Once again, I’m quite a bit behind on my tv blogging. I’ll continue to blame the fact that most of the shows I watch are on Thursday night, which means that I spend the weekend and the beginning part of the following week making my way through all of them. As I share my random thoughts about the shows this week, I’ll list them in the order that I watched them, to give you an idea of my viewing priorities.
- Glee – After adoring the Kurt-centric “Put a Ring On It” episode, I had mixed feelings about this episode, which focused on Will’s attempt to breathe new life into glee club by welcoming back one of its former stars, played by the amazing Kristin Chenoweth. Meanwhile, there was a will she/won’t she subplot about whether Rachel would rejoin glee club. Chenoweth stole the entire show – it was great hearing her perform the song from Cabaret, as well as her bowling alley duet with Will of “Alone.” That being said, I was irritated by the over the top nature of her character. Sure, it was funny that she met Will in the mansion she was squatting in (she and her box of wine), but was it necessary for her to show up to class, rehearsals, and performances drunk all the time? And the part about her teaching two of the girls how to shoplift using their thighs was just odd. I’m still annoyed by Rachel’s diva attitude, but I must say that it was nice to have her back when the group performed “Somebody to Love.” I am really looking forward to this week’s “guys vs. girls” episode. Should be fun!
- Fringe – How odd, that a bowling alley was pivotal in Glee and Fringe last week. It’s not often that I can find common ground between a high school musical comedy and a sci fi investigative drama. While Kristin Chenoweth was stealing bowling shoes and Finn was manipulating Rachel, Olivia was being rehabilitated by a wise bowling alley manager. I enjoyed watching her frustration grow over his instructions about bowling and tying shoe laces, until finally she focused enough to be able to walk across the room without her cane, and point her gun without her hand shaking. The investigation of the week also added another interesting layer to the show’s mythology, as we discovered that mysterious men are carrying top secret info about human culture to the strange albino man. Up until now I’ve assumed that he was friendly and wanted to help Walter et al, but now I’m not so sure. Is he from the parallel universe, or somewhere else completely?
- FlashForward – I was honestly bored during this week’s episode, and found the strange mix of humor and drama off-putting. On one hand, you had the humorous account of the guy who was on the toilet when the world passed out, as well as in his flash forward. On the other hand, you have a father trying to decide how to tell his son that his mother is dead, and a little girl trying to process the disturbing vision she had of the future. However, I’m willing to stick with the show and see where it’s going. So far, I haven’t been drawn into the characters’ lives enough to care about them.
- Vampire Diaries – I already shared my thoughts about this episode here. One thing I can say is that this episode drew me into the series more, because it introduced some new mythology and an edgier tone.
- So You Think You Can Dance – The parade of auditions continues… I decided not to blog in detail about the auditions because usually when I do that, the majority of my favorites don’t end up in the Top 20. Instead, I’ll wait until Vegas Week, and then start sharing my thoughts on individual dancers. I would like to commend the judges for not belittling many of the wannabes. They give them constructive criticism and encourage them to keep practicing. So much nicer than the American Idol judges. (Mary was only out of line one time, when she joked with Mia that the “demons have been exorcized” after that guy in New Orleans looked like he was having a “conniption fit” on the stage.)
- The Office – I rolled my eyes through much of this episode, which found Michael and Jim butting heads in their new positions as co-managers. Michael was behaving like a four year old, and Jim’s response was to stare at the camera like, “How am I supposed to deal with this?” Also not very funny was Pam asking peope for money instead of traditional wedding gifts. That was more sad than funny, even though it makes sense. They are about to have a baby, so they need dollar bills, not fine china. However, I was amused by Phyllis, when she told Pam that she would be giving her and Jim a birdhouse mailbox as a wedding gift. That reminds me of the oven mitt she made as a Secret Santa gift a few seasons ago. It was kind of funny how jealous Dwight was of Jim, and how he tried (but failed miserably) to start a revolt in the office. The best part of the episode was when Michael gave Jim a “World’s Best Boss” mug, and they shared a strong drink in Jim’s office. It was nice that they found some common ground – the stress that comes with making tough decisions. That was a sweet moment.
- Community – This show continues to be uneven, but this episode was rather amusing. It was nice to see John Michael Higgins (Best in Show, Kath and Kim) as Professor Whitman, an accounting professor who had taken it upon himself to inspire his students to seize the day and live life to the fullest, by doing things like standing on their desks, walking around barefoot, throwing away their textbooks, and climbing trees. His performance was an appropriate satire of movies like Dead Poets Society. And I’m not sure what to think of that bizarre movie that Abed made for his film class, but it was certainly entertaining. My favorite part of the episode was Pierce (Chevy Chase) teaching football jock Troy how to sneeze like a man. Troy’s wimpy sneezes were funny enough, but then Pierce demonstrated a few different loud and in charge sneezes, and they were hilarious. I can relate personally to the phenomenon of the masculine sneeze, as my husband nearly brings down our house every time he sneezes.
And the ones that I haven’t gotten to at all: How I Met Your Mother, The Mentalist, Dollhouse
What were your favorite shows last week? Any new shows that you have added to your weekly lineup? Any that you’ve already given up on?
Why can’t they show the whole cast in the opening credits? Is it really necessary to see Eliza Dushku in 50 different costumes? She is only one small piece of the larger puzzle, and there are much more interesting aspects than her character. Oh, well. I’m glad that Paul Ballard is now her handler. Should add an interesting dynamic to their relationship.
