End-Of-Year: Favorite 2013 TV Shows, Part 1

My goal was to get this list posted a few days after I picked my acting winners, more than two weeks ago, so clearly that didn't happen. In any case, below is the first part of my ranked list of TV shows I watched in 2013. You may think having a Top 35 List is pretty much giving everyone an trophy, but that's not even half the number of the shows I saw last year. And thus...

35. Cougar Town - New network, but same hijinks. At this point, the show really is just a bunch of drunks having fun together. I'm not complaining.

34. 30 Rock - Probably too low, but I sort of already fell out of mad love with the show a few seasons ago. With that said, their final season was a back to form and it'll truly be missed if only for my love Jenna Maroney.

33. Big Bang Theory - The most popular show on TV right now isn't perfect, but the cast chemistry in undeniable. When the show takes advantage of its full ensemble, it's very good.

32. New Girl - Its sophomore season was really great including the back half which aired last year minus the whole Schmidt two-timing storyline, but while still good, it seems to have stagnated early in its junior season just a bit.

31. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - I was lukewarm on the pilot and a few of the early episodes were a bit unmemorable. With that said, I've become oddly invested in the characters and while it's still not the show I know Whedon can deliver, it's still a show I like to watch.

30. Arrested Development - I actually saw the whole series for the first time last year which is why I've ranked it here since while I was intrigued at how they structured the latest season in Netflix, it made for rough watching early on.

29. How I Met Your Mother - This ranking would be much higher if the show took full advantage of Cristin Milioti, because every episode she's been featured in has been aces. But look this is one of my favorite shows the past few years and while the unique final season framework hasn't been super successful, at least they're doing something different.

28. Community - Most people would like to forget that this Dan Harmon-less season ever happened, but I was never really one of those people who thought it was a bad season, just different. In fact, I ended up loving a handful of episodes.

27. Girls - I actually think I may have liked this season over the first one and its lower ranking only means A LOT of new shows premiered this year. That said, I honestly don't get the haters for this show. Okay, maybe if they're complaining about anything Jessa-related.

26. Call the Midwife - Managed to watch the first two seasons last year and ended up loving its mix of high-stakes drama (delivering babies!) with some organic comedy (Miranda Hart!).

25. Please Like Me - There's something just super appealing to the quirky, brash humor by Josh Thomas in this fun British show about a guy coming out of the closet and yet stubbornly refuses to change one iota.

24. Vikings - I honestly didn't expect to love a show about the lives of Vikings and yet with fully realized characters and superb production qualities, this History show really delivered. Plus it has a hot monk!

23. Teen Wolf - This is a supernatural show full of hot guys and kickass ladies. Do I really need to explain more about why it's one of my not-at-all guilty pleasures?

22. Sleepy Hollow - When this show premiered, I pointed out that its pilot walked "the fine line of embracing its weirdness while also providing a refreshing sense of gleeful sincerity in its tone" and fortunately the show maintained this throughout while also developing its characters and its overwrought, but entertaining mythology.

21. The Crazy Ones - This is a show that definitely got much better as it went, especially when it stopped being the Robin Williams show and became more of an ensemble show, a really funny one at that. Its end tag bloopers is one of my favorite things this past season. Also Kelly Clarkson in the pilot! Win!

20. Hannibal - As a huge fan of Bryan Fuller, I knew this show would be right up my alley and while it's less whimsy and more gory than his other shows, the quality remains. It helps that Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy are doing amazing things in their roles.

19. Elementary - I don't subscribe to comparing this show with BBC's Sherlock since they're both so different. What I do love about this show is the fresh take Miller brings to the character and his fantastic relationship with Liu's Watson.

18. Downton Abbey - I never know which season of this show I'm honoring--the one that aired in the US early last year or the one that aired in the UK later last year. No matter, as I think the show has found its sweet spot between period piece and soap opera melodrama and I can't get enough of it.

17. House of Cards - While it wasn't my favorite Netflix original of last year, it was still such a delight to see Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright plot together to take over the world. I can't wait to see what/who else they can manipulate and destroy.

16. Mad Men - Ranked the exact same last year, I do think people have started to really take the greatness of this show for granted. But it's still pretty damn great especially with its central character so much more broken than ever. Also, this season gave us Bob Benson, so there you go.

I'll hopefully post the second part of my rankings aka my Top 15 before the end of the week, but whenever I say that it usually takes a few more days or week to actually happen. In the meantime, here are a few honorable mentions...

An Adventure in Space and Time - This was a BBC television movie that dramatized the origins of the show Doctor Who airing in time for the 50th Anniversary of the show. So good, but as it was a movie, didn't make my list.

Fringe - Based on the last three episodes it aired in 2013, this would be a Top 20 show easy, but I wanted to honor newer shows and it already made my Top 10 list last year.

