Belated TV Finale Thoughts, Part 1

My overly ambitious plan was to write up a season finale post on most of the shows I watch regularly, but I was only really able to do that for How I Met Your Mother. Instead, just a few quick stray thoughts on a few season finales (and perhaps overall season thoughts). First up, the comedies...

THE OFFICE - This probably deserved its own post, but I stopped caring about the show way before its series finale, which was done as well as they could've done it. I still don't buy Dwight's character 180 in the last few episodes, but they had to rush his maturation for his wedding and his new status as branch manager. Also, putting focus on the documentary aspect of the show for its final season was a mixed bag in that while it provided a natural closure for the show, the reality of it just begs for too much analysis that doesn't hold up. For one, why were only those featured in the last year of the "documentary" invited for the reunion? The real answer is that the "people" who have been featured on it are played by actors who weren't available for the finale, but sure let's pretend people actually were clamoring for more Plop and mini-Dwight instead of Michael Scott. And yet dammit if I didn't cheer and cry when Steve Carrell did make his appearance or when Dwight called Pam his best friend or when Phyllis started crying because Stanley made her a bobble-head doll. It was certainly time to end it and they did it the best they could with what they were given. Finale: B+, Season: C

HAPPY ENDINGS - The season ended with the gang dancing together at a wedding reception and if that's the final image we'll have of this show ever, I'm at peace with it. Yes, even though ABC cancelled it there's a chance it'll find a new cable home. I'll be happy if it does come back, but I'm also okay if it doesn't. I still love the characters especially with how they interact with each other, but I would lie if I didn't say that some of their schtick were getting a bit tiresome. That said, this is the show I lovingly call "a piñata filled with candy and crack." Candy and crack is good, but getting them constantly is not that great for you. Finale: B, Season: B

NEW GIRL - I've been quite impressed at the strong sophomore season this show managed to put together. Most of it was realizing that the show works much better as an ensemble and less of a Zoey Deschanel platform. I'm not to say that she isn't great by herself, but they also learned to turned down her adorkableness that was such a feature of the first season, especially early on. This season also benefited from Jake Johnson (this season's MVP) absolutely blossoming as Nick Miller from his hilarious physical comedy to his unbelievable chemistry with Deschanel. I do wish the show would give Cece and Winston more to do though the latter has done the best he could all season with very little. Cece on the other hand was largely wasted on a wedding arc that ended the way everyone thought it would. And now they're seemingly creating a love triangle arc with her, Schmidt, and Elizabeth (played by the amazing Merrit Weaver). I'll reserve judgment on this depending on whether or not the show decides to keep Weaver around. Finale: B+, Season: B+

BIG BANG THEORY - This show has fallen down in my own rankings the past few years especially with some of the crass humor that has overtaken the show. With that said, there are still a few things that keep me coming back. For one thing, the show has been very open to expanding its cast, first with bringing in more girls (Amy and Bernadette) and then growing its world of wonderful recurring characters (the characters' parents, Stuart, Will Wheaton, and now Lucy). That latter character, Lucy, the woman with the severe social anxiety disorder that Raj is dating, can still go one way or another (and who knows if we'll actually see her again), but it at least provided some growth for the Raj character who can finally talk to girls without alcoholic influence. That development in the finale was a welcome change as was the gang saying goodbye momentarily to Leonard nicely book-ending the season when they welcomed Howard back from his expedition. Finale: B, Season B-

PARKS & RECREATION - My favorite comedy show didn't have the best season ender at least compared to the finales of past years especially since it didn't really leave things in a nice little bow. And yet there's a silver lining there in that the show must have known that they were a shoe-in for renewal (and they were renewed). While that's all and good, it also made the season finale feel like setting up for next season with many things were left up in the air like's Leslie fighting the recall, April going to vet school, Tom's business being bought by a mysterious person, and OH YEAH RON SWANSON BEING A DAD. The end of the second season had this same feeling and it gave us the nearly perfect third season so I'm going to remain hopeful that this show will deliver. It almost always does after all. Finale: B, Season: A-

COMMUNITY - Six seasons and a movie. These days to many disenchanted fans, that's starting to feel like a prison sentence especially as the show has been renewed yet again. I admit that it hasn't been the show's strongest season, but people bemoaning that the show has been ruined to the point of no return is just ridiculous. I guess most of this is due to many of the creatives that had made the show great being replaced this past year, but it's not as if the whole season was a bust. The Jim Rash-penned episode was superb as was seeing how the gang all decided to go to community college and the puppet-themed episode is right up there with the best Community episodes ever. One thing I would give to the naysayers is the finale going just a bit overboard. There were plenty of nice things in there, especially in the end with Jeff showing his appreciation for his friends and that place, but the Dark Timeline subplot, as cool as it might have been as an initial idea, overreached here and didn't make sense at all character-wise for Jeff. Why would Jeff be having such an Abed reaction to graduating? Still, I'm a believer of shows improving (see again my thoughts on How I Met Your Mother) so bring on two more seasons and a movie please! Finale: B-, Season: B

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 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: 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!

