What Happened, Yo!:
-Lucas converses with Weaver, leader of the mercenary group they're sending in to take the colony. They have the best army money can buy and they are ready to move.
-Taylor prepares the colony for the arrival of either new colonists or an army bent on destroying them. With Washington guarding the camp, Jim and Taylor brace themselves for new arrivals.
-The first few people to come through are colonists, including Kara (Josh's girlfriend), who Jim goes to take care of. When all of a sudden...
-A guy with a bomb strapped to his chest comes through the portal, explodes, and everything gets crazy!
-Jim is knocked to the ground and comes to 3 days later. He learns that when the portal on this side exploded, it re-opened much closer to the colony allowing the Phoenix Group to come through unimpeded. 26 Colonists died before Washington surrendered and Taylor is M.I.A. Kara died at some point in the struggle.
-Jim visits a despondent Washington and assures her she did the only thing she could do. She tells him that the Terminus (the device that makes the portal go both ways) was broken by Carno's and Malcolm has been put to work fixing it.
-Malcolm is fixing the device, because they killed his assistant when he refused, but he is working as slow as he can. When the soldiers come to question Jim, they pretend he was rendered deaf and brain damaged in the explosion.
-When dead Phoenix soldiers start showing up, Jim and Elizabeth realize that Taylor has etched co-ordinates to his location on the bullets.
-Lucas forgives Skye for warning Taylor, and claims she is his sister (figuratively).
-Jim sneaks out of the colony and sees Weaver, Lucas, and company planning to blow up an area full of greenery, so they can strip mine for all it's worth.
-Jim meets up with Taylor, Reynolds, and other soliders and they proceed to deactivate one of these bombs
-Taylor gives Jim a special communicator, and Jim begins alerting Taylor's rebels to roving groups of Phoenix soldiers who get attacked and killed over the process of several days.
-Later at the bar, Lucas begins making creepy advances on Skye. So Josh (Who's been working there again to get information) punches him out.
-Lucas freaks out and prepares to make an example out of Josh, but Jim has been tipped off by Skye and comes to the rescue. Unfortunately, this means giving up his shell-shocked act and getting arrested.
-In the brig, Josh forgives his father for punching out the population control officer so long ago,
-Skye gets Josh released but Jim must stay behind to get tortured.
-Lucas reveals that the reason he hates his father is that in Somalia, when the rebels took the city, they lined up all the innocents to be executed and forced each soldier to choose one to save. Taylor picked Lucas and has supposedly blamed him for it ever since.
-Elizabeth injects Weaver with what she says is a lethal dose of a dangerous paradise, and won't cure him until he frees Jim.
-He helps get Jim out, but Elizabeth reveals that she was bluffing, that he's a hypochondriac, and that the "cure" she's injected into him is a sedative.
-The Shannons meet up with Washington, who is going to give them a chance to get out of the colony and meet up with Taylor's troops. She gives Jim a message for Taylor and then causes havoc.
-As Taylor and company rescue the Shannon family, Taylor watches Wash get executed by Lucas for not telling where Taylor is (Her last words are a comment on how Lucas has his mothers eyes).
-At the camp, Washington's death is mourned. Jim passes along her message, which turns out to be advice to blow up Hope Plaza. It means cutting them off from a future, but it'll give them more of a chance against the Phoenix Group, than they'd have if more soldiers were able to come through the portal.
-As Jim knows Hope Plaza best, he is elected to go back to the future, smuggled in through a Phoenix shipment, and blow up a bomb.
-Skye distracts Lucas, giving the rebels their chance to sneak Jim and something else through the portal.
-I forget when this happened, but at some point, Weaver sent Mira to the Badlands where they found something interesting.
-After Jim goes to the future, Malcolm (whose fixed the Terminus at this point) secretly breaks it again, so nothing else can come through the future.
-Lucas gets away from Skye and sets off to warn the Phoenix Group. Taylor heads after him.
-In the future, Weaver talks with his superiors, as Jim sneaks out of his crate. Weaver opens the crate of what they found in the badlands, but instead of what's supposed to be in there, they find an angry Carnosaurus!
-While the Carno is killing people, Jim plants the bomb and prepares his escape
-Jim confronts Lucas, who claims he only wants his father's forgiveness and breaks down. Then, when Taylor embraces him, Lucas stabs him in the back. He prepares to stab him again, when Skye shows up and shoots Lucas twice.
-Weaver attempts to prevent Jim's escape only to get eaten by the Carno because he wasn't paying attention.
-Jim outruns the Carno on an exploding bridge and jumps through the portal! That part was awesome.
-Skye is so busy helping Taylor, she doesn't notice that a seemingly dead Lucas has disappeared until it's too late.
-Jim returns triumphantly and Taylor gets word that the Phoenix Group has all left and are heading towards the badlands.
-They open the crate from the badlands that was supposed to go to the future and discover a prow from an 18th century ship. Mysterious!
-Everyone returns home to Terra Nova. At night the Shannons all gather to watch a meteor shower.
-The End! For now.
I Liked This: Oh, man. Before I talk about anything else, I just have to bring it up again: Jim running away from a Carnosaur on an exploding bridge! Holy crap, that was awesome! I liked everything involving the Carnosaur in the future, but that was the best part. Anways, this was a great, action-packed finale and a good way to close the season. I liked the introduction of the Phoenix Group, who proved to be formidable threatening antagonists and should continue to do so if the show is renewed for a second season. I also liked Jim getting taking out of commission for a few days, so we could jump right ahead to a Phoenix-controlled Terra Nova. Josh was actually a likeable character this week, and I liked him finally forgiving his dad for punching out the population control guy way back when. I also liked that his girlfriend comes through the portal only to die, like almost immediately, even though it renders that whole storyline with him stealing medicine somewhat pointless. It's effective.
Speaking of effective death's, Washington's was a sad one, but I liked how it was handled and how her sacrifice ultimately leads to the destruction of Hope Plaza and Terra Nova getting cut off from the future (A cool development by the way). I already mentioned the Phoenix Group, but I really liked Weaver as the central antagonist of the finale. I was almost sad to see him get munched on by a dinosaur. I am glad that Lucas is apparently still alive, though. He's a fantastic character, and just as I was getting disappointed that his conflict with Taylor seemed to be resolved so fast, he goes and stabs the old man in the back. I also enjoyed his creepy fascination with Skye, and her character made up for being underused for much of the season. I also liked the introduction of the prow from the badlands, which brings up brand new issues, mysteries, and ideas for a potential season 2 to work with.
With all this stuff, and probably even more that I'm forgetting to mention, this was an incredibly effective Finale and probably the highlight of the season.
