Monsters of Television

“Greendale has warped me like a Barbie doll in a microwave.”

It’s to Community‘s credit that the death of Starburns wasn’t just a joke to cap off the Law & Order homage but would rather be something that carries over and has an impact on the show’s characters into the next episode. While the theme/concept episodes have largely been free of consequence this season (‘largely’ being the keyword there), I like that the consequences carry over a bit into other episodes.

But “Course Listing Unavailable” fumbles things rather badly in its attempt at, I think, doing some sort of satire about feelings of disenfranchisement and the corruption of power. The episode never arrives at a cohesive whole about those points, both  in terms of commentary or humor, leaving the episode feeling very incomplete. Read more »

“I’d enjoy aligning myself with you, Hal Jordan.”

I was not exactly thrilled when I read the description for “In Love and War,” and the episode lived up to the concerns. Which, I suppose, is better than being worse than I expected. If anything, the fact that I had a pretty good gut feeling about how the episode would play out is perhaps an indication of not only the show’s consistency but also that the show may not have many surprises in it (and say that, and I am still interested to see what happens in the next episode).

The fact is that I didn’t think that “In Love and War” had earned Carol becoming a Star Sapphire before I saw the episode, and I was pretty much correct. They did add insult to injury in how the episode concluded that particular non-story. You could argue that this was a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I like being wrong about shows. I like when they do something bold, even if I do think it’s a horrible idea. Read more »

“Why do you smell like a lady?“

These kinds of episodes irk me just a tad. This isn’t to say the episode is bad, just that it feels very much like a first-parter to me, and first-parters are always kind of lacking in the sense of feeling like both contained episodes and episodes that add to the overall serialized narrative. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger AND a crazy flashback montage, but it feels incomplete as an episode.

But there is plenty to like in “The Voice in the Night,” including seeing how politics and the press are playing into the life of the Avatar now. We’ve gotten little tastes of this before in A:TLA, but that was mostly through Fire Nation propaganda and Aang’s concern for what is his role was in the world. Now Korra is not only having to deal with figuring out her role but also what role the world (or at least Republic City) expects of her. Read more »

“For all we know, Jesus was trying to get the fishes and loaves account.”

Times are tough.

Not a hook in sight.

There’s so much disappointment in this week’s episode of Mad Men it’s hard to even collect it in one room, even when that room is a ball room. That’s not to say Mad Men doesn’t have its share of shame/disappointment themes throughout the series but this week’s makes you feel particularly sorry for just about everyone, even Don. It was, like, a contagion brought down from Montreal by Megan’s parents.

With how humbling the season has been for so many characters, you get the sense that this year is about one man, the only dude that’s been on the top the whole time. There is no humbling him because he is so humble. There is no backstabbing him because he doesn’t care. Episode after episode, there is one man that always comes out smelling like a rose. This is the year of Ken Cosgrove.

Everyone else: you’re screwed.

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“They tried to flip it, but they didn’t put any work into it.”

Nothing ever dies, nothing ever goes away. Things can be forgiven, but they can never be forgotten. So, yes, you may keep defeating two crafty lawyers time after time, Lockhart-Gardner, but they never forget the defeats. Yes, the grand jury didn’t indict anyone, and the SA didn’t bother to try again, but the stink of judicial bribery will always be there, Will. Yes, you can run from your past, from your husband and live in a spartan, all white apartment, but he will find you, Kalinda. And, yes, Alicia, you can kick out your husband and he will fall on his sword for your professional success, but the marriage will never be fixed because neither of you seemed to really make an effort.

So no matter what you think about new days and starting over, the past is there, always lingering, always waiting for you to stop looking over your shoulder. Read more »

“Soft gig, huh?”

I was out of town this weekend, so I missed all my Saturday morning shows. I was fully content, when I arrived home very tired after 6ish hours in a car to get around to these shows after I watched and wrote about The Good Wife finale (which I missed as well). But I received a Twitter DM from someone else who watches Young Justice with the following: “And with one episode, any excitement and interest I had in Young Justice evaporated completely…” (he followed up with “Furious” today).

