Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Summary (from imdb.com): Ted and Barney discuss making a life-changing decision together, and Robin tries to discourage Marshall and Lily from moving to Long Island.
Review: HIMYM is really throwing viewers for a loop with the whole Barney/Robin saga this season. As someone who started watching the show right around the time they started dating (then went back and watched the rest), I love the idea of them as a couple, and this season really seems to be pushing it. But the road there is apparently paved with potholes.
This episode focused on two main stories, aside from the Barney/Robin plot. In one, Marshall and Lily, who were given a house in a previous episode by Lily's grandparents, are having second thoughts about selling the place. After spending a day there and seeing how big it is, they realize just how tiny their apartment is. But when she sees just how seriously they're thinking about moving, Robin has a minor meltdown and tries to dissuade them.
In the second story, Barney and Ted decide, while drunk, to adopt a baby together. When the idea still seems like a good one in the morning, they begin to talk more, until Ted realizes adopting a baby with Barney is a terrible idea. Which is, of course, when Barney shows up with a baby that he may or may not have kidnapped. It turns out she's his niece, whom he was babysitting. This served to highlight both that Barney wasn't ready to take of a child and that his seemingly newfound desire to have one was earnest and sincere.
There were so many things to like about this episode. Let's start with Barney and Ted's drunken proclamation that everything would be easier if they didn't like girls and that they should be in a gay relationship with each other, which was promptly foiled when they both checked out the waitress. Or perhaps when they're holding the baby (whom they named Hurricane Mosby-Stinson) and a gaggle of women surround them. Or maybe Marshall giving Robin food through the bathroom window.
I have to admit, a part of me was ticked by the idea of Barney and Ted as "bro-parents." I know it would ultimately be a terrible idea, but there's a small part of me that would love to see it. At least it would be funny for awhile.
The part of the story I've neglected so far is the very end, when Barney climbed through the bathroom window and explained to Robin what had happened. When he asked if she could see him as a parent, she blurted out, "I'm pregnant." Cut to black.
This part of the story got spoiled for me before I watched the episode, but I might have figured it out anyway. Looking back, it made Barney's desire to have a child seem sudden and a little jarring. To my memory, he's never expressed any interest in a family, and I can't remember him having any positive interactions with kids. But obviously it was no coincidence that the episode where he finally expressed this longing was the same one in which Robin told him she was pregnant. It may not be his child, but you can bet Barney's going to spend at least the next episode getting excited to be a father, and this episode set it up perfectly. It almost makes you wonder if Ted's jokes throughout the episode that things happened at certain times for the sake of the story weren't tongue-in-cheek comments about this impeccable timing as well.
The other issue they left unresolved was whether or not Lily and Marshall are going to move to the suburbs. I can't imagine how they'll manage that and still have them be an integral part of the show, but I trust the writers to find a way if that's the path they choose. It does seem like a logical step for expectant parents, and I like that it's something they're addressing. I don't necessarily think the show would be lacking without this story, but it's a nice addition.
Obviously I'm looking forward to seeing how the pregnant Robin arc resolves itself, but I'm also looking forward to seeing Ted's reaction to this news. He's been in such a bad place in the romance department lately that this latest blow can't possibly help. Hopefully things will turn around for him soon (though with HIMYM's ratings where they are, it'll still be several seasons before we ever get to meet the mother).
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Marshall: Baby, your grandparents gave you this house outright. The way I see it, we have five options: number one, sell it. Number two, year-round haunted house. Three, giant fence around the perimeter. Chimp sanctuary, there's a swing around the backyard. Four, we destroy it with sledgehammers. I like four.
Lily: Or five, we move in, raise our children, make this our family home.
Marshall: 'Till they graduate, and we destroy it with sledgehammers. As a family.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.
Showing posts with label genre: sitcom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genre: sitcom. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
How to Be a Gentleman - Pilot
Network: CBS
Time: Thursdays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: David Hornsby, Kevin Dillon, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Rhys Darby, Dave Foley, Nancy Lenehan
Summary (from imdb.com): When etiquette columnist Andrew Carlson is told he must adapt to the new, sexier style of his magazine, he hires his old high school bully Bert Lansing to help him become a modern man.
Review: I had mixed feelings about this pilot. Overall, I finished with optimism, but there are definitely some areas where it could use some work. It's premiere ratings were low, but I'm hoping CBS will give it a shot to build its audience (though with 2 Broke Girls doing so well, that could be a problem for Gentleman in the future).
This introductory episode focused on Andrew, a columnist whose magazine was just sold and restyled. Their new boss wants the magazine to have a "sexier" style and appeal more to middle aged men who "think they're 15." Meanwhile, his sister, in her attempt to butch him up, gives him a gift certificate to a gym which, it turns out, is owned by one of Andrew's (many) former tormentors, Burt.
Are Andrew and Burt both fairly stereotypical characters? Yes. Burt is the high-school-dropout meathead who bought his father's gym, and Andrew is the effeminate metrosexual who is still getting the crap beat out of him. And the unlikely friendship isn't really so unlikely... at least, not if you've ever watched a television sitcom before.
But is the stereotype necessarily a bad thing? I think it's too soon to tell. Now that we've established the baseline for our characters, where will they develop from here? A few throwaway lines from Burt indicated he has a tempestuous relationship with his father. Can the writers expand on that without turning it into a cliche? Is there a reason Andrew is so obsessed with being a gentleman? Will we find that out, and will it satisfy us as viewers?
There's plenty of potential for this show. The writing wasn't stellar, but it wasn't horrible either. I've found that pilot writing isn't necessarily indicative of how the show will be anyway. Writers come and go between development of the pilot and a pickup. And even if they don't, as the show continues, the writing becomes tailored more towards the actors and the characters they're developing, making it feel more natural. Some shows click right away (like Criminal Minds), but others take a little longer (like Castle).
The supporting characters were a little overdramatic, but they also have the potential to turn out pretty funny. Andrew's sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Mike, are almost as oddly matched as Andrew and Burt. In fact, Mike may have been my favorite character of the show so far. Rhys Darby's matter-of-fact delivery of even the most farfetched lines had me cracking up, and the chemistry between him and Mary Lynn Rajskub's Janet was really very good.
Long story short, I'm not in love with it yet. But I'm also not quite ready to write it off. Hopefully last night's numbers will hold or be a little better than last week's, and maybe Gentleman will have a chance to develop some of its potential.
Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Janet: You're doing it again.
Mike: What?
Janet: Talking.
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Time: Thursdays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: David Hornsby, Kevin Dillon, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Rhys Darby, Dave Foley, Nancy Lenehan
Summary (from imdb.com): When etiquette columnist Andrew Carlson is told he must adapt to the new, sexier style of his magazine, he hires his old high school bully Bert Lansing to help him become a modern man.
Review: I had mixed feelings about this pilot. Overall, I finished with optimism, but there are definitely some areas where it could use some work. It's premiere ratings were low, but I'm hoping CBS will give it a shot to build its audience (though with 2 Broke Girls doing so well, that could be a problem for Gentleman in the future).
This introductory episode focused on Andrew, a columnist whose magazine was just sold and restyled. Their new boss wants the magazine to have a "sexier" style and appeal more to middle aged men who "think they're 15." Meanwhile, his sister, in her attempt to butch him up, gives him a gift certificate to a gym which, it turns out, is owned by one of Andrew's (many) former tormentors, Burt.
Are Andrew and Burt both fairly stereotypical characters? Yes. Burt is the high-school-dropout meathead who bought his father's gym, and Andrew is the effeminate metrosexual who is still getting the crap beat out of him. And the unlikely friendship isn't really so unlikely... at least, not if you've ever watched a television sitcom before.
But is the stereotype necessarily a bad thing? I think it's too soon to tell. Now that we've established the baseline for our characters, where will they develop from here? A few throwaway lines from Burt indicated he has a tempestuous relationship with his father. Can the writers expand on that without turning it into a cliche? Is there a reason Andrew is so obsessed with being a gentleman? Will we find that out, and will it satisfy us as viewers?
There's plenty of potential for this show. The writing wasn't stellar, but it wasn't horrible either. I've found that pilot writing isn't necessarily indicative of how the show will be anyway. Writers come and go between development of the pilot and a pickup. And even if they don't, as the show continues, the writing becomes tailored more towards the actors and the characters they're developing, making it feel more natural. Some shows click right away (like Criminal Minds), but others take a little longer (like Castle).
The supporting characters were a little overdramatic, but they also have the potential to turn out pretty funny. Andrew's sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Mike, are almost as oddly matched as Andrew and Burt. In fact, Mike may have been my favorite character of the show so far. Rhys Darby's matter-of-fact delivery of even the most farfetched lines had me cracking up, and the chemistry between him and Mary Lynn Rajskub's Janet was really very good.
Long story short, I'm not in love with it yet. But I'm also not quite ready to write it off. Hopefully last night's numbers will hold or be a little better than last week's, and maybe Gentleman will have a chance to develop some of its potential.
Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Janet: You're doing it again.
Mike: What?
Janet: Talking.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
New Girl - Kryptonite
Network: Fox
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake M. Johnson, Lamorne Morris
Summary (from imdb.com): Nick and Schmidt convince Jess to get her stuff out of her ex-boyfriend Spencer's apartment; Jess meets new roommate Winston.
Review: I have to admit, I wasn't overly won over by the premiere episode of New Girl. My love for Zooey Deschanel was tempered by too many awkward moments, her overly annoying quirks, and minimal redeeming characteristics for the guys. But there were a handful of good moments that made me believe this show had potential. Enough so that I was willing to give it a few more episodes before passing any judgment. And I'm glad I did.
The second episode was much more cohesive and much less... annoying than the first. Sure, Jess's quirks are still there, but audiences were treated to the much more human side of her. At her core, she's a heartbroken girl who thought she'd found the love of her life, only to find out he was cheating on her. While the first episode illustrated this by having her sob hysterically while watching Dirty Dancing, the second episode dealt with the much more realistic side of a breakup. After accidentally throwing a basketball into the guys' TV, Jess had to get her stuff back from her ex-boyfriend Spencer. The sincerity in her desire to avoid the issue forever didn't seem overdramatic the way the first episode's crying jags were, but the much more honest response that people have when confronted with uncomfortable situations, which, as a viewer, I appreciated more
I also love the friendship that's forming between Nick and Jess. I was worried they were going to dive too quickly into the will-they-won't-they, but they seem to have fallen into an ordinary friendship, without those awkward romantic moments. Watching them gang up on Schmidt in the beginning was honestly funny and seemed like a very natural exchange. If that relationship continues to develop this way, I think I'll really enjoy it.
That's not to say this show isn't still without its issues. While I like the new roommate Winston, I wasn't crazy about the B story to this episode. Maybe it's because I find Schmidt to be completely unlikable. There's a point where douchebag-ness is tolerable, but I think Schmidt crosses the line a little too often. It's not that he comes across completely as a jerk, but he's so obnoxious at times that I have no desire to listen to him. There needs to be more of a balance between that side of him and the side that explains why someone would want to be friends with him.
I'm looking forward to a time, ironically, when Jess isn't so much the New Girl and has ingrained herself more with the guys. That was starting to show in this episode, especially when they went with her to get her stuff back from Spencer (the goofy headwear really made that scene... or maybe it was Schmidt slapping Spencer while wearing a thumb ring). That scene made the episode for me, and I hope that future episodes have a lot more of whatever it was that made that really great.
Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Jess: No! I can't call Spencer I haven't talked to him since he cheated on me with that ho! Actually, that's not fair. She might be a really nice ho.
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Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake M. Johnson, Lamorne Morris
Summary (from imdb.com): Nick and Schmidt convince Jess to get her stuff out of her ex-boyfriend Spencer's apartment; Jess meets new roommate Winston.
