immediately hooked on its brilliant concept of a man experiencing two realities, one in which either his wife or son lived after a car accident, and each subsequent episodes let me fall into the rabbit hole of obsession.

13. Game of Thrones - My favorite new show last year fell a bit in the rankings this year mostly because while I still love the show's world building, you can already feel things spreading too thin. It's still a gorgeous show though with some powerhouse performances from such actors like Dinklage, Headey, and Williams.

12. Veep - *BEST NEW SHOW* As a huge fan of creator Armando Iannucci's film In the Loop, I knew this show, which borrows a lot of its tone and sentiments from the film, would quickly be one of my favorites. A great lead turn from Dreyfus and a hilarious ensemble make it all work and I can't help but laugh uncomfortably at every other scene.

11. Doctor Who - There were only 6 episodes this year, including the super enjoyable Christmas special. The other 5 episodes saw the last adventures of the Doctor with beloved companions Rory and Amy and like many things this show does, they were all sufficiently epic and even heartbreaking especially Rory and Amy's final episode. Smith, Darvill, and Gillan had real chemistry I will sorely miss. But from the looks of things, Coleman will be just fine.

So there they are! As for my top 10, as I said before, they'll be posted tomorrow sometime, but looking at my nominations and using a process of elimination will make it easy to figure it all out. But the key question is... which show will be #1? Any guesses?

Sunday TV Catch Up

Last Sunday I watched approximately 100 hours of television. Okay, it was really only five hours plus a few more hours spent on other days catching up on the Sunday shows I didn't get to watch. I already talked about my thoughts on 666 Park Avenue, but before another epic Sunday, here are my brief thoughts on the rest...

Once Upon A Time - I grew to love this show last season especially when it suffered serious growing pains early on. Bringing everyone's memories back at the end could've been risky, but instead with this premiere they somewhat pulled it off especially the emotional reunions of all of these people who were living half-lives. It was also a smart premiere in that it does a pretty amazing job in taking the show in many new directions. I did not at all see the twist coming of the Mulan/Phillip/Aurore story happening in present time telling us that there are still life in fairy tale land. Putting Snow and especially Emma in that land in the end will also give the show new material with Emma being the fish out of water. Their absence in the real world should also prove worthwhile storyline-wise for the people they left behind. Finally, opening the show with a mysterious guy living in NYC? Genius. I'm so excited.

Revenge - This show is super ridiculous and I can't help but love it. Most of the reason I watch is because I just love, love the relationship between Emily and Nolan so their reunion at the boxing ring (with Nolan sweaty, shirtless and sporting a new sexier haircut) was the highlight of the episode for me. Or perhaps it was the final scene with them sitting in Emily's living room wearing bathrobes while spying on Victoria? Seriously, making Nolan Emily's roommate is brilliant on so many levels. I hope it lasts at least a few more episodes. Victoria's surprise resurrection was wholly expected, but I still liked that she was forced to interact with Emily. I was hoping they would work together more this season to bring down Conrad et. al, but I guess that'd be a little too convenient? Not much else to say about the other characters. Jack and Daniel are both depressed. Amanda and Ashley are crazy. Declan is still as inconsequential as ever. Welcome back, show.

The Good Wife - Other than Kalinda confronting her ex-husband, this episode really didn't wow me in its fourth season premiere, but then again the bar has been set SO HIGH previously, it was bound to come up short. First, Archie Panjabi was just fantastically sexy and fierce throughout as she figures out how to deal with Nick being back, not only in her personal life, but also her work life. My one fear is that they isolate this storyline from the rest of the happenings this season, but hopefully someone close to Kalinda (Alicia? Cary? Will?) will find out what's happening sooner rather than later. The rest of the episode is just setting up the main drama arcs for the season. Alicia is dealing anew with yet another campaign for Peter and how it effects their kids while Diane and Will are figuring out how to save their business. It's all deftly acted and beautifully written as per usual, but I'm hoping for a "wow" that I didn't get. Maybe tonight!

Dexter - More and more I have been watching this show more out of obligation rather than because I actually enjoy it. Last season, for example, started out pretty well, but quickly became less engaging. But I kept watching because of Hall and Carpenter's performances. But if this most recent premiere is any indication I am going to LOVE this upcoming season. Making Deb finally find out about Dexter's misadventures gives this season real direction and much-needed tension and urgency. And the episode went from good to perfect in the end when we and Dexter find out that Deb now knows more than what Dexter had wanted her to know. Shit is about to get real and it's fabulous. Here's hoping that Carpenter gets her due this season.

Homeland - When I marathoned the first season a few months ago, I really didn't realized how much I would truly love to see its return. It was such an adrenaline rush the first time through that I feared they couldn't possibly carry that over to the new season, but they really did. Yes, they would have to do their awkward best in bringing Carrie back into the field, but I think the show did it the best way they could. Plus seeing Danes channel the crazy early on and then the fierceness towards the end was something to behold. As for Lewis, he shows why he won the Emmy a couple of weeks ago. As a new congressman being vetted by the current VP to be his possible running mate, he and his family are well connected in Washington. His new connections means Abu Nazir wants him to do more, specifically (for this episode) he has to steal something from the safe in David's office giving us the episode's tensest moment. Another is the big confrontation he has with his wife about him being a Muslim. It's amazing to see Morena Baccarin do more dramatically, but I fear she'll end up dead sooner rather than later. But the best scene is the end with father and daughter burying the Koran. It's these quiet moments, like Carrie's smile, that make this show really work.