Lizzie Bennett Diaries - Such an inventive take on the Pride & Prejudice story, adapted for the YouTube generation. Since it was a web series, I felt it'd be better to call it out here rather than including it in my list. Watch it here.

Reality Shows - I saw a lot of good to great ones the past year, but with so many scripted shows to honor I had to take them out. But from old favorites (Amazing Race, Masterchef, Face Off) to new surprises (The Writers' Room, Masterchef Junior) to silly fun ones (American Ninja Warrior, Whodunnit?, Hollywood Game Night), I had to pay tribute to them in some small way.

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?

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: Tuesday and Wednesday

Sitcoms and twisty drama about super rich people. That's what Tuesdays and Wednesdays are all about or at least that's what I discovered when writing up my thoughts on the shows I watch on those days. Without further a due, as I reach closer and closer to catching up...


Cougar Town - Suffice it to say, I'm so very happy to have this cul-de-sac crew back and as silly as ever. But one of my favorite things about this show is how they've learned to balance the heart with the wackiness. Jules reacting to Travis' accident, Andy expressing his need to be king of the cul-de-sac, and Bobby's need for companionship were all handled deftly and sincerely. Of course we get an episode full of Scrubs shout outs including numerous former cast members of that show, dominance ball, Tom Cruise running gag, and way too many more to list.

New Girl - This show has gotten much better since those early days. The cast just seem to be gelling much better now and thus becoming more of an ensemble rather than the Zooey Deschanel show. Schmidt in particular, who I had mixed feelings with early on, is becoming my favorite especially with the latest episode doing a good job highlighting his various neuroses while still making his friendships with the others believable. They do need to do more with Winston.

Ringer - It's not a good sign that I don't really have much to say. Don't get me wrong, a lot has actually happened on this show. The blackmail storyline came to a head, Tyler was killed, and a whole bunch of people are actually learning some secrets. I'm just not rooting for anyone. Siobhan and Andrew are shady, Bridgette and Henry are clueless, and the rest are meh.


Suburgatory - I still like George and Tessa, but this show is increasingly becoming the Dalia and Dallas show for me. As mother-daughter they don't even have that many scenes together, but any scene they're in is usually a highlight. The rest of the show is just as solid.

Modern Family - Two episodes, two reactions. The Leap Day episode was not good. It was Cam at his paranoid worst not to mention that doing an episode that revolves around's women's cycles is very tricky to pull off and I don't think this show did that. The last new episode was MUCH better exploring Cam's clown past, Phil duking it out with Ellen Barkin, and Manny "winning" for once. Also I think Luke Dunphy is my favorite character.

Happy Endings - This show is on fire. Dave appears in everyone's sex dream, Jane and Alex mindfucks Dave and Brad, and Penny's 31st birthday is a hot mess. The latter was probably the show's best episode making me immediately call it "practically perfect" on twitter after I saw it. Like many sitcoms, there's just way too m any gags per episode for me to mention all of my favorites, but it definitely has a higher gag per second ratio than most. I hope they keep this up!

Revenge - Only one episode aired since I last posted and the next new one won't even air until mid-April! With that said, it was the episode after the big episode that revisited the pilot which meant it felt like a regrouping of sorts. We got to see what actually happened on the beach and who shot Tyler (Daniel but Takeda delivered the fatal shots). Emily, Nolan, and Victoria are fan favorites and they continue to be but I give props to this show for making a few meh characters stand out in this episode. For example, Ashley's maneuvering to become the Grayson's spokesperson, Daniel's maybe/maybe not memory loss regarding Tylers' confession, Charlotte's yearning to learn about her past, and Declan finally thinking about someone other than himself (i.e. his brother who was at the beach). Good stuff.

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!

End-Of-Year: Favorite 2011 TV Shows, Part 1

Certainly took me long enough, but I'm finally posting my Favorite 2011 TV Shows. I did a rough count today and figured out that I have seen more than 870 television episodes last year. I knew I watched a lot of TV, but I was still shocked to see that kind of number. With that big of a sample size, it was tough for me to narrow it down to my Top 30 TV shows, but I tried below. I'm saving my Top 10 for tomorrow, but here are the other shows on my list...

30. Ringer - There were many new shows fighting for this last spot, but I eventually went with a show headlined by my childhood hero Sarah Michelle Gellar aka Buffy Summers. The show itself has lots of potential especially if they take themselves a lot less seriously. In retrospect, I probably should've included Suburgatory instead of this or another show on my list.

29. Once Upon A Time - Upon further reflection, it's odd this show made it in my list, but not Grimm whose initial episodes and tone appealed to me more. Some of it has been my laziness to catch up on the latter show, but I am also starting to get caught into this show's spell. Some of the acting is still pretty cartoonish, but I think the show has its heart in the right place.