Review: I have to admit, I wasn't overly won over by the premiere episode of New Girl. My love for Zooey Deschanel was tempered by too many awkward moments, her overly annoying quirks, and minimal redeeming characteristics for the guys. But there were a handful of good moments that made me believe this show had potential. Enough so that I was willing to give it a few more episodes before passing any judgment. And I'm glad I did.
The second episode was much more cohesive and much less... annoying than the first. Sure, Jess's quirks are still there, but audiences were treated to the much more human side of her. At her core, she's a heartbroken girl who thought she'd found the love of her life, only to find out he was cheating on her. While the first episode illustrated this by having her sob hysterically while watching Dirty Dancing, the second episode dealt with the much more realistic side of a breakup. After accidentally throwing a basketball into the guys' TV, Jess had to get her stuff back from her ex-boyfriend Spencer. The sincerity in her desire to avoid the issue forever didn't seem overdramatic the way the first episode's crying jags were, but the much more honest response that people have when confronted with uncomfortable situations, which, as a viewer, I appreciated more
I also love the friendship that's forming between Nick and Jess. I was worried they were going to dive too quickly into the will-they-won't-they, but they seem to have fallen into an ordinary friendship, without those awkward romantic moments. Watching them gang up on Schmidt in the beginning was honestly funny and seemed like a very natural exchange. If that relationship continues to develop this way, I think I'll really enjoy it.
That's not to say this show isn't still without its issues. While I like the new roommate Winston, I wasn't crazy about the B story to this episode. Maybe it's because I find Schmidt to be completely unlikable. There's a point where douchebag-ness is tolerable, but I think Schmidt crosses the line a little too often. It's not that he comes across completely as a jerk, but he's so obnoxious at times that I have no desire to listen to him. There needs to be more of a balance between that side of him and the side that explains why someone would want to be friends with him.
I'm looking forward to a time, ironically, when Jess isn't so much the New Girl and has ingrained herself more with the guys. That was starting to show in this episode, especially when they went with her to get her stuff back from Spencer (the goofy headwear really made that scene... or maybe it was Schmidt slapping Spencer while wearing a thumb ring). That scene made the episode for me, and I hope that future episodes have a lot more of whatever it was that made that really great.
Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Jess: No! I can't call Spencer I haven't talked to him since he cheated on me with that ho! Actually, that's not fair. She might be a really nice ho.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Big Bang Theory - The Skank Reflex Analysis
Network: CBS
Time: Thursdays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Kaley Cuoco, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik
Summary: The gang deals with the fallout from Penny and Raj's night together. Amy counsels Penny when she considers moving back to Nebraska due to her failing acting career. Sheldon takes charge of the paintball team.
Review: I know critics were tough on her, but I think the addition of Amy Farrah Fowler was one of the best things that happened to Big Bang Theory. I love the way her character interacts with both Sheldon and Penny, supporting their stories while still developing as a character in her own right. I also love that the girls' story balances the boys' without changing the basic premise of the show. At its heart, BBT is about nerds (and Penny), and that doesn't change just because now they're sometimes girl nerds (and Penny).
This episode was yet another wonderful use of Amy, who really seems to be growing and evolving in her role as Penny's "bestie." Mingled with somewhat heartbreaking hints at her childhood ("I wish I could tell 13-year-old me it does get better!"), she acted as Penny's confidante while the latter tried to sort through the mess she'd made of her relationships with the guys.
Penny's side of the conversation felt more real to me than most things that happen on this show. Upset that she'd managed to hurt several of the guys she's come to really care about, she makes a decision to return to Nebraska, giving up on the idea of becoming an actress. While a last-minute commercial job eventually changes her mind, they actually had me a little worried that Penny might leave. Also, was I the only one who felt unbelievably happy that Penny got that part? I feel like we've been working towards her acting career since the show started, and even a little progress made me grin.
Meanwhile, Raj was also dealing with the fallout from the season finale. Both Leonard and Howard are mad at him, Leonard because Raj slept with Penny, and Howard because he found out Raj wrote poems about Bernadette ("marionette" also rhymes with Bernadette, BBT writers. I'm just saying). The strained friendship took its toll on everyone, and ultimately Sheldon paid the biggest price, when he stepped unarmed onto the field during the interdepartmental paintball game and insulted...everyone. The reunited friends raced forward to avenge his death.
I liked the way this story was handled, from Raj's belief that he and Penny were now a couple to the kicked puppy look on Leonard's face whenever he thought about it to Sheldon's on-field promotion of himself. But the real shining moment of both this story and the episode was the conversation Leonard had with his mother. His voice when he told her he didn't want to be with Penny (though is there anyone who actually believes that?) but that he didn't want Raj to be with her either was so sincere. I feel like they underused Leonard in the beginning of season 4, and it's nice to see him get to really shine every so often. And it's also good to see Christine Baranski reprise this role.
This was a solid episode to kick of season 5. In some ways, BBT reminds me of a geekier version of Friends, with the way the characters interact with each other. I'm looking forward to seeing the continuing evolution of these relationships as the season progresses.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Leonard (after telling his mother about Penny and Raj): Got any advice?
Beverly: Yes ... buck up.
Leonard: Excuse me, you're a world-renowned expert in parenting and child development, and all you've got is "buck up"?
Beverly: I'm sorry. (pause) Buck up, sissypants!
Time: Thursdays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Kaley Cuoco, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik
Summary: The gang deals with the fallout from Penny and Raj's night together. Amy counsels Penny when she considers moving back to Nebraska due to her failing acting career. Sheldon takes charge of the paintball team.
Review: I know critics were tough on her, but I think the addition of Amy Farrah Fowler was one of the best things that happened to Big Bang Theory. I love the way her character interacts with both Sheldon and Penny, supporting their stories while still developing as a character in her own right. I also love that the girls' story balances the boys' without changing the basic premise of the show. At its heart, BBT is about nerds (and Penny), and that doesn't change just because now they're sometimes girl nerds (and Penny).
This episode was yet another wonderful use of Amy, who really seems to be growing and evolving in her role as Penny's "bestie." Mingled with somewhat heartbreaking hints at her childhood ("I wish I could tell 13-year-old me it does get better!"), she acted as Penny's confidante while the latter tried to sort through the mess she'd made of her relationships with the guys.
Penny's side of the conversation felt more real to me than most things that happen on this show. Upset that she'd managed to hurt several of the guys she's come to really care about, she makes a decision to return to Nebraska, giving up on the idea of becoming an actress. While a last-minute commercial job eventually changes her mind, they actually had me a little worried that Penny might leave. Also, was I the only one who felt unbelievably happy that Penny got that part? I feel like we've been working towards her acting career since the show started, and even a little progress made me grin.
Meanwhile, Raj was also dealing with the fallout from the season finale. Both Leonard and Howard are mad at him, Leonard because Raj slept with Penny, and Howard because he found out Raj wrote poems about Bernadette ("marionette" also rhymes with Bernadette, BBT writers. I'm just saying). The strained friendship took its toll on everyone, and ultimately Sheldon paid the biggest price, when he stepped unarmed onto the field during the interdepartmental paintball game and insulted...everyone. The reunited friends raced forward to avenge his death.
I liked the way this story was handled, from Raj's belief that he and Penny were now a couple to the kicked puppy look on Leonard's face whenever he thought about it to Sheldon's on-field promotion of himself. But the real shining moment of both this story and the episode was the conversation Leonard had with his mother. His voice when he told her he didn't want to be with Penny (though is there anyone who actually believes that?) but that he didn't want Raj to be with her either was so sincere. I feel like they underused Leonard in the beginning of season 4, and it's nice to see him get to really shine every so often. And it's also good to see Christine Baranski reprise this role.
This was a solid episode to kick of season 5. In some ways, BBT reminds me of a geekier version of Friends, with the way the characters interact with each other. I'm looking forward to seeing the continuing evolution of these relationships as the season progresses.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Leonard (after telling his mother about Penny and Raj): Got any advice?
Beverly: Yes ... buck up.
Leonard: Excuse me, you're a world-renowned expert in parenting and child development, and all you've got is "buck up"?
Beverly: I'm sorry. (pause) Buck up, sissypants!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2 Broke Girls - Pilot
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Matthew Moy, Jonathan Kite, Garrett Morris, Noah Mills
Summary: Max and Caroline, two struggling waitresses at a Brooklyn diner, try to save money to open their own cupcake shop. In the opener, Max is disgusted when once-wealthy Caroline starts working at the diner, but the two soon hit it off and become roommates.
Review: Well, this was a pleasant surprise.
I put 2 Broke Girls on my schedule reluctantly. After hearing both EW.com and TVLine.com rave about it, I figured it couldn’t hurt to watch the first episode. Worst case scenario, all I’ve wasted is a half hour.
Instead (and a little unfortunately, considering how many shows are on said schedule), I found myself sucked in right from the first moments. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for a show with a smart, sarcastic female lead (yes, I still miss Gilmore Girls). Maybe it’s because Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs have oddly fantastic chemistry. Maybe it’s because the cast of characters featured in this show is wonderfully eclectic. Or maybe just because it’s a good show.
The premise is this: Max (Dennings) is a waitress/nanny, living with her boyfriend in Brooklyn and baking fantastic cupcakes. Caroline (Behrs) is a trust fund baby from Manhattan who lost everything when her daddy’s ponzi scheme was discovered and now has to support herself somehow. When Caroline gets a job at the diner, Max is… less than impressed. But Caroline’s earnestness wins her over (somewhat), and Max lets her spend the night, during which time Max’s boyfriend hits on Caroline, has sex with another woman after Caroline turns him down, and gets kicked out by Max. Max, looking for a new roommate, offers to let Caroline stay with her.
There were a lot of bits that made this series premiere enjoyable. Dennings’ Max is tough, responsible and confident, though she let some vulnerability show. Behrs’ Caroline looks like Trust Fund Barbie, but it can’t be forgotten that she went to the Wharton School of Business (it really can’t be forgotten… they said it four or five times), and she clearly has quite of bit of her conman father in her. The supporting characters are quirky, with the potential to turn into downright funny, especially when combined with their obvious chemistry with Max. And there’s a horse in the backyard of a Brooklyn apartment.
Sure, the episode was a little stiff at times, and some of Behrs’ lines felt forced, but it did everything it needed to do as a pilot episode: it hooked me. I’ll be back next week to see how much more money they earn towards their cupcake shop.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Caroline (after tasing Max): "Sorry, I didn't think it'd hurt so much, it's pink!"
Max: "It didn't feel pink!"
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, Matthew Moy, Jonathan Kite, Garrett Morris, Noah Mills
Summary: Max and Caroline, two struggling waitresses at a Brooklyn diner, try to save money to open their own cupcake shop. In the opener, Max is disgusted when once-wealthy Caroline starts working at the diner, but the two soon hit it off and become roommates.
Review: Well, this was a pleasant surprise.
I put 2 Broke Girls on my schedule reluctantly. After hearing both EW.com and TVLine.com rave about it, I figured it couldn’t hurt to watch the first episode. Worst case scenario, all I’ve wasted is a half hour.
Instead (and a little unfortunately, considering how many shows are on said schedule), I found myself sucked in right from the first moments. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for a show with a smart, sarcastic female lead (yes, I still miss Gilmore Girls). Maybe it’s because Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs have oddly fantastic chemistry. Maybe it’s because the cast of characters featured in this show is wonderfully eclectic. Or maybe just because it’s a good show.
The premise is this: Max (Dennings) is a waitress/nanny, living with her boyfriend in Brooklyn and baking fantastic cupcakes. Caroline (Behrs) is a trust fund baby from Manhattan who lost everything when her daddy’s ponzi scheme was discovered and now has to support herself somehow. When Caroline gets a job at the diner, Max is… less than impressed. But Caroline’s earnestness wins her over (somewhat), and Max lets her spend the night, during which time Max’s boyfriend hits on Caroline, has sex with another woman after Caroline turns him down, and gets kicked out by Max. Max, looking for a new roommate, offers to let Caroline stay with her.