TV Report Catch Up: Sundays

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

TV Report: Week of 4/1

Looking back on this past week of TV, it seems I skipped watching as many shows as I actually did find the time to watch. The list of shows I didn't get to see included Castle, Ringer, Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, and Fringe as well as the season/series premieres of The Killing and Scandal. In any case, onwards to those shows I actually saw...


Game of Thrones

As I had already mentioned briefly elsewhere, I loved the season premiere. Unlike the premiere last year when I had no idea who anyone was or where anything was, this episode felt like coming back home and seeing old friends. We do get caught up on the lives of most everyone in Westeros from Jon Snow traveling beyond the Wall to Dany traversing the great desert. We spend lots of time in King's Landing seeing how that rat bastard Joffrey is liking being the king. We actually begin and end the episode seeing just how far Joffrey would go to fulfill his blood lust. More entertaining are his mom Cersei and his uncle Tyrion by his side especially with both of them getting the best scenes of the episode. Rather than the episode feeling disjointed and schizophrenic, it actually flowed quite well together and a lot of the scenes were held together by the red comet in the sky signaling dragons. We do meet new people and see new places, but for the most part it was more of the same from the first season only so much better. If anything this show is just tempting me more and more to pick up the books they are adapted from.

Once Upon A Time

This was a big episode for the series since it presumably explained just exactly why Regina hates Mary Margaret so much. It turned out Regina had an Evil Mother herself when she was much younger who was even more overbearing and magically powerful than her and so deliciously played by Barbara Hershey. Regina's mother wants her to marry the King aka Snow White's father, but Regina has already fallen in love with their stable boy. Young Snow White, played by Bailee Madison (who really was cast perfectly to play a young Ginnifer Goodwin), finds out about Regina and the stable boy and while sad for her father was actually okay keeping Regina's secret to run away with the stable boy because of True Love. Of course Snow was manipulated by Regina's mother and that was all she wrote. Stable boy dies, Regina's heart turns dark, and young Snow's mistake may mean the end to Mary Margaret's life in the real world. As a showcase for Hershey and Madison, this was a great episode. As an actual explanation to the Evil Queen's evilness? I still don't buy it. Yes, having your True Love die because of your mother will mess you up, but to that extent and to blame a little girl? Katherine showing up at the end will hopefully mean things are moving forward with that interminable storyline.

Mad Men

It's very easy to not like, or even straight-up, hate Betty. She is pretty pathetic and the writers on this show seems to relish on this as evident by the weight gain the character went through to signal how depressed and unfulfilled she has been. In truth they were just trying to deal with January Jones real-life pregnancy, but the fat suit and make-up were still a touch comical even as it signified something deeper. I wished more people appreciated Jones' performance though. Her phone call with Don or the very last scene with her eating Sally's ice cream were just so well done. Also I'm a bit jealous of her new gothic house. Elsewhere i.e. inside the offices of SCDP everyone is aware of a change in the air. Don has a new (and black) secretary hilariously named Dawn. Peggy hires an obnoxious, but very talented new copywriter. And Roger plays into Pete's hand over the Mohawk Airline account. A slightly less successful episode than the 2-hr premiere, but still a good solid hour.

Shameless

We say goodbye to the Gallaghers yet again and at least this time they all seem to be in a roughly good spot. I'm actually surprised we ended on such a happy note after a season full of setbacks and drama that I really thought SOMETHING horrible was going to happen in those last few seconds. Yes, Frank is still his miserable self and he is drunk outside in the snow with no one to give a crap about him, but it's quite difficult to feel sorry for him after all of the stunts he pulled this past season. Okay, my heart went out to him a little bit after Monica left him especially since he has been the most human around her these last couple of episodes. But Fiona and Jimmy (not Steve anymore!) are together, Lip is back home where he belongs, and Ian has a new sugar daddy who is... SHOCKING TWIST... Jimmy's father. As soapy and insade as that development was I still give them kudos for going there. It also means we will hopefully get more of Jimmy's whole crazy clan next season. Karen, like Frank, is off into the cold by herself after leaving home when her mom (and Jody) picked her baby over her. Sheila really grew into herself this season and at the end finally stood up for herself and for what she wanted. That's a big as step for her as it was leaving the house last season. And finally, Emmy Rossum. There's nothing to say really. She's just wonderful here as she had been every damn episode of this show. Stay warm, Gallaghers.