But...: Mira was really underused in the finale. We didn't get to see her menace any of our main characters at all, though she'll probably be back with a vengeance if season 2 happens, now that she's forever cut off from the future. And as well done as it was, I found some things in this episode predictable, which is a bit unfortunate. I called the portal being destroyed the moment they introduced the idea that that could happen last week.
The Bottom Line: Great Finale! Here's hoping for a season 2!
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-Dinosaur Scene Count: 3, but the last two scenes were Carnosaur scenes and those were awesome!
-Best Dinosaur Moment: I've already mentioned this but I'll mention it again. Carnotaur chasing Jim across an exploding bridge!!!
-This Week in Adorableness: Zoe's whole scene with Taylor.
-Well, That Was Stupid: Weaver, how did you forget that you had to be on the lookout for a freaking Dinosaur that just killed all the guys you work for?!
-Oh, and I liked the fake-out with it looking like Maddy and Reynolds were about to get attacked, only for Jim to walk in on them instead.
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Monday 19 December 2011
Survivor: South Pacific: Loyalties Will Be Broken
Oh, man. Last night another season of Survivor drew to a close as Sophie (my pick for winner) sunk to her lowest ebb with a tribal council breakdown, then recovered from it to beat Ozzy, become the new Dragonslayer, vote Ozzy out, and go on to beat Coach to obtain a million dollars. Because of the lateness of this, I'm not really going to get into much detail about the final 2 hours of the show. But they helped cement this season as a great one with plenty of fascinating characters and happenings. I guess I can pick out several moments I enjoyed specifically.
-Ozzy's reaction when he learns how Brandon got blind-sided.
-Sophie shouting at Albert to drop his stack and help her beat Ozzy.
-Ozzy causing Sophie to meltdown at Tribal. I enjoyed this because it showed a more vulnerable side to Sophie than we had previously seen, and it makes it easier to cheer her on after her victory.
-The restoration of the Albert/Sophie/Coach alliance was nice to see, after it had apparently been destroyed last episode.
-The final immunity challenge which seemed to be gearing us for another Ozzy victory, before Sophie overtakes him on the puzzle and wins it.
-Sophie getting crowned as the new Dragon Slayer for defeating the dragon known as Ozzy.
-Coach ultimately not taking Ozzy to the end, like he had previously implied and voting him off.
-Ozzy's squeal of joy after being voted off.
-The final tribal council. Specifically:
-Rick not giving Albert the chance to defend himself.
-Jim telling Albert if he tried to compliment Coach or Sophie before pointing out their flaws, he would instantly lose the vote. Albert goes on to compliment... Jim.
-Sophie saying she saw Coach as a young girl she could take to the end.
-Brandon insisting that Albert give him a Yes/No answer on if he knew Brandon was going home.
-Edna being surprisingly calm and levelheaded for her turn at bat.
-Brandon's reaction after Sophie reveals the idol deception.
-Sophie winning.
-I liked Russell's appearance at the reunion show too.
So that's it for South Pacific. I'm incredibly excited for the idea of Survivor: One World, which opens the doors for tons of new strategic possibilities. I might do something different than 5 Things I Enjoyed... for One World. We'll have to see.
And that's it for now.
-Ozzy's reaction when he learns how Brandon got blind-sided.
-Sophie shouting at Albert to drop his stack and help her beat Ozzy.
-Ozzy causing Sophie to meltdown at Tribal. I enjoyed this because it showed a more vulnerable side to Sophie than we had previously seen, and it makes it easier to cheer her on after her victory.
-The restoration of the Albert/Sophie/Coach alliance was nice to see, after it had apparently been destroyed last episode.
-The final immunity challenge which seemed to be gearing us for another Ozzy victory, before Sophie overtakes him on the puzzle and wins it.
-Sophie getting crowned as the new Dragon Slayer for defeating the dragon known as Ozzy.
-Coach ultimately not taking Ozzy to the end, like he had previously implied and voting him off.
-Ozzy's squeal of joy after being voted off.
-The final tribal council. Specifically:
-Rick not giving Albert the chance to defend himself.
-Jim telling Albert if he tried to compliment Coach or Sophie before pointing out their flaws, he would instantly lose the vote. Albert goes on to compliment... Jim.
-Sophie saying she saw Coach as a young girl she could take to the end.
-Brandon insisting that Albert give him a Yes/No answer on if he knew Brandon was going home.
-Edna being surprisingly calm and levelheaded for her turn at bat.
-Brandon's reaction after Sophie reveals the idol deception.
-Sophie winning.
-I liked Russell's appearance at the reunion show too.
So that's it for South Pacific. I'm incredibly excited for the idea of Survivor: One World, which opens the doors for tons of new strategic possibilities. I might do something different than 5 Things I Enjoyed... for One World. We'll have to see.
And that's it for now.
Thursday 15 December 2011
5 Things I Enjoyed About Survivor: South Pacific: And Then There Were Five
Holy Crap! After a few predictable episodes of no one making big moves, this game just got interesting again as I was truly unsure over who was going home tonight right up to Jeff Probst revealing the name of Brandon (Though in retrospect, I probably shouldn't have been). Man, what a stupid move (Does believing it's God's will give him a better excuse than Eric when he did it in Fans Vs. Favorites?). However, it did make the last half of the episode incredibly unpredictable and made for possibly the best episode all season. Man, I'm excited for what's next. And although it was hard to choose, I still came up with... 5 Things I Enjoyed About Survivor: South Pacific: And Then There Were Five
1. Allegiances Revealed: Coach mentions at the beginning that true alliances are about to be revealed and that definitely came to be true. Seeing them together for a lot of the season, I had assumed that Albert and Sophie were allies and in an alliance together. But as the episode opens, Albert is convinced Sophie will be the next to go, because he thinks she's too dangerous. He plans to go to the finals with Coach (the cult leader) and Rick (Mr. Do Nothing). However, it turns out he's been keeping it tight with Brandon too. And Sophie's not too fond of Albert either. But she's after Brandon, and gets Coach (Who is dismissive of Albert's plans, calling it jealousy) and Rick onboard. What could go wrong?
2. Worst Case Scenario: Brandon Wins Immunity: Going into the challenge, I had a feeling that Brandon was going to win. I tried to shake it off, but sure enough he won the challenge. Suddenly certainty flies out the window for a second. At this point, Sophie and Coach decide to go for Albert. So while Brandon (and reward choice Rick) are enjoying pizza, Sophie informs them of her intentions (Though Albert is highly suspicious of her), which leads to Brandon finding out that the final 3 deal Albert has given him is apparently a lie. Which leads to...