TV Report: Week of 1/8

Tonight's a busy, busy TV day for me. Yes, there's the Golden Globes which is probably my main priority since I'm an awards nuts, but there's also the football playoffs featuring the Giants and more importantly the beginning of the Australian Open. I didn't even mention my usual Sunday TV fare like The Good Wife, Shameless, and Sherlock. Thank goodness I have tomorrow off. With that said, that's tonight, how about I talk about the TV week that was...


Speaking of Sunday TV...

My two favorite episodes this past week came exactly seven days ago with the latest episode of The Good Wife featuring the welcome return of Carrie Preston's eccentric, but shrewd lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni and the season premiere of Shameless with the return of Emmy Rossum and the rest of the Gallagher clan. Both actress did win my personal end-of-year awards, but that's neither here nor there. While they were my favorite parts, they didn't perform in a vacuum. The Good Wife, like every week, expertly juggles multiple characters and story lines with nary a fumble. This week the main story was a couple suing the always hilarious David Lee who brokered their divorce agreement during Alicia's first year. It gave us very tense moments where we thought Alicia might have ::gasp:: done something wrong showing us not only that this show can make missing paperwork exciting, but also giving a more bonding moment for a newly made-up-ish Kalinda/Alicia. This storyline also offered us a wonderfully new rivalry in Eli and David Lee which I hope will continue to foster. Of course, Elsbeth, as Will's new lawyer, confronting Wendy made me gleeful since both of them are so smart and manipulative is similar and yet very different ways. I'm so looking forward to what transpires there.

As for the Gallagher clan et. al, it was great seeing them back, this time in the summertime. It's been a few months since the events of last season's finale with Steve leaving and Eddie seemingly committing suicide. As per usual, the Gallaghers are surviving just okay in their usual way--Fiona working as a server, Lip doing fight club, Debbie and Carl babysitting the neighborhood kids. Frank gets up to his usual trouble which not only threatens his kids (Liam is held for ransom basically), but makes them lose all their hard-earned money. It's a strong premiere in that regard welcoming us back to what we fell in love with the show in the first place. Oh and it featured a dirty-mouthed shirtless James Wolk as Fiona's rebound. Yes, please.


The Ever So Consistent ABC Wednesday Block...

Apart from possibly Sunday, Wednesday seems to be my favorite TV day which is even made more peculiar since I only watch one network. Or if not my favorite then it's definitely the most consistent/best flow which was solidified even more this week as I graded each individual episodes a B+. The Wire references abounded this week on Suburgatory and Happy Endings with the first show featuring guest star Dan Byrd (Cougartown) working as an undercover cop and the latter show featuring Max, Alex, and Brad staking out a possible prostitution ring. Both had their usual sitcom-y twists of course with Tessa thinking Byrd's cop was actually a closeted gay and the prostitution ring not at all what it seems. For the latter show, the highlights were the guest appearances of Michael McKean (as Dave's dad) and Megan Mullaly (as Penny's mom) who are now dating and of course the racist/homophobic parrot Alex bought.

Meanwhile Modern Family delivered a solid episode that is to be commended for a not-too-grating Cam/Mitchell storyline that had them trying to impress a girl who wanted to give up her baby for adoption. Phil's schtick this time wasn't as funny as I usually found it, but I loved his final scene with Gloria who wanted Phil to be angry with her so it felt like they were family. I liked the Egg Drop bit more for Alex's background snickers and Luke's observations than anything else. Finally, Revenge was delicious as usual featuring the wonderful appearance of Robert Bart as the journalist turned author who burned Emily's father. The ending was predictable in that Emily got her revenged, but it was quite effective with the flames and Nolan's maniacally smiling in the background. I don't have high hopes for Fauxmanda. She's the loose end to Emily's plan and she'll eventually has to be dealt with, but I did love Emily as Cyrano for Amanda scene. Charlotte as Emily's half-sister is... boring, but this is a soap opera and maybe it'll be more development for that underused character.


Welcome Comebacks...

