TV Roundup: Week of 23 November 2009

Not much to say of this week's Thanksgiving-themed episodes of HIMYM and Modern Family. Both were pretty ok. Light on the laughs department. The see-saw between Ted and Robin got old quick, and the resolution was pretty much telegraphed that Marshall would end up being the one to slap Barney all along. Didn't much care for the Lily subplot with her dad. The chaotic finale to the Modern Family ep was less satisfying than all the build-up. The plot device of having the quasi-mystery of who got hurt at the hospital and then flashing back to the earlier events didn't seem necessary, while none of the plots (Cam as clown; Manny seeking dating advice from his dad; Claire at the crafts table) were particularly funny.

Stargate Universe: "Life". Goodness, another turgid, turgid episode. The show seems to see-saw between watchable and unbearable eps, and this one's firmly in the latter category. Felt for TJ, who had the unenvious task of seeking folks out for their pysch evaluation. Rush was insufferable (what else is new?), while the personal storylines involving Young, Ming-Na's characters and Scott would have been more interesting had I been more invested in the characters, which I'm not.

TV Roundup Week of 16 November 2009

Excellent episode of HIMYM this week. Was becoming less invested in the show, but this was a winner. Barney taking centerstage is always a plus, and Neil Patrick Harris gets amply opportunities to show off his comedic chops here. The various plays in the Playbook was nicely enacted, and I always love it when Lily and Barney interact.

Modern Family was a good episode too, especially the guest-star turn by Edward Norton as a haughty star whose ego far far exceeds his talents.

The Office: "Shareholders Meeting". Fairly ok episode. Highlight was how Jim dealt with Ryan's utter poor attitude, by Jim's own unique prankster style. Very nice. Pam's TH about almost forgetting to support Jim was an LOL moment. The main plot of the shareholders meeting didn't do much for me, with Michael doing his thing and falling on the side of grating. The office's excitement at seeing the limo was rather infectious though, and underlines the small town nature of the Scranton branch that a limo can generate so much commotion. I would be over the moon too in their shoes.

Parks and Recreation: "Hunting Trip" Hilarious episode. P&R is the funniest comedy around lately, and it's good form continues this week. Both main and subplots hit the target (pun unintended). The subplot with April and Andy fooling around in the office while everyone was away on the hunting trip was unexpectedly sweet in its on off-kilter way. Anything with Ron F*ing Swanson is comedy gold these days, and his TH about his hunting trip being stamped out once Leslie told him chirpily that she was tagging along was an LOL moment. Nice bit of pathos at the end too after Ron realized that Leslie, whom he had thought was the one who shot him, was actually covering for Tom. Good change of pace too to see Jerry, for once, being accepted into a circle (in this case being part of the regular hunting party together with Ron and Mark), instead of being the target of the office's ire.

TV Roundup: Week of 12 October 2009

How I Met Your Mother: Ok episode. Marshall and Lily's double date with Robin and Barney was fun to watch, especially Marshall's over-enthusiasm, but ultimately ran out of steam at the end.

The Office: Terrific episode of "The Office", packed with laughs. Oscar's TH that the sane was being outnumbered after Jim and Pam are gone and Toby had zoned out, followed immediately by Toby zoning out during his TH, was the hilarious highlight. The cold open and Kevin taking Jim's office were funny too, and despite the premise, I found myself liking Andy and Dwight helping Michael with his "mob" issue.

Stargate Universe: Geez, Rush's rant was probably the most unbearable, insufferable moment I've seen in fictional TV this year, by a country mile. Not helping the likeabiity of this show at all. Other than that, I really liked how the others pulled together despite Rush's negativity, and I'm especially starting to take to Eli's optimism. A nice moment of levity at the end when the crew paused to take in the beautiful sight of the planet as Destiny entered its gravitational pull, and they worked in a cliffhanger too. All in all, despite Rush, I liked the episode, so I think I'll be sticking around for a few weeks.

How I Met Your Mother "Robin"; Dollhouse "Instinct"; Parks and Recreation "Practice Date"

Okay episode of HIMYM this week. Not a lot of laughs, though Ted's lecture to Barney on tips on dating Robin does give Cobie Smulders an opportunity for some nice comedic moments. Subplot of the barrel doesn't do much for me, and the tie-in to the main plot is superfluous at best. Nice to see Lily being a supportive friend to Robin though, in her crisis moment.