3. Everybody Hates Albert: As Sophie watches in quiet triumph, Brandon, Rick, and Albert have a big argument over whether or not Albert has been lying. This makes it more and more likely that Albert will leave, but it's also really entertaining to watch Albert's plans blow up in his face. If the show had gone the "Vote Out Albert" route, I'd still be satisfied with this episode. But Albert is smart enough to do damage control and gets Brandon back on his side. And suddenly...
4. Brandon Does What?!: Oh, man. When Albert came over to do damage control on Brandon, I was unsure whether or not it'd work. You never know with Brandon. What I wasn't expecting was Brandon deciding to give up his immunity necklace to Albert, without knowing who Coach was going to vote for (Again, as I watched it, I should've realized he was going to vote Brandon, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he had voted for Sophie). Brandon ultimately turned out to be too loyal for his own good (which has plagued him all his life). Though maybe he can beat Ozzy and come back.
5. Pressure's On Albert: The whole tribal council was crazy to watch (and I loved the jury's reactions throughout), but I enjoyed when Probst put the pressure on Albert and asked if he was willing to give the idol back to Brandon. Albert clearly didn't want to, so he just said some things about not needing to because he's confident Brandon was safe. Oh, Albert. This episode has really killed your chances of winning the game. But it was so good.
Can't wait for Sunday!
1. Allegiances Revealed: Coach mentions at the beginning that true alliances are about to be revealed and that definitely came to be true. Seeing them together for a lot of the season, I had assumed that Albert and Sophie were allies and in an alliance together. But as the episode opens, Albert is convinced Sophie will be the next to go, because he thinks she's too dangerous. He plans to go to the finals with Coach (the cult leader) and Rick (Mr. Do Nothing). However, it turns out he's been keeping it tight with Brandon too. And Sophie's not too fond of Albert either. But she's after Brandon, and gets Coach (Who is dismissive of Albert's plans, calling it jealousy) and Rick onboard. What could go wrong?
2. Worst Case Scenario: Brandon Wins Immunity: Going into the challenge, I had a feeling that Brandon was going to win. I tried to shake it off, but sure enough he won the challenge. Suddenly certainty flies out the window for a second. At this point, Sophie and Coach decide to go for Albert. So while Brandon (and reward choice Rick) are enjoying pizza, Sophie informs them of her intentions (Though Albert is highly suspicious of her), which leads to Brandon finding out that the final 3 deal Albert has given him is apparently a lie. Which leads to...
3. Everybody Hates Albert: As Sophie watches in quiet triumph, Brandon, Rick, and Albert have a big argument over whether or not Albert has been lying. This makes it more and more likely that Albert will leave, but it's also really entertaining to watch Albert's plans blow up in his face. If the show had gone the "Vote Out Albert" route, I'd still be satisfied with this episode. But Albert is smart enough to do damage control and gets Brandon back on his side. And suddenly...
4. Brandon Does What?!: Oh, man. When Albert came over to do damage control on Brandon, I was unsure whether or not it'd work. You never know with Brandon. What I wasn't expecting was Brandon deciding to give up his immunity necklace to Albert, without knowing who Coach was going to vote for (Again, as I watched it, I should've realized he was going to vote Brandon, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he had voted for Sophie). Brandon ultimately turned out to be too loyal for his own good (which has plagued him all his life). Though maybe he can beat Ozzy and come back.
5. Pressure's On Albert: The whole tribal council was crazy to watch (and I loved the jury's reactions throughout), but I enjoyed when Probst put the pressure on Albert and asked if he was willing to give the idol back to Brandon. Albert clearly didn't want to, so he just said some things about not needing to because he's confident Brandon was safe. Oh, Albert. This episode has really killed your chances of winning the game. But it was so good.
Can't wait for Sunday!
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Glee: Extraordinary Merry Christmas
What Happened, Yo!:
-It's Christmas time and the New Directions are decorating and singing and stuff.
-Rory is homesick because his family can't come out to see him for Christmas. He sings a sad song about it, but the group finds it too depressing.
-They decide they want to have a much happier Christmas than last year (Which wasn't as depressing as they want you to think.)
-Sue has decided to give something back, after a rather hard year by helping out at the local homeless shelter and wants the Glee Club to come spread Glee to them. They decide to do it.
-Sam bonds with Rory over homesickness and decides to be his Holiday Sponsor, showing him the spirit of Christmas in the west.
-A local network has lost the rights to the yuletide log and needs an hour to fill, so the Station Manager (who saw Sectionals) wants the Glee Club to put on a holiday special.
-Artie is chosen to direct and he wants to pay homage to the greatest holiday special of all time (The Star Wars Holiday Special) and shoot it in black and white like The Judy Garland Christmas Special.
-Artie wants to keep the tone light and make it all about fun.
-The club learns that Sue's homeless thing is the same night as the special. They're a bit regretful about it, but they want to be on TV. Sam and Quinn decide to help Sue though.
-The Special comes on and it's two acts worth of songs, bad jokes, and black and white goodness.
-Towards the end, Rory shows up as Itchy the Christmas Elf, and reads from the Christmas story, reminding them the true spirit of what the holiday is about.
-With the special being cut short by a last second agreement with the Yuletide Log people anyways, the newly enspirited Glee Club goes to the homeless shelter (which they were still hoping to do anyway) and helps out with a song.
-Meanwhile, Rachel gives Finn an approved list of things she wants him to get her for Christmas.
-When he sponsors a South African Pig for her, she rejects the gift, so he agrees to get her something else.
-After their experience with the special, Rachel accepts the gift of the pig, but Finn has gotten her two additional gifts: a star named Finn Hudson (because there's already a star named Rachel Berry.) and beautiful earrings.
-Rachel is overwhelmed and decides she has too much good in her life, so she and Finn go volunteer with Sam, Rory, and Salvation Army.
-Happy Holidays!
I Liked This...: Extraordinary Merry Christmas packed a whole lot of holiday cheer into it. I'm a sucker for Christmas songs and lots were packed into this episode (Arguably a little too much, but we'll talk about that shortly.), which I mostly enjoyed. There was also the typical amount of entertaining lines and such. What mainly worked for the episode though was the special itself. A perfect parody of cheesy Christmas Specials, I was delighted by every minute of it. Really, if the special took up the whole episode, I would be giving this Glee an extremely high grade. I'm also glad that the show is following up on Artie's directing dreams, which were kind of brushed to the side for most of the West Side Story Arc.
But...: With 9 songs in this episode, Extraordinary Merry Christmas felt a little overstuffed. They definitely could've cut one or two songs out and fit in a little more plot. And while I could appreciate the main message of the episode (Help others less fortunate than you. Especially at Christmas), it kind of felt generic and tacked on, like the writers couldn't think of a good plot outside of the special, so they dug into a metaphorical book of old Television Stand-By's. Not saying that promoting helping the less fortunate this time of year is a bad thing. Just wishing it could've been handled in a more creative way.