28. Greek - I was sad to see this group of college buddies say goodbye, but I definitely enjoyed the journey they took me on. The final episode was a great highlight featuring every character and various relationships of the show. RIP KT House.

27. United States of Tara - The highlights this season were Toni Collette really going off the deep end and Eddie Izzard's brief supporting role. Other characters had solid emotional beats to play and for the most part they were all left in a good place during the series finale, though a bit bruised and battered.

26. So You Think You Can Dance - A pretty entertaining season capped with an all-girl final between two amazing dancers not to mention the final two boys being Asian! Love that Melanie ended up winning, but I would've been happy with any of the top 4.


25. The Walking Dead - Did we really need to spend most of the season looking for Sofia or being stuck in that farm? Probably not, but it certainly made that last scene all the more spine-chilling. Plus I'm okay with the slower paced episodes, but I wished more (believable) character development happened other than Darryl.

24. Amazing Race - Not the best two installments of the show, but they were still better than most anything on TV. Race-wise I enjoyed the earlier All-Stars season with Kisha/Jen winning versus the later season with Ernie/Cindy winning.

23. True Blood - I was pleasantly surprised this season perhaps because I actually liked most of the storylines plus or minus Jason's werepanther adventures or Sookie and Eric's sexy times. A lot of the actors stepped up this season and the witch vs. vampire big arc was really interesting.

22. The Hour - Many people call this the British Mad Men and I'm pretty sure it's meant to be complimentary. I really ended up liking this even though some of the stories were a bit too twisty for me to unknot. I was most impressed by Whishaw and Garai and their relationship.

21. Wilfred - Caught up on this show over the long Labor Day weekend and highly enjoyed it mostly due to the fun chemistry between its two lead characters. Props to Gann for really getting the essence of being a man in a dog suit acting like a dog. Kudos to Wood for acting along side him!

20. Modern Family - This has plummeted in my list, less because of its quality which is still top-notch along with its amazing ensemble, and more because there are just more sitcoms I've found I love more than this one.

19. Misfits - Did I miss Nathan? Maybe a little bit, but Kelly kicking ass and her relationship with cutie Seth more than made up for his absence. Their new powers were pretty unexciting, true, but solid episodes throughout. The finale was especially engrossing especially that tragic end for a couple of characters.

18. Big Bang Theory - The girls are why I tune in now, which is not to say that Parsons and the rest of the guys aren't good. It's just that I consistently enjoy the girls more and most of that is the chemistry between Penny and Amy.

17. Castle - I never know why I always end up ranking this show relatively low compared to my feelings regarding its awesome cast and fantastic episodes. Perhaps it's the procedural aspect of the show which screams "BEEN THERE DONE THAT!" That said, I have much love for this show and hope they can keep it up.

16. Friday Night Lights - This is probably as high as it is, because I actually saw every episode of this series this year though of course only a handful of episodes actually aired this year. Even so, it was a pretty good ending for a series that could've ended far sooner. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.


15. Cougar Town - It has felt like more than a year since we got a new episode of this great show, but alas its low ratings and awkward title has done its damage. But no matter since this cul de sac crew has wormed its way into my heart and forever they will remain.

14. How I Met Your Mother - This is such a complicated show to rank since it's one of the shows I look forward to each week and while they more often than not do great episodes, there have been more than a few clunkers. In the end, it's all about how excited I am every week for it and in spite of itself sometimes, I'm always excited!

13. Shameless - I was pretty much ready to write this show off as another useless American remake of a British show, but then I caught it and immediately fell in love with the Gallagher clan. I was most impressed with Emmy Rossum caustic portrayal as the head of the chaotic household. Can't wait to see them back on TV.

12. Revenge - This show was probably the biggest surprise for me this fall season. I expected this to crash and burn, but not only did it deliver one of the strongest pilots of the new season, but it somehow kept its juicy mixture of trashy guilty pleasures with strong characterizations and acting.

11. Happy Endings - I once described this show as a piñata filled with candy and crack and it's so very apt. It's continuously weird and endlessly funny. The characters are a big part of it as there's no weak link (yes, even Alex and Dave).

Any shows here that surprised you? Anything shocks you at being missing? Perhaps they'll show up tomorrow when I post my top 10 list. Or perhaps they just missed the cut.

My Emmy Ballot: TV Series

Tomorrow the Emmy Award nominations will surely break my heart as they've done so many times in years' past. Now I've come to accept this and instead learned to channel my disappointments to cheering on the shows I do like and would love to be nominated i.e. why I'm filling out my own ballot. Andrew and I talked about which shows we thought would get nominated so click here to see our chat and our predictions.

Disclaimer: Even though they only nominate 5-6 shows, voters are asked to pick "no more than 10" shows they "feel worthy of nomination." So I'll be picking 10, but making sure to highlight the 6 shows making up my top choices.