Dollhouse, I thought, had a good episode. Despite the telegraphed nature of the main mission-of-the-week storyline, I found myself engaged nevertheless. One part that left me confused though (in the aftermath of the reveal that Echo "remembers" her imprints)...does Echo retain her consciousness and the remnants of her imprinted personality are only in the background after a wipe? I.e. that she's completely her imprinted personality (without her original personality) prior to the wipe? Because she didn't seem to recognize Ballard when he came to take her back to the Dollhouse the first time. Good scene in Echo's heart-to-heart talk with Ballard in the park later in the episode about the tolls of taking down the Dollhouse while retaining her own personality juxtaposed with all her imprints, and offers more insight in that Echo seems to "feel" her previous imprints rather than remember them, though the scene does seem to reach for a higher emotional impact than what it eventually achieved.

Terrific episode of "Parks and Recreation", continuing its fine form this season. The one-upmanship competition among the staffers to see which of them could dig up the most dirt on each other was great, and had the awesome payoff of Tom catching Ron in his late-night jazz gig as Duke Silver. I like the main plot of Anne helping Leslie practice for her first date with Dave. Leslie's rambling of her awful past first dates was hilarious. All in all, a very enjoyable installment indeed. The next episode can't come soon enough!

How I Met Your Mother: "Double Date"

Loved the episode. Ted's second blind date with Jen was nicely-written and played out, and a good example of the trademark time-shifting dexterity that the show does so well. Josh Radnor and Lindsay Sloane (from "Grosse Pointe"!) has an easy onscreen chemistry, and I thought for a while that Jen could perhaps, maybe, be the titular mother? For one, Sloane looks like she could slot right into the rest of the cast (as seen by her brief scenes with the rest of the gang at MacLaren's), and for another, they won't be the first couple who have gotten together after a disastrous first date.

One of the nice touches is that the first blind date started off bad but actually ended well (with Ted promising to call Jen but never did), while the second blind date started off well (with both of them playfully trying to review what went wrong with the first blind date so they could avoid repeating those in the future) but actually ended bad, when Jen remembered that Ted didn't in fact call her back the first time. It all nicely ties in to the denouement of the storyline, when Ted remembered that the reason he didn't call back was because it's apparent they were just tolerating each other's quirks. In the case of Ted, his love of making stupid shellfish jokes and being the language police in correcting spelling errors in menus; in the case of Jen, her love of talking obsessively about her many cats. Surely they each deserve to find someone who not only tolerates these quirks, but loves them as well, as Ted posited. Which I agree. Well, I'm no relationship expert, not by a mile, but tolerance only takes you so far, and the relationship they're thinking of entering into could very well turn out to be a lifelong commitment. Tolerating another's quirks is the same as changing oneself to suit the other's image. It's a short-term fix that won't work in a marathon. It's a pity that this means Lindsay Sloane's guest-appearance will probably be a one-time thing, but this story was just so nicely done that this is just a minor quibble.

Other than the main plot, the subplot of Marshall and Barney finding Lily's doppelganger at a strip club serves its amusing purpose, and the throwaways to the time when they found Robin's and Marshall's doppelganger were hilarious. Can't wait to see when Ted's and Barney's turn up. Also, I know the writers don't read this blog (haha, no one does) but one week after mentioning I love Lily and Marshall best as a sweet, loving couple, they have an episode of Lily and Marshall as...a sweet, loving couple! Awesome! The next episode can't come soon enough!

How I Met Your Mother""Definitions"

Strong season premiere. Marshall fooling around with the Indiana Jones whip is amusing. While Lily has been one of my favorite characters, she's falling rapidly down the scale though with her bizarre way of manipulating her friends' lives, first with Ted and Robin's relationship in the past, and now with locking Barney and Robin in the same room so they can work out the exact nature of their relationship. I liked Lily much better when she's playing off Marshall as the happily-ever-after couple. The locked-in-the-room scene does have the fantastic payoff where Barney and Robin ostensibly put on an act as boyfriend-girlfriend just to get Lily to back off, but it's so clear to the audience, even if it isn't to them, that their "fake" declaration of love is truer than either Barney or Robin would like to admit. Very nicely set-up scene. Ted as a douchebag at the university is fun enough, though I'm probably not alone in being indifferent at this point as to who the identity of the titular mother is. As I've said, a nice start to the season for HIMYM. The next episode can't come soon enough!