Happy Endings

Gay wedding season finale episode as the gang gets together for yet another wedding this time for their friend Derrick's wedding with his partner Eric (so are they Derric or Erick?). Plus the Year of Penny ends with her feelings for Dave almost out in the open if it weren't for her now maybe boyfriend in the shape of Brian Austin Green. Her single status was a joke throughout but it really paid off when she had to dance with a laptop. I'm okay with them dipping into the Dave/Alex well again. There have been small (and big) moments this season regarding them and Alex in general has blossomed into a great character that I see them working even if it isn't endgame. As for Brad/Jane, they're always a hoot as they have been all season. Brad freaking out about being laid off and Jane taking the wedding into her own hands were great. Plus Jane's replicating Jolie's Oscar leg right after the show coined "Dujardin" as "being dressed sharply" was my favorite part of the night. Or was it Max's performance of "Like a Prayer" with the band Mandonna? I don't know! I love this show.

Community

This show has delivered out of the box episodes before and have done them well such as the paintball episodes and the documentary episodes. So an episode that mixes the best parts of those episodes has got to be amazing right? In this case, yes it was. "Pillows and Blankets" had the look and feel of Ken Burns-narrated war documentary. I almost don't have the words to express what an amazing episode it was. It's TV storytelling at its best. Yes, it was super weird, but it also had a lot of heart. When Troy and Abed were hurling insults at each other or Jeff had the realization that he'd do anything for his friends, it all felt sincere, earned, and affective. But it was damn funny too like Britta's terrible photography, Annie's and Jeff's texts, or the Dean's apt question of "Do people go to classes?" Brilliant. Poignant. Nuts. Pretty much this show in a nutshell.

Awake

Despite its low ratings which pretty much guarantee its cancellation, it's episodes like this past week that keeps watching until the bitter end as Britten gets more than he can handle as he is forced to negotiate with a mental patient just as he starts experience hallucinations himself (that penguin was hilarious). All the while he is trying to convince everyone, both his therapists especially, that he is okay even as he's starting to realize that he is probably lying to himself. It's a twisty episodes with lots of turns which gives the episode some needed suspense and differentiating it enough from episodes prior, but the heart of the episode, Britten's relationship with his wife in one world and his son in another is intact. Again, the show will get cancelled with the ratings it's been getting, but if anyone wants my opinion on whether or not to still watch the show then my answer would be YES.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

The title of this week's Smash episode was "Hell on Earth" and really the jokes write themselves... I'm very glad that the Cece/Schmidt relationship on New Girl is now out and I quite liked how the show handled it... It's been years since I've seen an episode of One Tree Hill but I wanted to give it a quick shout-out for its series finale this past week... I laughed way too hard at seeing Jenna as a Smurf on 30 Rock this week... Touch had an above average episode but I'm still pretty lukewarm to the series... And finally Sofia Vergara on SNL was good though it all depended on the skits with half of them close to brilliant while the other half absolutely horrible.

TV Report: Week of 3/25

Before I talk about a few of the TV shows I saw this past week, just wanted to remind everyone about the season premieres of both Game of Thrones and The Killing tonight as well as the season finale of Shameless. As always, there's just way too many things on tonight.


Mad Men Finally Returns

They're back! Don, Peggy, Joan, Pete, Lane, and the whole gang! Even Cooper is back without an explanation after he stormed off last season. One main character that didn't make an appearance though was Betty which probably had more to do with Jones' pregnancy than anything. With that said, the two-hour premiere really was great giving us updates on what all of them have been up to while moving the needle ever forward. Don is now married to Megan, Pete lives in Connecticut with Trudy, Joan is a new mother, and Peggy is still with her beatnik journalist boyfriend. With actors as good as these, the plot is almost immaterial and yet we get that great party at the Drapers where Megan single-handedly put the song "Zou Bisou Bisou" in the cultural awareness as well as that hilarious and smartly structured scene with Joan bringing her baby into the office. The episode began and ended with a hint of the civil rights movement making its way into SCDP. Can't wait to see what this season has in store for all of them!

The Good Wife Takes Center Stage

Didn't it feel like this episode was tailor-made to be Julianna Margulies Emmy episode? Alicia took center stage starting and putting out fires one after another. She was tasked by Diane to represent her in a prestigious Blue Ribbon Panel head up by Mike Kresteva played by the deliciously scheming Matthew Perry while also helping Kalinda with her IRS and FBI problem. Oh yeah and she's trying to figure out how to buy her old house back (cue the flashbacks) as well as deal with the surprise twist regarding Jackie. And fight!

Once Upon A Time Goes Mad

I have to say I've been impressed with this show the past few weeks MOSTLY because I've enjoyed the focus of the supporting fairy tale characters like Grumpy, Red Riding Hood, and last week's Mad Hatter. Sebastian Stan as the Hatter was great casting and the fact that his character is one of the few who "knows" about the Curse adds another layer. Hope we see more of him soon. With all of this said, I'm still generally ambivalent over the whole Mary Margaret-David-Regina case even with the "shocking" discovery that Mr. Gold is playing both sides.

It's All Lies for Happy Endings

The fact that last week's episode was the penultimate one this season made me sad a little since it just means I only have one more week to enjoy these people's company until possibly next fall! Unlike last week's episode which largely fell flat for me, I absolutely loved this week's lie-a-thon. How the lies kept building and building until the predictably horrifying and hilarious end was pretty damn good TV. Plus Alex as Ellen DeGeneres impression just confirms why she's this season most improved character... in all of TV. Boom, I said it.