COMEDY SERIES
Community
Cougar Town
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
United States of Tara
Big Bang Theory
Greek
Happy Endings
Raising Hope

It's crazy that even from this list of ten shows, only one show is sure to be nominated tomorrow (Modern Family). It's even crazier to think that one of the best shows on TV, drama or comedy, will have to breakthrough to get a nomination it should be getting automatically (Parks and Recreation). The rest of the list consists of hip, wacky shows the Emmys won't even watch (Community, Cougar Town, Happy Endings) or old favorites (How I Met Your Mother, Greek, Big Bang Theory). But really all of my energy is focused on getting Parks and Recreation the nomination and the WIN it deserves.


DRAMA SERIES
Dexter
Fringe
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
Shameless
Castle
Friday Night Lights
The Walking Dead
White Collar

This drama list is a bit more Emmy-friendly than my comedy one, but it also contains a show that they would most certainly ignore despite of its superbly high quality (Fringe). The rest of my top tier nominees I can actually see getting nominated, even Shameless with the shows on the bottom tier having very little chance. With that said, this probably means that I'm going to be just fine come nomination morning regarding this category. If only I had watched Boardwalk Empire (or they would watch Fringe), then we'd probably match up pretty well.

And that's it for my ballots! I'll surely post my reactions to the actual nominations tomorrow. In the meantime, to read my ballots for the acting awards, click the following: Guest / Supporting / Leading.

Critics' Choice Television Awards Winners

The wealth was nicely distributed at the inaugural Critics' Choice Television Awards with Mad Men the only show to win more than one award. On the one hand, there are some nice left field winners with deserved recognition for John Noble and Busy Phillips, but on the other hand they stayed on point when it comes to the people who might end up with an Emmy Award in a couple of months which is a bit boring.

The winners and some of my thoughts below:

Best Drama Series: Mad Men
Best Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Best Actress, Drama: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Best Supporting Actor, Drama: John Noble, Fringe
Best Supporting Actress, Drama: Christina Hendricks, Mad Men & Margo Martindale, Justified

I know Mad Men is a critical favorite, but I thought it was an oddly safe choice. You'd think for their first year, they'd want to start with a bang. I myself would've probably picked Fringe or The Walking Dead. Quite happy to see Christina Hendricks tie for a win, but I honestly thought she'd be the last person they pick from the nominees. And while I personally wouldn't have picked Jon Hamm this year, let it be known that he hasn't yet won an Emmy for playing Don Draper. That's just criminal. Fuck yeah John Noble!

Best Comedy Series: Modern Family
Best Actor, Comedy: Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Best Actress, Comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy: Neil Patrick Harris, HIMYM
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Busy Phillips, Cougar Town

I think the most shocking thing about these results is the lack of Parks & Recreation win especially since it really seemed like P&R was the critical darling this season. And yet five other sitcoms won the five awards given. I would've probably given Parks a win for Best Comedy and Best Actress. In fact Tina Fey's win, out of the whole bunch, felt the most off to be honest. Amy Poehler or Martha Plimpton really should've gotten it. Also how did NPH manage to get singled out from the insane competition he had? Was everyone still high from his Tony-hosting gig? Fuck yeah Busy Phillips!

Best Reality Series: Hoarders and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Best Reality Series, Competition: American Idol
Best Reality Show Host: Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs
Best Talk Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Did the Broadcast Television Journalists Association really think that American Idol was the "best" reality competition series this year? If so, I really think their credentials need to be checked again. Though, I give them some props by resisting the urge to kowtow to Her Holiness Oprah by giving Jon Stewart, aka someone who actually deserved it, the win.

All in all, a somewhat mixed bag filled with some pleasant surprises along with some dull choices. I did praise them for their nominees which I'm still confident will outstrip the eventual Emmy nominees, but now the question becomes which of these shows and actors will repeat at the Emmys? Which do you think?

TV Report: 5/23-5/25

The regular TV season ended yesterday and so this is probably going to be the last of my weekly TV Reports until the new season starts up again in the fall. With that said, let's run down some finales that aired this past week...

GLEE - Apart from a few scenes (Kurt and Rachel singing on the Wicked stage, Brittana's final scene, Blaine and Kurt saying I love you), it was a bloated crazy mess. I know believability is not one of the show's strongest suit, but the fact that they went into the competition without having anything prepared is ridiculous. And the songs they did end up singing for the competition? A bit uninspired so it made sense they loss. Don't get me started on the tediousness that is Rachel/Finn and her life-or-death decision of whether to be with Finn or to follow her dreams. Also wasn't Quinn supposed to do something evil? Guess that new haircut (which looked awesome BTW) did the trick. Frankly, I would've preferred Brittany singing about her cup for the entire hour. THAT SAID, I will be back next season. How could I not? Glee is pretty much like crack. The highs are highs and the lows make you suicidal. It's so bad for you and yet you're addicted.