Warning: Some viewers of Glee may have never heard of The Star Wars Holiday Special. So when Artie talks about it being the greatest holiday special of all time, they may have taken that to heart and attempt to search it out. Do not by any means watch The Star Wars Holiday Special. It is awful. Sometimes so bad it's good, and there is one cool sequence with Boba Fett, but that is no reason to watch it. Trust me. Once you watch The Star Wars Holiday Special, you can never go back to that blissful period of unawareness. So Do. Not. Watch.
The Bottom Line: Despite relying on some old Stand-Bys to do it's storytelling, and despite promoting the Star Wars Holiday Special, Glee delivers a very gleeful Christmas episode this year to end the year on a nice note. Hopefully the show can get even better in 2012.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Random Plot Point Reference/Re-Emergence Alert: Last year's Christmas episode is referenced in the beginning and we finally find out what happened to Artie's magic legs: they broke the next day.
-Best Musical Number: Hard to pick. I like most of these songs. Probably All I Want For Christmas Is You. Or maybe Let It Snow.
-Worst Musical Number: My Favorite Things, simply because I'm not sure how that's a Christmas Song in any sense of the word.
-This Week In Semi-Offensive Jokes I Found Hysterical: Station Manager: "I am absolutely delighted that our network's Christmas Special is being directed by a teenage disabled boy. You're like a modern day Tiny Tim. (Artie wheels around and looks at him.) Oh. I am sorry. Tiny Tim could walk."
-Also, where was Sugar? I took her presense with Mercedes and company at the end of last episode as a sign that she was joining New Directions, but she was a no-show this week. I noticed her in the promo for January's Yes/No, so where was she this week?
-Best part of the special. Blaine (To Finn and Puck): "Say, are you dressed as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo?" Finn: "No. That's copyright infringement. Any resemblence to Star Wars Characters is completely coincidental".
-It's Christmas time and the New Directions are decorating and singing and stuff.
-Rory is homesick because his family can't come out to see him for Christmas. He sings a sad song about it, but the group finds it too depressing.
-They decide they want to have a much happier Christmas than last year (Which wasn't as depressing as they want you to think.)
-Sue has decided to give something back, after a rather hard year by helping out at the local homeless shelter and wants the Glee Club to come spread Glee to them. They decide to do it.
-Sam bonds with Rory over homesickness and decides to be his Holiday Sponsor, showing him the spirit of Christmas in the west.
-A local network has lost the rights to the yuletide log and needs an hour to fill, so the Station Manager (who saw Sectionals) wants the Glee Club to put on a holiday special.
-Artie is chosen to direct and he wants to pay homage to the greatest holiday special of all time (The Star Wars Holiday Special) and shoot it in black and white like The Judy Garland Christmas Special.
-Artie wants to keep the tone light and make it all about fun.
-The club learns that Sue's homeless thing is the same night as the special. They're a bit regretful about it, but they want to be on TV. Sam and Quinn decide to help Sue though.
-The Special comes on and it's two acts worth of songs, bad jokes, and black and white goodness.
-Towards the end, Rory shows up as Itchy the Christmas Elf, and reads from the Christmas story, reminding them the true spirit of what the holiday is about.
-With the special being cut short by a last second agreement with the Yuletide Log people anyways, the newly enspirited Glee Club goes to the homeless shelter (which they were still hoping to do anyway) and helps out with a song.
-Meanwhile, Rachel gives Finn an approved list of things she wants him to get her for Christmas.
-When he sponsors a South African Pig for her, she rejects the gift, so he agrees to get her something else.
-After their experience with the special, Rachel accepts the gift of the pig, but Finn has gotten her two additional gifts: a star named Finn Hudson (because there's already a star named Rachel Berry.) and beautiful earrings.
-Rachel is overwhelmed and decides she has too much good in her life, so she and Finn go volunteer with Sam, Rory, and Salvation Army.
-Happy Holidays!
I Liked This...: Extraordinary Merry Christmas packed a whole lot of holiday cheer into it. I'm a sucker for Christmas songs and lots were packed into this episode (Arguably a little too much, but we'll talk about that shortly.), which I mostly enjoyed. There was also the typical amount of entertaining lines and such. What mainly worked for the episode though was the special itself. A perfect parody of cheesy Christmas Specials, I was delighted by every minute of it. Really, if the special took up the whole episode, I would be giving this Glee an extremely high grade. I'm also glad that the show is following up on Artie's directing dreams, which were kind of brushed to the side for most of the West Side Story Arc.
But...: With 9 songs in this episode, Extraordinary Merry Christmas felt a little overstuffed. They definitely could've cut one or two songs out and fit in a little more plot. And while I could appreciate the main message of the episode (Help others less fortunate than you. Especially at Christmas), it kind of felt generic and tacked on, like the writers couldn't think of a good plot outside of the special, so they dug into a metaphorical book of old Television Stand-By's. Not saying that promoting helping the less fortunate this time of year is a bad thing. Just wishing it could've been handled in a more creative way.
Warning: Some viewers of Glee may have never heard of The Star Wars Holiday Special. So when Artie talks about it being the greatest holiday special of all time, they may have taken that to heart and attempt to search it out. Do not by any means watch The Star Wars Holiday Special. It is awful. Sometimes so bad it's good, and there is one cool sequence with Boba Fett, but that is no reason to watch it. Trust me. Once you watch The Star Wars Holiday Special, you can never go back to that blissful period of unawareness. So Do. Not. Watch.
The Bottom Line: Despite relying on some old Stand-Bys to do it's storytelling, and despite promoting the Star Wars Holiday Special, Glee delivers a very gleeful Christmas episode this year to end the year on a nice note. Hopefully the show can get even better in 2012.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Random Plot Point Reference/Re-Emergence Alert: Last year's Christmas episode is referenced in the beginning and we finally find out what happened to Artie's magic legs: they broke the next day.
-Best Musical Number: Hard to pick. I like most of these songs. Probably All I Want For Christmas Is You. Or maybe Let It Snow.
-Worst Musical Number: My Favorite Things, simply because I'm not sure how that's a Christmas Song in any sense of the word.
-This Week In Semi-Offensive Jokes I Found Hysterical: Station Manager: "I am absolutely delighted that our network's Christmas Special is being directed by a teenage disabled boy. You're like a modern day Tiny Tim. (Artie wheels around and looks at him.) Oh. I am sorry. Tiny Tim could walk."
-Also, where was Sugar? I took her presense with Mercedes and company at the end of last episode as a sign that she was joining New Directions, but she was a no-show this week. I noticed her in the promo for January's Yes/No, so where was she this week?