There were a lot of bits that made this series premiere enjoyable. Dennings’ Max is tough, responsible and confident, though she let some vulnerability show. Behrs’ Caroline looks like Trust Fund Barbie, but it can’t be forgotten that she went to the Wharton School of Business (it really can’t be forgotten… they said it four or five times), and she clearly has quite of bit of her conman father in her. The supporting characters are quirky, with the potential to turn into downright funny, especially when combined with their obvious chemistry with Max. And there’s a horse in the backyard of a Brooklyn apartment.
Sure, the episode was a little stiff at times, and some of Behrs’ lines felt forced, but it did everything it needed to do as a pilot episode: it hooked me. I’ll be back next week to see how much more money they earn towards their cupcake shop.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Caroline (after tasing Max): "Sorry, I didn't think it'd hurt so much, it's pink!"
Max: "It didn't feel pink!"
Friday, December 10, 2010
Big Bang Theory - The Alien Parasite Hypothesis
Network: CBS
Time: Thursdays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: Amy finds she has sexual feelings for Penny's ex, while Koothrappali and Wolowitz try to prove who would be the better superhero. (from imdb.com)
Review: As with much this season, I liked exactly half of this episode of Big Bang Theory.
I’ll start with the good. I know there are a lot of critics who dislike Amy but I loved her in this episode, and I think it did a lot to separate her from being “a female Sheldon.” To begin, I think the odd little friendship that’s forming between Amy, Penny and Bernadette is wonderful. Bernadette seems to genuinely like Amy, and Penny is easy-going enough to roll with it. The scene in the restaurant had a comfortable feel to it, like they actually were three friends going out to eat (a significant change from the slumber party which felt like two women forced to hang out with a friend’s weird girlfriend). The change was that Penny and Bernadette didn’t make a big deal out of Amy’s quirks in this episode; they accepted them like they’d accepted her.
It also makes me happy that they’re able to add a female component to Big Bang without changing the concept of the show. At its core, Big Bang is about geeks who hang out together. Penny has always been the exception to that rule. I was worried that a friendship ring that centered around her would lose the geek aspect (since she is not), but Bernadette and Amy are as nerdy as the guys, which is what makes this new thread work. It also takes some of the focus off the guys, whose stories have gotten a little stale this season.
Now that I’ve spent more time talking about the Big Bang women than they actually spent together in the episode, we come to the main story: Amy has needs (cue laugh track from any latent That 70s Show fans). Turns out, she’s not an automaton, which is a concept that troubles Sheldon so much that he almost walks out of Amy’s lab with the human brain she’s dissecting instead of his lunch (and can I just say ew?).
It was nice to see the writers finally making a distinction between Amy and Sheldon, more than just the gender thing. Yes, they’re still freakily similar, from the science brains to the general distaste for being touched to their complete inability to spot sarcasm. But just as we’ve occasionally seen Sheldon’s human side show (usually when his mother’s involved), we’re now getting a glimpse of Amy’s.
Also, I loved the modified version of “Who’s on First?”
Will this open the door for more touching in the future? Sheldon didn’t pull away when Amy held his hand at the end. I haven’t decided which side I’m on yet—the “Sheldon only loves science” team or the “Sheldon and Amy should do it” team—but I’m curious to see how this story moves along. My only request is that they take their time with it. Instead of forcing their relationship down our throats, insert Amy into the everyday activities, like they did with Penny at the beginning. Now that Amy’s starting to exhibit some unique characteristics, she can bring a different perspective to the group.
And now we’re going to move away from happy land and enter the most painful plotline to date. Howard and Raj were arguing about which one of them would be a superhero and which would be the sidekick. I liked absolutely nothing about this. First of all, I wanted to shake both of them and say, “You’re both sidekicks in this show.” Second of all, this felt more like a bit that would occur at the beginning or end of an episode, or be a running gag throughout, not the supporting plot. It sounded like something they’d snipe and tease each other about in between things that were important. Howard and Raj have always been silly, but this was ridiculous.
I didn’t even find the sight gags very funny. I know many people thought they were hysterical in the wrestling outfits at the end, but it did nothing for me. And I actually would have preferred if they’d actually fought, instead of just dancing around each other, wasting their time and mine. The only thing that evoked even a slight smile was the spider crawling up Howard’s arm, and him trying to blow it off his back.
My biggest problem, however, was the complete waste of Johnny Galecki in this episode. I know a lot of the previous seasons have centered around Leonard (and his relationship with Penny), but he’s done nothing but whine or look depressed in weeks. It might be time for Sheldon to step back and let Leonard have some of the spotlight again. The show is best when it’s balanced.
What did you think? Did the Raj/Howard superhero challenge work for you? Are you warming to Shamy? Leave a comment and let me know.
Rating: 3/5
Time: Thursdays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: Amy finds she has sexual feelings for Penny's ex, while Koothrappali and Wolowitz try to prove who would be the better superhero. (from imdb.com)
Review: As with much this season, I liked exactly half of this episode of Big Bang Theory.
I’ll start with the good. I know there are a lot of critics who dislike Amy but I loved her in this episode, and I think it did a lot to separate her from being “a female Sheldon.” To begin, I think the odd little friendship that’s forming between Amy, Penny and Bernadette is wonderful. Bernadette seems to genuinely like Amy, and Penny is easy-going enough to roll with it. The scene in the restaurant had a comfortable feel to it, like they actually were three friends going out to eat (a significant change from the slumber party which felt like two women forced to hang out with a friend’s weird girlfriend). The change was that Penny and Bernadette didn’t make a big deal out of Amy’s quirks in this episode; they accepted them like they’d accepted her.
It also makes me happy that they’re able to add a female component to Big Bang without changing the concept of the show. At its core, Big Bang is about geeks who hang out together. Penny has always been the exception to that rule. I was worried that a friendship ring that centered around her would lose the geek aspect (since she is not), but Bernadette and Amy are as nerdy as the guys, which is what makes this new thread work. It also takes some of the focus off the guys, whose stories have gotten a little stale this season.
Now that I’ve spent more time talking about the Big Bang women than they actually spent together in the episode, we come to the main story: Amy has needs (cue laugh track from any latent That 70s Show fans). Turns out, she’s not an automaton, which is a concept that troubles Sheldon so much that he almost walks out of Amy’s lab with the human brain she’s dissecting instead of his lunch (and can I just say ew?).
It was nice to see the writers finally making a distinction between Amy and Sheldon, more than just the gender thing. Yes, they’re still freakily similar, from the science brains to the general distaste for being touched to their complete inability to spot sarcasm. But just as we’ve occasionally seen Sheldon’s human side show (usually when his mother’s involved), we’re now getting a glimpse of Amy’s.
Also, I loved the modified version of “Who’s on First?”
Will this open the door for more touching in the future? Sheldon didn’t pull away when Amy held his hand at the end. I haven’t decided which side I’m on yet—the “Sheldon only loves science” team or the “Sheldon and Amy should do it” team—but I’m curious to see how this story moves along. My only request is that they take their time with it. Instead of forcing their relationship down our throats, insert Amy into the everyday activities, like they did with Penny at the beginning. Now that Amy’s starting to exhibit some unique characteristics, she can bring a different perspective to the group.
And now we’re going to move away from happy land and enter the most painful plotline to date. Howard and Raj were arguing about which one of them would be a superhero and which would be the sidekick. I liked absolutely nothing about this. First of all, I wanted to shake both of them and say, “You’re both sidekicks in this show.” Second of all, this felt more like a bit that would occur at the beginning or end of an episode, or be a running gag throughout, not the supporting plot. It sounded like something they’d snipe and tease each other about in between things that were important. Howard and Raj have always been silly, but this was ridiculous.
I didn’t even find the sight gags very funny. I know many people thought they were hysterical in the wrestling outfits at the end, but it did nothing for me. And I actually would have preferred if they’d actually fought, instead of just dancing around each other, wasting their time and mine. The only thing that evoked even a slight smile was the spider crawling up Howard’s arm, and him trying to blow it off his back.
My biggest problem, however, was the complete waste of Johnny Galecki in this episode. I know a lot of the previous seasons have centered around Leonard (and his relationship with Penny), but he’s done nothing but whine or look depressed in weeks. It might be time for Sheldon to step back and let Leonard have some of the spotlight again. The show is best when it’s balanced.
What did you think? Did the Raj/Howard superhero challenge work for you? Are you warming to Shamy? Leave a comment and let me know.
Rating: 3/5
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
My Boys - My Men
Network: TBS
Time: Sundays, 10:00-10:30pm
Cast: Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Jamie Kaler, Michael Bunin, Kellee Stewart
Summary: Brendan must make a decision that could affect everybody. Stephanie receives an offer to work in London, and P.J. can't help Mike plan a birthday party for Marcia.
Review: Summer is no longer the season when networks burn out their crappiest episodes and show countless reruns of Law & Order and CSI. The new shows this summer were edgy, clever, dramatic and funny, and My Boys was no different.
My Boys has always been a summer show, and each of its four seasons is fewer than ten episodes long, which is sad considering what a great show it is. I spent the beginning of the summer catching up on seasons two and three, so most of the series is fresh in my mind following Sunday night's season four finale.
The finale left me feeling massively disappointed... disappointed because it turned out to be the series finale (TBS canceled My Boys on Tuesday) and now I don't get to see what happens next. I'll try to be careful to word this in a way that doesn't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet.
There are two major twists in this episode; one is predictable, the other is not. The unpredictable one was very easy to mess up. It could have been over the top or too rushed, but it wasn't. In fact, I'd argue that it was done perfectly because never, at any point in the episode, did I believe anything was out of character or unbelievable. The more predictable twist, which was revealed only in the last moments of the episode, just gave me a good, warm feeling that next season will be a lot of fun.
The episode as a whole dealt with priorities. PJ was trying to sort hers out when she was offered the possibility of a new "dream" job. Mike wanted to plan a birthday party for his girlfriend Marcia, and he enlisted the entire gang's help (which led to some wonderfully funny Bobby moments). And Stephanie got a job offer in London for a few months, leaving Kenny to decide whether or not he was going to go with her.
There's something about the chemistry between the characters that takes a theme that could be trite and keeps it fresh. Sure, there's nothing new and shocking going on in this show, but great writing coupled with perfect timing keeps you laughing, even if you knew the joke was coming. It's what I've always liked about My Boys, and it's just as true in this episode as any other.
The finale had an added bonus of getting to see a new side of Mike--the side that's in a serious relationship where he honestly cares about making his girlfriend happy. The title of the episode, "My Men," is fitting because PJ's boys really are growing up. This episode did actually feel like a series finale for me (particularly the title), but there were still loose ends that could have been tied up next season, had TBS renewed it. I guess now we'll be left to imagine what happens next.
Rating:
[5] Excellent[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Sundays, 10:00-10:30pm
Cast: Jordana Spiro, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Jamie Kaler, Michael Bunin, Kellee Stewart
Summary: Brendan must make a decision that could affect everybody. Stephanie receives an offer to work in London, and P.J. can't help Mike plan a birthday party for Marcia.
Review: Summer is no longer the season when networks burn out their crappiest episodes and show countless reruns of Law & Order and CSI. The new shows this summer were edgy, clever, dramatic and funny, and My Boys was no different.
My Boys has always been a summer show, and each of its four seasons is fewer than ten episodes long, which is sad considering what a great show it is. I spent the beginning of the summer catching up on seasons two and three, so most of the series is fresh in my mind following Sunday night's season four finale.
The finale left me feeling massively disappointed... disappointed because it turned out to be the series finale (TBS canceled My Boys on Tuesday) and now I don't get to see what happens next. I'll try to be careful to word this in a way that doesn't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet.
There are two major twists in this episode; one is predictable, the other is not. The unpredictable one was very easy to mess up. It could have been over the top or too rushed, but it wasn't. In fact, I'd argue that it was done perfectly because never, at any point in the episode, did I believe anything was out of character or unbelievable. The more predictable twist, which was revealed only in the last moments of the episode, just gave me a good, warm feeling that next season will be a lot of fun.
