Smash
Okay, I'm dropping this show. The characters are just too insufferably full of themselves. I mean most shows might have one character like that, but an entire cast? On top of that, the writing and directing was so heavy-handed this episode, with all of the lingering glances, and Karen being physically pushed and bumped by Ivy, and the uninspired attempts at humourous lines that were clearly not written by anyone who knows anything about comedy. It's surprising that I have to say this, but as frustrating as Glee is, it at least has a very small amount of merit, and rather than be annoyed by the New Directions kids I'm just indifferent to them. I suppose it's an accurate depiction of show business if everyone involved is egocentric, it just doesn't make for a good collection of characters that I would want to care about. I might not mind so much if Karen was the center of the show, and they didn't go off into these B and C stories where they try to pretend these other snobs are likable or interesting, but this is not a show about Karen, it's about a cheesy Broadway play, and so I quit.
Survivor: One World
They usually do a memory challenge later in the season, after everyone's mental prowess has deteriorated. I almost feel like the producers condescendingly said "The women are too weak to win at a physical challenge, let's throw them a memory thing." Very glad to see Matt go, as he seemed like the biggest douche on the tribe.
30 Rock
I think the best part of this episode was Tracy and Jenna playing detective (loved Jenna's terrible cop show parody with poor attempts at character development in her blatant referencing of a dead husband), but it put Jack into an interesting perspective when he was so preoccupied with getting ahead at work that he couldn't even recognize a friendship as a friendship. A lot of people complain about Kenneth these days, and 30 Rock seems to be listening because they've actually given him a multi-episode arc so he'll have something to do for a while. Don't know if he'll get high enough to succeed Jack's job, but it might make for an epic season finale if they're forced to go head to head.
Parks and Recreation
I didn't believe that Bobby Newport's vacation canoodling was actually some international deal; Leslie shouldn't have fallen for it. It was obvious in the newspaper photos that it was purely for leisure, and after meeting Bobby in a previous episode, it was clear that he wasn't going to be working hard in favour of the city. Also, ramps are still better than electric lifts because if the lift breaks down, you're screwed. Why would nobody bring that up? The water fountain and water fight stuff were fun, though when they solved the problem I almost expected Andy to just put his mouth on the spout hole.
The Office
The whole B-plot with Andy being beaten up by kids was mostly unfunny. It's already been done many times elsewhere. But it was mildly amusing for the idea of Toby conducting a martial arts seminar and plugging his mystery novel, and for Creed's demonstration of "strike, scream, run". I enjoyed the Sabre store more, and all of the dishonesty that went into its opening and promotion as the employees played characters and created false scenarios. Lying is a business, too, folks.
Up All Night
A couple of chuckles this week, and it was nice to see Will Forte back, but Up All Night is still the most average comedy of the week for me. I never hate it, but it's never amazing, either.
Awake
I've been excited to see this show ever since the trailer showed up last summer. The only problem is that the trailer spoiled at least 40% of the episode, but otherwise it was highly engaging thanks to a cool concept and strong performances from the actors. I just hope the big twist isn't that the accident put Mike into a coma and he's imagining both worlds, because that would feel unoriginal. Side note: it's kind of funny that the actor who played Jack's "son" on Lost is once again playing a possibly non-existent son.
Hero of the Week: Mike from Awake, for having no intention of ever making progress.
Douchebag of the Week: Jennifer Barkley from Parks and Recreation, for being too good a campaign manager to Bobby Newport when neither her nor her client really care about it.
Showing posts with label smash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smash. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
This Week in Television - Feb. 19-24, 2012
Once Upon a Time
Well, after last week's terrific episode, we're back to a lukewarm show. While what David did to his fiance was not cool, I don't entirely feel sorry for her; partly because she is uninteresting and not likable, and partly because they are both responsible for what happened. They both knew a long time ago that he didn't love her, but they chose to drag it out and remain in denial. The mayor says "relationships take work", but I don't really agree with that. Call me a romantic, but I think if it's the right person, there shouldn't be much work involved. If you have to force someone to love you, or force yourself to love someone, then they're probably not your soulmate.
Smash
This wasn't a very good episode. I hate to say it, but while this show is mechanically less flawed, Glee is still more entertaining, and while I'm indifferent to most of the Glee characters, they're generally still more likable than these pretentious showbiz snobs on Smash. I think I'm mostly referring to Tom and Julia when I say "showbiz snobs", but most of the cast has it to some degree. I did enjoy Anjelica Huston throwing drinks in her ex-husband's face, but it feels like Karen didn't really do anything in this episode. I couldn't care less about the Marilyn musical, but Karen is actually doing stuff when she's a part of it.
