Monsters of Television

“Why don’t you take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond?

“Oh, don’t worry: he won’t wake up. I made time between running from zombies and scraping by to survive to bump uglies with your best friend while your son slept in the next bed and he never made a peep. Carl, not Shane. Shane’s a screamer. Did I mention that I made you a cuckold? I did. But we can laugh about it now. Ha ha ha. Ha?”

The complaint from several people (including myself) is that last week’s episode of The Walking Dead felt too much like the horror movies the pilot promised so much against. Dialogue was atrocious, themes were too obvious, it borrowed so heavily from its genre-mates (even parodies like Shaun of the Dead) that it felt unoriginal, and the slow-build-tension, character-focused, trope-examining, AMC-promise-of-story was violated by what was, essentially, a conventional horror plot.

Perhaps I felt that way because I brought expectations to this episode. After talking it over during the Monsters of Television podcast, they might have needed a hook after that first episode in order to grab as many people as possible. Sure, the story for the first episode set a tone but we’re dealing with television afterall and it’s not called “broadcast” for nothin’. Stupid farmers.

In any event, the third episode is kind of a marriage of the two in that we have some interesting character deepening events with some heavy-handed themes, even ones that are vocalized pretty blatantly (more so than even the “us against them” speech Rick gave Mearle on the rooftop). There’s some good stuff here, some cheesy stuff, and one big huge “WHY. WOULD YOU DO THAT?” For those of you that watched the episode, I’m pretty sure you know where I’m going.

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“We need to give the truth the drama of a lie.”

We've got cynicism, right here in Chi-Town. And that starts with C which rhymes with...

Sometimes reviewing  a consistently solid shows is a challenge. It’s hard to say much new about them. This, of course, applies to procedurals in general, but it becomes especially difficult when a show like The Good Wife. You end up trying to find something to hang your review on, and that can be tricky.

Luckily, The Good Wife often provides a peg to drape itself over pretty consistently. Sure, it was easier last season when the episode titles told me what to look for (“Doubt”, “Fleas”, “Boom”), but I like not being told what the peg is, even if the episode makes it pretty obvious, and boy oh boy is “Poisoned Pill” a super-cynical episode of The Good Wife. Read more »

“It loves the little squshy mushies!“

I do not have a great deal to say about “Tashy 497” because there isn’t a lot to say about it. Which isn’t to say it’s a bad episode, because it’s not. It’s just kind of there, in the episode list, kicking back, taking it easy.

I think my my trouble is that the episode is just so beige that it’s kind of hard to form a really solid opinion about the episode, which is a little frustrating after the great run the show has on recently. But “Tashy 497” still has some entertaining aspects to it, which prevents the episode from being a complete waste. Read more »

“I hate bottle episodes.”

I love bottle episodes. I think they’re great, occasionally risky episodes that tell us about what a show is about. They force a show to boil itself down to its bare essentials, showcasing very specific dynamics and how those dynamics keep the show moving.

Yes, the reasons bottle episodes tend to happen make little to no sense (as they do here), but I very often don’t care because I love excuses to spend time with characters in these very intense ways.

Needless to say, I think this is one of Community‘s best episodes so far. Read more »

“I accidentally turned McNab and my dad into confidantes. It’s a weird day.”

“This is way easier than sawing my leg off and being scared of a puppet with a voice modifier.”

Previously. On Psych.

Declan is trying to escape using the most convenient aircraft to him. He tries to get Juliet to go with him but the Man in Puka Shells constantly thwarts him at every pass. You see, the Man in Puka Shells wants Declan to be on his side but then violates his trust and recruits Declan’s followers behind his back. Although, to be fair, Juliet’s heart has always belonged to the Man in Puka Shells. Declan never really stood a chance. So, confused about where his destiny lies, Declan tries to kill himself with dynamite found on a beached pirate ship. Wait, that last part might actually be from Lost.

Really, Psych? A previously on? Just who do you think you are?