-Best part of the special. Blaine (To Finn and Puck): "Say, are you dressed as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo?" Finn: "No. That's copyright infringement. Any resemblence to Star Wars Characters is completely coincidental".
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Terra Nova: Within
What Happened, Yo!:
-We get an establishing shot with Dinosaurs and then no more Dinosaurs for the rest of the episode. Oh well.
-With the 11th Pilgrimage upon them, and the imminent threat of Lucas being close to finishing his calculations, Taylor is increasing secuirty near the portal. He also informs Jim that the portal was built to control where new colonists would come out.
-Jim is interviewing all the girls with access to the med centre. Skye claims that she was playing chess with Josh. She later tells Josh to cover for her, saying she was actually swiping some copper or something.
-Skye is still spying and is leaving the colony through a secret access gate. She finds herself having to do some work for Lucas, who threatens to kill her mother if she doesn't help him. He also does some crazy ranting.
-Jim finds out through secuirty footage near the route Skye uses that Skye is probably the traitor. He confronts Josh, who reveals he was in fact lying.
-Taylor is naturally angry about this, but rather than striaght-up arrest her, they feed her information about a convoy.
-Skye the spy goes to The Eye and gets the last bit of info Lucas needs.
-When the convoy isn't attacked by Sixers, Jim deduces that she isn't feeding Mira any information that could hurt the colony.
-They also figure out that she's been using hacked maintenance cards to access an old power station.
-Skye is threatened by Mira for not telling them about the convoy.
-Skye gives Lucas what he needs, and he tells her that thanks to her, his work is complete and he can make the portal go both ways. He tells her never to go back to Terra Nova, because his employers will be shortly coming to destroy it.
-Skye breaks down to her mother (who was unaware of Skye's activities as a spy.). Her mother tells her to go back and confess everything she knows and not to worry about her anymore.
-Skye approaches Taylor and Jim, who are at their station. She tries to warn them about Lucas, but Taylor is too angry to believe that she's telling the truth again. Until she mentions a specific day in August 2138, that Lucas had mentioned during his rantings.
-Lucas approaches the portal and uses it to take out all the guards nearby, who are unwarned due to a garbled transmission.
-Lucas waits for Taylor to show up, stands close to the portal so they can't shoot him (shooting the portal will cut them off from 2149 forever), rants about winning and heads back to the future.
-Skye learns that Curran has recovered her mom from the Sixers, along with some of her medicine. This means the Terra Nova doctors will be able to copy it, and her mom will be fine.
-Taylor organizes the colony, asks for their assistance, and then prepares for WAR!
-Meanwhile, Maddy's Flex blows a core and she goes on a filler adventure to get a new one, because her whole life was on it.
I Liked This: Within was pretty much all about setting the stage for next weeks 2-hour finale and resolving the Skye spy story, but it did it all well. We got to see lots of Lucas, who is proving to be a fascinating antagonist. I liked that we also now know the basic reason why Lucas hates Taylor so. Hopefully, we'll get more background on how Taylor is responsible for his wife's death next week. The episode resolved Skye's storyline well enough and Taylor's reaction to her was well done, knowing what we already know about their relationship. And Curran's storyline paid off too, which was good to see.
But...: What was the point of Maddy's storyline this week? Unless it somehow ties in to the finale next week (which I kind of doubt), it's just pure filler. It wasn't that bad, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about some random subplot with Maddy at this point in the game. Sorry, Maddy.
The Bottom Line: Within does a good job setting the stage for what's bound to be an action packed finale next week.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Dinosaur Scene Count: 1.
-Finale Predictions/Guessing: So, now that Lucas has told them that shooting at the portal will cut them off from the future, I'm guessing that they shoot at the portal at some point in the finale. Also, either Washington, Reynolds, or Skye will die. I also predict lots of crazy dinosaur action.
-Liked the origin behind Skye's mother's pet name for Skye: Bucket. Adorable.
-Lucas is overdramatic when it comes to his relationship with Taylor. “The two of us, we suffer from a Shakespearean relationship that borders on Greek tragedy.”
-We get an establishing shot with Dinosaurs and then no more Dinosaurs for the rest of the episode. Oh well.
-With the 11th Pilgrimage upon them, and the imminent threat of Lucas being close to finishing his calculations, Taylor is increasing secuirty near the portal. He also informs Jim that the portal was built to control where new colonists would come out.
-Jim is interviewing all the girls with access to the med centre. Skye claims that she was playing chess with Josh. She later tells Josh to cover for her, saying she was actually swiping some copper or something.
-Skye is still spying and is leaving the colony through a secret access gate. She finds herself having to do some work for Lucas, who threatens to kill her mother if she doesn't help him. He also does some crazy ranting.
-Jim finds out through secuirty footage near the route Skye uses that Skye is probably the traitor. He confronts Josh, who reveals he was in fact lying.
-Taylor is naturally angry about this, but rather than striaght-up arrest her, they feed her information about a convoy.
-Skye the spy goes to The Eye and gets the last bit of info Lucas needs.
-When the convoy isn't attacked by Sixers, Jim deduces that she isn't feeding Mira any information that could hurt the colony.
-They also figure out that she's been using hacked maintenance cards to access an old power station.
-Skye is threatened by Mira for not telling them about the convoy.
-Skye gives Lucas what he needs, and he tells her that thanks to her, his work is complete and he can make the portal go both ways. He tells her never to go back to Terra Nova, because his employers will be shortly coming to destroy it.
-Skye breaks down to her mother (who was unaware of Skye's activities as a spy.). Her mother tells her to go back and confess everything she knows and not to worry about her anymore.
-Skye approaches Taylor and Jim, who are at their station. She tries to warn them about Lucas, but Taylor is too angry to believe that she's telling the truth again. Until she mentions a specific day in August 2138, that Lucas had mentioned during his rantings.
-Lucas approaches the portal and uses it to take out all the guards nearby, who are unwarned due to a garbled transmission.
-Lucas waits for Taylor to show up, stands close to the portal so they can't shoot him (shooting the portal will cut them off from 2149 forever), rants about winning and heads back to the future.
-Skye learns that Curran has recovered her mom from the Sixers, along with some of her medicine. This means the Terra Nova doctors will be able to copy it, and her mom will be fine.
-Taylor organizes the colony, asks for their assistance, and then prepares for WAR!
-Meanwhile, Maddy's Flex blows a core and she goes on a filler adventure to get a new one, because her whole life was on it.