Glee
Season three has been the most horrendous season yet, but this episode was almost good. I think the stuff with Karofsky was handled without being exaggerated, misguided, inaccurate, or glossed over, and that is rare for Glee and its sloppy, unrealistic writing. But we still got the usual ridiculousness elsewhere, like Finn and Rachel moving their wedding up AGAIN, and Quinn getting in a random car accident just for the sake of shock value. Also, it stands out too much when choirs other than New Directions perform, and they have one person singing lead and everyone else on backup just because the one on lead is a paid guest star with lines on the show.
New Girl
Some funny stuff again this episode. I think the "Jerksica" line rings true for the lack of creativity in a lot of bullies. I mean let's be honest, how many bullies are actually smart? Speaking of creativity, that Youtube video with the CG animation was way too good for any 12 year-old to have done, especially within the implied timeframe. Schmidt could have just as easily been involved in the bullying story, as he was once fat and most likely bullied for it, but he had the Cece thing, and it gave Winston something to do, which was no doubt funnier than any scene involving his girlfriend would have been, so it worked out. I think Nick kind of got the dud story this week, but it was interesting watching his emotional state at the science fair. On a side note, I was glad to see no volcanoes at the science fair, because that is one of the hugest school cliches out there, although they could have used that as an opportunity for a joke about it. The flashlight duct-taped to the ball was a hilarious one.
Survivor: One World
Colton (which might be in my top 10 least favourite baby names) is already shaping up to be the villain of the season, although he seems to vary between arrogantly thinking he's going to control the game and wandering around helplessly because nobody wants to be his friend and he doesn't know how to do anything. But as much as the guys are dicks, I have to at least give them credit for not being homophobic and not being, as I said last week, disrespectful toward the little person. Although Leif is so far this season's Rick, because we haven't gotten any talking heads or interactions with him yet, so we wouldn't know if someone dissed him to his face.
30 Rock
There aren't many TV shows that do an episode about February 29th, let alone invent an entire holiday - complete with mascot and traditions - for it. Awesome. I also loved the Leap Day Williams movie starring Jim Carrey and Andie McDowell, because when 30 Rock does those kinds of pop culture parodies (e.g. Queen of Jordan, MILF Island, America's Kids Got Singing), they're always just on the edge of ridiculousness but completely accurate to the point of being something that could really, truly, actually exist. Or I suppose they're accurate because they already exist in some form: Leap Day Williams would basically be the same movie as Evan Almighty or The Santa Clause. And as disturbing as the final image of Leap Day William turning into a horrifying sea monster was, I laughed. I like to think that had the hot supermodels not shown up, Liz would have backed out at least half way through having sex with Stevie from Eastbound and Down. Not out of dignity or anything, just out of disgust.
Parks and Recreation
I wasn't expecting that Tom would be complaining about Ann's faults, because as the viewers we know that while Ann is not perfect, she's far from insufferable, and Tom is not an easy guy to date without being embarrassed after five minutes. But it made it interesting when it went that way, and at least Tom is now thinking about more than just her looks. Kind of funny and sad at the same time that Jerry's wife celebrates his birthday by going out alone with her friends.
The Office
I liked the ending of this episode, with Jim and Dwight eating dessert together as they hide from the women who want to sleep with them. Good for them for not doing it. Who would have thought Dwight's insanity would come in handy to Jim? Ryan is just 100% douchebag now. I think the last time he was even a tiny bit likable was probably during the Michael Scott Paper Company, and that likability came more from his situation than his character. I have yet to get on board with Daryl and Val, though. They just don't have the chemistry that Jim and Pam had during the beginning seasons, or even that Erin and Andy had before Gabe stole her from him. Val's not a significant enough character to get the screen time for chemistry, or even character development. She's been in a number of episodes now and I still feel like I know nothing about her.
Up All Night
I felt like this episode was almost funny, but all of the jokes just fell short of a laugh. So close. But I do appreciate the truth in most relationships seeming to have one who is easygoing and one who has to be the hard-ass.
Fringe
This week's episode was epic! There has been talk that this may be Fringe's last season because of the ratings it's been getting in its (bad) timeslot, so it's good that we got this episode explaining the observers, just in case. It also nicely tied together the storyline of the entire series to prove the relevance of everything we've seen so far, and dealt with what I pointed out last week about Peter having to leave this Olivia and return to his own. I'm excited for what is to come, because it feels like it is moving toward the series finale now.
Hero of the Week: Both Jim and Dwight from The Office, for helping each other not to have inappropriate sex.
