Tedding Up the Ending : Thoughts on the "How I Met Your Mother" Series Finale

Last night was the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. Since HIMYM was one of the first TV shows I ever blogged about back on CoIM, I thought it fitting to blog about my thoughts on the highly divisive finale. 

On the one hand, I really enjoyed the bulk of the episode.  I'm glad they didn't drag out the wedding reception through the whole episode, ending with Ted meeting The Mother* at the last minute. I admit I got a little teary-eyed** during his initial good-bye to the gang, even as I knew it wouldn't stick. I liked getting to see The Mother interact with the whole group.  I appreciated the acknowledgment that not all marriages last, and that it is sometimes difficult to watch your friends experience joys that have passed you by. I bought into the idea that the only thing that could change Barney on a fundamental level was becoming a father.  And while it was a little on the nose, the fact that Ted and The Mother immediately discussed their many close encounters was a nice way of selling their acceptance of their joined destiny.

On the other hand . . . if they had cut as soon as Ted finished telling the story to the kids, I would have been happy.  I mean, I would have been even happier if they hadn't killed The Mother off, but still, her death would have been a good enough reason for him to be sharing the story with the kids.  And, its not like there hadn't been hints dropped here and there about her not being around, so I was prepared for it.  I wasn't prepared for a return to the Ted/Robin relationship, which we had just spent a good portion of the season putting to bed for the umpteenth time.  I've grown so frustrated with the resurgence of that pairing over the course of the series when we knew she wasn't destined to be The Mother, that going back to that well one last time was like a punch in the gut.

But the gripping hand is this:  in context of the series as a whole, it makes sense.  I may not like it, or agree with it, but I have to admit that the show-runners stuck to their initial game-plan.  After all, those scenes with the kids calling Ted on his BS and saying that the story was obviously about how he loves Robin?  They were filmed during the very first season.  That means that from the very beginning, the creators knew that The Mother was dead, and that Ted was just trying to work himself up to pursue the other love of his life.  With that in mind, the never-ending Ted/Robin pair-off/break-up/pair-off cycle makes more sense.  In their minds, Ted/Robin was the true end-game, so that's what they wrote towards. Maybe if the show had bowed out gracefully a few years earlier, it wouldn't have rubbed so many people the wrong way; or, maybe we always would have felt cheated at the fact that a show that was ostensibly about Ted meeting one woman was actually about him meeting another. It's really hard to say.  I suppose it boils down to whether you believe that people can have more than one love-of-their-life, and whether you blame the unreliable premise of the unreliable narrator on the character or his creators.

Still, whatever you felt about it, you have to admit:  choosing the douchiest way possible to get his kids' permission to move on is a total Ted move.

*Yes, I know they revealed her name to be Tracy at the end, but really, everyone knows her as The Mother,
**It's been quite a week for emotional TV for me:  a major death and its fallout on The Good Wife, some surprisingly touching moments from Michone and Rick on the finale of Walking Dead, a major character in critical condition on Justified . . . and it's not even Sweeps yet!.  

Countdown to Halloween Day 31 -- Halloween Episode Extraveganza

For my last night of Halloween themed reviews, I thought I'd cover the spate of Halloween themed sitcom episodes that have aired over the past week.  As a bonus, I'll also be mentioning my favorite costume of each episode.

The Venture Bros -- It was good to have the Ventures back on TV, even if for just one night; ready for the new season to start.  While not the show's strongest effort, it did feature a strange appliance faced Cennobite-esque creature intoning "Submit to my pleasure toast!" and you just can't beat that. Best costume: Pete White as "Thinner Whiter Duke"

Ben and Kate -- This has proven to be my favorite new sitcom of the year, and the Halloween episode highlights all of the show's strengths:  Ben and Tommy acting goofy, Kate somehow making being a total control freak seem totally cut, and plenty of BJ/Maddy interaction.  Highlight was Ben realizing that his past behavior of blowing in and out of town made him an "emotional carny"; I hope that signals more plots where Tommy acts as more than just Ben's yes-man.  I also hope that Geoff Stults will be around for a while as Kate's new potential love interest. Best costume of the episode:  Kate as "Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg"

The New Girl -- Before I watched this episode, I'd gotten a text from TopGun saying it was so funny, he had saved it on his DVR to watch later.  About 1/3 of the way through, I was thinking he had way oversold it.  Then we had Schmidt's repeated failed attempts at headbutting, and I began to rethink my assessment.  And then Nick entered the haunted house, and I laughed nonstop for several minutes; Nick's constant freakout was comedy gold.  Best costume:  Jess as "Zombie Woodie Allen"

The Middle -- Very little of the episode was actually Halloween themed, with the bulk of the plot revolving around Sue's attempts to learn how to drive and Axel's surprising excitement about voting, but the one Halloween themed plot -- Brick consuming monster amounts of sugar that made him act normal -- was the highlight of the episode, especially when he came down. Best costume: Frankie as "Raggedy Mouse"

Modern Family -- Overall, much inferior to the previous Halloween episode about the Dunphy's over-the-top Halloween traditions, but the episode was still worth it for the visual gag of Manny getting opposing advice from kids in angel and devil costumes.  Best costume: Luke as the aforementioned devil.

Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23 -- I'm probably the only person who was disappointed that the plot point of James van der Beek hating the scary side of Halloween didn't result in June remarking that it was ironic since Dawson loved scaring people.  That irrational quibble aside, I loved this episode: James's positivity party was inspired, and the twists in Chloe's romance were both unexpected and hilarious.  Best costume: June as "female hobbit" because of the thematic resonance . . . and hairy feet, because if we're not being authentic, why are we even here?!?!?!?!

Suburgatory -- Normally I'm not bothered by how bizarre the people of Chatswin are, but the angry mob accusing the feminist of being a witch felt like it was stretching the premise a bit too much.  Best costume:  a group shout out to Tess and crew as Mystery Inc.

The Big Bang Theory -- I'll admit I was kind of distracted during this episode, and since a DVR log-jam forced me to watch it live, I wasn't able to rewind to catch any of the bits I missed.  Best costume: Bernadette as Smurfette.

Raising Hope -- "That is the definition of trickerish!"  Burt continues to be one of my favorite characters on TV. Best costume: Barney as "Buy in Bulk Hulk"

The Mindy Project -- Although I've enjoyed this series more than I'd expected to, this was probably the weakest episode so far, although I did enjoy Mindy's costume montage.  Best costume: Mindy's "Li'l Wayne on the Prarie"

Countdown to Halloween day 29 -- A Review of SyFY's "Face-Off"

I've mentioned before that I have a great love of Reality TV competitions based on artistic skills. One of my favorites is the SyFy Network's special-effects based show, Face-Off. It often embodies the best parts of the genre without the more troubling and annoying aspects.