The episode as a whole dealt with priorities. PJ was trying to sort hers out when she was offered the possibility of a new "dream" job. Mike wanted to plan a birthday party for his girlfriend Marcia, and he enlisted the entire gang's help (which led to some wonderfully funny Bobby moments). And Stephanie got a job offer in London for a few months, leaving Kenny to decide whether or not he was going to go with her.
There's something about the chemistry between the characters that takes a theme that could be trite and keeps it fresh. Sure, there's nothing new and shocking going on in this show, but great writing coupled with perfect timing keeps you laughing, even if you knew the joke was coming. It's what I've always liked about My Boys, and it's just as true in this episode as any other.
The finale had an added bonus of getting to see a new side of Mike--the side that's in a serious relationship where he honestly cares about making his girlfriend happy. The title of the episode, "My Men," is fitting because PJ's boys really are growing up. This episode did actually feel like a series finale for me (particularly the title), but there were still loose ends that could have been tied up next season, had TBS renewed it. I guess now we'll be left to imagine what happens next.
Rating:
[5] Excellent[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Friday, March 5, 2010
Modern Family - Fears
Network: ABC
Time: Wednesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter
Summary: Each of the families discuss and confront some of their fears.
Review: For a half hour show, Modern Family really packs a lot into each episode, yet does it in a way that makes sense and doesn't overwhelm the viewer (unlike, say, Parenthood's first episode). This episode had stories involving Jay and Manny facing their fears of roller coasters, Haley going for her driver's license test (for the third time), Alex going to a school dance, Luke and Phil exploring under the house, and Mitch and Cam's fear that Lily's first word was "Mommy." All that in 30 minutes, and still enough time to delve into a side story about Lily's pediatrician (played by the awesome Suzy Nakamura, who was Sam's original assistant Cathy on The West Wing).
And each story was not only well-rounded (beginning, middle, end), but coherent, funny and sweet all at the same time. I love the sweet side of Modern Family. Most sitcoms, even the family ones, focus so much on being funny that they don't have the same heart-warming effect Modern Family has. And I'm not sure this kind of sweetness has a place in every sitcom. After all, could you imagine The Big Bang Theory if Sheldon and Leonard sat down and talked out their feelings at the end of each episode? Or Seinfeld if Jerry had a voice over at the end talking about what he'd learned from that episode? It wouldn't work at all.
But Modern Family makes it work, which is why I think it's one of the (if not the) best sitcoms in at least the past two decades.
Plus it's funny. Even the characters that aren't particularly likable (Phil) are still funny to watch. And it manages to encompass several different types of humor. Phil is the master of the awkward humor that I don't particularly enjoy but everyone else seems to like. Mitch and Cam do the gay humor really well, but find the right balance between flamboyant homosexuality and an honest, wholesome couple. And Jay relies more on a dry wit and sarcasm, especially when dealing with his precocious stepson.
This episode was just another in a long line of solid episodes from this show. Ultimately, I don't think this one will stand out in my head the way the one with Luke's birthday party does, but it still deserves a high rating for generally being excellent. This show has been nothing but consistent so far, and I look forward to it every week to see what they'll do this time.
Favorite lines:
Jay: I'm not afraid of anything.
Gloria: What about pigeons?
Jay: Oh, yeah, I don't like them. They're shifty.
Jay: (about Manny) I could have guessed he'd have trouble with roller coasters. That kid gets woozy at barbershops when they spin his chair towards the mirror.
Phil: We're like Ponce de Leon and his son... little Ponce.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Wednesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter
Summary: Each of the families discuss and confront some of their fears.
Review: For a half hour show, Modern Family really packs a lot into each episode, yet does it in a way that makes sense and doesn't overwhelm the viewer (unlike, say, Parenthood's first episode). This episode had stories involving Jay and Manny facing their fears of roller coasters, Haley going for her driver's license test (for the third time), Alex going to a school dance, Luke and Phil exploring under the house, and Mitch and Cam's fear that Lily's first word was "Mommy." All that in 30 minutes, and still enough time to delve into a side story about Lily's pediatrician (played by the awesome Suzy Nakamura, who was Sam's original assistant Cathy on The West Wing).
And each story was not only well-rounded (beginning, middle, end), but coherent, funny and sweet all at the same time. I love the sweet side of Modern Family. Most sitcoms, even the family ones, focus so much on being funny that they don't have the same heart-warming effect Modern Family has. And I'm not sure this kind of sweetness has a place in every sitcom. After all, could you imagine The Big Bang Theory if Sheldon and Leonard sat down and talked out their feelings at the end of each episode? Or Seinfeld if Jerry had a voice over at the end talking about what he'd learned from that episode? It wouldn't work at all.
But Modern Family makes it work, which is why I think it's one of the (if not the) best sitcoms in at least the past two decades.
Plus it's funny. Even the characters that aren't particularly likable (Phil) are still funny to watch. And it manages to encompass several different types of humor. Phil is the master of the awkward humor that I don't particularly enjoy but everyone else seems to like. Mitch and Cam do the gay humor really well, but find the right balance between flamboyant homosexuality and an honest, wholesome couple. And Jay relies more on a dry wit and sarcasm, especially when dealing with his precocious stepson.
This episode was just another in a long line of solid episodes from this show. Ultimately, I don't think this one will stand out in my head the way the one with Luke's birthday party does, but it still deserves a high rating for generally being excellent. This show has been nothing but consistent so far, and I look forward to it every week to see what they'll do this time.
Favorite lines:
Jay: I'm not afraid of anything.
Gloria: What about pigeons?
Jay: Oh, yeah, I don't like them. They're shifty.
Jay: (about Manny) I could have guessed he'd have trouble with roller coasters. That kid gets woozy at barbershops when they spin his chair towards the mirror.
Phil: We're like Ponce de Leon and his son... little Ponce.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Big Bang Theory - The Large Hadron Collision
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 9:30-10:00pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: When Leonard gets invited to see the CERN laboratory in Switzerland on Valentine's Day, Sheldon gets mad because he decides to take Penny with him.
Review: My affinity for Big Bang knows few bounds, but they're starting to do a few things that annoy me. First and most importantly, the Sheldon/Leonard relationship. When the show first started, Leonard regarded Sheldon with tolerant amusement. He accepted Sheldon's antics with good humor and patience. Now, he gets annoyed and lashes out and, more often than not, resembles a four-year-old have a tantrum because his little brother is getting his mother's attention. Out of all the things that I've noticed with Big Bang this season, this is the most troublesome. Where Leonard's comments to and about Sheldon were once light-hearted, they now seem barbed and aimed to hurt (though Sheldon often remains oblivious).
And Sheldon doesn't make it any better. He's always been a selfish character, but it seems like he's gotten worse as the seasons went on (and the writers realized that his selfishness is part of the amusement for the audience). He thinks nothing of bullying, annoying, and guilting his friends into doing what he wants. His selfishness before used to be due to a lack of awareness about his friends' feelings; now it seems to be driven by a lack of concern for them.
Another thing that's started to annoy me is the Howard/Raj relationship. Since Leonard's mother's first episode (and maybe before), there's always been a hint of homosexuality in Howard and Raj's relationship. It seems lately, however, that the writers are building that up so much that it's damaging the other aspects of their interaction. Howard has a girlfriend now, which leaves him with less time to spend with Raj. But he's started to rub that in Raj's face, which I think is both cruel and out of character for Howard. We've had no evidence to suggest that he would ever deliberately hurt his friend, so why is he starting to now?
Raj himself has become a rather pathetic character. Perhaps he always was, but he's doubly so now that his (more normal) friends have girlfriends, and he's left alone more often than not. I miss the days when the boys used to hang around playing geek games and horrifying Penny. Now Howard and Leonard are with Bernadette and Penny, Raj is noticeably absent, and Sheldon is in his own world unless it suits him to come out. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm almost sorry Leonard and Penny got together in the first place.
This episode had some funny moments, but it's far from the hilarious episodes of last season or even the beginning of this one. Sheldon's antics are always funny, and I really like the Leonard/Penny interaction, which was appropriately sweet for Valentine's Day. I wasn't crazy about the end, as well as the things I mentioned before, but I can only hope that some of these things will resolve themselves with time.
Favorite line:
Sheldon: I believe you know why I'm here.
Penny: I always figured it was to study us, discover our weaknesses, and report back to your alien overlords.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 9:30-10:00pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: When Leonard gets invited to see the CERN laboratory in Switzerland on Valentine's Day, Sheldon gets mad because he decides to take Penny with him.
Review: My affinity for Big Bang knows few bounds, but they're starting to do a few things that annoy me. First and most importantly, the Sheldon/Leonard relationship. When the show first started, Leonard regarded Sheldon with tolerant amusement. He accepted Sheldon's antics with good humor and patience. Now, he gets annoyed and lashes out and, more often than not, resembles a four-year-old have a tantrum because his little brother is getting his mother's attention. Out of all the things that I've noticed with Big Bang this season, this is the most troublesome. Where Leonard's comments to and about Sheldon were once light-hearted, they now seem barbed and aimed to hurt (though Sheldon often remains oblivious).
And Sheldon doesn't make it any better. He's always been a selfish character, but it seems like he's gotten worse as the seasons went on (and the writers realized that his selfishness is part of the amusement for the audience). He thinks nothing of bullying, annoying, and guilting his friends into doing what he wants. His selfishness before used to be due to a lack of awareness about his friends' feelings; now it seems to be driven by a lack of concern for them.
Another thing that's started to annoy me is the Howard/Raj relationship. Since Leonard's mother's first episode (and maybe before), there's always been a hint of homosexuality in Howard and Raj's relationship. It seems lately, however, that the writers are building that up so much that it's damaging the other aspects of their interaction. Howard has a girlfriend now, which leaves him with less time to spend with Raj. But he's started to rub that in Raj's face, which I think is both cruel and out of character for Howard. We've had no evidence to suggest that he would ever deliberately hurt his friend, so why is he starting to now?
Raj himself has become a rather pathetic character. Perhaps he always was, but he's doubly so now that his (more normal) friends have girlfriends, and he's left alone more often than not. I miss the days when the boys used to hang around playing geek games and horrifying Penny. Now Howard and Leonard are with Bernadette and Penny, Raj is noticeably absent, and Sheldon is in his own world unless it suits him to come out. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm almost sorry Leonard and Penny got together in the first place.
This episode had some funny moments, but it's far from the hilarious episodes of last season or even the beginning of this one. Sheldon's antics are always funny, and I really like the Leonard/Penny interaction, which was appropriately sweet for Valentine's Day. I wasn't crazy about the end, as well as the things I mentioned before, but I can only hope that some of these things will resolve themselves with time.
Favorite line:
Sheldon: I believe you know why I'm here.
Penny: I always figured it was to study us, discover our weaknesses, and report back to your alien overlords.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Accidentally on Purpose - Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright
Summary: Billie manipulates Zack into setting up the nursery. Meanwhile, Davis gets a job working at a gay bar.
Review: Dear CBS Network Executives, please please please please please don't cancel Accidentally on Purpose. It's a really funny show, and I think you'd be doing it a disservice if you don't give it more time to develop.
As a said in my very first review of AoP, I went into this show expecting the worst and was more than pleasantly surprised. And with every episode I fall a little more in love with this show and it's wonderful characters.
While this episode's main focus was the fledgling Billie/Zack relationship, it was Davis who stole the show. Davis got a job at a gay bar after lying to them and telling them he was gay (being, as Davis is, quite unaware that you don't actually have to be gay to work at a gay bar). And he really got into his new job, listening and offering relationship advice as a good bartender does... right up until the point when one of the men asked him out. And, of course, instead of being honest, Davis said he had a boyfriend---Zack.