Douchebag of the Week: Ryan from The Office, for transparently not wanting to wait six months for appropriate sex.
Well, after last week's terrific episode, we're back to a lukewarm show. While what David did to his fiance was not cool, I don't entirely feel sorry for her; partly because she is uninteresting and not likable, and partly because they are both responsible for what happened. They both knew a long time ago that he didn't love her, but they chose to drag it out and remain in denial. The mayor says "relationships take work", but I don't really agree with that. Call me a romantic, but I think if it's the right person, there shouldn't be much work involved. If you have to force someone to love you, or force yourself to love someone, then they're probably not your soulmate.
Smash
This wasn't a very good episode. I hate to say it, but while this show is mechanically less flawed, Glee is still more entertaining, and while I'm indifferent to most of the Glee characters, they're generally still more likable than these pretentious showbiz snobs on Smash. I think I'm mostly referring to Tom and Julia when I say "showbiz snobs", but most of the cast has it to some degree. I did enjoy Anjelica Huston throwing drinks in her ex-husband's face, but it feels like Karen didn't really do anything in this episode. I couldn't care less about the Marilyn musical, but Karen is actually doing stuff when she's a part of it.
Glee
Season three has been the most horrendous season yet, but this episode was almost good. I think the stuff with Karofsky was handled without being exaggerated, misguided, inaccurate, or glossed over, and that is rare for Glee and its sloppy, unrealistic writing. But we still got the usual ridiculousness elsewhere, like Finn and Rachel moving their wedding up AGAIN, and Quinn getting in a random car accident just for the sake of shock value. Also, it stands out too much when choirs other than New Directions perform, and they have one person singing lead and everyone else on backup just because the one on lead is a paid guest star with lines on the show.
New Girl
Some funny stuff again this episode. I think the "Jerksica" line rings true for the lack of creativity in a lot of bullies. I mean let's be honest, how many bullies are actually smart? Speaking of creativity, that Youtube video with the CG animation was way too good for any 12 year-old to have done, especially within the implied timeframe. Schmidt could have just as easily been involved in the bullying story, as he was once fat and most likely bullied for it, but he had the Cece thing, and it gave Winston something to do, which was no doubt funnier than any scene involving his girlfriend would have been, so it worked out. I think Nick kind of got the dud story this week, but it was interesting watching his emotional state at the science fair. On a side note, I was glad to see no volcanoes at the science fair, because that is one of the hugest school cliches out there, although they could have used that as an opportunity for a joke about it. The flashlight duct-taped to the ball was a hilarious one.
Survivor: One World
Colton (which might be in my top 10 least favourite baby names) is already shaping up to be the villain of the season, although he seems to vary between arrogantly thinking he's going to control the game and wandering around helplessly because nobody wants to be his friend and he doesn't know how to do anything. But as much as the guys are dicks, I have to at least give them credit for not being homophobic and not being, as I said last week, disrespectful toward the little person. Although Leif is so far this season's Rick, because we haven't gotten any talking heads or interactions with him yet, so we wouldn't know if someone dissed him to his face.
30 Rock
There aren't many TV shows that do an episode about February 29th, let alone invent an entire holiday - complete with mascot and traditions - for it. Awesome. I also loved the Leap Day Williams movie starring Jim Carrey and Andie McDowell, because when 30 Rock does those kinds of pop culture parodies (e.g. Queen of Jordan, MILF Island, America's Kids Got Singing), they're always just on the edge of ridiculousness but completely accurate to the point of being something that could really, truly, actually exist. Or I suppose they're accurate because they already exist in some form: Leap Day Williams would basically be the same movie as Evan Almighty or The Santa Clause. And as disturbing as the final image of Leap Day William turning into a horrifying sea monster was, I laughed. I like to think that had the hot supermodels not shown up, Liz would have backed out at least half way through having sex with Stevie from Eastbound and Down. Not out of dignity or anything, just out of disgust.
Parks and Recreation
I wasn't expecting that Tom would be complaining about Ann's faults, because as the viewers we know that while Ann is not perfect, she's far from insufferable, and Tom is not an easy guy to date without being embarrassed after five minutes. But it made it interesting when it went that way, and at least Tom is now thinking about more than just her looks. Kind of funny and sad at the same time that Jerry's wife celebrates his birthday by going out alone with her friends.
