Well, I’m back, not exactly well-rested, but better rested than before. At the very least, it was nice to have some time to do errands/laundry/catch up on shows. (I probably smell a little better now that the laundry is done, so, added bonus there.)
Now, this week, I’m thinking of taking a different approach. Really, until Thursday, there was nothing outstanding to me on TV. Yeah, there were some really good shows, Mad Men and Game of Thrones, to name two, but nothing that sparked my undying love. Then came Community and Parks and Rec and everything turned around. However, since I have already done a couple of in depth analyses of these two shows, I’m taking a break from the straight-up review. I’m still going to grade everything, but instead of doing a big breakdown of one or two shows, I’m going to do more of a “best of” tally. If that sounds weird, I promise it won’t be. Just click “Continue Reading” and play along. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
(Also, before we get started, in taking my little sabbatical last week, I missed talking about the finale of The Good Wife. I’m not sure there is too much to talk about, but I wanted to say that I did enjoy it, despite all the Kalinda stuff. I’ve said many times to my friends and family that Kalinda is not my favorite part of the show. (Shocking, I know). Everybody loves her, but I find her a little tedious in how much the writers try to make her interesting. It’s like Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which I also hated). We get it, you’re edgy and mysterious. Stop gilding the lily already. But otherwise, I liked the finale and I’m looking forward to next season when Michael J Fox, I can only assume, becomes a big bad.)
Now, more after the jump.
_595_watermark.jpg)
Overall best moment of the week: Already I’m going to cheat because, really, this is two, connected scenes on Parks and Recreation. The first is when Leslie finally steps into the voting booth and fulfills her lifelong dream of voting for herself. Hands down, Amy Poehler was amazing in this. The look of satisfaction with a hint of wonder on her face, the tear in her eye. It made me cry (I’m tearing up just thinking about it.) And then again, I got choked up when Leslie learns that she’s won the election. It was just so good. And Leslie’s look of surprise and sheer joy was perfect. Please, come September, somebody give Amy Poehler an Emmy. I can’t express how sublime these two scenes were. Also, the whole episode was amazing. Definitely my favorite of the week.
Most uncomfortable moment: Girls. This show is full of squirmy scenes. Twenty-four year olds do really dumb things and from the outside, you just want to yell at them and tell them they’re making bad choices. “Hannah! Adam’s a dick! Stop going back to him! Have more self-respect!” or “Jessa! What are you doing? He’s a married man! This can only end badly!” But of all the times I shifted in my seat, controlling the urge to scream at my TV, nothing topped the end of the episode where Charlie’s “band” plays. One, I felt awkward for Charlie. Dude, you’re singing a song about Keds with a guitar and a bongo drum at an open mic night. Yikes! But then, when he sings the song about what it’s like to have a boyfriend with a vagina, I was actually kind of proud of him – way to grow a pair – but mortified for Marnie and Hannah. Ugh, if that had happened to me, I would have turned tail and run out of the bar. That said, kudos to the show for taking the characters there. If I’m that invested in the characters, they’re definitely doing something right.
Best dance moves: Cougar Town. When Travis put on the iPad helmet and helped Wade woo Laurie, it broke my heart. But when he started doing stupid dance moves while Wade tried to be serious, I couldn’t help but smile. It was so adorable and poignant, I loved every second of it. Here’s hoping that Travis gets some good luck in the few episodes before the season finale. He’s had a hard couple of years – failed marriage proposal, escape to Hawaii, helmet – he could really use a happy ending. Side note: I’m glad that this show got renewed for another season, but TBS doesn’t thrill me. At least it’s not TVLand, where washed up sitcom stars go to die. (Sorry Donald Faison, I still love you.)
Most improved show: Game of Thrones. Wonders of wonders, I actually find myself looking forward to watching this on Sundays. I guess it helps that I have a year to have gotten attached to characters and their storylines, but really, I think the show has improved in their storytelling. It feels less sprawling lately, with clearer goals for the characters. It helps that they killed of Renley (one story down) and that Robb only appears briefly (I’m not enthralled with his crush on the nurse). If the show can stay focused on Jon, Daenerys, Winterfell, and King’s Landing, I’ll be a happy girl. Oh, also, this quote makes me love Tyrion all the more:
Joffrey: “You’re talking to a king!”
Tyrion: (slaps Joffrey across the face.) “And now I’ve struck a king! Did my hand fall from my wrist?”
Ah, it’s about time someone took Joffrey down a few pegs.
Most Improved Show, Part II: New Girl. I still don’t like Zooey Deschanel, but at this point, my hatred has tempered to annoyance. That’s a good sign that the show is doing what it’s supposed to do. No, it wasn’t the best of season finales, but I’ll definitely be tuning in next year, which is more than I can say for a lot of what’s on TV right now.
Best Re-tread: Community. “Paradigms of Human Memory” is one of my all-time favorite episodes of Community. So, it was certainly bold of Dan Harmon and his team to dip into that well again. But I loved, loved, loved this clip show. Not only did it have hilarious “memories” that we missed out on during the year, but it also spoofed one of my favorite conceits in television: the “you are really crazy” twist. I swear, when Buffy did it, I was almost convinced that Sunnydale wasn’t real. And so to have the shrink try to convince us and the study group that Greendale was never real was absolutely brilliant. Plus, the footage of the cuckoo’s nest was amazing. “I want to see what happens when I take away one of their pens.” Hilarious!! Oh, and on a different note, I’ve been waiting all year for the show to address Abed’s level of crazy, and this was the perfect payoff. Very well done on the writers’ parts.
Britta: The dean has been kidnapped! He’s out there somewhere cold, alone, most likely trying to cobble together a sexy Patty Hearst costume.
Best Reunion (of sorts): Mad Men. Matthew Weiner must have loved The WB. And being someone who also spent a fair portion of my adolescent years watching the channel, it was great/bizarre to see Alexis Bledel sleep with Vincent Kartheiser. I’m not sold on the storyline as a whole, but for the pure meta factor, it was pretty impressive.
Most obvious dialogue: Fringe. I’ve been loving the recent episodes of this show. Every week I look forward to sitting down and spending an hour with Walter and the gang. But man, the dialogue sometimes is so horribly, eye-rollingly on the nose. Sci-fi has never been a subtle genre but when Nina sharp turns to Peter and Olivia, as they are about to jump onto the freighter and says that they will have to “do this together,” I cringed. Clunk! I think something just hit me over the head. Oh right, that was the dialogue. (PS. I really did enjoy the finale and I’m very happy that we get another season. No matter how bad the dialogue is, I still love this show)
Be Kind, Rewind: The Office. It seems to me that the past few episodes of this show have quietly but consistently been trying to erase season eight from existence. It’s like the writers are trying to reset. Sorry, this season didn’t work, let’s start again. Robert California didn’t work as a character? Here, let’s bring back David Wallace. Did we go off course with having Nelly as the boss? Here, let’s reinstate Andy. Did we screw up by having the warehouse crew win the lottery? Here, let’s bring them back and say that they lost all their money. Was the story of Angela having a gay man’s baby a little too melodramatic? Here, let’s have her get back together with Dwight. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part, I’d be happy to ignore the fact that season eight ever existed, but I find it interesting that the show is being so dedicated in its attempt to undo all the errant roads it has taken over the last year.
WTF: Grey’s Anatomy. WHAT?!? WHAT?!?!?!
Up Next: The Grades
Mary the TV Maven 