The contestants on Face-Off are all professionals in the movie make-up business, mostly specializing in Horror and Science-Fiction effects. Each week the contestants are given a theme that they must build an original make-up around, ranging from straightforward (vampires) to the unusual (zombified Alice in Wonderland characters).  While there is a strong horror bias to the show's set-up, there are frequently challenges that veer off into less terrifying areas, such as super-heroes; however, if given the opportunity, the contestants tend to bring everything back to horror if they can.

The show has a large number of positive attributes. First of all, the sheer creativity evidenced by the contestants each week is pretty amazing, and provides lots of intriguing visuals. Secondly, the judging doesn't seem to be swayed as much by personal aesthetics as other competitions; in cooking shows judges might have different palettes, and on fashion shows judges might have different ideas of what is or isn't in style, but on the special-effects show most can agree if the look is sloppy or shoddy. And finally, one of the best aspects of the show is the the contestants actually help one another out. And this isn't the "oh, I will help someone out at the beginning of the show but at the end its every man for himself" spirit that might happen on other such programs, but instead is more a sense of professional courtesy that has pervaded every season so far. Yes, there are occasionally contestants with big egos, but on the whole there's very seldom been any big "villains" to cheer against on the series. And while conventional wisdom might hold that having a good villain is key to having a good reality show, my enjoyment of Face-Off tends to put that idea to the test.

The latest season of Face-Off is about to end this week, with one episode airing Tuesday night and the finale airing on Wednesday. This year they're switching things up for the finale: they're allowing the public to vote on who the winner is, a la American Idol. I'm not 100% sure I like that idea, as often the judges can see things up close that don't translate as well on TV; on the other hand, since the make-ups are usually designed to be seen on film, audiences judging by what we're able to perceive on screen does make sense. I just hope that voters are voting more on skill than on personality.  Of course, the lack of a "villain" makes fair voting more likely.

I would encourage anyone who's a fan of reality TV competition shows or who just has an interest in special-effects in general to give the last two episodes a try.

Countdown to Halloween Day 28 -- Not Your Parents' Munsters: A Review of "Mockingbird Lane"

When I first heard about , Bryan Fuller's re-imagining of The Munsters, named Mockinbird Lane after their street address, I was not exactly enamored of the idea, never having been a big Munsters fan. However, I have loved most everything Bryan Fuller has been involved with (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, the all-to-short-lived Wonderfalls), so I was willing to give it a chance.  As more information about the project was released, the more excited I got, until I was actually depressed when it was announced that NBC was not picking the pilot up.  The subsequent news that they would at least be airing the pilot prior to Halloween lifted my spirits, since now I would at least be able to see the full show, and there was a slim chance that its ratings might be big enough to justify a series order after all.

The plot of the Mockingbird Lane pilot follows the Muster clan as they relocate to a new home in a new city after young Eddie has his first werewolf outbreak while camping with his old scout group.  While Eddie is aware that his parents and grandfather are all out of the ordinary, he believes that he is perfectly normal like his cousin Marilyn, and most of the episode is spend with Herman and Lilly debating on whether to fill in the gaps in Eddie's memory from his lycanthropic episode, since he doesn't remember a thing. Meanwhile, Grandpa Munster is determined to stop tip-toeing around the topic and help Eddie embrace his supernatural heritage; Grandpa is also tired of "not drinking," and keeps pushing against the constraints his daughter and son-in-law are trying to place on him.  When Herman's heart -- his last original organ -- begins to fail, Grandpa sees an opportunity to use that need to convince Herman to let him feed on a viable candidate.

The first thing to keep in mind when watching the pilot of Mockingbird Lane is that it takes a sort of Battlestar Gallactica approach to its source material, keeping names and the bare minimum premise, but revamping it into something that is barely recognizable.  For some this could be a detriment; for others, a move in the right direction, depending on your attachment to the original series and how receptive you might be to the new show's distinctive tone.  For me, the show's dark and twisty sensibility, which featured some nicely gruesome moments, made me a fan.  While I know some critics decried its shifting tone, I felt that it actually had a pretty singular vision, and that while it walked the line between comedy and horror, it never veered so far one was or the other that I felt pulled out of the story.  I don't know if there's any chance for Mockingbird Lane to go to series now, but I for one would be ecstatic if it did.

Countdown to Halloween Day 18 -- And the Cautiously Optimistic Award for Most (Seemingly) Improved Series Goes To: A Review of the Premiere of "American Horror Story: Asylum"

As explored in yesterday's review,  my feelings towards the first season of American Horror Story were rather mixed, and yet I still remained intrigued about the radical shift in stories for the second season.  And, despite the fact that the cold open of the premiere of American Horror Story: Asylum was so jarringly edited that it made most music videos look like Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and the inclusion of over-the-top sexually suggestive sequences, once the end credits rolled, I had to admit that I had thoroughly enjoyed it.

This seasons storyline is centered not on a haunted house, but on an insane asylum owned by the Catholic church which operates on the idea that all insanity is just people's sin nature running away with them, so there's no need for that psychology nonsense, just some good old fashioned prayer -- mixed in with a bit of punishment.  Once again Jessica Lange steals the show, albeit with a very different character.  Her Sister Jude is a true believer, except she seems to place her faith more in her monsignor (played by Joseph Fiennes) than in the Lord.  In the premiere her iron grip on the asylum is challenged by a creepy non-believing doctor (James Cromwell) who's performing some nasty experiments, and  a nosy reporter (the always excellent Sarah Paulson) who is hoping to get a scoop on the asylum's latest inmate, a suspected serial killer (Evan Peters) who has been assigned the all-too unfortunate sobriquet of "Bloody Face."

The reveal of the name Bloody Face was my first eye-rolling moment of the show; coming up with an appropriate name for your villain is doubtless a difficult task, but this probably homage to Leatherface just feels awkward every time it's mentioned in the show. However, when we finally get a glimpse of Bloody Face in full bloody-skin mask, I decided I could overlook the poor name when the accompanying visual was so powerfully disturbing. 

The show still has a bit of an overstuffed feeling, but it's not anywhere near the handicap now that it was due to the nature of the season's plots.  In season 1, it was ghost after ghost after ghost revealing themselves, a repetition that eroded interest even as the haunted house got more and more crowded.  But with season 2, each plot-line has a distinct stamp (alien abductions, serial killers, medical experiments gone awry, people wrongly imprisoned, an upcoming exorcism) that may lead to plot-overload-burnout, but probably not to boredom.

Although the show still struggles with restraint -- the violin sting when the doctor says "He died" was my second eye-rolling moment -- I have to admit that for many viewers that's part of it's appeal.  And as long as the show can entertain and disturb me the way this first episode did all season, I'm in for the long haul.

Countdown to Halloween Day 17 -- Yup, That Sure Was a Ryan Murphy Show: A Review of Season 1 of "American Horror Story"

I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with Ryan Murphy's TV work.  I love the tendency towards hyper-stylized worlds, like Popular and Glee, but hate the inconsistency of character development . . . like Popular and Glee.  Restraint and subtlety have never been Murphy's strong suits, and this was never so obvious as in the first season of American Horror Story.