The Office
I liked the ending of this episode, with Jim and Dwight eating dessert together as they hide from the women who want to sleep with them. Good for them for not doing it. Who would have thought Dwight's insanity would come in handy to Jim? Ryan is just 100% douchebag now. I think the last time he was even a tiny bit likable was probably during the Michael Scott Paper Company, and that likability came more from his situation than his character. I have yet to get on board with Daryl and Val, though. They just don't have the chemistry that Jim and Pam had during the beginning seasons, or even that Erin and Andy had before Gabe stole her from him. Val's not a significant enough character to get the screen time for chemistry, or even character development. She's been in a number of episodes now and I still feel like I know nothing about her.
Up All Night
I felt like this episode was almost funny, but all of the jokes just fell short of a laugh. So close. But I do appreciate the truth in most relationships seeming to have one who is easygoing and one who has to be the hard-ass.
Fringe
This week's episode was epic! There has been talk that this may be Fringe's last season because of the ratings it's been getting in its (bad) timeslot, so it's good that we got this episode explaining the observers, just in case. It also nicely tied together the storyline of the entire series to prove the relevance of everything we've seen so far, and dealt with what I pointed out last week about Peter having to leave this Olivia and return to his own. I'm excited for what is to come, because it feels like it is moving toward the series finale now.
Hero of the Week: Both Jim and Dwight from The Office, for helping each other not to have inappropriate sex.
Douchebag of the Week: Ryan from The Office, for transparently not wanting to wait six months for appropriate sex.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
This Week in Television - Feb. 12-17, 2012
Once Upon a Time
Wow, I wasn't expecting any episode of this show to blow me away, but I really liked this one. Well, the girls night out subplot was dull, but Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin nailed their chemistry together, and just when I thought the Storybrook segments were useless this week, we got that awesome scene near the end with the mayor visiting Mr. Gold in jail. That scene was huge, because it was the first time either of them has openly acknowledged the fairy tale world. This show has been somewhat lukewarm for the most part but, damn, I loved this episode.
Smash
I actually thought they were just going to give the part to both girls, and have Ivy play Marilyn while Karen plays Norma Jean. Although that would be a cop-out, and has been done in the TV movie Norma Jean and Marilyn. I'm finding I don't really care for most of the characters, because everyone except Karen is a showbiz snob, and I'm not on board with Julia's adoption plans because a) they're boring, b) I haven't known this character long enough to start caring about her family, c) she already has a kid, greatly diminishing the whole "strong desire to be a mother" angle, and d) why is that kid as obsessed with having a new baby as she is? Teenage boys have other things to care about. Also, this show is astoundingly terrible at cliffhangers. All of the commercial breaks and episode endings are at odd and abrupt times that in no way leave you wanting more.
Glee
Not only was the Artie vs. Irish kid thing very uninspired, but Sugar just turned down Artie like two episodes ago, so why is she suddenly open to him courting her? And it was painfully predictable that Kurt's secret admirer was going to be Karofsky (or at least not Blaine), because of the way Kurt kept insisting, in a lazy attempt at a mislead, that it was Blaine. Irish kid is still a sneaky prick. The one thing I did enjoy was the slightly meta moment with Santana complaining that she's not allowed to kiss Brittany when Finn and Rachel make out all the time, because the show itself has pretty much had that mentality since Santana came out. I was glad to see they finally addressed something. Only about 9,000 more problems to fix.
New Girl
I think it's official that Winston is boring in scenes with that girl he likes. But there was otherwise some really funny stuff in this episode, like the club pack box of condoms, Jess's failed attempt at doing a sexy cherry trick, any time Schmidt mentioned "youths", and the flashback of Nick entering a cock fight "as a person". On principle, I would have been pissed if Jess slept with Schmidt. We dodged a bullet there.
Survivor: One World
Not much to say yet, except that the men are arrogant pricks, and that it was nice that nobody made a big deal out of the little person. Usually when someone has some kind of disability or anything that makes them different, the show is all over it, but we just got people commenting on his strength.
30 Rock
The Liz and Jack stories turning into a Batman/Joker reference was a weird and random reference to go to, but a funny one nonetheless. I don't mind Jenna and Paul, but I think their regular weirdness was funnier than the "normalling".
Parks and Recreation
It was cool to see Louis C.K. back, but Officer Dave didn't seem like as good of a guy as I remember. He was chivalrous toward Leslie, I guess, but he was also really awkward and unable to hide his jealousy of Ben. But I laughed at his idea that he and Leslie, after reconciling, would go back to the bathroom and uncuff Ben together, like it was something romantic. Speaking of romance, Tom trying to mack is always funny, and I'm almost disappointed in Ann for giving in, but then he would have kept being annoying if she hadn't, so I can see how he wore her down (the four sweetest words in the English language!). Also the little subplot with April helping Ron hide/destroy the Duke Silver memorabilia was great.