Everyone knows a Zack and Davis. They're completely realistic 22-year-olds. Sometimes they obsessed with getting the right girl (and often, Davis, failing), and sometimes they're just two guys hanging around doing guy stuff that us girls don't even understand. So when Davis asks Zack for help getting out of his pants, Zack barely bats an eye, even if the ensuing scene is hysterical for the audience. Showing Zack behaving like a normal 22-year-old guy with Davis is great, because he tends to act fairly mature when he's with Billie. Sure, he has his goofy moments with her, moments where he's clueless or stupid, but he's stepped up pretty well in light of this whole baby thing. But seeing him with Davis reminds everyone that he's still just a kid sometimes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the episode, Billie is getting relationship advice from her sister (who is probably more than a little insane, but that's okay). Abby's suggestions? Manipulate Zack into fixing up the nursery so the box with the crib in it won't be sitting in the living room anymore.
And it works. She does manage to get Zack to put the crib together. But it backfires a little. I'm going to leave the details out for those who haven't seen it. This entire story is telling though. Billie and Zack fell into a very serious relationship. They've been having fun together, and they're both serious about taking care of the baby, but they never muddled through the weird parts of an early relationship, like how to take two separate lives and merge them together under one roof. There are bound to be growing pains, and I'm glad this show gave us some of them. If everything's too perfect in a television relationship, we complain. If it's too awkward, we complain. Accidentally on Purpose is one of the few shows with just the right amount of awkwardness that's balanced by the right amount of sweetness and genuine love between them.
There was a third story in this episode. Abby was looking for a gay man to help her go from "drabby" to "fabby." It had worked for Olivia, and now she was hoping it would help her. There's not much to say about this one, except that Lennon Parham is awesome, and she makes me laugh every single time she opens her mouth.
CBS is moving this to Wednesdays soon (in March, I believe), and I hope that's not the first movement toward the door because I really think this show has the potential to be as highly rated as HIMYM or Big Bang Theory (which, by the way, was not a ratings-winner for its first several seasons either). I hope CBS gives it that shot.
Favorite lines:
Abby: It's like killing someone with carbon monoxide. Smile, smile, smile, dead.
Abby: Manipulation is one of the greatest tools in a woman's toolbox. That and the vagina.
Davis (comforting a gay bar patron): There isn't a man here who would want a piece of that.
Jerome: There isn't?
Davis: No.
Jerome: So... what time do you get off?
Davis: 2am
[beat]
Davis: Ohhhh....
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright
Summary: Billie manipulates Zack into setting up the nursery. Meanwhile, Davis gets a job working at a gay bar.
Review: Dear CBS Network Executives, please please please please please don't cancel Accidentally on Purpose. It's a really funny show, and I think you'd be doing it a disservice if you don't give it more time to develop.
As a said in my very first review of AoP, I went into this show expecting the worst and was more than pleasantly surprised. And with every episode I fall a little more in love with this show and it's wonderful characters.
While this episode's main focus was the fledgling Billie/Zack relationship, it was Davis who stole the show. Davis got a job at a gay bar after lying to them and telling them he was gay (being, as Davis is, quite unaware that you don't actually have to be gay to work at a gay bar). And he really got into his new job, listening and offering relationship advice as a good bartender does... right up until the point when one of the men asked him out. And, of course, instead of being honest, Davis said he had a boyfriend---Zack.
Everyone knows a Zack and Davis. They're completely realistic 22-year-olds. Sometimes they obsessed with getting the right girl (and often, Davis, failing), and sometimes they're just two guys hanging around doing guy stuff that us girls don't even understand. So when Davis asks Zack for help getting out of his pants, Zack barely bats an eye, even if the ensuing scene is hysterical for the audience. Showing Zack behaving like a normal 22-year-old guy with Davis is great, because he tends to act fairly mature when he's with Billie. Sure, he has his goofy moments with her, moments where he's clueless or stupid, but he's stepped up pretty well in light of this whole baby thing. But seeing him with Davis reminds everyone that he's still just a kid sometimes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the episode, Billie is getting relationship advice from her sister (who is probably more than a little insane, but that's okay). Abby's suggestions? Manipulate Zack into fixing up the nursery so the box with the crib in it won't be sitting in the living room anymore.
And it works. She does manage to get Zack to put the crib together. But it backfires a little. I'm going to leave the details out for those who haven't seen it. This entire story is telling though. Billie and Zack fell into a very serious relationship. They've been having fun together, and they're both serious about taking care of the baby, but they never muddled through the weird parts of an early relationship, like how to take two separate lives and merge them together under one roof. There are bound to be growing pains, and I'm glad this show gave us some of them. If everything's too perfect in a television relationship, we complain. If it's too awkward, we complain. Accidentally on Purpose is one of the few shows with just the right amount of awkwardness that's balanced by the right amount of sweetness and genuine love between them.
There was a third story in this episode. Abby was looking for a gay man to help her go from "drabby" to "fabby." It had worked for Olivia, and now she was hoping it would help her. There's not much to say about this one, except that Lennon Parham is awesome, and she makes me laugh every single time she opens her mouth.
CBS is moving this to Wednesdays soon (in March, I believe), and I hope that's not the first movement toward the door because I really think this show has the potential to be as highly rated as HIMYM or Big Bang Theory (which, by the way, was not a ratings-winner for its first several seasons either). I hope CBS gives it that shot.
Favorite lines:
Abby: It's like killing someone with carbon monoxide. Smile, smile, smile, dead.
Abby: Manipulation is one of the greatest tools in a woman's toolbox. That and the vagina.
Davis (comforting a gay bar patron): There isn't a man here who would want a piece of that.
Jerome: There isn't?
Davis: No.
Jerome: So... what time do you get off?
Davis: 2am
[beat]
Davis: Ohhhh....
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
How I Met Your Mother - Jenkins
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders
Summary: When Marshall finds out he's the "reacher" and Lily's the "settler" in their relationship, he sets out to make her jealous. Meanwhile, Ted finds out his students have a drinking game about Robin.
Review: Usually in a HIMYM episode, there's something that stands out as the best part of the episode for me. Everything else was good, but there's usually one part I can point to and say, "Oh, I really loved blahblahblah."
In this case, it was Amanda Peet. I've loved her since her starring role on the short-lived but totally awesome Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (go check it out if you've never seen it). She's a great comedic actress, and her chemistry with Jason Segel was spectacular in this episode. From the first introduction to the moment she plants one on him (that's not a spoiler; it was in the promo), it was easy to imagine her as a co-worker who Marshall didn't know was probably flirting with him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in that episode, the group explains to Marshall that he's the reacher in his relationship with Lily, and she's the settler. In other words, she's too good for him, but she's settling for him. After much (much much much) prodding, Lily agrees with that, and Marshall decides he has to make Lily jealous. But, of course, she doesn't get jealous, because Lily's too cool to get jealous. Mostly. Which just makes Marshall try harder.
That entire storyline was heartwarming on top of being funny. I always enjoy watching Marshall and Lily interact, because there's just so much love between them. It takes Lily forever to admit she even might be settling for Marshall, and, even then, it isn't a big deal in her eyes. Meanwhile, even while Marshall's trying to make Lily jealous, he never wants to hurt her. The writers and actors have really done a great job creating such a lovely couple that you're constantly rooting for.
Then there's the second story, where Ted, who is forever desperate to be liked by his students, discovers that his students all watch Robin's show... and have a drinking game about it. This was yet another opportunity to throw Robin and Ted into an adversarial relationship, with Robin rubbing it in Ted's face and Ted trying not to let it bother him, even though it so obviously does. It's a trick the HIMYM writers do a lot, but it's so much fun every time.
There's no way this episode could have competed against the 100th episode, which was the last new one, but it was definitely fun to watch and it kept me laughing through the whole thing.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders
Summary: When Marshall finds out he's the "reacher" and Lily's the "settler" in their relationship, he sets out to make her jealous. Meanwhile, Ted finds out his students have a drinking game about Robin.
Review: Usually in a HIMYM episode, there's something that stands out as the best part of the episode for me. Everything else was good, but there's usually one part I can point to and say, "Oh, I really loved blahblahblah."
In this case, it was Amanda Peet. I've loved her since her starring role on the short-lived but totally awesome Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (go check it out if you've never seen it). She's a great comedic actress, and her chemistry with Jason Segel was spectacular in this episode. From the first introduction to the moment she plants one on him (that's not a spoiler; it was in the promo), it was easy to imagine her as a co-worker who Marshall didn't know was probably flirting with him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in that episode, the group explains to Marshall that he's the reacher in his relationship with Lily, and she's the settler. In other words, she's too good for him, but she's settling for him. After much (much much much) prodding, Lily agrees with that, and Marshall decides he has to make Lily jealous. But, of course, she doesn't get jealous, because Lily's too cool to get jealous. Mostly. Which just makes Marshall try harder.
That entire storyline was heartwarming on top of being funny. I always enjoy watching Marshall and Lily interact, because there's just so much love between them. It takes Lily forever to admit she even might be settling for Marshall, and, even then, it isn't a big deal in her eyes. Meanwhile, even while Marshall's trying to make Lily jealous, he never wants to hurt her. The writers and actors have really done a great job creating such a lovely couple that you're constantly rooting for.
Then there's the second story, where Ted, who is forever desperate to be liked by his students, discovers that his students all watch Robin's show... and have a drinking game about it. This was yet another opportunity to throw Robin and Ted into an adversarial relationship, with Robin rubbing it in Ted's face and Ted trying not to let it bother him, even though it so obviously does. It's a trick the HIMYM writers do a lot, but it's so much fun every time.
There's no way this episode could have competed against the 100th episode, which was the last new one, but it was definitely fun to watch and it kept me laughing through the whole thing.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Big Bang Theory - The Psychic Vortex
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 9:30-10:00pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: When Leonard and Howard go on a double date with Penny and Bernadette, Leonard is troubled to learn that Penny believes in psychics. Meanwhile, Raj and Sheldon go to a university mixer.
Review: I loved exactly half of this episode. The Raj/Sheldon storyline was great, from Raj's desperate pleas to get Sheldon to do something with him to the bribes that finally worked to the girls they eventually met (Danica McKellar!). Pairing Raj and Sheldon together has been a comedic victory in past episodes (let us never forget when Raj started working for Sheldon), and it doesn't fail this time either. Pegging them as the two "girlfriend-less" members of the group sets them up for future moments together too, which is something I await with eagerness.
I always enjoy Sheldon in episodes of Big Bang Theory, but I do feel he can get over-the-top sometimes. This wasn't one of those cases, though. I thought Jim Parsons played his part perfectly in this episode. Sheldon actually put in some effort to help Raj find a girl at the mixer, even if he wasn't good at it, and he didn't treat the women (or Raj, actually) as inferior to him in intellect, which was a somewhat refreshing change. He actually managed to participate in a group activity without being excessively weird or freaking out, which was really fun to see.
Meanwhile, the double date could have been... better. I think it's the Leonard/Penny relationship that's bothering me. Since the previous season finale, they went from "just friends" to "established, practically married couple" with no middle ground. I mean, there was that one episode where they were really awkward, but they never seemed to have that cute, honeymoon period that most couples (at least fictional couples) have. Maybe it's because they were friends for so long before they dated, but it just seems like there's nowhere for the relationship to go now except down... or into marriage, but I hope the writers agree with me when I say it's far too early for that.
In this episode, Leonard and Penny fight publicly about psychics (Penny believes, Leonard doesn't... in case you weren't sure). Meanwhile, Howard and Bernadette are just kind of hanging out. Actually, this was the first time I was really amused by Bernadette, and her honest answers to basically rhetorical questions (an example of which is in my favorite lines at the bottom). While this aspect of the story had a lot of funny lines, I didn't enjoy the premise. I thought Leonard was very clearly a jerk, mocking what Penny believes. It's not like he didn't know that she believed in things like that before he started dating her, so why does it come as a surprise to him now?