Freaky Fringe Gives All the Feelings

I'm glad that even though we got a touching scene between Broyles and Olivia at the end with Broyles reinstating Olivia to the Fringe team, we still got a whole episode showing the consequences to Olivia's decision last episode regarding the memory replacement she's experiencing. It's also good we're seeing both sides of the emotional divide over this. While Peter and Walter are obviously ecstatic, not ignoring Lincoln and Nina's feelings makes it all the more real. Revisiting an old case was nice for those of us who has stuck with the show this long and I'm happy we're inching ever closer to the endgame of Jones. All of mutant monsters in the end gave me nightmares.

Miscellaneous Thoughts on Other TV

The less said about this week's episode of Smash the better because other than 1-2 scenes it truly was horrible... The will-they-won't-they in Castle is heating up but my patience is honestly getting thinner every week... Don't remember much about this week's New Girl except for Wilson singing songs from Wicked... There's something completely annoying me about Touch but I'm not at all sure how to articulate it... I didn't really LOVE this past week's Awake episode (still really liked it) but that ending blew my mind moreso than I expected and gave me chills... I don't know how to feel over this war between Troy and Abed on Community but everyone has to keep watching... Leonard Nimoy's Big Bang Theory cameo wasn't really worth all the hype... And finally Being Human ended its controversial 4th season in the UK last week. I'll try to form coherent thoughts on it once it airs all of its episode in the US.

TV Report: Week of 3/18

So everyone is watching the season premiere of Mad Men right now right? If not, why aren't you? In any case, another busy Sunday night of TV and so yet another TV report from moi...


Walking Dead Finale

It's been an interesting season in that nothing much happened. Part of this is because they were pretty much stuck on the farm all season give or take a trip to the woods to find a missing girl or to town for some zombie action. They had a great opportunity to delve into the characters though and they did do this to some, but not all. With that said, the finale was mostly action oriented especially the first half as a horde of zombies invaded the farm. It was refreshingly chaotic and insane (though the fact that they all can shoot like a pro was a bit hilarious). When they all got back together again and regrouped, I liked that the group seemed just a tad more desperate and beaten to the point that Rick basically turned into Shane in those last few minutes giving the character a much needed boost. They're all going to need it for whatever nightmare that awaits them next season. Is that a prison off in the distance? Also that hooded figure who saved Laurie? Best reveal ever.

Good Wife Knocks It Out Again

There were so many good things about last week's episode that I won't even talk about the dependably great back and forth scheming and manipulation between Alicia and Louis Canning. Diane taking charge of her love life was a highlight, but also her stand off with Alicia (and the rest of the firm) over Alicia's bonus. Alicia finding the courage to do this in the first place showed great development for the character. In addition, her brief, but affective scenes with Cary and Kalinda in the episode made my heart aflutter. First, it was lovely seeing Cary and Alicia in the same scene again just shooting the breeze. But of course Kalinda and Alicia resolving to somehow making their situation work made me a very happy boy. Earlier in the episode when Kalinda offered Alicia a beer, I screamed so loudly into the TV it was hilarious. Maybe soon.

Sitcoms Eschews Comedy for Heart

I'm not saying that How I Met Your Mother, Cougar Town, and Community weren't funny this week, but that wasn't the focus of them this week. The relationship between certain characters were more the focus like Ted and Robin navigating their even more complicated relationship on Mother to Troy and Abed's relationship getting tested in Community. In Cougar Town, everyone had to deal with Grayson having a daughter and the Travis/Laurie relationship hit a curious turning point. I don't need my comedies to be wall-to-wall laughs when they can deliver character moments such as these.

Good News, Bad News for Smash

Fans of this show got good news this week when the show was renewed for a second season. Of course good news didn't happen to the show's characters as the workshop for their musical were met with negative reviews. I'm more mixed on the show in general. I do love that Derek was particularly snarky, but not mean in the episode and getting to see and listen to the musical numbers again from earlier this season was a particularly good treat. And what can I say about the appearance of Bernadette fucking Peters as Ivy's mother? Brilliant. But all of that good is marred by a lot of bad like Karen's oh shucks dilemma of whether to pursue her "hot" music career or to stick with her job as a chorus player in the musical or Julia's lame story with Michael Swift or anything to do with her son who can't act. But nothing is lamer than Anjelica Huston yet again being wasted with Ellis, a hot bartender, and dealing with plumbing problems. Seriously? Seriously?

Fringe Is Back With A Little Love Story

Unlike Smash, this show is looking less likely to see another season renewal. There's still some hope, but the ratings this week were not good. With that said, it certainly was an emotional episode especially for Olivia who had to make the heartbreaking decision to keep the "new" memories she's getting of her old life with Peter versus her "old" memories. It's not that confusing when played out on TV! Her scene with Nina at the end there drove me to tears only for the final scene with her and Peter to make me smile. I'm just so happy they're both finally reunited though I'm sure there are plenty of complications remaining. For one, Peter's world being this world as revealed by the Observer doesn't exactly explain it all. And no, "love" is not an acceptable answer. What does this also mean regarding the other universe and their memories of Peter? How come Walter hasn't gotten his memories back like Olivia? And what about poor loveless Lincoln?