The Office
I guess we're not done with Tallahassee, because there was no mention of Erin's possible departure or Cathy hitting on Jim (other than some obvious but fruitless attempts to talk to him). The opening with Dwight waking everyone up was funny. I think some of The Office's strongest moments these days are montages like that one, where we see the characters' individual reactions to something. I enjoyed Andy at reception, because it does seem like it would be a better fit for him, and it served to highlight that he doesn't really do anything as regional manager, which isn't necessarily his fault - that's just how management positions are.
Up All Night
I think this show stepped into the "obvious joke" shoes again with all of the stuff about saying "bomb" in an airport. But the part I did find somewhat interesting was their whole baby plan/schedule to avoid the dreaded fuss of having a baby on an airplane. I haven't seen that before. The "Back it Up" song wasn't that great, but as I am a fan of impressions when they are either really good or really bad, Chris doing Michael Keaton characters was funny.
Fringe
If I were Peter, what I would be worried about is the inevitability of this Olivia getting hurt when he leaves her to go back to his timeline. Unless he's either planning to stay, or take her with him for an Olivia threesome. It was interesting watching Jackson and Torv play this episode, though; Olivia was kind of giddy with her new-found feelings, and Peter was troubled by them. Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough, but the ending seemed to come out of nowhere. Not a complaint, though; I know it will be expanded on next week. It was just a good "WTF" moment.
Hero of the Week: Belle from Once Upon a Time, for coming back with the straw.
Douchebag of the Week: The tribe of men on Survivor. Get over yourselves, meatheads.
Wow, I wasn't expecting any episode of this show to blow me away, but I really liked this one. Well, the girls night out subplot was dull, but Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin nailed their chemistry together, and just when I thought the Storybrook segments were useless this week, we got that awesome scene near the end with the mayor visiting Mr. Gold in jail. That scene was huge, because it was the first time either of them has openly acknowledged the fairy tale world. This show has been somewhat lukewarm for the most part but, damn, I loved this episode.
Smash
I actually thought they were just going to give the part to both girls, and have Ivy play Marilyn while Karen plays Norma Jean. Although that would be a cop-out, and has been done in the TV movie Norma Jean and Marilyn. I'm finding I don't really care for most of the characters, because everyone except Karen is a showbiz snob, and I'm not on board with Julia's adoption plans because a) they're boring, b) I haven't known this character long enough to start caring about her family, c) she already has a kid, greatly diminishing the whole "strong desire to be a mother" angle, and d) why is that kid as obsessed with having a new baby as she is? Teenage boys have other things to care about. Also, this show is astoundingly terrible at cliffhangers. All of the commercial breaks and episode endings are at odd and abrupt times that in no way leave you wanting more.
Glee
Not only was the Artie vs. Irish kid thing very uninspired, but Sugar just turned down Artie like two episodes ago, so why is she suddenly open to him courting her? And it was painfully predictable that Kurt's secret admirer was going to be Karofsky (or at least not Blaine), because of the way Kurt kept insisting, in a lazy attempt at a mislead, that it was Blaine. Irish kid is still a sneaky prick. The one thing I did enjoy was the slightly meta moment with Santana complaining that she's not allowed to kiss Brittany when Finn and Rachel make out all the time, because the show itself has pretty much had that mentality since Santana came out. I was glad to see they finally addressed something. Only about 9,000 more problems to fix.
New Girl
I think it's official that Winston is boring in scenes with that girl he likes. But there was otherwise some really funny stuff in this episode, like the club pack box of condoms, Jess's failed attempt at doing a sexy cherry trick, any time Schmidt mentioned "youths", and the flashback of Nick entering a cock fight "as a person". On principle, I would have been pissed if Jess slept with Schmidt. We dodged a bullet there.
Survivor: One World
Not much to say yet, except that the men are arrogant pricks, and that it was nice that nobody made a big deal out of the little person. Usually when someone has some kind of disability or anything that makes them different, the show is all over it, but we just got people commenting on his strength.
30 Rock
The Liz and Jack stories turning into a Batman/Joker reference was a weird and random reference to go to, but a funny one nonetheless. I don't mind Jenna and Paul, but I think their regular weirdness was funnier than the "normalling".
Parks and Recreation
It was cool to see Louis C.K. back, but Officer Dave didn't seem like as good of a guy as I remember. He was chivalrous toward Leslie, I guess, but he was also really awkward and unable to hide his jealousy of Ben. But I laughed at his idea that he and Leslie, after reconciling, would go back to the bathroom and uncuff Ben together, like it was something romantic. Speaking of romance, Tom trying to mack is always funny, and I'm almost disappointed in Ann for giving in, but then he would have kept being annoying if she hadn't, so I can see how he wore her down (the four sweetest words in the English language!). Also the little subplot with April helping Ron hide/destroy the Duke Silver memorabilia was great.