MODERN FAMILY - Just like Claire and Mitchell wanted to callback to their own past as a gift for Jay's birthday so to was this episode full of callbacks from this season. The most obvious was the birthday video montage that contained new scenes from episodes past, but even Manny bringing the boat into the pool and Luke asking for extra salt in his hot chocolate were small, but lovely callbacks. Also loved how much overlap each stories had even if for most of the episode they were all separate. Was this season as strong as last season? Maybe not, but we got to learn more about them, and I'm looking forward to doing more of that next season.

COUGAR TOWN - Sometimes when shows leave their normal setting to go off to another location, it can feel gimmicky and just tonally different. And yet this special outing to Hawaii to rescue Travis from a life of bumming around the beach felt like vintage Cougar Town. The episode brought lots of funny as expected, but it was the deeper character moments that I really fell for. Laurie using her crush on Travis to convince him to move back was heartbreaking especially since she knows how that'd impact their relationship. Laurie and Grayson dealing with their issues about their future was nicely done. But it was Bobby's loneliness, which has been an ongoing thread this season, that really resonated. Sad we have to wait a long time until the next new episode. I bet Abed also hates that (Community cameo FTW!). In the meantime, I guess I'll drink some wine and play some Penny Can (or is it Coco Rocks?).

HAPPY ENDINGS - Very glad to have this show back next season, because I really love these characters and I can't wait to see what they do over the summer as they tinker the show to keep doing what they've been doing right and perhaps also learn from what they did wrong. At the very least I'm looking forward to a season where the episodes are aired in the right order. But in any case, the finale hearkened back to the pilot with another wedding, and it had quite a few moments that were laugh out loud for me.

THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW - Okay, I don't really watch Oprah, at least with any regularity, but since she's pretty much a TV institution, the end of her Oprah Winfrey Show deserves a few words. First of all, I actually appreciated the fact that for her very final episode, she chose to strip it all down and pretty much deliver a sort of sermon to her millions of fans. It didn't make for gripping television, but it didn't need to be. The two episodes prior to this though was all about the glitz and spectacle with a huge stadium tribute to Oprah full of honorary guests, celebrities, and lots of musical performances. Wish her nothing but happiness on her own cable network.

TV Report: 5/16-5/20

Finales galore! This past week so many of my shows ended, I don't even know how many I have to talk about next week. For the most part though, there were some great finales with a few meh-okay ones in their midst. So without further a due...

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - It wasn't one of the show's stronger finales, but it was solid. I think I would've been more impressed if I hadn't predicted Lily was getting sick due to being pregnant. Lots of Barney/Robin in the episode which is probably setting up the big arc for next season especially since Nora is reintroduced and we find out that Barney is the groom. I thought the Arcadia/Zoey stuff ended last episode, but I guess not. Let's us never speak of them. Overall, a good season, mostly due to the father storylines of Marshall and Barney.

CASTLE - Was that a harrowing season finale or what? With people not being who they say they were and then dying, I felt I was watching a Joss Whedon-penned episode. Stana Katic was fantastic shouldering most of the emotions and action in the episode. Her blowup with Castle in her apartment and then breakdown outside the hangar are two of my favorite scenes. With all that said, RIP Captain Roy Montgomery. That was brutal. Oh and I have mixed feelings about shooting Beckett in the end. She's going to be alive obviously, but now what? Will she develop amnesia and forget Castle told her he loves her? Will she be on leave for an extended time? Just felt we really didn't need that ending.

GLEE - I knew a female castmember was going to die and I had predicted it was going to be Sue's sister Jean since a Sue-centric episode was due and with next week's NYC finale, I'm guessing Sue isn't going to be much of a factor there. With that said, how very sad. I definitely teared up at the funeral, both with the words Sue wrote and with the performance the kids gave. Now Sue seems to have (yet again) buried the hatchet with the Glee Club, so I hope this time it sticks especially since her humanizing influence of Jean is now gone. An even more cartoonish Sue for next year is NOT what we need even if she is running for political office. The rest of the episode was American Idol redux or dealing with the love triangle that I never gave a damn about. So there it is.

THE GOOD WIFE - When a show leaves me breathless before the first commercial break, I know it's going to be good and this episode wasn't any different. I tend to love the "fighting the clock" cases since it promotes teamwork and that is exactly what Kalinda and Alicia needed to at least learn how to work with one another because together they are AWESOME. Throughout the episode we get bits and pieces of some of the things we can look forward to next year such as the Cary/Peter alliance, Eli working within Lockart & Gardner, Jackie bonding with Owen, and of course whatever the fallout is to Will and Alicia giving in to "one hour" of good timing. Now I'm not a big Will/Alicia fan, but that whole end sequence with the elevator was beautifully done. I miss this show already.