Miscellaneous Thoughts

A bit of a disappointing episode of Happy Endings this week that was only saved by its end tag with Jane and Brad being all gangsta... I forget what happened on Once Upon a Time this week because the beginning with Red turning into a wolf was just so kick-ass... Touch had its second episode and I'm not sure it's exactly for me but I'll give it a couple more episodes... Awake continues to do good job despite no one watching... I quite liked Dermot Mulroney in New Girl... And finally, I've just caught up on Shameless and now all I want to do is hug Fiona.

TV Report Catch Up: Sunday and Monday

In an effort to actually write and catch up on TV, I'm going to divide the shows by days and talk about my thoughts on them the past few weeks I haven't blogged about them. Up first are my Sunday and Monday TV shows...


The Good Wife - I've been really impressed how they handled Will not working at the firm anymore mostly because it enables us to see him outside the office. His sisters have been a hoot especially when they suspected Kalinda to be his girlfriend. This storyline also affected the office politics in the office in predictable (like Eli, David Lee, and Julius) jockeying to replace Will) and unpredictable ways (Alicia losing her mentor/support system). The latter comes at a time when Alicia thought she needed it the most because of Caitlin only for Caitlin to be revealed as straightforward, smart, and sweet as she's been presented. Her quitting makes me sad not only because I love Anna Camp, but the character really was a breath of fresh air. Didn't even mention the always fabulous guest stars this show has like Donna Brazile, Mamie Gummer, Dylan Baker, Morena Baccarin, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kate Burton. Finally, I'm intrigued at this race/ethical stuff they're doing with Cary and Peter.

Once Upon A Time - This show should just always take place in the fairytale world since most of the character seem to be drawn a bit more fully there. Relatedly, I'm getting a bit tired of the whole Mary Margaret/David/Kathryn thing which is why I'm actually glad that for the last two episodes the focus was on two fringe characters: Grumpy and Red Riding Hood. I've been waiting for their fairy tale back stories and neither of them disappointed. Grumpy's relationship with a fairy aptly played by Amy Acker was sweet and of course ultimately heartbreaking while Red's stories surprised me with its twists and turns. Having her be the wolf was inspired and seeing Granny so intense was great.

GCB - I already posted my thoughts on the pilot episode here and I don't have much to say about the second. It's a show I can easily see myself dropping as early as next week, but it's so far campy enough to hold my attention. Annie Potts continues to be my favorite actor/character in the show while Leslie Bibb and Kristin Chenoweth do what they can though singing Jesus Takes the Wheel at church was probably a bit too much... even for this show.


Smash - The thing about this show is that I will love it or learn to love it even if it kills me, because even if there are problems, and there are a few, I still think it's a show that should be on the air. My love for New York City and Broadway musicals and the majority of the cast is making it easy to accept most of the flaws, but one would hope they fix them sooner rather than later. For example, Debra Messing is a wonderful actress and when she's freaking out about completing her book, she's fabulous. Her adoption drama, anything involving her terrible son, and her whatever relationship with Michael are all too bad for her. Karen and Ivy's rivalry could be a lot more compelling if I was actively rooting for Karen which I'm still not even though they're doing a good (or is it bad?) job at turning Ivy into a hot diva mess. Anjelica Huston is mostly wasted and is now saddled with the dreadful Ellis. Also, please no more bar mitzvahs! With that said, I'm still in love with the original Marilyn music and Jack Davenport's Derek. Also, I've realized Christian Borle as Tom is the most improved for me since the pilot to the point where he might be becoming my favorite main character.

How I Met Your Mother - The last and only new episode was three weeks ago, but it was a pretty big one signaling big changes to the show when it returns. The biggest change looks to be Ted moving out of his NYC apartment and possibly moving into his house in Westchester (where he will raise his future kids). That reveal was shocking and refreshing and not just because yellow umbrellas were involved. Hopefully it also means a bit less of Marshall and Lily in Lond Island since Ted gave them his apartment. As for Robin and Barney, well that'll be on hold of course since Barney is now into Quinn. Barney getting played by Quinn in the strip club was a bit boring, but I do like Becki Newton I'm hoping there's more to this story. Or not... Barney and Robin forever!

TV Report: Week of 2/19

Happy Oscar Day everyone! But before we all get caught up on who's wearing who and which silent French films are winning what, just a few thoughts on some of the TV I saw this past week.

For the Love of New York City

Both The Good Wife and Smash are shot in New York City though the first show uses NYC as a stand-in for Chicago. In any case, both clearly love to take advantage of this. With Smash it's all about featuring locale haunts such as Cloister Cafe or just walking near Broadway's famed Shubert Alley. With The Good Wife, it's the casting. Just this week alone the guest stars included Jonathan Groff, John Benjamin Hickey, Rita Wilson, Parker Posey, Edward Hermann, Denis O'Hare, Teal Wicks, and Amy Sedaris. Whew! You'd think all of those guest stars would suffocate an episode, but not The Good Wife where the bulk of the story dealt with Will's last case before his forced six-month suspension. I'm intrigued what this means for Will now.