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I am no longer interested (I am less excited) in Young Justice; I am interested in so far as they explain some things, but “Happy New Year” is a decidedly frustrating episode, and I can’t help but feel that it is in part motivated by a desire to sell some new toys. Read more »

Doubles. Everywhere a double.

From the grown woman who thinks she’s a teenager to the man who wants to be a woman – everyone in Twin Peaks has a duality to them that the show revels in exploring (or ignoring, as it sees fit). People aren’t always what they seem (James’s “I’m only quiet on the outside” being one of the big lines in the episode) and what they actually wind up being isn’t always good.

The dual-nature issue is directly represented by the entrance of the White Lodge/Black lodge dichotomy into the narrative. No doubt these lodges – and the spiritual experiences they promise – will come into play later as Cooper delves deeper into the mysteries of Twin Peaks and himself.

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“I’m gonna eat ’til I’m belly full!”

"Jimmy, I can hear you breaking from here."

This week’s Saturday Night Live is hosted by Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin with musical guest the SNL house band. And it aired on Thursday.

30 Rock has always had sketch comedy in its genes, from the series’ meta-show premise to its producers (like Lorne Micheals) and figurehead (Tina Fey) pedigrees to it’s ever-shifting balance of actual show plot and cut-aways. In fact, the cut-aways are really just nano-sketches in the way that Twitter is nano-blogging, short bursts of non-sequitor entertainment.

But the “live” episode of 30 Rock feels especially sketch-like and I’m not sure if it’s intentional or not. Perhaps the format is made that way since that’s the way those producing the show know how to run live television. Or maybe it’s a brilliant way of executing something incredibly complicated: transforming a single-camera sit-com that leans heavily on editing into a multi-cam with comparatively few edits and fewer places for actors to hide before a live studio audience.

Whatever the case, I was reminded of SNL so let’s break it down the way I would’ve for an episode late-night weekend topical sketch comedy. Here are the good, the meh, and the ugly sketches. Read more »

“Objection. She’s clearly ramping up to something.”

I routinely do nothing but complain about how Commmunity, when it does these concept episodes, doesn’t ground itself in larger character beats and moments. It annoys me to no end.

But like a witness at the end of an episode on Law & Order, I’m going to go ahead and break on the stand right here and now: That really wasn’t an issue for me in “Basic Lupine Urology” (Get it? Tell me you get it. I’m not going to explain it to you).

This is, of course, because I’m heavily invested in the subject of the episode’s homage. As a result, I can see how “Basic Lupine Urology” could fail for people who aren’t steeped in Law & Order‘s inner-workings (GUYS, LESLIE HENDRIX!). I’ve had this happen to me before with other shows, and I know a number of people probably experienced a similar feeling of exclusionary-ness with Community‘s “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” last season.

But, for me, this episode is was a big, gooey love letter to a show that I continue to enjoy in syndication, so you’ll have to pardon me while I gush about it. Because I’m going to gush.
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“Get out while you can. Just don’t go into retail.”

Every now and then, The Good Wife is a little one the nose, and “The Penalty Box” is one of those episodes. Even the quote above neatly sums up everything about the episode, which is concerned with people who need to get out of things and into other things before it just ruins their lives. Or, in Eli’s case, just kind of ruins a couple days of his life listening to why the firm should institute a slush fund to help clients get laid.

That being said, this episode was pretty tame, right (Kalinda’s steamy scene with Lana aside)? Especially for the penultimate episode of the season, not a whole lot of stuff, well, mattered, it seemed. I figured Peter’s run for governor would hit the backburner a touch, but I wasn’t expecting it to be reduced to a bickering married couple scene in the elevator (a great visual, by the way) (even more worrying: Matthew Perry’s pilot for NBC was picked up).

But let’s dive in and discuss the meat of the episode. Read more »