MODERN FAMILY - Hilarious and heartfelt, which is pretty much the show's motto right? While the whole Botox thing and the Pritchetts laughing at other people's expense were good, it was Phil and Claire who stole the show as Phil tried Claire to breakdown and then in the process breaking both of them down. Seeing them both roll down the hill hurt my sides. Have also been loving the Alex/Haley interactions throughout the season and Haley giving Alex advise on her harsh valedictorian speech was a nice touch. It felt like a season finale, but we still have one more episode to go!

COUGAR TOWN - This episode pretty much had everything I loved about the show. We got lots of Penny Can with special guest star Lou Diamond Phillips hawking the game. We got Ellie and Grayson being their weird self duking it out with some Children of the Corn-esque "chalk children." And of course we got the complicated and totally unhealthy relationship between Jules and Travis. Jules trying tough love gave the expected result of Travis coming out on top. But really I just can't get the image of Grayson giving his best Travis impression and Jules getting so turned on and making out with him our of my head. ACK! WEIRD! FUNNY!

HAPPY ENDINGS - Clearly these episodes are shown out of order as they probably were to be slated as the second and third episodes of the series. With that said, I'm okay with this decision since the episode they showed right after the pilot hooked me and I'm not 100% sure either of these episode would've. I mean they were still funny, but are they funny because I'm now attached to these characters? I wish I knew the answer to that. Still looking forward to seeing how a full season of this show looks like when it comes back next year.

BIG BANG THEORY - Not sure if putting Penny and Raj together is genius, desperate, or both, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what this means for the group next season. Apart from that I'm just hoping that Bernadette and Amy are back again, because their addition to the cast has been my favorite thing this season. So I liked this finale, but I could've done without Howard's manxiety at having a more successful girlfriend. It just makes me feel like I'm watching a Chuck Lorre show or something. Oh wait...

PARKS & RECREATION - This is probably the show I'm going to miss most of all during summer hiatus as it has been on fire all season giving us not one single weak episode from the bunch. These last two saw Ben/Leslie trying to keep their relationship a secret from her mom and from everyone else they work with. It all came to a head at Lil Sebastian's memorial service (RIP buddy) when Ron got his facial hair singe by the fire. HILARIOUS. Of course Leslie getting approached for a possible run for mayor is just yet another wrinkle to this ridiculously sweet relationship and I'm going to be dying every day until this show is back in my life. Now to listen to "5,000 Candles in the Wind" by Mouse Rat for the 100th time.

THE OFFICE - The episode was a mixed bag to me. It was nice seeing all of these big stars try and audition for the void left by Steve Carrell, but overall it just felt lacking. I guess that was the point since we're supposed to go into the fall not knowing who will take over, but instead of this rush of anticipation, I'm just left feeling largely ambivalent about the whole thing. With that said, it was awesome seeing Catherine Tate on American TV and I wouldn't mind seeing her again. Hint hint.

SUPERNATURAL - A mostly disappointing season for me comes to a close with a somewhat lackluster two-hour finale. First what was Dean thinking with the whole Ben and Lisa thing? So Dean wipes their memory of him? HOW WILL THAT HELP THEM? Demons and angels can STILL use them as leverage against Dean and they're now in even more trouble since THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COMING FOR THEM. Typical "act first think later" Winchester trait. And even though we actually got some nice Castiel scenes especially with Raphael and Crowley, the whole Sam walkabout parts of the episode felt like a cheap out. I mean how did Sam withstand the memories of hell? He seemed hunky dory by the end of the episode. Really Castiel saved the finale for me. God!Castiel is probably my second favorite to Drunk!Castiel. Now, I've heard the rumors for next season. Don't mess with him, show. I mean it.

TV Report: 5/9-5/13

Here are my thoughts from this past week's TV. So many shows are having their finales or penultimate episodes! Exciting times for a TV viewer.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - The penultimate episode of the season effectively ended the Arcadian/Zoey arc and even though I didn't actively hate this arc like many people did, I'm still relieved it's over. Zoey just never really clicked with the rest of the characters or the arc itself felt tonally dissonant from the more effective storylines of Barney reconnecting with his dad or Marshall dealing with his father's death. So that's two below average episodes in a row. Hopefully tomorrow's season finale will give the show it's high note to end on.

CASTLE - The case of the week was nothing special (a pageant contestant is murdered) but it was great seeing Michael McKean and Sasha Roiz guest star as potential suspects. Loving the slight forward movement on Castle/Beckett via Alexis/Ashley dealing with the future of their relationship. Tomorrow's finally looks ALL KINDS of intense.