It's been more than a month since we got a new episode of Parks and Recreation and nearly TWO MONTHS since we saw a new episode of Fringe, so I was glad to have both shows back in my life this week. First, Parks was fantastic especially the Ben as depressed plot. Adam Scott was literally stealing scenes throughout from his calzones-zones to his claymaysh. It was also a welcome sight to see him interact with Chris. The other part of the episode with Leslie relaunching her campaign was good, but didn't become great until the end with the ice rink debacle with Gloria Estefan's "Get On You Feet" playing in the background. By the time the basketball player slipped and the song played immediately after, I was delirious from laughing so hard. It was both hilarious painful and painfully hilarious. End result is one we all predicted though with Ben being Leslie's campaign manager. Bring it, Paul Rudd!

As for Fringe, it was a very strong first episode of the new year which in all likelihood might also be its final year. I'd like to think this was probably setup as the mid-season finale, but the ratings made the network delay. Too bad since it really was quite epic in scope with the two Lees from both universe meeting up and Peter confronting not only his "all is not what it seems" father, but also his affectionate mother giving us a wonderfully heartbreaking reunion scene. The Observer's scene with Olivia was appropriately foreboding, but the return of Jared Harris as Jones from the first season is more than exciting and if this is to be the endgame, then I might be able to live with it. Just barely.

Few Other TV Tidbits...

The last episode of Once Upon A Time as a whole wasn't really that strong especially when we were in the real world, but props must go to Rober Carlyle for his great work... Ryan got married on Castle and Castle/walking down the aisle in the end was cute... Amy gleefully reacting to her tiara gift from Sheldon in Big Bang Theory was pure joy... Nice to see 30 Rock back again, but I still miss Community more.. Didn't get to see either The Secret Circle (too much on that night) or Supernatural (falling out of love with the show). Though I hear for the latter, it was a particular good episode. Go figure.

TV Report: Week of 1/1

I think the idea behind my weekly TV rankings is solid, but I'm continually trying to figure out the best way to offer up my thoughts on the shows I watch. The problem is I just watch too much and the amount of what I have to say varies from show to show and even week to week. So with that said, I think I'm going to do without weekly rankings and if I don't have much to say about a show, I won't talk about it (though maybe just in passing?). And so it begins...

Forgettable CBS Monday Episodes

I get why CBS decided to air new episodes of How I Met Your Mother and 2 Broke Girls especially with an NYE-theme episode of the former, but talk about being wholly forgettable and largely filler. Mother had good elements that never really gelled together. Barney and Ted's lifelong dream of opening up the bar should've made more of an impact than it did and Robin's big on-screen moment was also similarly anticlimactic. Marshall and Lily having separate "dad moments" gave the episode an uplifting ending, but not their best efforts. Girls went into the world of extreme couponing and Occupy Bathroom Tampons. I don't even want to go into it really.

ABC Wednesday Makes Strong Return

Let's just say the weakest episode on this night went to a solid Modern Family episode which tells you how strong this night is for this network. Any episode of Suburgatory where Tessa is forced to spend most of her scenes with Dalia, hilariously played by Carly Chaikin, is always excellent. Dalia BTW is like Regina and Karen from Mean Girls rolled into one. Modern Family delivers a somewhat boring episode with the only highlights coming from a paranoid Phil thinking he's about to die and Claire, Cam, and Mitchell eying Manny's father. Happy Endings was enjoyable as ever mostly because I loved the pairing of Max/Jane (competing for a matching sweater) and Alex/Brad (finding out they share a love of rom coms). The Penny/Dave possibly subplot intrigues, but I need more to jump on board.

Of course last but definitely NOT the least was a new episode of Revenge where Tyler pretty much went off the deep end and it was so absolutely, and sometimes terrifyingly, a joy to watch. Tyler ate up most of the episode going up against Conrad then Daniel then poor Nolan before holding most of the main cast under hostage. Of course he is taken down and it's tough to say goodbye to Ashton Holmes, but they didn't kill him and since this is a soap, I'm sure we'll see him down the line hopefully with his hot brother in tow. In other news, Victoria is fighting two battles, one with Emily for Daniel's affections and one with Conrad in regards to their divorce. Can't wait to see her play dirtier as she gets more desperate.

Brief Thoughts on Dark Thursdays

I don't blog about Grey's Anatomy, but I do still watch it and this latest episode, the second part of a two-parter that began before the holidays, was great if only for Sandra Oh's performance. Actually I also give props to Kim Raver whose devastation was so well-played by the actress and gut-wrenching to watch. As for The Secret Circle, it was a fairly middling episode even though I did like that they didn't drag out the gang knowing about Cassie's possible dark side. I am getting tired of whatever plan Dawn and Charles are trying to cook up as well as Faye's one-mindedness of being such a bitch.