For someone who waited so long for the Leonard/Penny relationship to pan out, I've been very disappointed with how they've been handling it over the course of the season. I don't really know what I want from them, but it's not what they've been doing. I'm afraid that they're setting them up on a path to implode by the end of the season, and that would be terribly sad, especially since Big Bang's high ratings have pretty much guaranteed it as many future episodes as it would like. I would like them to revisit the idea of Howard and Leonard double dating again, though, because I think it raises some interesting potentials. Plus, the idea of them dating together just amuses me.
Favorite lines:
Leonard: Look at us, getting ready for a double date with actual women who publicly acknowledge they're our girlfriends.
Leonard: Howard, Bernadette, you're both scientists. Help me out here.
Howard: What do you think? Want to jump right into the middle of another couple's argument?
Bernadette: No, thank you.
Howard: Sorry.
Waiter: How is everything tonight?
Bernadette: Really uncomfortable.
Penny: That's all you've got after you were the most obnoxious person on a double date that included Howard Wolowitz?
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 9:30-10:00pm
Cast: Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Summary: When Leonard and Howard go on a double date with Penny and Bernadette, Leonard is troubled to learn that Penny believes in psychics. Meanwhile, Raj and Sheldon go to a university mixer.
Review: I loved exactly half of this episode. The Raj/Sheldon storyline was great, from Raj's desperate pleas to get Sheldon to do something with him to the bribes that finally worked to the girls they eventually met (Danica McKellar!). Pairing Raj and Sheldon together has been a comedic victory in past episodes (let us never forget when Raj started working for Sheldon), and it doesn't fail this time either. Pegging them as the two "girlfriend-less" members of the group sets them up for future moments together too, which is something I await with eagerness.
I always enjoy Sheldon in episodes of Big Bang Theory, but I do feel he can get over-the-top sometimes. This wasn't one of those cases, though. I thought Jim Parsons played his part perfectly in this episode. Sheldon actually put in some effort to help Raj find a girl at the mixer, even if he wasn't good at it, and he didn't treat the women (or Raj, actually) as inferior to him in intellect, which was a somewhat refreshing change. He actually managed to participate in a group activity without being excessively weird or freaking out, which was really fun to see.
Meanwhile, the double date could have been... better. I think it's the Leonard/Penny relationship that's bothering me. Since the previous season finale, they went from "just friends" to "established, practically married couple" with no middle ground. I mean, there was that one episode where they were really awkward, but they never seemed to have that cute, honeymoon period that most couples (at least fictional couples) have. Maybe it's because they were friends for so long before they dated, but it just seems like there's nowhere for the relationship to go now except down... or into marriage, but I hope the writers agree with me when I say it's far too early for that.
In this episode, Leonard and Penny fight publicly about psychics (Penny believes, Leonard doesn't... in case you weren't sure). Meanwhile, Howard and Bernadette are just kind of hanging out. Actually, this was the first time I was really amused by Bernadette, and her honest answers to basically rhetorical questions (an example of which is in my favorite lines at the bottom). While this aspect of the story had a lot of funny lines, I didn't enjoy the premise. I thought Leonard was very clearly a jerk, mocking what Penny believes. It's not like he didn't know that she believed in things like that before he started dating her, so why does it come as a surprise to him now?
For someone who waited so long for the Leonard/Penny relationship to pan out, I've been very disappointed with how they've been handling it over the course of the season. I don't really know what I want from them, but it's not what they've been doing. I'm afraid that they're setting them up on a path to implode by the end of the season, and that would be terribly sad, especially since Big Bang's high ratings have pretty much guaranteed it as many future episodes as it would like. I would like them to revisit the idea of Howard and Leonard double dating again, though, because I think it raises some interesting potentials. Plus, the idea of them dating together just amuses me.
Favorite lines:
Leonard: Look at us, getting ready for a double date with actual women who publicly acknowledge they're our girlfriends.
Leonard: Howard, Bernadette, you're both scientists. Help me out here.
Howard: What do you think? Want to jump right into the middle of another couple's argument?
Bernadette: No, thank you.
Howard: Sorry.
Waiter: How is everything tonight?
Bernadette: Really uncomfortable.
Penny: That's all you've got after you were the most obnoxious person on a double date that included Howard Wolowitz?
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Accidentally on Purpose - The Odd Couples
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright, Grant Show
Summary: In an effort to find out how they are as a couple, Billie and Zack go out on double dates with first Abby and Nick, then Davis and his new girlfriend. But both dates backfire and leave everyone mad at them.
Review: To my embarrassment, I'd completely forgotten that we ended before the break with a marriage proposal from Zack and a declaration of mutual love between them. So I definitely had a shocked moment when the first scene in the episode was Zack walking in and making out with Billie.
Once I had my bearings, my thoughts went from, "WHAT?!?" to "Aww..." Zack and Billie have always have had a fun relationship, and they managed to become a couple without losing the back-and-forth that I've enjoyed so far this season.
Billie has decided that, before she will accept Zack's marriage proposal, they should first see how they are as a couple when dealing with other people. Which means Zack has to bond with Abby's weird husband Nick. Nick, who likes hospitals and engineering and finding out all the different ways he can get sick doing something, is a little odd for Zack, who likes to surf, drive a van and be spontaneous. But the interaction between them is funny, and it leads to a very sweet moment between Abby and Nick, where he admits that he knows he's weird and that he loves that she loves him for it. It's the first time I've had any real positive emotions directed at Nick, but that scene really endeared me to him. And to Abby, who I've really only liked because she's Billie's sister.
Then Billie and Zack try their hand with Davis and his new girlfriend. Did I mention that Davis has been lying to her and telling her he's Dave Grohl's younger brother? And that the only reason she likes Davis at all is because she thinks he'll help her meet Dave Grohl? Yeah, Billie doesn't do so well with that part.
The Davis/girlfriend storyline does give us another wonderful Abby and Davis moment, however. Abby, it turns out, is way cooler than Billie is when it comes to lying to a woman to get her into bed, and she definitely steps up and has Davis's back on this one. The Abby/Davis relationship is something that the writers have only just played with a little, but the unlikely combination is always good for a laugh. I like a show that's not afraid to play all its characters off each other. So often, a show sticks to the pairings it establishes early on (Billie and her friends, Zack and his friends, Billie and Zack). I like that this show is not only willing to mingle the groups, but seemingly eager to do it.
My favorite thing about Accidentally on Purpose however, is that it never ceases to surprise me. Just when I expect them to go for one joke, they turn around and smack you with something else. Billie is established early on as a self-confident woman who isn't afraid to tell people how she feels, and that trait is often called on for its comedic value. Zack is more mature than most guys his age, but sometimes he's just a 22-year-old. I love that this show doesn't take the easy route with its comedy. It's rarely physical, relying on wit and character interaction to be the humor.
The only downside to this episode was the conspicuous absence of Olivia. I know this episode was focused on the relationship between the sisters, but it was also about friendship, and Olivia should have been there (I'm sure her absence had nothing to do with the show and was probably the result of a conflict with the shooting schedule or another project she was working on). Plus, I enjoy watching Olivia's interaction with Abby.
All in all, another winner for Accidentally on Purpose, which is moving to Wednesday nights sometime in March. I know CBS is worrying about its ratings, but I hope they decide to keep it on, because I think this show could only be made better by the addition of a baby.
Favorite line:
Davis: Yes, people, my new girlfriend has a credit card.
Billie: Girlfriend?
Zack: Credit card? When did this happen?
Davis: While you two were shacked up grossing out your baby. Yeah, I stumbled upon a new method to pick up chicks. [flashes back to lying to this girl about being Dave Grohl's little brother]
Zack: You dog. That's awesome.
Billie: If your new method is lying to chicks in bars, I hate to tell you, but every man in history has beat you to it.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright, Grant Show
Summary: In an effort to find out how they are as a couple, Billie and Zack go out on double dates with first Abby and Nick, then Davis and his new girlfriend. But both dates backfire and leave everyone mad at them.
Review: To my embarrassment, I'd completely forgotten that we ended before the break with a marriage proposal from Zack and a declaration of mutual love between them. So I definitely had a shocked moment when the first scene in the episode was Zack walking in and making out with Billie.
Once I had my bearings, my thoughts went from, "WHAT?!?" to "Aww..." Zack and Billie have always have had a fun relationship, and they managed to become a couple without losing the back-and-forth that I've enjoyed so far this season.
Billie has decided that, before she will accept Zack's marriage proposal, they should first see how they are as a couple when dealing with other people. Which means Zack has to bond with Abby's weird husband Nick. Nick, who likes hospitals and engineering and finding out all the different ways he can get sick doing something, is a little odd for Zack, who likes to surf, drive a van and be spontaneous. But the interaction between them is funny, and it leads to a very sweet moment between Abby and Nick, where he admits that he knows he's weird and that he loves that she loves him for it. It's the first time I've had any real positive emotions directed at Nick, but that scene really endeared me to him. And to Abby, who I've really only liked because she's Billie's sister.
Then Billie and Zack try their hand with Davis and his new girlfriend. Did I mention that Davis has been lying to her and telling her he's Dave Grohl's younger brother? And that the only reason she likes Davis at all is because she thinks he'll help her meet Dave Grohl? Yeah, Billie doesn't do so well with that part.
The Davis/girlfriend storyline does give us another wonderful Abby and Davis moment, however. Abby, it turns out, is way cooler than Billie is when it comes to lying to a woman to get her into bed, and she definitely steps up and has Davis's back on this one. The Abby/Davis relationship is something that the writers have only just played with a little, but the unlikely combination is always good for a laugh. I like a show that's not afraid to play all its characters off each other. So often, a show sticks to the pairings it establishes early on (Billie and her friends, Zack and his friends, Billie and Zack). I like that this show is not only willing to mingle the groups, but seemingly eager to do it.
My favorite thing about Accidentally on Purpose however, is that it never ceases to surprise me. Just when I expect them to go for one joke, they turn around and smack you with something else. Billie is established early on as a self-confident woman who isn't afraid to tell people how she feels, and that trait is often called on for its comedic value. Zack is more mature than most guys his age, but sometimes he's just a 22-year-old. I love that this show doesn't take the easy route with its comedy. It's rarely physical, relying on wit and character interaction to be the humor.
The only downside to this episode was the conspicuous absence of Olivia. I know this episode was focused on the relationship between the sisters, but it was also about friendship, and Olivia should have been there (I'm sure her absence had nothing to do with the show and was probably the result of a conflict with the shooting schedule or another project she was working on). Plus, I enjoy watching Olivia's interaction with Abby.
All in all, another winner for Accidentally on Purpose, which is moving to Wednesday nights sometime in March. I know CBS is worrying about its ratings, but I hope they decide to keep it on, because I think this show could only be made better by the addition of a baby.
Favorite line:
Davis: Yes, people, my new girlfriend has a credit card.
Billie: Girlfriend?
Zack: Credit card? When did this happen?
Davis: While you two were shacked up grossing out your baby. Yeah, I stumbled upon a new method to pick up chicks. [flashes back to lying to this girl about being Dave Grohl's little brother]
Zack: You dog. That's awesome.
Billie: If your new method is lying to chicks in bars, I hate to tell you, but every man in history has beat you to it.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
How I Met Your Mother - Girls vs. Suits
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris
Summary: Barney must choose between his suits or a hot new bartender. Ted gets closer to meeting "the mother."
Review: Now, I admit I came a little late to the How I Met Your Mother game. So when I say this is the best episode I've seen, you have to take it with a grain of salt. It'd be more accurate to say this is the best episode I've seen this season, I suppose.
So I'll say it: this is the best episode I've seen this season.
That said, I think HIMYM is on its way to winding down. We're so close to meeting the mother now that I can't imagine how many more ways they can tease the audience. I'll be sad to see it go, and I certainly think it can last at least another year or two, but the hard truth is that they're going to run out of ways to drag it out soon enough.