GLEE - Like most episodes of this show, there are plenty to praise and plenty to complain about. Part of the latter stuff includes the shoddy development and inadequate build up of Mercedes' and even Dave's situations making their albeit heartfelt scenes feel a tad unearned. And as much as I love Jonathan Groff, I didn't really miss Jesse. With all of this said, I do want to give props to the queer characters--Kurt's reaction to being named prom queen, Dave's sincere apology to Kurt, Santana and Brittany yet again hashing out their feelings for one another, Blaine being Blaine, etc.

THE GOOD WIFE - Kalinda/Alicia is probably the closest thing to an OTP on this show, so this episode hurt like a mofo. The scene in Alicia's office where Alicia pretty much throws Kalinda out was heartbreaking as was Kalinda's breakdown in the elevator. And as much as it pains me, it makes some DAMN good drama as well as changing these two characters by forcing both to essentially become a hardened versions of themselves. We see that in Alicia's aggression in court and with Jackie (their scenes together were fantastic as well) and in Kalinda becoming more resolve to be as shut off as ever.

MODERN FAMILY - Phil and Claire switch their traditionally good cop/bad cop roles and so much hilarity ensues. Of course both of them take it too far to the detriment of the children, but how hilarious the results were! Mitchell trying to decide whether or not to go to a Lady Gaga concert even though Cam is sick also had its moments esp. the ending with he is caught. The Jay/Gloria dog plot line fell flat to me even with the presence of guest star Lin Manuel Miranda.

COUGAR TOWN - A bit of a disjointed episode, but it still managed to work in the end. Travis is depressed and so OF COURSE he ends up in a strip club not only with both of his parents, but his grandfather as well. The laughs were there, but I really liked the heart these four brought to this storyline. Ellie dealing with Andy's sister-in-law's flirting with Andy by being mean to Laurie also gave them some bonding moments and real life couple Nia Vardalos and Ian Gomez were a hoot. Best scene though has to be Laurie acting as a "live note" and then proceeding to uncannily imitating Bobby.

HAPPY ENDINGS - Two episodes again which makes it difficult to review in my usual short snippet kind of way. My favorite character Max had to deal with his overly picky way of dating guys in the first episode and him actually having feelings for a new guy in the second. Too bad the latter relationship wasn't meant to be as the end tag made it seem like they broke it off. The other MVP this week to me was Brad as he hilariously partnered up with Penny in the first episode accidentally getting a waiter fired (and dumped and made homeless) and then competing with super competitive Jane in an interview-off; both ultimately using their sexuality to no success. Yay for this show's renewal!

BIG BANG THEORY - Not a bad episode, but until we found out that Howard's mom was only suffering from food poisoning, the seriousness of her possibly heart attack didn't mesh well with the comedy the cast was involved in. I didn't expect them to go all-out somber, but it all still felt a bit off. I also didn't find Sheldon's germophobia and subsequent containment funny. The Priya-Penny tete-a-tete was a long time coming though.

COMMUNITY - The season finale closes out the paintball storyline that began last week as we find out that this whole thing was a ruse by rival City College to get the students of Greendale to destroy their own school. Thematically speaking, last week's Western motif worked better than this week's Star Wars homage, but the action was still quite epic. The centerpiece of it all really was Pierce and his relationship with the school/his study group. Soon after he is shunned by the group, he saves the school and is welcomed back only for him to leave them on his own volition. It was a nice capper to the season-long storyline and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next season with Pierce and the rest of them.

PARKS & RECREATION - Perfect show is perfect. The first episode where everyone got drunk from Tom's latest venture, Snakejuice, was pure hilarity even though it gave us Leslie and Ann's first fight. They made up in the end, but not before Ann lets it slip to Ben that Leslie likes him. Segue to the next episode where Ben and Leslie have to endure spending time together even though they know they can't act on their feelings. Of course, this doesn't work and what proceeds is about 15-20 minutes of awesome flirting and confessing and everything. Chris acting as the ultimate cockblocker for most of the episode also worked since it made the payoff of Leslie and Ben having their first kiss all the sweeter. This episode also had April serenade Andy and Ron bonding with a little girl. Again, perfect show is perfect. Baba booey!

SMALLVILLE - And just a quick note on this show's series finale even though I stopped watching regularly years ago. Lots of the emotional stuff that involved Clark and his parents and his past worked for me, because that's when I was still watching the show. Everything else... from Lutessa to Darkseid to Green Arrow to Dark Omega to even his marriage to Lois... felt at best exposition-heavy and at worst deux ex machina-like. Even the big Lex-Clark reunion felt off. The seven-year jump in order for the story line to sort of match up with DC canon is a little suspect, but using that Superman score at the end was perfect. Overall, I still can't believe this show lasted 10 seasons, but congrats to all involve.

TV Report: 5/2-5/6

I saw all of these within the last 48 hours or so which, even by my standards, is just a lot of TV in such a short time. So my write-ups below will feel a bit scattered and disorganized, but without further a due...