As for Smash, it had its weakest episode yet perhaps due to unremarkable songs (though I think I liked the original "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" duet in the end) or perhaps due to some tired plot developments. The episode started well enough with Jaffrey and Davenport having a bit of macho Brit-off and Huston throwing drinks at her ex-husband's face never got tired, but then we got into Iowa and I fell asleep only to be awakened by Kat McPhee doing cringe-worthy country. More sleepy developments... Julia of course had a thing with the new DiMaggio (who is dreamy I give her that) and Ellis is channeling his inner All About Eve. Which brings me back to The Good Wife. Is Caitlin also up to no good? Team Ivy! Team Alicia!

A Very, Very, Very, Special Episode of Glee

Teen suicide. Check. Teen marriage. Check. Texting and driving. Check. Since Regionals was apparently not big enough to devote an entire episode to, Glee's writers decided to just throw the kitchen sink of PSAs into this episode. Spoiler Alert: It didn't turn out well. I have nothing but praise for Max Adler's heartbreaking portrayal of a depressed teen forced into committing suicide, but Glee's inconsistency (see their handling of Santana's coming out for example) and inappropriate reactions (Kurt's reaction toward Quinn) made it all frustrating. The Rachel/Finn marriage is something I never cared about and that ridiculous cliffhanger with Quinn getting hit by a truck was sensationalistic at its worst. Most of the songs were damn forgettable with the exception of the Troubletones fantastic rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger." Oh and Sue's pregnant. Sigh.

Sitcom Lightning Round...

Most of the sitcoms this week ranged from good to great with my least favorite episode coming from a show that's almost always my favorite. How I Met Your Mother handled the Robin/Ted (and Barney) thing quite nicely, though I was worried that Marshall and Lily were cast in a bit of a negative light here with their long-term bets. Cougar Town was pretty great if only for the sad zipline and staged murders, but I just continue to love the relationship between every character. New Girl, which is now a much better show than it was early in the season, delivers another good one with Jess becoming tougher (as a teacher) and Schmidt/Cece blooming slowly (while Nick/Julia wilts).

Suburgatory showcased two of my favorite supporting players this TV season, Allie Grant and Carly Chaikin, with the latter making me LOL at her detailed plan for revenge against Tessa. Modern Family was a bit mixed since the Cam and Mitch/Jay stuff didn't really work for me, but everything else was great especially Manny and Luke "driving" and the whole doll/virgin metaphor. Not the best episode of Happy Endings even though Elisha Cuthbert continues to surprise me at how funny she is and Max's bear stunt was inexplicably hilarious to me. 30 Rock had a great concept (Leap Year Holiday) and some fantastic acting throughout and yet something still didn't click for me. Parks and Rec probably had it's weakest episode in years as the Tom/Ann relationship is pretty dull, Jerry's party kind of blew, and Leslie realizing she needs to take a break was a bit shrug-worthy.

Fringe Giveth and Taketh Away

This was a huge episode for Fringe (which to be honest is in the brink of cancellation based on its ratings). Not only did we get A LOT of information regarding the Observers, but because things seem to be reaching a climax in terms of realizing the absolute tragedy that Peter's erasure and comeback to the timeline has done. All of them are dealing with their lives being rewritten, erased, etc. and that is wreaking havoc on all of them emotionally. Joshua Jackson again is doing his best work on the show right now and his final scene with Anna Torv was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the series. Torv for her part was fantastic here as well as in all of her scenes with alternate!Nina. Of course we still don't know Jones' endgame and EXACTLY what is going on re: Peter and the "normal" timeline, but I still got chills during the scene with Peter and September in that room. Poor Henry. Poor Peter. Poor Olivia. Poor us!

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Really great capper for the two-part episode of Castle since I kept being shocked at all of the twists and turns it took... Anyone else starting to think Prince Charming in Once Upon A Time is kind of a goober for being so damn cowardly... It was fantastic seeing Misha Collins in Ringer in an episode where we finally find out what drove the sisters apart... The Amazing Race had its season premiere, but I didn't have much to say other than being happy it's back... And finally congratulations to The Simpsons for a solid episode last week which also happened to be their milestone 500th episode.

TV Report Catching Up

Internet troubles and other reasons conspired in me skipping my usual TV Report last week which means I now have 14 days of TV to try and talk about. And knowing my TV habits, that's a lot aka 30+ TV episodes. So in a effort to just catch up, just a few quick thoughts in alphabetical order:

2 Broke Girls - I'm still not sure what I think about Jennifer Coolidge's Sophie added into the ensemble, but any character not diner-related is potentially great. Last recent episode with Earl going to the hospital was good to show Max's softer side.


30 Rock - Jane Krakowski is dependably best in show, but Tina Fey has been stepping up her game. Her old lady Joker in the latest episode (to complement Jack's Dark Knight) was inspired. The one-hour episode the week before though dragged. Would've made a better half hour installment methinks.