Even before the series began, it showed promise through some intriguingly creepy promos, but at the same time the inclusion of a rubber suited man set off a few warning bells that the show might venture into the psycho-sexual territory that dragged down Nip/Tuck over time.  If only that had been the show's only issue.

The series centered on a dysfunctional family's move to a house that proves to be haunted by a multitude of ghosts, each of whom died while on the property.  While that concept might sound interesting in theory, in practice it lead to a muddled mess of a show; the overstuffed haunted house held little in the way of real scares or even creepiness, with the reveal of each spirit being a game of diminishing returns.  Add onto that the fact that the majority of the characters had no redeeming qualities, and you have a show that squandered its potential.

And yet, despite some obvious misfires, there was a kernel of a good show buried there.  The idea of Francis Conroy's spirit being viewed differently by different people was an interesting one, and some of the flashbacks to explain how the spirits met their fate were well executed. But in the end, not even some knockout performances from Jessica Lange (who won an Emmy for the role) and Connie Briton could fully redeem the show for me. 

But, in keeping with my complicated relationship with Ryan Murphy's output, I am actually looking forward to tonight's premiere of the second season.  Partly because they have decided to turn the show into a series of mini-series, so that each season is totally divorced from the plot of the one before it, which means that one of the biggest problem with the first season -- the overstuffed house -- has been jettisoned, and partly because they have kept several of the actors from the first season and plugged them into totally new roles.  Looking forward to seeing what Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson (yay! Sarah Paulson!) get to do.  So, be sure to check back tomorrow to see my thoughts on the first episode of American Horror Story: Asylum.

Countdown to Halloween Day 15 -- Separating Themselves: A Review of the Season Premiere of "Walking Dead"

I have enjoyed the first two seasons of The Walking Dead quite a bit, although I was in agreement with most that the 2nd season's stay at the farm made it seem like the show had dragged on for years.  During the break between seasons I read all of the available collections of the comic book that inspired the show, and so was very much looking forward to the new season, which was promising to introduce three key aspects of the books:  Michonne, the prison, and The Governor.The season 2 finale had teased two of those aspects, and the season 3 premiere, "Seed," followed through on those two while leaving the third to whet our appetites in the "This Season on Walking Dead" promos.

The episode jumps forward in time a few months from the last episode, which I appreciated, and not just because it provided a good excuse for Carl's obvious growth spurt. The show really needed to find a way to distance itself from the endless trudge that had been the farm storyline, and the time jump facilitated that perfectly; we go from seeing a group that was battered and defeated, to seeing one that's moving like a well-oiled machine under their new Ricktatorship.*  The scenes of Rick barking orders and everyone following with no question demonstrate the new status quo better than anything else; he's kept them all alive throughout the winter, and they've come to trust his judgement.  Well, everyone but Lori, that is, but what else is new?  

I was less happy with the way the time-jump pushed all of Andrea and Michonne's getting-to-know-you time into the limbo of off-screen, and even less happy that TV Andrea continues to be horribly annoying.  I hope that they tone down her attitude soon, because right now I really don't relish watching any scenes with her.  Which is unfortunate, since the season is shaping up to have Andrea and Michonne's interactions with The Governor be half of the show.

While I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that direction at first, on reflection I think it's a smart way to go.  After all, the biggest complaint the previous season got was that the plot felt interminable at times, so by splitting the main narrative in half, the writers will be able to give us a break from the unrelenting horror of one scenario by letting us witness the unrelenting horror of the other.  Plus, a comparison between the benign dictatorship of Rick, and the not so benign dictatorship of The Governor could fit well into this parallel story structure.  My one hope is that the Governor story line avoids the unpleasant rape storyline from the books; that soured the storyline for me when I was reading it, and would probably be worse for me in live action. 

On the whole, "Seeds" gave me hope that this season was moving in the right direction, and I'm looking forward to see where it goes next.

*I wish I could take credit for that one, but alas, I cribbed it from some other Internet sage

Countdown to Halloween Day 8 -- Tricks With Treats: A Review of "Halloween Wars"

I'll admit it:  I'm a sucker for Reality TV competition shows, especially the type that focus around contestants with a particular skill set, whether it's the chefs of Top Chef, the designers of Project Runway, the song writers of Platinum Hit:  if your competition shows creative people being constantly challenged to reach higher points of creativity week after week, I'll probably be watching it. That's why I was looking forward to the return of Food Network's Halloween Wars last night.

Working with a limited number of episodes due to its seasonal nature, Halloween Wars features 5 teams of 3 who compete against each other to create Halloween themed set-pieces; and, since this is a Food Network show, you know those set-pieces have to be edible.  Yes, each team is made up of a pumpkin carver, a candy maker, and a cake decorator, who work together to create some tasty, yet terrifying, works of art; at the end of each episode, one losing team gets sent home.  During the first season I was always impressed with the crazy creations they were able to come up with, like this cake devil riding a pumpkin cyclops with wings of spun sugar

So, although the show's abbreviated episode run forced it to focus exclusively on the competition itself, forgoing any type of "people stuck living together for weeks/months until they drive each other crazy" drama, the sheer talent and creativity involved in each episode made it well worth my time.

Due to a heavy Sunday line-up,  I had to set my DVR to tape a late night re-run of the premiere of the new season, which promised to have lots of set-pieces inspired by crazy killer clowns; unfortunately, the air-time coincided with a power-outage in my apartment complex, so I'm going to have to catch a re-run later this week.  But if you're also a fan of Reality TV competitions and can stomach some mild horror-themes -- this is Food Network after all, so nothing too stomach turning -- then I'd suggest you seek it out and give it a try.

Countdown to Halloween Day 7 -- "Hellarious Halloween" Might Be a Misnomer On a Couple of Fronts

Since Fox actually aired its animated shows' Halloween episodes before Halloween this year, I thought I'd go ahead and do a quick write-up on each of the "Hellarious Halloween" line-up

The Cleveland Show -- Although set during Halloween, outside of a brief digression where the Cleveland and the gang put on costumes to hide their identities, the holiday is incidental to the A-plot of them accidentally igniting a war between Stoolbend and their rival town Goochland; at the same time, the final confrontation between the two had some horrific moments; the mole-eyed Stoolbendians was probably my favorite bit of the whole episode.    The B and C plots both revolved around some costume-related mistaken identity, one intentional, the other not; neither was really worth the effort.  All in all, a pretty mediocre half-hour of TV which, to be honest, is what I've come to expect of The Cleveland Show.

The Simpsons -- The 23rd installment of "Treehouse of Horror"  -- man, does that make me feel old -- highlights one of my problems with the direction the annual Halloween episode has moved over the years, as only one of the three stories could be considered even remotely horror themed.  I don't know that the reliance on generic Sci-Fi tropes rather than Horror tropes would bother me so much if the show actually made me laugh as much as it used to.  But, outside of the gag about Homer's black-hole deformed appendages, most everything in this episode fell flat for me.