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - Wasn't one of this show's stronger episode, but it had its moments mostly revolving Robin and Lily using alcoholic drinks to manipulate Barney and Marshall into sharing their feelings. But even that whole thing lasted just a wee bit too long. The whole Zoey/Ted thing is played out, so that's it.

CASTLE - This LA-centric episode was wonderful and not just because the case was good and personal (for Beckett, it was her mentor's murder after all), but it subtlety showed us the evolution of the Beckett/Castle relationship. For example, in the beginning when Castle tried to stop Beckett from seeing the dead body, Beckett countered him by asking him what he would've done if it was her instead lying there dead. This shows that Beckett recognizes how Castle feels about her. Then for the episode to end with her mentor pretty much pushing her towards Castle in his letter from the grave... well it's about time.

GLEE - I'll deny this in the future, but I actually found Matt Morrison quite affecting in this episode especially with his scene with Jayma Mays talking about his dreams of Broadway. Also found the Sam storyline a bit tearjerky so all in all, it was a far deeper emotional episode than I thought. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Santana (and Karofksy) by the end of the season. Nice to see Chenoweth back again, of course.

THE GOOD WIFE - Very good episode even though all of the guest stars were a bit distracting. Martha Plimpton makes her fantastic reappearance as Patti Nyholm, but we also got Aaron Stanton (Mad Men), Christopher Shyer (V), and John Glover. The big developments in this episode was Alicia breaking it off with Peter and the beginning of the Peter/Cary alliance. Next episode (i.e. tomorrow) Alicia and Kalinda finally face off. I'm SO scared.

MODERN FAMILY - Good solid Mother's Day-themed episode. For some reason seeing Phil and then Jay wearing the onion goggles made me laugh way too hard and of course seeing Gloria deal with Manny contrasted with how Claire deals with her three children was great. Not sure how I feel about the Cam/Mitchell storyline with Cam not wanting to be the "mother" though.

COUGAR TOWN - The council was a fun running gag throughout the episode, but I like the main storyline of Travis wanting to propose to Kristen and how Jules and Grayson act in response. The moment on the beach when Jules sees Travis get rejected was a wonderful one and totally in character. Looking forward to seeing where they take this.

HAPPY ENDINGS - This show continues to provide much enjoyment. While Max is probably my favorite character (seriously he's just SO different from any other gay character on TV), I go back and forth a lot on who my second favorite character is and that speaks well for the ensemble. Though if I was being more honest, it'd probably be a tie between "Gay Husband" Penny and "Super Competitive" Jane. I know I didn't really talk about the episodes, but I thought they were both funny and the second episode that skewered hipsters and likened them to zombie? PERFECTION.

BIG BANG THEORY - Great, great episode. The girls (minus Priya) have totally been the MVP of this season and it was wonderful to get a cold open with just the girls. In fact we don't get all of the guys in one scene until the end tag, which was shocking. Bernadette and Amy provided the bulk of the story and the comedy of the episodes and I hope to God they're both back next season.

COMMUNITY - Wonderful start to the 3-part paintball season finale. Love the reveal on the origin of their card names coming from the cards they used to vote on whether or not to invite Pierce back into their group next year (red for yes and black for no). It also enabled them to air out the Pierce Problem that has plagued the entire season. There's one more hour left to this season, so let's see how exactly they resolve this. But even if they don't OMG PAINTBALL. And yes, Josh Holloway... woot!

PARKS & RECREATION - The casting of Parkey Posey as Leslie's former best friend and now rival was pitch perfect and I would so totally watch a spin-off with her. The whole Eagleton-Pawnee thing was fun to see if only to see Leslie reaffirm that her one true love is that city. Ron freaking out about Leslie's birthday plans for him provided a hilarious B-plot.

FRINGE - When I can I'll probably try to do a separate post to talk about my feelings of probably the best show of the season. Its finale was J.J. Abrams' show kind of a finale which meant it was one part epic, one part timey-wimey, and one part OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED? There were so much information thrown at the audience that I admit I felt a bit overwhelmed and a bit detached emotionally (with the exception of one or two scenes) for most of the episode. Despite that, I thought it was another strong outing for most of the actors and definitely a worthy ending to such a wonderful season.

SUPERNATURAL - It's been an uneven season to be sure, but this episode is definitely one of the best the show has offered in its history. Was it perfect? Not at all. The voiceover narration was a bit overused and the end of The Mother arc was a bit anti-climactic at least in terms of The Mother being such a meh villain. Everything else though from this being such a Castiel-heavy episode to the welcome return of Crowley to major Dean-Castiel angst was perfect. It seemed to tie the season, and even the show as a whole, together. Wished we had gotten what we learned in this episode a bit earlier or maybe throughout the season, but I'll take it. Now I'm just fearful what the repercussions will be. They can't kill Castiel off, could they?