Welcome to the post-hiatus or, as the kids like to call it, season 5.5. A lot of promise from the first half of the season is meant to carry over to this half, especially with stunt episodes (It’s a Wonderful LIfe coming up shortly) and the on-again, off-again storyline that has popped up more frequently in season 5, especially with the Declan arc.

Shabbat’s come early because it’s time for Shules.

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“Oh, none for him. He’s stuffed.”

The gang all gussied up. And grown up.

This is weird: I don’t have a single complaint.

I’ve been abused by the show since last season, and this season hasn’t shaped up to be much better (I liked portions of “Baby Talk” but found the episode on the whole to be blah). As a result, I’m super-wary of the fact that I really enjoyed this episode. I’m worried it’s just going to punch me in the gonads and the wiener when the next new episode airs.

That’s how far the show has fallen for me: I’m worried that a good thing like this episode means I’m just setting myself up to be disappointed again. Read more »

“Is he grunting? I think I hear grunting.”

You may notice this is my first post on House all season. There are several factors. (1) It comes on the same night as Chuck and, with all the time I need to lament that show (both in writing and post-episode independent face-palming), I usually don’t have time to watch House on the night it airs. (2) House episodes tend to lean more toward the episodic and, after six years, discussing the banal Psych 101 the characters wield against each other in order to extract plot points is not only tiresome to read but boring to write. (3) I’ve been hoping against all hope that this season is a fake and that House is going to wake up and realize Huddy was just a figment of his drug-addled imagination.

That is, until tonight.

Though the addition of Amber Tamblyn (known to most as Joan of Arcadia or the daintier female cop in The Unusuals; sadly known to me as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital) was intriguing, unlike Noel, I’ve suffered this season week by week. I know: other people have found it to be good, even the better of the past three seasons. I don’t. I’ve felt like Huddy, though set up for years, was a contrived ending to last season. I felt like House’s change in demeanor since being with Cuddy has been unnatural at best, antithetical at worst, to his character. I’ve felt like the rest of the diagnostic team has been weak sauce this season (not to fault the actors). But, finally, tonight, I saw something (however poorly executed) that might actually turn everything around for me.

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“Welcome to my new show, Conan. People ask me why I named the show Conan. I did it so I’d be harder to replace.”

Photo: T-Bone Sandwich/Flickr

After a concert tour that helped him work through his disappointment (and grow an awesome sorrow beard) here is Conan O’Brien on, as he keeps reminding us, on basic cable, on TBS. Very funny, but much less.  With Conan, I think we have both things, at least for the time being. Read more »

“Boring, Bimbo, and Bite-Sized.”

Disclaimer #1: I haven’t watched House since “Wilson.” That was the tenth episode of season 6. It aired November 30, 2009. I have no idea what’s going on in the show, beyond the fact that Huddy has happened, Cameron left, and Thirteen is gone  (for a bit) as well. Which leads to…

Disclaimer #2: My interest in this episode is more or less entirely motivated by Amber Tamblyn (and Jack Coleman! Holy hell! Awesome!).

So, perhaps, you may see this as a bad reason for me to review the episode. Matt and Nick, after all, are still watching it (though Nick is probably pretty biased at this point). But I figure this is a good time to see if I made the right decision in slowly drifting away from the show last season. After all, if Amber Tamblyn can’t convince me to come back, who can? Read more »

What does this image say to you? Can an image speak?

I have a cute little post about Hellcats ready to publish. It is kinda silly and kinda fun, but I think I’m gonna hold off on that for a moment. Instead, I’d like to offer a few words about Private Practice.

Rape storylines always get me going.  As a former rape victim advocate and all around self-proclaimed feminist, the issue of rape troubles me more than other crimes.  It isn’t that it is a “woman’s issue,” per se, because men are raped, too.  Rather, I am troubled because we, as a society, seem incapable of comprehending the full horror of this crime and its impact.  This week’s episode of Private Practice has invited questions about the limits of television, about its ability to exploit, and about its potential to expose something true.  I think it is an important one to talk about further. So, more about this after the jump.

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