Bob's Burgers -- The most explicitly Halloween-centered show of the group was also the funniest, which wasn't too surprising to me, since I generally find BB to be the cream of the Animation Domination crop.  What was surprising to me was that almost all of my big laughs came not from my favorite character Louise, but from her brother Gene.  I guess dressing up as Queen Latifah (during her U.N.I.T.Y. phase) brought out the funny in the middle child.  When confronted with the idea of taking on teens wielding balloons filled with pee: "I can pee myself, I don't need any handouts."  After being slapped by Louise:  "I banish you from the land of Latifah!"  On hearing his sister compare the country club to a extra large miniature golf course: "The windmills are going to be GIGANTIC!" The parental-focused B-plot couldn't help but pale in comparison, but the sheer number of great moments in the kids' plot carried the episode.

Family Guy -- Despite being billed as part of the "Hellarious" line-up, this episode had zero connection to Halloween. The Nielsen-based plot was a little more nonsensical than usual, but I have to admit, I'm kind of sad we didn't get to see Breaking Bad on Roller Skates.

American Dad -- Another non-Halloween episode to finish out the night, but at least it has the excuse that Fox's weird stock-piling of episodes -- they have about two seasons worth sitting around waiting for air--  means that the writers try to avoid any sort of topical reference.  Regardless, it was easily my second favorite show of the night, if for no other reason than the suicidal lemur sequence.

Random observation tally

# of shows to reference The Warriors' "Come out and play" scene:  2
# of shows featuring jokes about fat guys having breasts: 2

Countdown to Halloween Day 6 -- The More Things Change . . . : a Review of the Season 8 Premiere of "Supernatural"

Although Supernatural fell off my viewing schedule in its 2nd season due to an over-stuffed time-slot, it's been on my "I need to catch up on that" list ever since. Recently, thanks to Netflix Instant, I was able to marathon through the first 7 seasons in time to watch the Season 8 premiere, "We Need to Talk About Kevin," this week. I was curious about how the premiere was going to shake out since it would be the first episode under the command of new showrunner Jeremy Carver, who is taking over after the somewhat critically panned two-season stint of Sera Gamble. Carver was on staff with the show during the reign of the original creator/showrunner Eric Kripke, and in interviews has made statements to the effect of wanting to bring the show back to its roots.   As someone who feels the last couple of seasons have been slightly more miss than hit, I was hoping this wasn't just lip-service. Having now seen the episode, I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I do like that the quest that's set up in the episode is of a less apocalyptic nature  than the last few seasons; the Winchesters are being proactive rather than reactive, which is a nice change of pace.  Now there's no ticking clock by which they have to succeed or watch the world end; instead, they're on a mission to make the world a better place by ridding it of one it's more persistent plagues.  Whether this quest is truly a through-line for the season remains to be seen, and it's possible that at some point a new and world devastating Big Bad will rear its ugly head.  But for now, I remain hopeful that with a somewhat lowered threat-level, the Monster of the Week episodes won't feel as shoe-horned in.

On the other hand, the show has already started to rely on one the the series' most irritating tropes:  having the brothers lie and keep secrets from each other.  This is the sort of story that is irksome to me at the best of times, and having watched the bulk of the series back to back, the constant rehashing of it season after season (under both Kripke and Gamble) wore on me, especially in light of the fact that it always ends badly.  I will try to reserve judgment until I see how it all plays out, but I have a feeling things are going to get ugly once Castiel pops up again.

And speaking of attempting to reserve judgment, there was one aspect of the pilot that rang totally false to me: Sam giving up completely and living a normal life.  It's not Sam giving up hunting or not searching for Dean that bothers me; after all, Sam was the original Winchester who tried to break ties with the world of hunters, and he really had not reason to believe that Dean wasn't vaporized when Dick died.  No, what bothered me was that Sam just left Crowley walk off with the new-found prophet Kevin without trying to hunt him down at all.  As much as Sam might have been devastated by his loss of his last surviving relative, I just can't see him ignoring something like that happening to someone he knows.  Now, Carver has said in interviews that viewers shouldn't be too quick to judge either of the brothers for what they did during the missing year, as things might not be what they appear, so I'm going to chalk this up to misdirection for now.  But still, it took me out of the show, and damaged Sam's character for me.

In the end, it's hard to say if Carver's tenure as showrunner will correct the show's course, or if it's really just a case of the show outstaying its welcome.  Still, I enjoyed the premiere on the whole, and am willing to see how it all plays out.

Plus, they've brought back the Impala, which is a step in the right direction.

Countdown to Halloween Day 3 -- A Sinister Set-up: A Review of the "666 Park Avenue" pilot

This past Sunday, ABC premiered their new supernatural soap 666 Park Avenue, starring Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable as Jane and Henry, an unmarried couple who have just been hired to be the managers of the luxurious Drake apartment building owned by Gavin and Olivia Doran (played by Terry O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams), a sinister couple with a penchant for entrapping the Drake's tenants in Faustian bargains. By the end of the pilot, two souls have been claimed by The Drake, Jane and Henry are ensorcelled by the lavish lifestyle their new position is providing them, and the Dorans inch closer to whatever mysterious plans they have for Henry.

I appreciated the way the pilot wasted no time setting up the "deal with the devil" aspect of the show, utilizing the cold open to spotlight a resident whose deal's time limit runs out in the middle of his orchestra performance -- a performance being watched with cold interest by the Dorans.  I also liked that the second example of a doomed soul had a bargain that operated on vastly different rules, hinting at there being enough freedom in structuring them so that if the show does follow a "bargain of the week" format there can be enough variety in the bargains to keep it from getting stale.

The real highlight of pilot is, without a doubt, Terry O'Quinn's turn as Gavin.  Long-time Lost fans know that O'Quinn can do creepy well, and here he manages to instill his character with a subtle menace that helps ground the show.  There may be scenery-chewing to be had in the near future as we learn more about what makes the Dorans tick, but if does come to that, the build-up could make it more worthwile.

My only real complaint with the first episode was that the special effect of the violinist suffering his fate was a little cheesy; it reminded me a bit of the fate of Nancy's mom at the end of Nightmare on Elm Street, an effect which amused more than horrified me even as an adolescent.  The second bargain-maker's fate was more effective, but still straddled that line of cheese; if this show is going to be truly successful for me, they'll really going to have to find a way to stick the creepy landing on scenes like that.

On the whole, the pilot did a good job of establishing the show's premise and setting up a couple of plot-lines to carry through at least the first handful of episodes; only time will tell if future episodes manage to maintain the quality.