The Office
I guess we're not done with Tallahassee, because there was no mention of Erin's possible departure or Cathy hitting on Jim (other than some obvious but fruitless attempts to talk to him). The opening with Dwight waking everyone up was funny. I think some of The Office's strongest moments these days are montages like that one, where we see the characters' individual reactions to something. I enjoyed Andy at reception, because it does seem like it would be a better fit for him, and it served to highlight that he doesn't really do anything as regional manager, which isn't necessarily his fault - that's just how management positions are.
Up All Night
I think this show stepped into the "obvious joke" shoes again with all of the stuff about saying "bomb" in an airport. But the part I did find somewhat interesting was their whole baby plan/schedule to avoid the dreaded fuss of having a baby on an airplane. I haven't seen that before. The "Back it Up" song wasn't that great, but as I am a fan of impressions when they are either really good or really bad, Chris doing Michael Keaton characters was funny.
Fringe
If I were Peter, what I would be worried about is the inevitability of this Olivia getting hurt when he leaves her to go back to his timeline. Unless he's either planning to stay, or take her with him for an Olivia threesome. It was interesting watching Jackson and Torv play this episode, though; Olivia was kind of giddy with her new-found feelings, and Peter was troubled by them. Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough, but the ending seemed to come out of nowhere. Not a complaint, though; I know it will be expanded on next week. It was just a good "WTF" moment.
Hero of the Week: Belle from Once Upon a Time, for coming back with the straw.
Douchebag of the Week: The tribe of men on Survivor. Get over yourselves, meatheads.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
This Week in Television - Feb. 6-11, 2012
Smash
Well, it's a lot less flawed than Glee, but then practically everything is. It seems Katharine McPhee is actually a capable actress, so she was a good choice for the lead role (or maybe not lead, because Debra Messing got just as much screen time, if not more). Ivy - the blonde antagonist - was instantly annoying to me, because she is the type of performer who always goes too big in order to show off. There actually can be such a thing as too much talent, and when you go over the top it ruins a role. While I find Broadway music to be bland, I do appreciate that the music was more seamless and didn't feel like song after song was being crammed down my throat, as is sometimes the case with Glee. My one little nitpick - and it's not just Smash that did this, but a lot of movies and shows do - is the representation of Youtube (or whatever resembles Youtube when copyright is an issue). They always do it as if anything you put on Youtube automatically gets millions of views just because it's on the internet. Unless you have a famous channel with tons of followers, the chances of someone stumbling on your video and then sharing it enough to make it a hit - and in a short amount of time, no less - are about the same as stumbling on a raisin in the sand while walking along the beach. And I doubt that assistant's mother is an internet superstar. But anyway, in spite of an abrupt ending (maybe I'm just too used to cliffhangers) I didn't mind the pilot, so I'm going to keep watching.
Glee
How do they expect us to care about the Sam/Mercedes relationship when 90% of it happened off camera? I don't even care about Finn and Rachel, and they're all over this show. And if Mercedes likes Sam so much, why has she not broken up with her boyfriend? I know we see that kind of behaviour all the time in adults, because sometimes certain circumstances keep you from leaving a person you're not satisfied with, but that does not apply to high school students, because there are no circumstances where it would. I don't think artificial insemination is a fitting storyline for Sue, and I hate that this new coach is still around because she's just an unfunny version of Sue Sylvester. As much as I enjoy Sue, we don't need two of her, especially if one isn't funny. And Santana was right: Mr. Schue's Latino Elvis remix was awful and offensive.
New Girl
Though it may have been a bit of a stretch, I laughed at Jess charming the angry driver with the gun, and Nick and Jess playing chicken with the landlord threesome (is "Underpants Captain" a real thing? ...Never mind, I don't want to know.) The joke about the guards thinking Schmidt was raping his boss in the parking garage didn't quite work, because the view on the monitors just looked like exactly what it was: two people making out. She wasn't struggling, he wasn't restraining her, and they were both standing up. The ending with the Japanese conference call was even worse because it was so predictable and an overused joke. But I really liked the Jess/Nick/Landlord portion of the episode, that stuff was fun.