I Liked This: Within was pretty much all about setting the stage for next weeks 2-hour finale and resolving the Skye spy story, but it did it all well. We got to see lots of Lucas, who is proving to be a fascinating antagonist. I liked that we also now know the basic reason why Lucas hates Taylor so. Hopefully, we'll get more background on how Taylor is responsible for his wife's death next week. The episode resolved Skye's storyline well enough and Taylor's reaction to her was well done, knowing what we already know about their relationship. And Curran's storyline paid off too, which was good to see.
But...: What was the point of Maddy's storyline this week? Unless it somehow ties in to the finale next week (which I kind of doubt), it's just pure filler. It wasn't that bad, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about some random subplot with Maddy at this point in the game. Sorry, Maddy.
The Bottom Line: Within does a good job setting the stage for what's bound to be an action packed finale next week.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Dinosaur Scene Count: 1.
-Finale Predictions/Guessing: So, now that Lucas has told them that shooting at the portal will cut them off from the future, I'm guessing that they shoot at the portal at some point in the finale. Also, either Washington, Reynolds, or Skye will die. I also predict lots of crazy dinosaur action.
-Liked the origin behind Skye's mother's pet name for Skye: Bucket. Adorable.
-Lucas is overdramatic when it comes to his relationship with Taylor. “The two of us, we suffer from a Shakespearean relationship that borders on Greek tragedy.”
Monday 12 December 2011
Memorable Moments: The Simpsons: Holidays of Future Passed
Quicky Opinion: Holidays of Future Passed was a future episode and a Christmas episode all wrapped up in one. And a great one at that. There was multiple storylines, all of which had a good amount of humour and heart. This is definitely one of the best Future episodes the show has done. Maybe even as good as Lisa's Wedding from season 6. Maybe. Quicky Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-Grandpa is dressed as Santa for Christmas Card photos. "I'm Santa?! Ohh, now I'll never die".
-Last years Christmas Card with the pets dressed as Reindeer didn't go so well. Cut to a photo of Homer getting attacked by the pets in antlers.
-Homer prepares to see It's A Wonderful Life. "I wonder what my life would be like if I never saw that movie".
-Merry Christmas From The Simpsons... And A Tranquil New Year From Lisa The Budhist.
-The montage of Christmas Cards to show the passage of time was great. I liked how Bart went from having a State College banner to a Flunked Out banner by the next year. Also the Christmas Card of Bart getting kicked out of the house.
-Bart is divorced from his girlfriend from the previous future episode
-Skinner: "You're two weeks late on the rent Bart. Not to mention that Geography report from 30 years ago".
-In the future people can transport and hear thoughts.
-Lisa: "This is a tough time of year for someone who is allergic to Holly, Mistletoe, the red part of Candy Canes..."
-St. Beatles Cathedral
-Once again, the show finds a way to keep Maggie from talking, even when she's the lead singer in a rock band. Computer Doctor: "Everything looks great Maggie, but until this baby comes, I don't want you to make a sound".
-Homer: "Oh, Marge. How would you like to have some Future Sex?" Marge: "Why do you say future? This is now". Homer: "I meant a week from now. That's when the new penis gets here."
-In the future, people recieve B-Mail. Messages sent to their brain. Including spam and viruses.
-Homer carries a top hat, red scarf, carrot, and pipe because he likes to dress up to eat his carrot and smoke.
-Homer: "Who wants to go to the park and go to the Merry-Go-Nowhere?!"
-Ned: "That's why when Homer killed Edna, I married Maude's ghost!" Ghost Maude: "There is no God, Ned! It's just a meaningless void." Ned: "Heheh. Isn't she pretty?"
-Future Air Travel. Also great.
-Christmas Cookie Recipes come in pill form now. You still have to make the actual cookies yourself though.
-Lisa: "Sometimes I wish strangling your kid is still legal." Marge: "Not since they passed Homer's Law."
-Homer and Bart's kids take advantage of a futuristic battle at the Kwik-E-Mart to get free Squishees. Cyborg Snake. Also funny.
-Kearney: "Computer, hospital". Cut to the cab arriving at the computer hospital.
-The stars are used to advertise now.
-Treehouse: "Our consciousness was a secret for thousands of years. Then one Pine Tree had to open his sappy mouth". Bart: "Back in position!"
-The hospital is next to the Monty Burns Institute for Soul Extraction.
-Hospital Attendant: "Im sorry. There's no roo at the in... patient facility". Kearny: "Lady this is Maggie Simpson. She just played a sold-out show in Beijing!" H.A: "Hmmm, a star in the east? Let me see. We do have a little room in the manger... I mean mangier wing.
-Marge: "People learn from their mistakes. And your father made SO many mistakes".
-Selma's Lovebot: "Even a robot built only to love you cannot love you. I am leaving with your sister's Compudroid."
-In place of an epidural, Maggie gets a pacifier, which is said to be even more effective.
-Apu and Manjula's Octuplets also had Octuplets. Go figure.
-Apu believes a cow is the reincarnation of his dead brother Sanjay. It's actually a mongoose that died 600 years ago, but Apu doesn't know that.
-Lisa: "Sometimes a mother's job IS to butt in!" Marge: "Lisa?" Lisa: "Butt out!"
-Martin Prince is now Marsha Princess.
-Lisa: "Google! Even though you've enslaved half the world, you're still a damn fine search engine."
-Ralph: "Hey Bart!" Bart: "Hey Ralph. I heard you died." Ralph: "I got cloneded." He promptly shoots himself accidentally, causing a new clone to take over. That Ralph gets run over by a truck driven by another Ralph who drives into a building, exploding and revealing the cargo was even more Ralphs who are all on fire.
-Bart goes to Moes: "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit!" Moe: "Yeah, I keep meaning to change this place around, but it's always a crime scene". Cut to chalk outlines of people including Sideshow Bob, the rake, and Bumblebee Man.
-Lenny and Carl switched brains with each other at some point because Lenny wanted to get back together with his wife who had been sleeping with Carl at the time. SHE had switched her brain with a monkey on a Japanese game show and it just got weirder from there, though Lenny found it quite normal.
-Grandpa froze himself because he was sick and there was no cure. They did find one, but Homer isn't telling him that because it's way cheaper than a nursing home.
-Homer: "Everyone thinks their dad's a jerk. And everyone's right! But when you get older, you realize how much you love them."
-Bart: "Boys, I've been acting likes a 10-year-old for these past 30 years. But I swear to you, I will grow up and start acting like a 20-year-old, the way a divorced 40-year-old should!"
-Bart's Son: "You've taught us the meaning of Christmas, which schools are forbidden to tell us anymore."
-Grandpa: "If there's one time of year to give unwed mothers a break, it's Christmas."
-Marge: "Smile everyone, while the pets take our picture!" Bart: "Hmm, funny how they evolved and we didn't".
-Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth. And a Morphistic Quiznox To Our Allies on Rigel 7.