Countdown to Halloween Day 2 -- Breakneck Bloodsuckers: An Overview of "The Vampire Diaries"

In the fall of 2009 I, against my better judgement, watched the pilot what I had suspected was just an attempt to cash in on the Twilight craze:  The Vampire Diaries. The basic plot revolved around the burgeoning relationship between a vampire named Stefan and a high school girl named Elena, said relationship being threatened by the appearance of Stefan's more ruthless vampire brother, Damon.  While the pilot wasn't as terrible as I had feared, neither did it do much to dispel my belief that it was going to be a straightforward teen-centric vampire romance.

So although my policy is to give any show that doesn't immediately cause me physical pain a full three episodes to catch my attention, the fact that my TV viewing schedule was already over-flowing, and that The Vampire Diaries was up against Survivor and Flashforward, another new show which had struck me as much more promising, led to my discarding the show from my schedule after one episode.

Jump ahead 3 years: Flashforward remained in people's minds largely as a punchline or cautionary tale that surfaces each fall when some new show feels poised to become the "new Lost", whereas The Vampire Diaries , deep in its 3rd season, maintained a vocal following praising its breakneck pacing and willingness to take risks-- a following that included several TV critics whose opinions I generally respect.  So, when Netflix obtained the rights to stream the past seasons of all current CW shows, I decided one weekend to retroactively give The Vampire Diaries at least the three episode trial I had deprived it of back in 2009.  What I quickly discovered was that if I had given it a full shot back in the day, I probably would have been hooked by the 2nd episode, which had started to flesh out the character of Damon to something deeper a more complex than just "generic evil vamp," and definitely hooked by the 3rd, where Damon's unpredictability and impetuousness created the first of what would be many "holy crap, did they just do that?" moments in the series.
 
I spent the whole weekend mainlining the first two seasons, and was sad that I would probably have to wait until August or September to catch the 3rd season, if for no other reason than I knew that avoiding spoilers was going to be difficult.  Indeed, by the time Netflix had the episodes available to watch, I already knew of one major character death and one major character un-death. But thankfully, the show is filled with more than enough twists and turns to make even this foreknowledge trivial in my enjoyment of seeing exactly how it all unfolded.

Watching The Vampire Diaries in a marathon format was equal parts exhilarating and exhausting:  exhilarating due to its relentless forward momentum, and exhausting due to the relentless shifting allegiances between characters. But even though one of the show's greatest strengths is its willingness to change the status quo at the drop of a hat, even that wouldn't be enough to keep me invested if the show wasn't populated with characters that I care about. Sure, there are a couple of character I wish would take the dirt nap sooner rather than later, but on the whole the series has managed to take characters that started off as broad, teen soap stereotypes and develop them into complex, likeable people.  And by making me care about characters like Caroline and Tyler -- two of the aforementioned broad stereotypes who have grown into two of my favorite characters -- the show manages to squeeze even more tension out of every dangerous situation.  Because if three seasons of the show have taught us anything, it's that while the core trio of Stefan, Elena, and Damon aren't going anywhere, the same can't be said of anyone else. 

Because so much of the enjoyment of The Vampire Diaries is tied up with twists and turns and surprise deaths and rebirths, it's difficult to get into too much detail about what I do and don't enjoy.  But I can say that the show has definitely transcended the "vampire teen romance" label and I am eagerly awaiting the 4th season premiere next week. 

Sci-Fi Synopses for week of Oct. 18: Venting

I've been meaning to write up all the SF/Fantasy shows for a few weeks, but kept running out of time.  But, my need to vent has prompted me to go ahead this week. Hoping that this weekend's premiere of The Walking Dead will lead to me having some more positive comments next time . . .

MONDAY, OCT 18

The Event (NBC, 8:00):  I'm glad that they're moving plot points forward-- it's nice that they're not dragging the "Sean searches for his missing girlfriend" story out forever -- but I still feel like it's skimping on the character development.

TUESDAY, OCT 19

No Ordinary Family (ABC, 7:00):  Man, haven't talked about this since the pilot, have I?  Despite my intial misgivings, the second episode of the show actually gave me hope that the writers had just ramped up the drama for the pilot and things would be at a more agreeable level from there on out.  Unfortunately, the good will engendered by the second episode was completely squandered by the end of the third, so that by the time last week's episode was over, the show was operating in a deficit again.  Not sure which I'm hating more:  the dysfunctional husband/wife dynamic, the "JJ gets ticked off people are accusing him of lying, even though he totally is" junk, or the overly aggressive anti-JJ teacher who is played waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the top.  About the only thing I'm really enjoying about the show at this point is the always entertaining Autumn Reeser.

Stargate Universe  (SyFy, 8:00):  I'm having a little trouble getting into the second season of the latest installment in the Stargate franschise, which is too bad, because I liked the first season a lot. I am curious to see how far Rush will go down the rabbit hole and how long it takes for his secrets to blow up in his face, especially now that he's effectively unleashed an alien-infested Chloe to wreak havoc unsupervised.  Am not as big a fan, however, of the Lucien Alliance subplot, and I wish that someone would bump of Greer because his constant aggression has annoyed me from episode 1.

Caprica (SyFy, 9:00):  While my feelings towards the return of SGU are mostly indifference, my reaction to the return of this Battlestar Galactica prequel has been indifferent bordering on dislike.  You all know I love me some dark & twisty drama, but this show has become downright bleak.  There's no moments of lightness or joy to break up the pervasive air of doom that has settled on all involved, and it bums me out; I really have no desire to spend an hour each week watching a parade of totally broken people wallow in their misery.  Okay, that's exagerating a bit:  Clarice is too much of a sociopath to wallow in anything, and Joseph apparently used his wallowing quota last season and is now relegated to borderline cipher status.  The only thing that has kept me from writing the show off is the progression of Zoe and Tamara's story; here's hoping that the fact that the two of them have come together again will lead to some big things.

FRIDAY, OCT 22

Smallville (CW, 7:00):  I swear, if Clark had chickened out of telling Lois his secret yet again like they were leading us to think, I would have sworn this show off for good.  Luckily, this didn't happen, so I'll continue to watch . . . wait, maybe "luckily" wasn't the right word to use there . . .  On a related note, the Smallville version of Cat Grant is one of the most annoying characters around, but the fact that she was responsible for the always somber Tess to burst out laughing makes her almost worthwhile.  Almost.

Dramatic Discourse for week of Oct. 18: Some Improve, Others Don't

MONDAY, OCT 18

Chuck (NBC, 7:00):  For the second week in a row, we have a genuinely enjoyable episode; not even the inclusion of Jeffster could derail this, largely due to their presence actually serving to progress the main plot instead of propelling an idiotic subplot.

Castle (ABC, 9:00): Not a lot to say about last week's entry, which suffered a bit from having a more mundane case than the last few episodes. Not a bad episode, but not one of the better ones either.

TUESDAY, OCT 19

Parenthood (NBC, 9:00): A refreshingly small number of annoying actions on the Halloween episode -- Kristina's over-protective behavior was a bit grating at times, but on the whole, probably the most enjoyable episode of the season.