And Some Final Reservations for Supernatural

This season hasn't been awful. It actually started out strong and the last new episode before the break where Bobby died was one of their best. And yet, I'm just finding myself not caring as much about these brothers. This is one of those shows where I've stopped having actual things to say and I'll probably stop talking about it in the weeks to come unless something big happens.

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.

TV Report: Weekly Comedy Rankings

If you read my blog fairly regularly (or follow me on twitter), you've probably noticed that my favorite hour of TV this fall has been Thursdays at 8pm on NBC with the double dose of awesome from Community and Parks & Recreation. Unfortunately, it seems like this past week's hour will be the last time these two shows will be paired up with 30 Rock replacing Community in the spring when the latter goes on its extended hiatus. When it does come back, it'll probably be on a new day/time slot and paired with another show. With that said, both shows are again on top of my rankings this week as they have done so in the past. I refuse to rank them against each other though, so here goes...

Regional Holiday Music (Community) - They were bound to do a musical episode someday, but I'm glad they were able to do so while also spoofing Glee and giving the fans a great half hour to go out on. The songs by themselves, with the obvious exception of Childish Gambino-like rap duet with Troy and Abed, weren't that spectacular. Joss Whedon has spoiled me on that front, but as a whole it was plenty entertaining. Props to Saturday Night Live's Taran Killam (boyfriend of How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders) for crafting the equal part cheery-creepy glee coordinator. Show, you will be missed. Please come back soon.


Citizen Knope (Parks and Recreation) - Heartwarming. That's what I got from this episode. I was holding back the tears at the end when Leslie Knope received not just an awesome gingerbread replica of the parks department, but also her co-workers and friends volunteering to take up her defunct campaign. It was all made the sweeter from the early setup with all of them proudly displaying the perfect gifts Leslie gave them (Ron even got sniffly). The B-plot with Ben was no less entertaining as he went around Pawnee trying to figure out what to do now that he resigned. I thought him becoming Leslie's campaign manager would be perfect and could still happen, but I was expecting it in this episode.

3. Symphony of Illumination (How I Met Your Mother) - With all the praise I've given those top two shows, it's this show and this episode that has been occupying my mind all week mostly due to the brutal performance by Colbie Smulders. I was one of the few people that didn't react negatively over the pregnancy cliffhanger from last episode. I trusted the show knew what it was doing and this episode proved it giving Smulders a non-Robin Sparkles episode for her to shine. She went through a roller-coaster of emotions, first freaking out about her pregnancy then reeling from the news that she not only wasn't pregnant, but is also not able to have children. Hard to watch especially as as Lily and Ted specially tried to figure out what's bothering her. The last scene of the episode with Ted and Robin especially wrecked me. What all of this means for Robin/Barney is unknown, but well-done to all involved.

At this point, just a few quick thoughts on the rest of the comedies this past week:

4. Bad in Bed (New Girl) - Justin Long should really be a series regular because his two episodes has been my favorite of the series. He has great chemistry with Zooey Deschanel and their antics together are hilarious. Schmidt's plot line also made me laugh out loud especially that outrageous moment when he pushed his very pregnant boss into the pool.

5. Christmas Wishes (The Office) - Even if this show isn't a favorite, I do tend to love their holiday offerings and this year wasn't an exception. I especially loved Erin's journey from shy receptionist to drunk woman scorned. Also thought Darryl/Val was adorable.

6. Express Christmas (Modern Family) - The episode itself was a bit bland, but I loved the different combination of characters this episode featured. With an ensemble as talented as this they can mix and match and usually deliver which they did here.

7. Grinches Be Crazy (Happy Endings) - Not their best episode, but solid enough. Max as Santa was good comedy, but the rest of the stories felt flat mostly due to writing and not the acting.

8. And the Reality Check (2 Broke Girls) - I admit I choked up a little when Max bid a tearful goodbye to Chestnut in the end and loved Caroline "acting rich" performance. Rest of the episode was just okay.

9. The Nutcracker (Suburgatory) - A bit of a forgettable episode, but what I do remember was pleasant enough especially that sudden kiss between George and Dalia. Also liked that we see how George is super awkward with the ladies.

10. The Speckerman Recurrence (Big Bang Theory) - Leonard trying to deal with his bully from yore was a bit of a snoozefest. Luckily, as they've done for more than a season now the ladies held the episode up. Amy Farrah Fowler, never leave this show.