OK, on to this episode. So many things to love about it, and they don't all center around Neil Patrick Harris and his awesomeness. Though he is awesome. And I guess I have to start by saying any episode where he sings and dances automatically ranks higher than an episode without it.
The episode focused on two things: Barney's obsession with a hot bartender who won't date a guy who wears a suit, and Ted's date with his future wife's roommate. Both stories were strong, funny, and ultimately very sweet. I'll start with the Barney story, since I've already been talking about it.
Seeing Barney dress in something other than a suit was worth watching the episode for, even if nothing else had been good about it, but watching Marshall and Lily argue about the bartender was actually sweeter than it was funny. Marshall refuses to say that the bartender is hotter than Lily, no matter how much she tries to convince him. You can tell in the way he says it that he truly believes Lily is the hotter one, and something about that was so sweet that even I fell a little in love with Marshall.
Of course, the nice moment is ruined by Barney's escapades. He is so devastated by not wearing his precious suits that he runs into the bathroom to wear one for just a few minutes and accidentally rips it. In horror, he runs to his personal tailor (whose identity I refuse to reveal because every show deserves some secrets). The scene that follows is so hysterical that it is easily in my top three favorite scenes of the episode.
Of course, the bartender ultimately finds out that Barney's really a suit-whore, and she tells him he has to make a decision. Which he does. With song. And dance.
Then there's Ted's story. He goes out on a date with a PhD student he meets on campus, Cindy, who turns out to be the roommate of the future mother of his children (which young Ted obviously doesn't know, but older Bob-Saget-acted Ted makes abundantly clear). Cindy clearly has roommate issues, and she spends most of the date trying to keep Ted from liking her roommate, though older Ted keeps pointing out that everything she mentions is something he loves about his wife. As much as Ted tries to convince her that he doesn't want to date her roommate, he ruins the effect later, when he tries to tell Cindy how much they have in common and instead points out the only things in her room that are really her roommate's.
Like Modern Family, I find the real draw of HIMYM to be the interaction between the characters, not the jokes, despite its sitcom status. This episode had the perfect combination of funny moments and sweet moments. I feel like they got rid of some of the awkwardness that always seemed to be around when Barney and Robin were dating (sorry, 'shippers, but that relationship never really worked for me... not in the canon sense, at least), and the characters have settled into a fun, relaxed state. Like I said before, my fear is that, as Ted draws nearer to finally meeting the mother, the show is going to run out of places to go.
But for the time being, the show seems to be thriving, and I look forward to seeing what antics the group will get up to every week.
Favorite line:
Ted (to Cindy): "I promise I will not fall in love with your roommate."
Older Ted (VO): "Oops."
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Mondays, 8:00-8:30pm
Cast: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris
Summary: Barney must choose between his suits or a hot new bartender. Ted gets closer to meeting "the mother."
Review: Now, I admit I came a little late to the How I Met Your Mother game. So when I say this is the best episode I've seen, you have to take it with a grain of salt. It'd be more accurate to say this is the best episode I've seen this season, I suppose.
So I'll say it: this is the best episode I've seen this season.
That said, I think HIMYM is on its way to winding down. We're so close to meeting the mother now that I can't imagine how many more ways they can tease the audience. I'll be sad to see it go, and I certainly think it can last at least another year or two, but the hard truth is that they're going to run out of ways to drag it out soon enough.
OK, on to this episode. So many things to love about it, and they don't all center around Neil Patrick Harris and his awesomeness. Though he is awesome. And I guess I have to start by saying any episode where he sings and dances automatically ranks higher than an episode without it.
The episode focused on two things: Barney's obsession with a hot bartender who won't date a guy who wears a suit, and Ted's date with his future wife's roommate. Both stories were strong, funny, and ultimately very sweet. I'll start with the Barney story, since I've already been talking about it.
Seeing Barney dress in something other than a suit was worth watching the episode for, even if nothing else had been good about it, but watching Marshall and Lily argue about the bartender was actually sweeter than it was funny. Marshall refuses to say that the bartender is hotter than Lily, no matter how much she tries to convince him. You can tell in the way he says it that he truly believes Lily is the hotter one, and something about that was so sweet that even I fell a little in love with Marshall.
Of course, the nice moment is ruined by Barney's escapades. He is so devastated by not wearing his precious suits that he runs into the bathroom to wear one for just a few minutes and accidentally rips it. In horror, he runs to his personal tailor (whose identity I refuse to reveal because every show deserves some secrets). The scene that follows is so hysterical that it is easily in my top three favorite scenes of the episode.
Of course, the bartender ultimately finds out that Barney's really a suit-whore, and she tells him he has to make a decision. Which he does. With song. And dance.
Then there's Ted's story. He goes out on a date with a PhD student he meets on campus, Cindy, who turns out to be the roommate of the future mother of his children (which young Ted obviously doesn't know, but older Bob-Saget-acted Ted makes abundantly clear). Cindy clearly has roommate issues, and she spends most of the date trying to keep Ted from liking her roommate, though older Ted keeps pointing out that everything she mentions is something he loves about his wife. As much as Ted tries to convince her that he doesn't want to date her roommate, he ruins the effect later, when he tries to tell Cindy how much they have in common and instead points out the only things in her room that are really her roommate's.
Like Modern Family, I find the real draw of HIMYM to be the interaction between the characters, not the jokes, despite its sitcom status. This episode had the perfect combination of funny moments and sweet moments. I feel like they got rid of some of the awkwardness that always seemed to be around when Barney and Robin were dating (sorry, 'shippers, but that relationship never really worked for me... not in the canon sense, at least), and the characters have settled into a fun, relaxed state. Like I said before, my fear is that, as Ted draws nearer to finally meeting the mother, the show is going to run out of places to go.
But for the time being, the show seems to be thriving, and I look forward to seeing what antics the group will get up to every week.
Favorite line:
Ted (to Cindy): "I promise I will not fall in love with your roommate."
Older Ted (VO): "Oops."
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Monday, January 11, 2010
Modern Family - Up All Night
Network: ABC
Time: Wednesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter
Summary: When Gloria encourages Jay to get along with Javier, Manny's father, he gets a little carried about with his male bonding. Phil has a kidney stone and proceeds to milk it it for all it's worth. Mitchell wants to use the Ferber method to get Lily to sleep, but Cameron has a lot more trouble with it than he expected. Guest starring Benjamin Bratt.
Review: In the last few months, this has easily become one of my favorite shows on television. It's one of the few sitcoms I've ever watched where I've really grown attached to the characters, enough so that I truly care about what happens to them.
I'd like to say this episode was the best so far, or that it wasn't quite up to par, but the truth is, there hasn't been a single episode I haven't loved, and there hasn't been one that I thought really rose above the rest. Modern Family is consistently great, and this episode was no exception.
We've heard talk about Manny's father in several episodes, and I certainly had an impression of him going into this episode. I imagined he was a smooth-talker, deadbeat dad who showed up just enough to keep his son's hopes up. And... I was pretty much right. Benjamin Bratt, who I adore, did an excellent job portraying Javier--and showing Jay exactly how easy it was for Gloria to be seduced by him. The downside to this was that they didn't have time to show much of the relationship between Manny, his father, and his stepfather. I would have liked to see more tension there, maybe a little possessiveness on their parts. Instead, the episode focused on developing the relationship between Jay and Javier. It was probably my least favorite of the three storylines (which makes it sound much more negative than it was).
Next up was the Dunphy family drama. Phil had a kidney stone and, being Phil, acted like he was dying from it, leaving the family no choice but to call in the hot firemen to take him to the hospital. I'm not really sure why firemen came to take him to the hospital, but we can ignore that minor plot hole in favor of the far funnier idea that Claire paused in caring for her ill husband (and a kidney stone is something he could legitimately get worked up about, even if he wasn't Phil) to put on a nice shirt and heels to impress them. The family dynamic was great in this story, from Luke's fear that he would have to be the man of the house, to Phil's overdramatic line, "If I never wake up, I'd hate for the last thing you ever said to me to be a lie," to all the ways Phil thought Claire could pay him back for lying to him.
And then there was my favorite story: the Ferberization of Lily. Mitchell wanted to use the Ferber method to get Lily to get herself to sleep (which basically consists of letting her cry herself out instead of cuddling her every time she fusses, obviously within reason). Cam has... difficulties with this. Most of the episode deals in short spurts with Mitchell trying to stop Cam from picking Lily up every time she cries. But the best part came when Mitchell finally confronts Cam and tells him he's tired of always being the bad cop. There's such a realism to Mitchell and Cam's relationship; it's always funny, but, in the end, it's usually the sweetest part of the show. I appreciate a sitcom that takes a gay relationship and doesn't overdo it. So many shows make the characters overly flamboyant and the relationship really tacky. And Modern Family certainly has its flamboyant moments. But the relationship is always real, and it's much more like you'd expect a committed relationship to be than most sitcoms offer.
The only thing this episode was lacking was the part where the whole family comes together in the end. It wasn't necessary, and it wasn't something I missed until I looked back and thought about it, but it's something I've enjoyed about the other episodes, the big, happy family bit.
What this episode did have that most of the others don't, however, were interviews with the kids. In fact, most of it was dominated by them. The theme of the day was, "What do my parents tell me to do that annoys me the most?" I think we can all, no matter how old, relate to that.
Favorite line:
Cam (after a small scuffle causes Mitch to hurt his ankle): "I'm sorry I hurt you."
Mitch: "No, no, don't be. I could just have easily have hurt you."
Cam: "Well, it's cute that you think that."
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Wednesdays, 9:00-9:30pm
Cast: Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter
Summary: When Gloria encourages Jay to get along with Javier, Manny's father, he gets a little carried about with his male bonding. Phil has a kidney stone and proceeds to milk it it for all it's worth. Mitchell wants to use the Ferber method to get Lily to sleep, but Cameron has a lot more trouble with it than he expected. Guest starring Benjamin Bratt.
Review: In the last few months, this has easily become one of my favorite shows on television. It's one of the few sitcoms I've ever watched where I've really grown attached to the characters, enough so that I truly care about what happens to them.
I'd like to say this episode was the best so far, or that it wasn't quite up to par, but the truth is, there hasn't been a single episode I haven't loved, and there hasn't been one that I thought really rose above the rest. Modern Family is consistently great, and this episode was no exception.
We've heard talk about Manny's father in several episodes, and I certainly had an impression of him going into this episode. I imagined he was a smooth-talker, deadbeat dad who showed up just enough to keep his son's hopes up. And... I was pretty much right. Benjamin Bratt, who I adore, did an excellent job portraying Javier--and showing Jay exactly how easy it was for Gloria to be seduced by him. The downside to this was that they didn't have time to show much of the relationship between Manny, his father, and his stepfather. I would have liked to see more tension there, maybe a little possessiveness on their parts. Instead, the episode focused on developing the relationship between Jay and Javier. It was probably my least favorite of the three storylines (which makes it sound much more negative than it was).
Next up was the Dunphy family drama. Phil had a kidney stone and, being Phil, acted like he was dying from it, leaving the family no choice but to call in the hot firemen to take him to the hospital. I'm not really sure why firemen came to take him to the hospital, but we can ignore that minor plot hole in favor of the far funnier idea that Claire paused in caring for her ill husband (and a kidney stone is something he could legitimately get worked up about, even if he wasn't Phil) to put on a nice shirt and heels to impress them. The family dynamic was great in this story, from Luke's fear that he would have to be the man of the house, to Phil's overdramatic line, "If I never wake up, I'd hate for the last thing you ever said to me to be a lie," to all the ways Phil thought Claire could pay him back for lying to him.