Sons of Anarchy (FX, 9:00):  Still having a hard time getting into this season -- too much drama, not enough levity to break it up.  I miss Halfsack more and more each week. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT 20

Terriers (FX, 9:00):  I've mentioned before how much I love this show's clever writing and unpredictable twists, but I don't think I've talked much about how much I love the characters themselves, who manage to be flawed enough to be human, but not so flawed that they become unlikable or unbelievable.  My heart broke for Steph and Hank this week as they dealt with her breakdown, and not just because I was worried that it might mean Steph leaving the show.

THURSDAY, OCT 21

Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 8:00): I enjoyed seeing Lexie in her element for once, and was glad that they didn't go down the "she's so over-confident and over-worked that she screwed up" road.  I'm also pleased with how they're letting Owen and Christina grow closer and try to make their impromptu marriage work, even as Christina deals with her PTSD.  And I liked Callie's attempts at playing mind games with anyone and everyone. Have to say, overall the shows seems to be back on track after a rocky season or two. 

Comedy Corner for week of Oct. 18: Plot Point Pet Peeves

A lot of last week's comedies contained a fair amount of "things designed to bug Todd" -- not a large enough dose to ruin my enjoyment of a full episode, but enough to make me squirm.

MONDAY, OCT 18

How I Met Your Mother (CBS 7:00): I liked the crazy activist, even if she did lead to one of my big plot point pet peeves, the "main character lies to potential girlfriend in order to make her an actual girlfriend," a.k.a. "The Frasier Crane Maneuver."  But, at least it lead to the great moment where Barney reveals the lie via giant signage.  

TUESDAY, OCT 19

Running Wilde  (Fox, 8:30):  Why do networks insist on airing episodes out of order? Granted, it doesn't always impact the plot development, but when the 5th episode you air very plainly states that it happens directly after the pilot, it can't help but bother me to some degree.  

WEDNESDAY, OCT 20

The Middle (ABC, 7:00):  I wasn't a big fan of this episode on the whole, even if they did avoid the obvious "picked up the wrong kid" reveal that I'm sure 99% of viewers were expecting with dread, but the payoff at the end with Takiuchi pulling a Brick almost made it worth it.

Modern Family (ABC, 8:00):  As much as I love this show -- and I do love this show -- there are moments where it causes me physical pain; Cam's idiotic racist impression was one of those moments. But that brief moment of uncomfortableness was made bearable by the comedic joy of the Dunphy's no-electronics contest, especially Haley's cunning plan. 

Cougar Town (ABC, 8:30): I enjoyed Laurie and Smith's pranking of the guys at the bar, although I hated that it was a set-up for the inevitable "Laurie gets hurt again" ending. 

THURSDAY, OCT 21

The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 7:00): Once again, the Shamy premise leads to some great comedy; unfortunately, we also had to deal with one of the more disturbing examples of Wolowitz's mom based "comedy."

Community (NBC, 7:00): I was a bit surprised to have another episode focusing on religious ideas so soon after the one about Pierce's cult, but I have to say that Abed's positioning of himself as the meta-Messiah struck a much deeper chord in me due to his story playing out as a parallel of a Passion play; it definitely walked a fine line between "entertaining" and "uncomfortable".  Meanwhile, Jeff's transformation into the dad of the group was played very well, as was the not-so-juvenile-but-still-delinquent Hipsters.

30 Rock (NBC, 7:30): Not exactly the strongest episode of the season, although Jack's Reagening and Liz's flashback were great, and while a little over the top, the "FRAJER!!!!!" bit made me laugh.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 9:00):  Of all the different character pairings on the show, I tend to enjoy the Charlie/Mac dynamic the most; their special brands of stupidity/insanity just seem to compliment each other the best, and their efforts to get their moms to get along this week was no exception.

The League (FX, 9:30):  Have to say, between the addictive toilet seat, the notary gig, and this week's wedding video, Taco is officially my favorite character on the show.  Surprisingly, while this season has had its fair share of "pet peeve" moments for me, while most of the other comedies were getting under my skin, The League managed to skate by. 

Reality TV Roundup for week of Oct. 18: BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

WEDNESDAY, OCT 20

Survivor (CBS, 7:00):  Oh, Fabio -- poor, blonde, dimbulb, "Wow, you're really a master class chess player?" Fabio.  I'm surprised that they chose to vote out Kelly B over Marty during the tie-breaker -- I would have accepted it if they'd actually succeeded in flushing out the idol first, but losing their sure-shot to take it out of play seems short-sighted.  On another note, Jeff seemed to get a little too much enjoyment out of rubbing the losing team's face in having to sit there and listen to the winners have their feast

Ultimate Fighter: GSP vs Koscheck (Spike, 9:00): Wow.  That first fight . . . wow. All I can say is:  BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!   Couldn't have scripted it better myself, and to have the second fight also end by guillotine was priceless.  And now, let's test out my Koscheck impression: "Yeah, he was our #1 pick and that was totally our call 'cause we thought he was the greatest in all the land, and not at all because GSP psyched my stupid butt out . . . also, when I talk trash it's because I'm so super awesome, but when anyone talks trash to me, it's because they're gay and in love with me . . ."  Meanwhile, for anyone on Koscheck's team to say that anyone on GSP's team was disrespectful or is guilty of pushing people's buttons is the height of self-delusion. 

Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo, 9:00): Okay, the "you can only use one pot, but clean it as many times as you want because Dawn kicks butt" challenge has to be one of the best product placement challenges ever -- conceptually, at least. In practice, not quite as dramatic.  What is dramatic, however, is every facial expression Danielle has ever made.

THURSDAY, OCT 21

Project Runway (Lifetime, 8:00): And the ambiguity of Micahel C. is finally answered, and was anyone really surprised?  Meanwhile, we are treated to the sight of Tim freaking out at Andy's family fish farm, and confused by the strange and unfamiliar sensation of feeling sympathy for Gretchen and her disastrous life.  As for the judging at the end, I can't say that I thought Michael C. deserved to make it to the final three based on what he showed, but my heart bled for him as he had the most painful post-Auf breakdown in the history of the show. 


The Apprentice (NBC, 9:00): Oh, how I wished The Donald had listened to Clint's impassioned plea to get rid of David, whose antics continue to annoy; him sticking to his whole "I just like to push people's buttons" spiel in the middle of the game just boggles the mind. I'm also sorry that Stephanie and Mahsa are still sticking around; their mouthy, egotistical attitudes wear on my nerves.  At this point, I'm pulling for Clint to take it all.

Dramatic Discourse for week of Oct. 11: Low-Key Finales

MONDAY, OCT 11

Chuck (NBC, 7:00):  Now, this is what every episode of Chuck should be like; it had the perfect balance of comedy and drama, goofy without being cartoony.  Plus, the fact that there was zero Jeffster and lots of Awesome didn't hurt.

