Sunday, February 13, 2011

Week in Review: 2/6-2/12

It has been a crazy week in TV. This week a few shows returned from hiatus. A few new shows finally hit the airwaves. And as for the regular shows I watch every week - well a few of those hit some highs as well. I'm still catching up on the week, as always, so sorry if your favorite show is missing! And please remember, I will tell plot points in here. So if you want to watch the show and haven't, don't read that part of the post.


GLEE (Times Two!): Two episodes of Glee aired this past week. First there was the much talked about Post-Superbowl Thriller episode. To be honest, it was okay at best. Thriller was pretty good but I was annoyed with the direction of it. I wanted to see more of the choreography and less of the stylized shots of individuals. I'm also not thrilled with the way the bully's storyline is going. Or at least the direction of it in that episode- they made it like Kurt and Blaine were cheering him going onto the field. Yes, congrats for not being completely crippled in your inability to admit your gay. But I think they could have handled that better. Brittany was hysterical though, "I don't want to die until One Tree Hill gets cancelled." Dear Brit, bad news. It was cancelled. Please don't die. Love, Everyone. Two days later Glee got back to what it is good at - the fun personal stories. This Valentine's day episode was very good. Highlights: Finn giving Rachel the necklace proving that he isn't always a complete ass. Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes friendship. This threesome seem to have come out of nowhere when Kurt transferred, and I pray that Ryan Murphy doesn't ruin it because he "got bored." I love them. And speaking of Kurt the hightlight of the episode for me was how well he handled the Blaine thing. It reeked of a moment where Kurt was going to go all crazy and whiny, but he didn't. It was my favorite Kurt moment.

CHICAGO CODE: Shawn Ryan is someone I count on to create quality TV. The Shield and Terriers were two of the most brilliant shows to hit the airwaves, in my opinion. When I saw he had something new, I was watching without question. I hope you all did too. I believe there are way too many cop shows on TV nowadays, I almost never start watching new ones, but this is smarter than anything I've seen in a long time. Instead of spelling it out you had to actually pay attnention to understand the story. Novel idea! I loved the use of the flashback montages, made even better when they used it to lure you into submission just before Antonio got shot. The audience became invested in this character and the fact that he was giving you a flashback said "care about this guy" and then it was taken away mid-sentence. I yelped. Loud. I am excited to see where this goes. And fall more in love with Jarek. What a fantastic character!!

THE GOOD WIFE: First of all, Cary wasn't on, so ultimately I was a little disappointed because I look forward to that Matt Czuchry smile. But other than that, this episode was fantastic. While the case pitted Alicia against Michael J Fox's character once again - always a delight - the real plot movement came from the discovery that Bond has been monitoring the computers of several people at Lockhart/Gardner. Alicia, Will, Kalinda, Diane and David working together almost like a spy team to undermine Bond has been extremely entertaining. I love how they are having as much fun with this as they are with any case they are working on. Plus it led to the most adorable low five in the history of low fives between Will and Diane. So cute. I don't know how the writers manage to balance so many storylines (case of the week, Will and Tammy, Alicia/Will/Peter triangle, Peter's campaign, Cary at State's Attorney, Kalinda/Blake, Bond takeover, etc) without the viewers ever feeling overwhelmed or that they aren't getting enough about any storyline. The writers at The Good Wife are magic.

JUSTIFIED: I feel like I could spend an hour just sitting at the computer gushing over the second season premiere of this show. It was perfection. It took season one's developments and transitioned it so seemlessly into season two's major story arc - The Bennett Family. Instead of going huge with the season opener, they just played it the same level as always. The show rides a fine line between overwhelming intensity and soothing calmness, much like the character of Raylan himself. I honestly don't know what to say except this is one of the best hours of television you will watch every week. I hope you are all paying attention to it. And if not, why??? My favorite moment of this week's episode (and it was a hard decision to make): Raylan standing at the car of Jimmy Earl Dean (three first names = bad guy), a child molester with a kid in his trunk. JED went into the gas station market and when he comes out and sees Raylan he assumes Raylan is stealing gas to which Raylan responds, "Yes. I'm stealing gas. I don't know why I do it. It's not like I can't afford it." Seems silly, but the delivery was the greatest. Watch this show.

MR. SUNSHINE: I will forever love Chandler Bing, so I felt I had to watch this. I also really like the supporting cast, especially Allison Janney. The pilot was okay. I'll reserve judgement for an episode or two and I'll get back to you.

BONES: Six months ago I never thought I would say this, but I'm going to miss Hannah. Did I want her to say yet to Booth? No. Of course not. But man did I love Hannah and Breannan together. I think she offered a sort of friendship to Brennan that Angela couldn't. Kathryn Winnick (Hannah) is gone for now, and while I hope this will eventually lead to Bones and Booth getting together, I still want Hannah to come back. For Brennan. And as for Booth - how amazing was David Boreanaz in those last couple scenes. For the first time in 6 years of Bones I saw Angel when DB was on screen. I think his acting in those scenes made me realize just how good he is all of the time on the show. I realized I NEVER see Angel when I watch Bones. Well done. Now, let's get Booth and Bones back on track!

PRIVATE PRACTICE: So, this isn't a show I normally blog about. I watch it and generally enjoy it, but it isn't one that inspires much in me to feel the need to discuss it. But this week the last 10 minutes were huge for me. First, the Charlotte/Lee storyline. I love the (general) end of that story arc. Lee will get what he deserve and Charlotte can finally move on. But, because I enjoy discussing the wonderful acting ability of anyone from the Whedonverse apparently, I was mostly in awe of Nicholas Brendon's acting in that final scene. Lee's words were defiant and strong towards Charlotte's threats, and he attempted to keep his face stoic and strong as well, but he faltered just slightly, and in his eyes you saw the fear and sadness. So wonderful on the part of NB. If you haven't watched Buffy, first, WTF is wrong with you (LOL), and second, do. And when you get to the season three episode, The Zeppo, you will see why this bit of acting was not a surprise to me at all. The second part of PP that stood out to me, obviously, was the suicide of Addison's mom, Bizzy. For those who watch it, and please be honest, did you see that coming? I was screaming at my TV for Addison not to leave because I knew. It was wonderfully played by both actresses, and I commend Shonda Rhimes for how true to life (trust me) that final scene between the two played out.

And on that cheerful note, I'm done for the day. I know... I left out pretty much all the comedies this week. They were all friggin adorable as always. Also, and I feel I should say this weekly, I love Joel McHale. Also missing: Fringe. Haven't watched, but I do know the big twist. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it, so I'm holding off on commenting for at least a few episodes.  I could also comment on all the CW, but that would be ridiculous to do every week..... LOL.

Comment away!

1 comment:

Erin said...

Loved your observations about the shows we mutually watch. Looking forward to the partnership vote on GW.