Memorable Moments
-Grandpa is dressed as Santa for Christmas Card photos. "I'm Santa?! Ohh, now I'll never die".
-Last years Christmas Card with the pets dressed as Reindeer didn't go so well. Cut to a photo of Homer getting attacked by the pets in antlers.
-Homer prepares to see It's A Wonderful Life. "I wonder what my life would be like if I never saw that movie".
-Merry Christmas From The Simpsons... And A Tranquil New Year From Lisa The Budhist.
-The montage of Christmas Cards to show the passage of time was great. I liked how Bart went from having a State College banner to a Flunked Out banner by the next year. Also the Christmas Card of Bart getting kicked out of the house.
-Bart is divorced from his girlfriend from the previous future episode
-Skinner: "You're two weeks late on the rent Bart. Not to mention that Geography report from 30 years ago".
-In the future people can transport and hear thoughts.
-Lisa: "This is a tough time of year for someone who is allergic to Holly, Mistletoe, the red part of Candy Canes..."
-St. Beatles Cathedral
-Once again, the show finds a way to keep Maggie from talking, even when she's the lead singer in a rock band. Computer Doctor: "Everything looks great Maggie, but until this baby comes, I don't want you to make a sound".
-Homer: "Oh, Marge. How would you like to have some Future Sex?" Marge: "Why do you say future? This is now". Homer: "I meant a week from now. That's when the new penis gets here."
-In the future, people recieve B-Mail. Messages sent to their brain. Including spam and viruses.
-Homer carries a top hat, red scarf, carrot, and pipe because he likes to dress up to eat his carrot and smoke.
-Homer: "Who wants to go to the park and go to the Merry-Go-Nowhere?!"
-Ned: "That's why when Homer killed Edna, I married Maude's ghost!" Ghost Maude: "There is no God, Ned! It's just a meaningless void." Ned: "Heheh. Isn't she pretty?"
-Future Air Travel. Also great.
-Christmas Cookie Recipes come in pill form now. You still have to make the actual cookies yourself though.
-Lisa: "Sometimes I wish strangling your kid is still legal." Marge: "Not since they passed Homer's Law."
-Homer and Bart's kids take advantage of a futuristic battle at the Kwik-E-Mart to get free Squishees. Cyborg Snake. Also funny.
-Kearney: "Computer, hospital". Cut to the cab arriving at the computer hospital.
-The stars are used to advertise now.
-Treehouse: "Our consciousness was a secret for thousands of years. Then one Pine Tree had to open his sappy mouth". Bart: "Back in position!"
-The hospital is next to the Monty Burns Institute for Soul Extraction.
-Hospital Attendant: "Im sorry. There's no roo at the in... patient facility". Kearny: "Lady this is Maggie Simpson. She just played a sold-out show in Beijing!" H.A: "Hmmm, a star in the east? Let me see. We do have a little room in the manger... I mean mangier wing.
-Marge: "People learn from their mistakes. And your father made SO many mistakes".
-Selma's Lovebot: "Even a robot built only to love you cannot love you. I am leaving with your sister's Compudroid."
-In place of an epidural, Maggie gets a pacifier, which is said to be even more effective.
-Apu and Manjula's Octuplets also had Octuplets. Go figure.
-Apu believes a cow is the reincarnation of his dead brother Sanjay. It's actually a mongoose that died 600 years ago, but Apu doesn't know that.
-Lisa: "Sometimes a mother's job IS to butt in!" Marge: "Lisa?" Lisa: "Butt out!"
-Martin Prince is now Marsha Princess.
-Lisa: "Google! Even though you've enslaved half the world, you're still a damn fine search engine."
-Ralph: "Hey Bart!" Bart: "Hey Ralph. I heard you died." Ralph: "I got cloneded." He promptly shoots himself accidentally, causing a new clone to take over. That Ralph gets run over by a truck driven by another Ralph who drives into a building, exploding and revealing the cargo was even more Ralphs who are all on fire.
-Bart goes to Moes: "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit!" Moe: "Yeah, I keep meaning to change this place around, but it's always a crime scene". Cut to chalk outlines of people including Sideshow Bob, the rake, and Bumblebee Man.
-Lenny and Carl switched brains with each other at some point because Lenny wanted to get back together with his wife who had been sleeping with Carl at the time. SHE had switched her brain with a monkey on a Japanese game show and it just got weirder from there, though Lenny found it quite normal.
-Grandpa froze himself because he was sick and there was no cure. They did find one, but Homer isn't telling him that because it's way cheaper than a nursing home.
-Homer: "Everyone thinks their dad's a jerk. And everyone's right! But when you get older, you realize how much you love them."
-Bart: "Boys, I've been acting likes a 10-year-old for these past 30 years. But I swear to you, I will grow up and start acting like a 20-year-old, the way a divorced 40-year-old should!"
-Bart's Son: "You've taught us the meaning of Christmas, which schools are forbidden to tell us anymore."
-Grandpa: "If there's one time of year to give unwed mothers a break, it's Christmas."
-Marge: "Smile everyone, while the pets take our picture!" Bart: "Hmm, funny how they evolved and we didn't".
-Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth. And a Morphistic Quiznox To Our Allies on Rigel 7.
Parks and Recreation: Citizen Knope
What Happened, Yo!:
-Leslie is sneaking into the office at night to try to get work done, but Chris stops her and won't let her do any, as she is suspended.
-She also finds out that she can't do any campaigning until her latest poll numbers come in.
-To fill her time, she starts the Parks Committee of Pawnee (The P.C.P. acronym is intentional) in order to do work, while not in the office.
-Her committee causes a bit of a rucus in town forums and to get what they want, she sends them after Chris.
-Leslie confronts Chris who tells her to stop it with the P.C.P. She says she'll continue her crusade, but not before she gives him his thoughtful Christmas gift.
-Leslie meets with her campaign managers who tell her that while they were expecting a drop, they were hoping her numbers would go to around 15% from 26%. Instead, they've dropped to 1%. Not believing they can recover from this, both of them quit.
-Meanwhile the Parks Department wants to get Leslie a Christmas gift as thoughtful as the ones she gave them and decide to make a candy gingerbread version of the office. Ron is not very good at it and eventually gives up at trying to help.
-Leslie apologizes to Chris, who gives her her Christmas gift: early reinstatement.
-She goes down to the office where she gets her present along with something more: pledges from each and every member of the Parks department that they will help out with her campaign and get her elected onto City Council.
-Meanwhile, Ben is looking for work after having resigned in disgrace. He's up for a job as an in-house accountant for an accounting firm, but is encouraged to branch out and follow his heart, as he really doesn't want the job.