Castle (ABC, 9:00):  For the second week in a row, the central mystery is undercut by the show's trailers -- last week I knew long before the detectives that they had a treasure map on their hand, and this week I was all too aware exactly why the corpse had been stripped and why someone had been shooting at him with antique weapons. But I can't fault the show itself for the ABC PR flaks getting a bit over-zealous, especially since the trailer which showed this episode was going to have a Steampunk element had me waiting for it all week.  I wish they'd spent more time in the Steampunk club, but still a good episode.

TUESDAY, OCT 12

Parenthood (NBC, 9:00):  First of all, pretty sure the whole "can't get our kid to stop sleeping in our bed" plot would have given my parents flashbacks to my childhood.  Thank heavens they let Sarah do a good job working the booth -- I've really gotten tired of her screwing everything up.  Also glad they didn't stretch out the awkward section of the school interview too long.  My moment of cognitive dissonance came about from realizing that Amber's pot-smoking friend was played by Peggy's lesbian friend on Mad Men -- I had to looker her up on IMDB to make sure I wasn't imagining things, at which point I discovered that in real life she's actually David Mamet's daughter.

Sons of Anarchy (FX, 9:00):  Man, that opening scene with Tig and Lem* kicking the crap out of each other was more entertaining than the rest of this season combined -- how sad is that? 

WEDNESDAY, OCT 13

Terriers (FX, 9:00):  Even in the midst of a subplot I'm not a fan of -- seldom enjoy the "keeping an indiscretion a secret" style of plotline -- this show manages to suck me in.   Again, I hate the fact that this extremely well done show might not be around for a second season.


THURSDAY, OCT 14
 
Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 8:00): And the "gee, our patients lives sure do parallel ours eerily closely, don't they?" trend continues; didn't bother me quite as much this episode as it did last week, but seriously, guys, can't we just let the patients crazy lives be separate from the doctors' crazy lives once in a while? That being said, I enjoyed the episode overall.


SUNDAY, OCT 17

Rubicon (AMC, 8:00): Ugh.  So terribly underwhelmed by the season finale, especially with the uncertainty of whether it was the series finale or not still hanging in the air.  My biggest complaint was that dummy Will did not grab the flipping DVD that Kathryn was obviously holding out to him as she collapsed -- am I the only one who was kinda hoping he might get bumped off so that Miles could become the main character?  I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a show where Miles was being coached in espionage by Kale Ingram?

Mad Men (AMC, 9:00):  Well, that was . . . not at all what I expected. I honestly kept waiting for Don to wake up from a dream.  I was a bit surprised by the lack of Capital-D-Drama in the finale; yes, some big things happened, but very little that played into the tenser moments of the season, with the fate of the agency being mentioned only in the Peggy-centric B-plot.  I think all of my favorite moments of the episode were Peggy-centric:  her pitch to the panty hose guys, her interaction with Joan at the end, and most of all her quiet moment alone with Don:  true, she left there much less mollified than she appeared at first, but something about the way that Don spoke to her was touching, in a "man, is he clueless" sort of way.  Oh, wait, just remembered a non-Peggy favorite moment:  the look of incredulity on Don's face when Megan don't go nuclear on the kids over the spilled milkshake; I think it was that moment of "Wow, she's nothing like my ex" that sealed the deal on his impetuous decision. 
 
*Yeah, I know that's not his character's name on Sons, but he'll always be Lem to me

Comedy Corner for week of Oct. 11: Brobdingnagian Laughs; Lilliputian Comments

MONDAY, OCT 11

How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:00): My favorite episode of the season so far; the crazy race through New York hit just the right level of wackiness for me.

TUESDAY, OCT 12

Glee (Fox, 7:00):  It's amazing:  the first episode of the season with absolutely zero Sue Sylvester scenes also happens to be the first episode of the season that I actually enjoyed.  There are several factors which contributed to the quantum leap forward in my enjoyment.  First of all there's the fact that none of the characters were written as wholly unlikable . . . well, except maybe Santana, but at least she's always been intended to be horrible, as opposed to Rachel, whose narcissism reached toxic levels in the first few episodes. Along those lines, I loved watching Rachel's scheming be for a more positive goal, while still fitting with her personality.  And, most of all, I loved seeing Kurt finally getting called out for his culpability in Finn's breakdown last season.

Raising Hope (Fox, 8:00):  This show consistently makes me laugh out loud more than any other show I watch. 

Running Wilde (Fox, 8:30): Best part of the episode by far was Fa'ad doing the "tough guy" voice taught to him by Alan Alda. Outside of that, the two misunderstanding-fueled plot lines were surprisingly squirm-free for me for some reason -- I suppose the cartoonish world the show inhabits makes such things more bearable.  

WEDNESDAY, OCT 13

The Middle (ABC, 7:00):  Brick's foray into magic was the highlight this week, although the contentious school meeting was a close second.

Better With You (ABC, 7:30): I removed several shows from my DVR this week since I had neither the time nor the inclination to watch them, and yet somehow, this show still survives; think it may officially qualify as a "guilty pleasure" at this point.  That being said, it's probably just one bad episode away from getting cut, but for now, I'm still hanging in there.

Modern Family (ABC, 8:00): Favorite moment of the episode had to be Claire's laughing without her eyes, but Cameron's "troga" was a pretty close second. And was I the only one disappointed when the Strangers on a Train plot didn't result in someone saying "Crisscross, crisscross!" repeatedly?

Cougar Town (ABC, 8:30): Pros:  Jules turning her decision into a Reality TV ceremony, all of Ellie's harsh truth moments, the chocolate manatee.  Cons:  the actual plot points and their resolutions; hated seeing Travis cave in to Kylie, and hated seeing Smith dump Laurie.  Plus, the "swallow the sword" phrase came off feeling forced.

THURSDAY, OCT 14

The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 7:00): Thank you, Big Bang Theory, for giving me an excuse to use "Brobdingnagian" several times in conversation this week.

Community (NBC, 7:00): And the award for "Best Product Placement" goes to Community's KFC space simulator. 

30 Rock (NBC, 7:30): I watched both versions of the live episode, and have to say I preferred the West Coast version just a bit more, although the best part in either version was Jon Hamm's hand-replacement ad, followed closely by the first whip-pan flashback. 

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 9:00): The Charlie/Mac storyline was streets ahead compared to the Dee/Dennis storyline for the most part, although the highlight of the episode for me was the pool attendant tackling Dennis during his mad rush for the water.

The League (FX, 9:30): As is often the case, the Andre storyline was borderline annoying, but it was more than made up for by Jenny and Kevin's faceoff and the Taco and Ruxin notary storylines, especially Taco's commercial.

Reality TV Roundup for week of Oct. 11: The Mega-Loathing Deepens

WEDNESDAY, OCT 13

Survivor (CBS, 7:00):  I enjoyed watching the culture clash resulting from the tribes mixing, and was glad to see the over-bearing Tyrone get sent packing over the overly-emotional NaOnka, if for no other reason than his brand of annoying behavior is nowhere near as entertaining as hers.