30 Rock
I like Mary Steenburgen, but I think it was obvious she and Jack were going to develop feelings for each other as soon as she showed up. Their scenes together weren't hilarious, but they had chemistry - probably actually more than Alec Baldwin has with Elizabeth Banks. As a character, Lutz works best when he is the butt of a small, quick joke. When a story is centered around him, like in this episode and the one with everyone catering to him for security in the event of an imaginary apocalypse, it's just more uncomfortable than funny. I don't get the Ikea observational humour because it's not something I've experienced or heard about, but the flashbacks to Liz's bad Valentine's days were fun.
The Office
I liked this one because it seems like it's been a really, really long time since we actually saw anybody working. Dwight trying to put together a team and fighting with Andy about who he's allowed to bring was fun, and it was a nice touch when the final team, whom he despised, surprised him by taking the project seriously and actually contributing good ideas. The way they pulled out those setups at the end, though (Erin claiming she won't return, Cathy hinting that she's going to make a move on Jim), it made this feel like the second last episode of a season.
Up All Night
I know this was a Valentine's episode and all, but I don't think it's necessary to end almost every episode with Chris and Reagan realizing how much they love each other. The show is about a married couple raising their new baby. We know they're not about to get divorced anytime soon, because their marriage is part of the show's premise. I like their characters and it's nice that they're in love and all that, but it doesn't have to be a romantic comedy. It's allowed to be just a comedy that is sometimes romantic. You have to ration those sweet moments or your show just gets too mushy.
Fringe
For characters who are way smarter than I am, they should have figured out before me that two universes were blending together. They did not, but I guess the writers had to drag it out a little for dramatic purposes. It was a cool episode, though, and the ending with Olivia raises some interesting questions. For instance, if Peter's Olivia is blending into this one, does that mean both will be destroyed? If not, will he even want to go home if he has Olivia back? Or are other things/people going to follow suit?
Saturday Night Live
I don't always watch SNL, and I never write about it, but I'll make an exception because this week it was hosted by my future wife Zooey Deschanel. Now there are times when some of the hosts (probably more often the female ones) get stuck playing the straight man while the cast has all the fun playing their wacky recurring characters, but I was glad to see them allowing Zooey to be funny, because she does have that comedic talent. I don't understand the appeal of those "Les Jeunes de Paris" sketches. I've seen them do it a few times, and I get the references to French culture and French cinema, I just don't see how it is potent as a comedy sketch. Abby Elliot's Zooey impression was fairly good, as was Zooey's Mary Kate Olsen impression, and Taran Killam's Michael Cera impression had the perfect enunciation, but was about three octaves too high. I'm not sure if the squeaky voice was a joke or if for some reason he just can't do it any lower. Bill Hader's Clint Eastwood is also great, but most of his impressions are. I was excited by the return of the technology humping sketch, because it was my favourite part of the last Emma Stone episode. It wasn't as good as the first time, but I enjoy that it can be so filthy while also remaining completely G-rated. The crab sketch was, like the content of it, a predictable build-up to pretty much nothing, and while I liked the fast-talking 1940's sketch, its ending felt weird and abrupt - or, in other words, non-existent. But overall it was a decent episode; I've seen far worse. And we even got a surprise cameo from Nicolas Cage!
Hero of the Week: Zooey Deschanel on Saturday Night Live, for not being the unfunny one in ANY of the sketches.
Douchebag of the Week: Coach Roz from Glee, because there's only one Sue Sylvester.
Well, it's a lot less flawed than Glee, but then practically everything is. It seems Katharine McPhee is actually a capable actress, so she was a good choice for the lead role (or maybe not lead, because Debra Messing got just as much screen time, if not more). Ivy - the blonde antagonist - was instantly annoying to me, because she is the type of performer who always goes too big in order to show off. There actually can be such a thing as too much talent, and when you go over the top it ruins a role. While I find Broadway music to be bland, I do appreciate that the music was more seamless and didn't feel like song after song was being crammed down my throat, as is sometimes the case with Glee. My one little nitpick - and it's not just Smash that did this, but a lot of movies and shows do - is the representation of Youtube (or whatever resembles Youtube when copyright is an issue). They always do it as if anything you put on Youtube automatically gets millions of views just because it's on the internet. Unless you have a famous channel with tons of followers, the chances of someone stumbling on your video and then sharing it enough to make it a hit - and in a short amount of time, no less - are about the same as stumbling on a raisin in the sand while walking along the beach. And I doubt that assistant's mother is an internet superstar. But anyway, in spite of an abrupt ending (maybe I'm just too used to cliffhangers) I didn't mind the pilot, so I'm going to keep watching.
