This Week in Television - Oct. 4-8, 2010

No Ordinary Family
The most annoying thing about this show is that every character says the word "family" about 10-20 times each in an episode. WE GET IT, IT'S A SHOW ABOUT A FAMILY! However this week's episode was less hackneyed than the pilot and I hope it continues to improve, but I still find myself not caring about the characters because they're boring and generic. I'm glad it wasn't the water that caused the super powers, because that would have been kind of a lame and easy answer.

Glee
Ah, the old religion debate. Sue made some good points except I believe that the separation of church and state is an illusion, because clearly a politician's religion is of major concern to the voting public, and that says it all. As silly as the "Grilled Cheesus" storyline was, Finn is dumb enough to buy into it so it worked in that sense, but I found myself more moved by Sue and her sister than by Kurt and his dad.

Running Wilde
Sneaky move, FOX, having a joke about Steve discovering KFC and then going directly to an actual KFC commercial. I like this show, but Puddle's narration isn't as good as Ron Howard's on Arrested Development, and I'm thinking it might get canceled before the season ends. P.S. Fa'ad has the same chest hair as Austin Powers.

Survivor: Nicaragua
I found it funny that Jimmy T. would refer to himself in the third person when stating whether someone is "a fan of Jimmy T.". Naonka is still crazy for seemingly no reason, but again I'm sure editing plays a part, and even with an idol I guarantee she will not win.

Community
I think this week's episode was season 2's "Social Psychology", meaning it felt a little off and wasn't quite as funny as the other episodes tend to be, at least to me. The Duncan/Chang forcefield thing was fun though, and I totally missed it but apparently there was another storyline going on in the background about Abed helping a pregnant student give birth, which becomes awesome when he shows up near the end of the episode to say that he hasn't been up to anything.

30 Rock
Loved Liz mispronouncing Donald Glover's name to make it sound more black, Rob Reiner saying "rhubarb, rhubarb, peas and carrots" into the mic like extras in a crowd scene, and Dotcom's cheesy sitcom (the talking dog had two dates, and they both showed up at the same time!) Not really a fan of Queen Latifah though, or of storylines involving Jenna.

The Office
I found it funny that Darryl was insistent on listening to the play's overture so that he would be able to recognize the musical themes when they come back later. While he has displayed an ear for music in the past, he didn't seem like someone who would care about musical themes in an amateur play. Also Michael acting out an entire episode of Law and Order as an audition for the play was awesome, and very well acted by Carell because he genuinely projected nervousness (and thus it was not well acted by Michael.) And how did Creed become a theater critic? Was there even anyone on the other end of the phone?

Fringe
I liked the "death by chain reaction" concept here - sort of like Final Destination, except not ridiculously over the top and actually caused by a person. It's also interesting if they're going to go back and forth between universes every other episode, although I don't know how long they can keep it up. If Olivia still retains some of her memories and has the ability to jump between worlds then I suppose it won't be dragged on too long.

Hero of the Week: Michael Scott from The Office, for his Law and Order performance, complete with musical cues.

Douchebag of the Week: Grilled Cheesus from Glee. YOU'RE NOT REAL!