Big Bang Theory - There are seven main characters on this show. So why does only one, the newest addition, Amy brings the laughs? Oh sure Sheldon and others will get a joke here and there, but the writers are doing most of them a disservice with dull plots such as Bernadette and Howard's prenup or the lame contest between Sheldon and Kripke.

Castle - This show brought out the big guns. First having an episode enabling the characters dressed up in 40s outfit in a flashback then having the first part of their February sweeps thriller event that involves the CIA. Both were very strong episodes and I can't wait to see the second part.

Cougar Town - It's finally back and still called Cougar Town! And I loved it. From the cold open showing us these people are still the alcoholics we know and love to that heart-clutchingly beautiful proposal in the end, it was a great premiere. The latter scene was made even more effective by showing us momentarily Bobby's heartfelt and sincere mixed reaction to the proposal. Didn't even mention the other gags like Evil Stan, the green screen, and Jules predictability.

Fringe - The ratings are super depressing, even more so since these last two episodes have been this season's best (and right up there in terms of the whole series). It helped that we're finally getting closer and closer to the resolution of the Amberverse as Olivia's memories are starting to come back. I constantly praise Anna Torv, right so, but Joshua Jackson reacting to this has been a wonder these past couple of episodes. It also helped that the Cases of the Week were strong on their own.

Glee - The less said about the Ricky Martin episode the better (though Martin was completely fine and predictably charming and Naya Rivera killed in all of her scenes). I actually found myself liking the Valentine's Day episode. The Karofksy twist was pretty unexpected, Mercedes' glorious "I Will Always Loved You" hit all the right notes, and Rachel's dad were fabulous.

Happy Endings - Two words: James Wolk. I think other things, potentially gut-bustingly hilarious things, happened in these past couple of episodes, but really JAMES WOLK. His Valentine's Day kiss with Max then his subsequent shirtless scene the episode after... yes, please.

How I Met Your Mother - A bit of a mixed review for this show. The housewarming party episode was great in terms of concept, but the content was uninteresting. This week's episode was better in no small part to Cobie Smulders' heartbreaking performance YET AGAIN. The end with her and Ted is a curious development. Finally, I've been on the "drunk train" once. Completely accurate.

Modern Family - I actually think the past couple of episodes were above average with some really fun storylines. Cam and Gloria competing, Phil's obliviousness to Claire getting hit on, and the whole fuckery that was the Aunt Mommy deal. Good stuff.

New Girl - Can this show be hitting its stride? I think so since I've unironically liked more episodes lately than not. The Lanlord episode was HIGHlarious especially when Jess and Nick got this close to getting into a threesome with their landlord. The Valentine's Day episode was a bit of a hit-and-miss but Ryan Kwanten is pretty and we finally get the Schmidt-Cece pairing that was pretty inevitable.

Once Upon A Time - My friends have a problem with the show taking its methodical time actually progressing the plot, but I'm sort of okay with that as long as they keep telling interesting retelling of fairy tale stories which I thought they did with Beauty & the Beast. Emilie de Ravin and Robert Carlyle really made it all work.

Parks and Recreation - I thought they handled the most anticipated reunion of Leslie and Dave well especially coupled with Ben's uneasiness with cops. It gave both Louis C.K. and Adam Scott an opportunity to really go crazy in this episode playing off their feelings towards Leslie. Andy writing Leslie's campaign song was also good though mostly for Ron's Duke Silver reappearance. After this episode, I'm undecided about Tom/Ann.


Revenge - I could and SHOULD probably write a whole separate entry on this show, because since Daniel and Emily got engaged it's been nothing but an insane ride for everyone. We are introduced to the truly harsh Grandfather Grayson making Conrad/Victoria's divorce a bit trickier. Jack gets super frustrated and crashes a dinner party whereby Charlotte finds out about her real father. Tyler (!!!) comes back and makes Emily's life that much worst. We go back to the first scenes of the pilot and finally find out that... Tyler gets shot and Daniel may be the one to have done it. And I'm not even conveying all of the other twists and turns and the unspoken acting showcase Stowe and VanCamp engage in whenever they have a scene together. Love this show.

Ringer - Like Revenge, these past two weeks brought a lot of plot developments to a head mostly thanks to Siobhan finally being in New York and interacting with others. Her letting Henry find out about Bridgette was something the show probably needed to do sooner, but glad it's happened. I appreciate the twist on the whole Julia/teacher/rape thing, but I still think that storyline is too much.

Smash - Thankfully I managed to put my thoughts on the pilot down already so I don't have to do it. As far as the second episode goes, I'm still pretty much in like with the show. Megan Hilty is so great and so it's actually making it difficult to connect with Kat McPhee's character since I'm rooting for Ivy so much more. Like the pilot, the adoption story is shrugworthy for me even more so after those cringe-inducing scenes in this second episode. The singing/dancing performances were aces and I still find Jack Davenport (and Anjelica Huston) so much fun to watch.