And then there was my favorite story: the Ferberization of Lily. Mitchell wanted to use the Ferber method to get Lily to get herself to sleep (which basically consists of letting her cry herself out instead of cuddling her every time she fusses, obviously within reason). Cam has... difficulties with this. Most of the episode deals in short spurts with Mitchell trying to stop Cam from picking Lily up every time she cries. But the best part came when Mitchell finally confronts Cam and tells him he's tired of always being the bad cop. There's such a realism to Mitchell and Cam's relationship; it's always funny, but, in the end, it's usually the sweetest part of the show. I appreciate a sitcom that takes a gay relationship and doesn't overdo it. So many shows make the characters overly flamboyant and the relationship really tacky. And Modern Family certainly has its flamboyant moments. But the relationship is always real, and it's much more like you'd expect a committed relationship to be than most sitcoms offer.
The only thing this episode was lacking was the part where the whole family comes together in the end. It wasn't necessary, and it wasn't something I missed until I looked back and thought about it, but it's something I've enjoyed about the other episodes, the big, happy family bit.
What this episode did have that most of the others don't, however, were interviews with the kids. In fact, most of it was dominated by them. The theme of the day was, "What do my parents tell me to do that annoys me the most?" I think we can all, no matter how old, relate to that.
Favorite line:
Cam (after a small scuffle causes Mitch to hurt his ankle): "I'm sorry I hurt you."
Mitch: "No, no, don't be. I could just have easily have hurt you."
Cam: "Well, it's cute that you think that."
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Monday, November 2, 2009
Modern Family - Pilot
Network: ABC
Time: Wednesday, 9:00-9:30
Cast: Ed O'Neill, Sophia Vergara, Rico Rodriguez II, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter,
Creators: Christopher Lloyd, Steven Levitan
Summary: This show follows three individual families that make up one larger family. There's one nuclear family: husband, wife, and three kids. There's one gay family: two boyfriends and an adopted daughter. And there's one divorcee who's now married to a much younger woman and raising her young son. The story has a documentary feel to it, with all the characters doing confessionals and speaking to the camera either by themselves or with their spouses.
Review: As a general rule, I'm a much tougher critic of a one-hour show than a sitcom. For a sitcom to be good for me, all it has to do is make me laugh a few times and not bore me. I don't have to like the characters. Oh, sure, it's nice when I do, but it's not essential. Generally in a sitcom, characters are fairly static anyway. Look at Friends or Seinfeld as an example. The characters age, sure, but they don't actually *grow*. There's little personality change between Chandler of season 1 and Chandler of season 10. The audience expects their characters to be a certain way every time they watch the show. Whereas the Josh Lyman in season 1 of the West Wing is a much more relaxed, humorous character than the Josh Lyman in season 7 who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The point of that mini-rant is that, unlike dramatic television, a sitcom's greatest weapons and biggest liabilities are snappy dialogue and good jokes. Without both of those, nothing else in the show matters.
Modern Family has the whole package. Right from the start, you are walking into a funny show. It's set up like a mock documentary (read: mockumentary), with The Office-style confessionals to the camera. These confessionals can be solo, but usually each couple is together. It's better that way because it allows them to play off each other.
And, boy, are they good at that. I don't know who was in charge of casting for this show, but they managed to find a set of actors with the kind of chemistry most shows can only dream of (so good, infact, it made me end my sentence with a preposition). From the first episode, we're supposed to believe all these people are related--a father and his two children from one marriage, each of their families (one heterosexual, one homosexual), his new wife (who's roughly his daughter's age) and her son from a previous marriage.
And I buy it. For awhile we only see each individual family and their troubles. There's Claire, who's trying to raise a teenage girl (Haley), a pre-teen girl (Alex), a pre-pre-teen boy (Luke), and a husband (Phil, who, frankly, is the least mature of all of them). The entire family dynamic is real enough that I turned to my viewing partners and said, "If I had had an older sister, I'd have been exactly like Alex." Sure, they're wittier and the comebacks are snappier than most families are, but, at least in the case of my family, it gives us something to aspire to.
The point of that mini-rant is that, unlike dramatic television, a sitcom's greatest weapons and biggest liabilities are snappy dialogue and good jokes. Without both of those, nothing else in the show matters.
Modern Family has the whole package. Right from the start, you are walking into a funny show. It's set up like a mock documentary (read: mockumentary), with The Office-style confessionals to the camera. These confessionals can be solo, but usually each couple is together. It's better that way because it allows them to play off each other.
And, boy, are they good at that. I don't know who was in charge of casting for this show, but they managed to find a set of actors with the kind of chemistry most shows can only dream of (so good, infact, it made me end my sentence with a preposition). From the first episode, we're supposed to believe all these people are related--a father and his two children from one marriage, each of their families (one heterosexual, one homosexual), his new wife (who's roughly his daughter's age) and her son from a previous marriage.
And I buy it. For awhile we only see each individual family and their troubles. There's Claire, who's trying to raise a teenage girl (Haley), a pre-teen girl (Alex), a pre-pre-teen boy (Luke), and a husband (Phil, who, frankly, is the least mature of all of them). The entire family dynamic is real enough that I turned to my viewing partners and said, "If I had had an older sister, I'd have been exactly like Alex." Sure, they're wittier and the comebacks are snappier than most families are, but, at least in the case of my family, it gives us something to aspire to.
Then there's Mitchell, who lives with his boyfriend Cam. In the pilot episode, they just adopted a little girl from Vietnam, and they (read: Mitchell) are worried about how to tell his father, who's just accepted the fact that Mitchell is gay. This is another realistic relationship. They have their stereotypically gay quirks, but it's refreshing to see that even they know when they take it too far. It seems that homosexuality is the new "in thing" to have in a television show. See Glee for an example of what happens when all the gay characters are unashamedly flamboyant, and you'll see, as I do, that's it's refreshing to see a gay couple that acts more like real people.
Finally there's Jay, Mitchell and Claire's father, who lives with his new wife Gloria and her precocious grade-school son Manny. This is a point to consider later, that Mitchell and Claire's stepmother is roughly their age, and their stepbrother is the same age as Claire's son. Ed O'Neill is probably the only name I recognized going into this show, and he delivers spectacularly. His wit is dry, his demeanor is gruff, and his bluntness is balanced with a dash of sweet.
All of this combines to give the first episode a lot of laughs and a heart-warming ending that makes you realize that all families are dysfunctional in their own way. Because, when you get to it, all these related characters make up a pretty normal family. They have their craziness, but, really, what's normal anyway?
Rating (this episode):
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Big Bang Theory - The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 9:30-10:00pm
Cast: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar
Creator: Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady
Review: Season 3 of Big Bang is off to a, well, bang. The guys are back from the Arctic, and they're finding their own ways to keep warm. There are some mild spoilers ahead, but nothing you don't find out in the first five minutes of the episode.
Spoiler/Major Plot Device #1 - Sheldon. Turns out, the guys lied to him about the results they were finding on his study. In other words, he had squat. Too bad he'd already told everyone about his miraculous findings. Oops. Well, after he finds out his friends had destroyed his dreams of a Nobel Prize, he takes off running all the way to the opposite of the Arctic. That's right, Sheldon goes home to Mama Cooper.
Spoiler/Major Plot Device #2 - Leonard and Penny. That's right, 'shippers, it's finally happened. Leonard comes back from the frozen tundra of the Arctic circle to see that Penny's clearly missed him... a lot.
Now, I'm as big a fan of Leonard and Penny as anyone, and I've certainly been rooting for their relationship since episode 1, but I had some problems with that aspect of this episode. When the boys left, there was a moment. You remember, Penny shut the door to her apartment and said, "Don't go," to the air? And then they've probably had no contact for three or four months while Leonard was in his own personal frozen hell? Then... they're making out? It seemed a little fast to me, despite the fact that we've been waiting for this for two years. And then, to make matters worse, it's awkward. For a fan who's been anticipating this relationship, the actual situation was a bit of a let down.
However, there were certainly more positives than negatives about this episode. The writing, as always, was stellar. The timing between the actors was great, and Sheldon, as usual, could not be matched. Jim Parsons has a way of taking already-good dialogue and pushing it up a notch with his spectacular grasp of Sheldon's character. In this episode, he alternated between the affronted, superior scientist who looked down on his friends, and the teenage boy he must have once been when dealing with his mother. Parsons played both parts brilliantly.
All things considered, Big Bang is clearly making a move to become a top-rated CBS sitcom. Up until now, Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother have been the Monday night draws. Big Bang Theory was something you watched because it was in between (well, not me, but, you know, other people). But with the new time change came a new attitude, and Big Bang clearly wants to be a ratings frontrunner now. Personally, I think they've got a good chance. For a program about really smart people (which, let's face it, is rarely a selling point for a sitcom), there is something about this show that appeals to people of all intellects... whether you understand the geek-speak or not.
Rating (for this episode):
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
Accidentally on Purpose - Pilot
Network: CBS
Time: Mondays, 8:30-9:00pm
Cast: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Grant Show, Nicolas Wright
Creator: Claudia Lonow
Based on memoir by Mary F. Pols
Summary: Accidentally on Purpose is a new sitcom on CBS starring Jenna Elfman and Jon Foster. Billie (Elfman), a thirty-something newspaper film critic, meets Zack (Foster) one night in a bar. Long story short, they have the one-night stand that every 22-year-old wannabe chef has nightmares about--the kind that gets the girl pregnant. Billie decides she's going to keep the baby, and Zack decides he's going to man up and be a father. So he moves into her house, and they begin their life as platonic friends who happen to be having a baby together.
Or maybe that was just me.
Either way, I only watched this show because it was on between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men (and kudos to CBS for its good scheduling there). I'm the first to admit I went in skeptical, and I certainly wasn't prepared to give it its fair chance. Fortunately, it was good enough to surprise me.
Let's start with the main character. Billie isn't the typical thirty-something as portrayed in other shows. Yes, her biological clock is ticking (which is sort of what gets her in this mess to begin with). Yes, she's a bit neurotic sometimes. But all in all, she's got a good job; she's confident in herself as an employee, a woman, and a friend; and she's very grounded. She's exactly the kind of woman I'd like to be in my 30s. And, most importantly, she's exactly the kind of woman you like. Which is good for Claudia Lenow, the creator of Accidentally on Purpose, because it means more of us are going to keep watching it.
So then there's Zack. Now, in most sitcoms, he'd be the classic underachiever who hooked up with an older woman and now got himself into a mess, right? Well... he did hook up with an older woman. And I guess he got himself into a mess. But underachiever? No way. Zack handles this situation like any woman would die for. He decides right away that he wants to be a father for his child, which means being there for Billie during her pregnancy. And he's smart. In so many situations like this, the young dad-to-be has utterly no concept of what pregnancy is. He asks stupid questions and makes completely inappropriate comments. Not Zack (that dubious honor is reserved for his best friend, the underachieving slacker named Davis (Nicolas Wright) who's futon was the site of conception). Zack is sweet and sensible and shows a level of commitment that Billie couldn't hope for from most of the older men she knows.
Now, the main characters are great, but any viewer knows that it's the supporting cast that really makes a show, especially a sitcom. And Accidentally on Purpose has that in droves. There's Billie's best friend Olivia (Ashley Jensen), who is the Sex and the City-generation's answer to the thirty-something, and whose often not-great advice contributes to Billie's situation. There's Billie's sister Abby (Lennon Parham), who may not have gotten the brains in the family, but she seems to have the relationship skills. There's Zack's best friend Davis, who I spoke about earlier, and whose relationship with Billie may actually be funnier than any other relationship combination in the show.
And of course there has to be the drama. We'll call him James (Grant Show). James is Billie's boss. I mean, ex-boyfriend. I mean, love interest. I mean... well, you get the point. He's the wedge that drives the potential Zack and Billie relationship apart, at least for now.
What made this pilot so good? I don't know. It could be the great characters that just beg you to like them. It could be the snappy dialogue and the one-liners that had me laughing until my sides hurt. Or it could just be the wonderfully real relationships that develop as a result of this baby. No matter what it is, I know where I'm going to be on Mondays at 8:30 for awhile.
Rating:
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
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