Ultimate Fighter: GSP vs. Koscheck (Spike, 9:00): Well, as much as I didn't want any of Koscheck's team to win, I have to say that if any of his guys had to win I'm glad it was Nam Phan. Starting to wish Bruce Leroy was on Koscheck's team, just so I could feel good cheering against him; his selfish attitude gets on my nerves. And speaking of getting on my nerves . . . apparently those first few episodes of non-irritating Koscheck was just him trying to lull me into a false sense of security, as he is now full-tilt obnoxious; I was very much hoping that the crazy drunk kickboxer would take exception to Koscheck's disrepect and give him a quick boot to the head. And don't even get me started on how he was acting after Nam Phan won -- that was probably the most egregious example of bad sportsmanship I have ever had the displeasure to witness*. I have to wonder if that bit of trash talking between Koscheck and Cody will come back later in the season; had to love obvious stoner Cody saying Koscheck struck him as an idiot.

Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo, 9:00): So, apparently half of the remaining chefs have a shoe fetish?  Odd.  Anyway, as soon as they announced the winner would be taking home 20 grand, I began to fervently hope that none of Team Diva would win -- if my Koscheck comments haven't made it clear, I usually have a low tolerance for cockiness.  Not that Morganza is much better, but it was nice to see the clique taken down a peg or two. 

THURSDAY, OCT 14

Project Runway (Lifetime, 8:00): These "find inspiration from [insert location here]" challenges usually aren't all that exciting -- unless, y'know, the location is something out of the ordinary like the circus challenge from last season.  Sadly, this time around we just had another New York inspired challenge.  I had hoped that the teases about everyone's exhaustion might add some twists, but they turned out to be more tease than reality.  On the plus side, Michael C. revealed that he does an amazing Michael Kors impression, which rivaled Santino's Tim impression for scary accuracy, although it fell far short of Santino's comedic touch.  I let out a sigh of relief when the judges liked Mondo's look -- he's really the only contestant I definitely want to make it to the final.  I was also impressed at how well Gretchen took criticism -- guess that exhaustion came into play after all -- but man, to have only one person say they thought she deserved to go to Fashion Week had to have a been a huge blow to her huge ego. 

The Apprentice (NBC, 9:00): Trainwreck, thy name is Octane; Gene's pitiful performance was so, so, sooooooooooooooo painful to watch. And did anyone else wonder if the producers slipped Wade the "unless the women sent out naked men" line?  Because it felt a little too perfect to just be serendipity.  I did feel a little bad for Wade during the boardroom, as The Donald hammered him relentlessly over his blind trust in Gene -- although I think The Donald was overstating the importance of having Gene "try out" for the speaking role, the fact remains that Gene's inability to have any copy at all ready for the rehearsal should have sent up red flags galore to anyone with any sense at all.  And speaking of having no sense:  when you're being beat up by everyone around you, don't feed The Donald a straight line like "You can fire me if you want to Mr. Trump," -- and if you do feed him the line, for heavens sake don't pause for several seconds before saying "but," because in those seconds, you're a goner. 

*After the episode I told my Best Friend/Arch-Nemesis PigPen that Koscheck had now replaced him at the top of my "people I want to punch in the face" list.  PigPen protested profusely, insisting that nobody can irritate me as well as he can, and then set out to prove his point the rest of the week.  Gotta admire his commitment . . .

Dramatic Discourse for week of Oct. 4: Brief Thoughts

Man, removing the comedies and reality TV shows makes my look at this week's dramas seem positively anemic, huh?  Granted, there were several shows that I didn't get a chance to watch (The Good Guys, Caprica, Stargate Universe, etc.) so it might be a bit more robust next week.

MONDAY, OCT 4

Chuck (NBC, 7:00):  I'm just not feeling this season of Chuck, largely due to the fact that after a season finale and season premiere that promised changes everywhere, we're practically back to the status quo again.  I was afraid that this episode would end with Morgan giving the manager position back to Big Mike, and while that didn't happen, I'm not sure that his having to rely on Big Mike to manage the chaos was much better.  Yeah, Morgan should always be a little bumbling and odd, but let the guy retain at least a little of the character growth being a spy sidekick gave him.

The Event (NBC, 8:00):  Here's hoping that the quality of this episode is an example of this show finding its footing, and not just an aberration.  The reduction of flashbacks was a boon, as was getting to see more of the "aliens" interactions, but it was that final scene in the hanger filled with reviving bodies that made me say "Okay, The Event, you win -- I'm in for the long haul now."

Castle (ABC, 9:00):  A predictable -- but still highly enjoyable -- episode.

TUESDAY, OCT 5

Parenthood (NBC, 9:00):  The first quarter of this episode had me on the verge of swearing the show off, but luckily it self-corrected before the end.  Still, the fact that the show could come so close to chasing me off really isn't a good sign.

Sons of Anarchy (FX, 9:00):  Still not enjoying the season all that much, but at least things are starting to move forward now.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 6

Terriers (FX,  9:00):  Once again, this show excels at keeping the viewer on their toes.  I'm hoping that they keep Hank's sister around for a while

THURSDAY, OCT 7

Fringe (Fox, 8:00): Watching this episode I had to wonder if, when they killed off Charlie last season, they told the actor "don't worry, we have plans to bring you back as your mirror universe twin"?  And if so, did they have to assure him that he wouldn't have to grow an Evil Spock goatee?  Anyway, I thought this was an excellent episode, thanks largely to a great Villain of the Week -- I would love to see this "Mad Thinker by way of Flowers for Algernon" return.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 8:00):  Thank the heavens they're finally making April a more likable character -- I've hated seeing the wonderful Sarah Drew wasted on such a grating role.  A pretty good episode overall, although I think they've been hitting the "patients' stories closely parallel the doctors' lives" thing far too often recently.  Once in a while is fine, but having every episode contain a moment where a patient say something that causes a doctor a moment of epiphany is a bit much.

SUNDAY, OCT 10

Rubicon (AMC, 8:00):  Hey, look, one episode away from the finale and the title finally gets referenced! And how creepy was Spangler there at the end?  Still no word on whether AMC will be picking this up for another season or not, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Mad Men (AMC, 9:00):  I have to admit, I had totally forgotten that Midge existed; kind of sad to see that Betty isn't the most messed up woman in Don's life. And is it just me, or does every Sally/Glen scene make you fear that the creepy kid is going to go all serial killer soon?  As for the main Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce storyline, as much as I was hoping that Don's letter would have meant an instant turnaround for the company, a part of me appreciates that they didn't go for the easy out, even if it did mean the firing of Danny Strong's character.  The best thing about this season for me is that even though the world is crashing down around him in so many ways, Don is starting to open himself up a bit more -- granted, he's still a womanizing heel, but his moments with Pete and Peggy give you a glimmer of hope that he's on the road to becoming a better person.  I'm a bit sad that next week is the season finale.