Suburgatory - The latest episode "The Body" was okay, but not one of my favorites. It at least gave the Shay siblings interesting storylines which is welcome. I much preferred the week's prior episode dealing with sex. Tessa navigating her tricky relationship with Scott Strauss and George finally getting some were great, but really Cheryl Hines dancing to Kelly Clarkson's Stronger was my scene of the week.

Whew! Now on to a new week of television. The Good Wife returns! Season premiere of The Amazing Race! 500th episode of The Simpsons! Downton Abbey season finale Christmas special!

TV Report: Week of 1/29

February Sweeps started this past Thursday so for the next month of so, there will be a full schedule of new TV shows. There's also the Super Bowl taking place tonight in Indianapolis between the Giants and the Patriots. But let's first take a look back at the TV week that was and speaking of Indiana...


Pawnee Celebrates Valentine's Day

Another great Parks and Recreation episode this past week which opened with the celebration of Galentine's Day, the day before Valentine's Day. (Sidenote: All day today though I keep imagining how epic Leslie Knope's Super Bowl party would be especially this year with it happening in her home state). The rest of the episode was just as perfect with highlights containing Leslie trying to set Ann up, Ben going on an epic romantic scavenger hunt from Leslie (with the help of Andy and a delightfully giddy Ron), and a depressed heartbroken Chris. So basically... every plot line. The fandom saw glimpses of Ann/Tom way back so in this case the show seems to be trying to catch up and I'm actually excited by this pairing. Could be a case of SO WRONG being SO RIGHT. The Party Down reunion with Adam Scott and Martin Starr was also great.

New Girl Becomes More Friend-ly

Remember last season when Big Bang Theory had the master stroke of bringing in two girls in order to give Penny her own world away from the guys and thereby giving the show some renewed vigor? Well New Girl seems to be doing the same much earlier in its run as evident in this last new episode with Jess having to deal with Nick's new girlfriend Julia (played by Party Down alum Lizzy Caplan) as well as having extended scenes with best friend Cece and random new character Sadie. The latter is a lesbian and thus have fantastic scenes with Schmidt (who had lots of things to do this episode and bringing it each time). Julia is like the anti-Jess and the dynamics between the two, just by themselves or playing off of Nick, are just wonderful. The show still has no clue what to do Wilson though which is a total bummer.

Another Delicious Ham for The Good Wife

Let's hope these ham sandwich episodes become a yearly tradition in The Good Wife, because they're always so good. The main story had to do with Wendy Scott-Carr presenting her case against Will Gardner in front of a grand jury, which had plenty of drama in its own right, but the episode also had a great meeting of the minds with Eli and Stacie whose rivalry tickles me a bit. As for the grand jury deal, Wendy held her own, but Elsbetch and crew was too much for her. The latter's strategy to try and connect Peter to the investigation was genius and forced Wendy to go after Alicia's sexual relationship with Will. Julianna Marguilies was fantastic in this scene as she was with her scene with Peter earlier asking him to back off Will. Just the perfect amount of desperation and resolve. In other news, Dana slapped Kalinda making me go "OH NO SHE DIN'T!" Though I wonder if this means not-so-good things re: Alicia's forged signature.

Fringe Doubles on Awesome with Two Astrids

It's been a long time coming, but this week's Fringe episode finally gave the wonderfully fantastic Jasika Nicole somewhat of a substantial storyline with her alt-self traversing into our universe to meet herself after her father passed away. Seeing the two interact is just as delightful as seeing any of the other characters do the same, but the emotional undercurrent, especially with the relationship both of them had seemingly with their fathers, made this even more affecting. Not to mention the interesting juxtaposition of their relationship with Walter with our Astrid sometimes treating him like a child while alt-Astrid almost making him a substitute father. Big thumbs up for Nicole and I wished we got more of this even though it feels like a one-time thing. Lovely scenes with Anna Torv as well especially her scenes with Peter (as our Olivia) and with Walter (as alt-Olivia).

Other Miscellaneous TV Thoughts

I probably shouldn't have laughed when Blaine got injured, Quinn got accepted into Yale, and Rachel accepted Finn's proposal in Glee, but I did (though how fabulous was Naya Rivera singing Smooth Criminal?)... Haven't seen Gossip Girl in two years, but I did quickly check out its 100th episode to see if they would reveal the identity of the titular character and they did, though a bit anti-climatically... Speaking of shows I never blog about, Grey's Anatomy had one trippy alt-reality episode which was fun as an exercise, but a bit exasperating all the same... Once Upon A Time may not be flawless, but I do like how they constantly mix and match stories such as this week's genie of Agrabah becoming trapped inside the Evil Queen's mirror via his own wish... Loved Liz and Jack going at each other in 30 Rock with Liz getting training from an old training video made my Jack; it's Jack-off... And finally Ringer is back and there seems to be a new bitch in town and I'm not talking about Siobhan finally making her New York comeback. So with that, let's go NEW YORK GIANTS!

Who's the Fairest of Them All?

Above are Ginnifer Goodwin, Lily Collins, and Kristen Stewart and shockingly enough they are all playing the same character this year. Can you guess who? If the title of this post didn't already give away the answer, maybe the pictures after the jump will give you a bigger hint as to the character all of these ladies are playing.