Glee
How do they expect us to care about the Sam/Mercedes relationship when 90% of it happened off camera? I don't even care about Finn and Rachel, and they're all over this show. And if Mercedes likes Sam so much, why has she not broken up with her boyfriend? I know we see that kind of behaviour all the time in adults, because sometimes certain circumstances keep you from leaving a person you're not satisfied with, but that does not apply to high school students, because there are no circumstances where it would. I don't think artificial insemination is a fitting storyline for Sue, and I hate that this new coach is still around because she's just an unfunny version of Sue Sylvester. As much as I enjoy Sue, we don't need two of her, especially if one isn't funny. And Santana was right: Mr. Schue's Latino Elvis remix was awful and offensive.
New Girl
Though it may have been a bit of a stretch, I laughed at Jess charming the angry driver with the gun, and Nick and Jess playing chicken with the landlord threesome (is "Underpants Captain" a real thing? ...Never mind, I don't want to know.) The joke about the guards thinking Schmidt was raping his boss in the parking garage didn't quite work, because the view on the monitors just looked like exactly what it was: two people making out. She wasn't struggling, he wasn't restraining her, and they were both standing up. The ending with the Japanese conference call was even worse because it was so predictable and an overused joke. But I really liked the Jess/Nick/Landlord portion of the episode, that stuff was fun.
30 Rock
I like Mary Steenburgen, but I think it was obvious she and Jack were going to develop feelings for each other as soon as she showed up. Their scenes together weren't hilarious, but they had chemistry - probably actually more than Alec Baldwin has with Elizabeth Banks. As a character, Lutz works best when he is the butt of a small, quick joke. When a story is centered around him, like in this episode and the one with everyone catering to him for security in the event of an imaginary apocalypse, it's just more uncomfortable than funny. I don't get the Ikea observational humour because it's not something I've experienced or heard about, but the flashbacks to Liz's bad Valentine's days were fun.
The Office
I liked this one because it seems like it's been a really, really long time since we actually saw anybody working. Dwight trying to put together a team and fighting with Andy about who he's allowed to bring was fun, and it was a nice touch when the final team, whom he despised, surprised him by taking the project seriously and actually contributing good ideas. The way they pulled out those setups at the end, though (Erin claiming she won't return, Cathy hinting that she's going to make a move on Jim), it made this feel like the second last episode of a season.
Up All Night
I know this was a Valentine's episode and all, but I don't think it's necessary to end almost every episode with Chris and Reagan realizing how much they love each other. The show is about a married couple raising their new baby. We know they're not about to get divorced anytime soon, because their marriage is part of the show's premise. I like their characters and it's nice that they're in love and all that, but it doesn't have to be a romantic comedy. It's allowed to be just a comedy that is sometimes romantic. You have to ration those sweet moments or your show just gets too mushy.
Fringe
For characters who are way smarter than I am, they should have figured out before me that two universes were blending together. They did not, but I guess the writers had to drag it out a little for dramatic purposes. It was a cool episode, though, and the ending with Olivia raises some interesting questions. For instance, if Peter's Olivia is blending into this one, does that mean both will be destroyed? If not, will he even want to go home if he has Olivia back? Or are other things/people going to follow suit?
Saturday Night Live
I don't always watch SNL, and I never write about it, but I'll make an exception because this week it was hosted by my future wife Zooey Deschanel. Now there are times when some of the hosts (probably more often the female ones) get stuck playing the straight man while the cast has all the fun playing their wacky recurring characters, but I was glad to see them allowing Zooey to be funny, because she does have that comedic talent. I don't understand the appeal of those "Les Jeunes de Paris" sketches. I've seen them do it a few times, and I get the references to French culture and French cinema, I just don't see how it is potent as a comedy sketch. Abby Elliot's Zooey impression was fairly good, as was Zooey's Mary Kate Olsen impression, and Taran Killam's Michael Cera impression had the perfect enunciation, but was about three octaves too high. I'm not sure if the squeaky voice was a joke or if for some reason he just can't do it any lower. Bill Hader's Clint Eastwood is also great, but most of his impressions are. I was excited by the return of the technology humping sketch, because it was my favourite part of the last Emma Stone episode. It wasn't as good as the first time, but I enjoy that it can be so filthy while also remaining completely G-rated. The crab sketch was, like the content of it, a predictable build-up to pretty much nothing, and while I liked the fast-talking 1940's sketch, its ending felt weird and abrupt - or, in other words, non-existent. But overall it was a decent episode; I've seen far worse. And we even got a surprise cameo from Nicolas Cage!
Hero of the Week: Zooey Deschanel on Saturday Night Live, for not being the unfunny one in ANY of the sketches.
Douchebag of the Week: Coach Roz from Glee, because there's only one Sue Sylvester.
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