-He interviews for a job for Dennis Feinstein and gets it, but backs out when he sees that Dennis is a crazy, horrible person who apparently has hunted people for sport.
-After an encounter with Jean-Ralphio who encourages him to follow his dreams, he turns down the job at the accounting firm.
I Liked This: First off, sorry for the super lateness of this post. Assorted shenanigans and whatnot. Anyways, Citizen Knope was the perfect way for Parks and Recreation to end 2011. It showed the real fall-out of Leslie and Ben having an illicit relationship, showing that the anti-dating rule was more than just a minor roadblock between Leslie and Ben. At the same time, it also led to one of the sweetest scenes in the series where Leslie's workers choose to stand by her and help her, just showing how far we've come since season 1. And of course, it was really, really, really, funny. Jean Ralphio is always a treat and I was delighted by the surprising return of Dennis Feinstein. And I'm pretty sure the head accountant Ben interviewed with is the Rec Centre Teacher from Leslie's House, which is nice continuity. Citizen Knope was a delightful way to end the first part of season 4 and I'm excited to see Leslie's campaign take the forefront of the storyline moving forward.
But...: I'm posting this too late to come up with any But's.
The Bottom Line: Citizen Knope provides a great endpoint for the first part of season 4 and takes the story in an exciting new direction. With Community gone for a while, I'm glad that Parks and Rec can fill the void with great comedy.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-Apparently, a boring pair of socks are the most thoughtful thing Leslie could think of to give Jerry. He liked them though, so it's all good.
-Leslie combines Salt and Sugar to make Sulgar. Perfect for Butterscotch pudding.
-My favorite P.C.P member was the women who kept on suggesting a letter writing campaign.
-Leslie giving Chris his present in the middle of their stand-off was gold. Especially Leslie's response when Chris thanks her. "My pleasure! See you in hell."
-Dennis Feinstein makes his current CFO sit in the room, while he interviews for his replacement. “Don’t talk to Eddie. Treat him like you would treat a person in another country that you paid $25,000 to hunt.”
-Jean-Ralphio: “Let me get this straight, you would be an accountant for accountants? So at this accounting firm, you would have the boring job?”
-Leslie goes from PCP to LSD. The Leslie's Sorry Division.
-Leslie: “Giving Christmas gifts is like a sport to me, finding or making that perfect something. It’s also like a sport to me because I always win. This year, though, my friends won. In fact, I got my ass handed to me.”
-Jean-Ralphio trying to work in the accounting firm and getting almost immediately fired was also really funny.
-Sorry for the lateness once again. I should be on time for the rest of the year. Probably.
-Leslie is sneaking into the office at night to try to get work done, but Chris stops her and won't let her do any, as she is suspended.
-She also finds out that she can't do any campaigning until her latest poll numbers come in.
-To fill her time, she starts the Parks Committee of Pawnee (The P.C.P. acronym is intentional) in order to do work, while not in the office.
-Her committee causes a bit of a rucus in town forums and to get what they want, she sends them after Chris.
-Leslie confronts Chris who tells her to stop it with the P.C.P. She says she'll continue her crusade, but not before she gives him his thoughtful Christmas gift.
-Leslie meets with her campaign managers who tell her that while they were expecting a drop, they were hoping her numbers would go to around 15% from 26%. Instead, they've dropped to 1%. Not believing they can recover from this, both of them quit.
-Meanwhile the Parks Department wants to get Leslie a Christmas gift as thoughtful as the ones she gave them and decide to make a candy gingerbread version of the office. Ron is not very good at it and eventually gives up at trying to help.
-Leslie apologizes to Chris, who gives her her Christmas gift: early reinstatement.
-She goes down to the office where she gets her present along with something more: pledges from each and every member of the Parks department that they will help out with her campaign and get her elected onto City Council.
-Meanwhile, Ben is looking for work after having resigned in disgrace. He's up for a job as an in-house accountant for an accounting firm, but is encouraged to branch out and follow his heart, as he really doesn't want the job.
-He interviews for a job for Dennis Feinstein and gets it, but backs out when he sees that Dennis is a crazy, horrible person who apparently has hunted people for sport.
-After an encounter with Jean-Ralphio who encourages him to follow his dreams, he turns down the job at the accounting firm.
I Liked This: First off, sorry for the super lateness of this post. Assorted shenanigans and whatnot. Anyways, Citizen Knope was the perfect way for Parks and Recreation to end 2011. It showed the real fall-out of Leslie and Ben having an illicit relationship, showing that the anti-dating rule was more than just a minor roadblock between Leslie and Ben. At the same time, it also led to one of the sweetest scenes in the series where Leslie's workers choose to stand by her and help her, just showing how far we've come since season 1. And of course, it was really, really, really, funny. Jean Ralphio is always a treat and I was delighted by the surprising return of Dennis Feinstein. And I'm pretty sure the head accountant Ben interviewed with is the Rec Centre Teacher from Leslie's House, which is nice continuity. Citizen Knope was a delightful way to end the first part of season 4 and I'm excited to see Leslie's campaign take the forefront of the storyline moving forward.
But...: I'm posting this too late to come up with any But's.
The Bottom Line: Citizen Knope provides a great endpoint for the first part of season 4 and takes the story in an exciting new direction. With Community gone for a while, I'm glad that Parks and Rec can fill the void with great comedy.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-Apparently, a boring pair of socks are the most thoughtful thing Leslie could think of to give Jerry. He liked them though, so it's all good.
-Leslie combines Salt and Sugar to make Sulgar. Perfect for Butterscotch pudding.
-My favorite P.C.P member was the women who kept on suggesting a letter writing campaign.
-Leslie giving Chris his present in the middle of their stand-off was gold. Especially Leslie's response when Chris thanks her. "My pleasure! See you in hell."
-Dennis Feinstein makes his current CFO sit in the room, while he interviews for his replacement. “Don’t talk to Eddie. Treat him like you would treat a person in another country that you paid $25,000 to hunt.”
-Jean-Ralphio: “Let me get this straight, you would be an accountant for accountants? So at this accounting firm, you would have the boring job?”
-Leslie goes from PCP to LSD. The Leslie's Sorry Division.
-Leslie: “Giving Christmas gifts is like a sport to me, finding or making that perfect something. It’s also like a sport to me because I always win. This year, though, my friends won. In fact, I got my ass handed to me.”
-Jean-Ralphio trying to work in the accounting firm and getting almost immediately fired was also really funny.
-Sorry for the lateness once again. I should be on time for the rest of the year. Probably.
Sunday 11 December 2011
The Office: Christmas Wishes
What Happened, Yo!:
-It's Christmas and Andy as Santa wants to grant everybody a wish.
-Andy is bringing his girlfriend Jessica to the party and while Erin is nice about it, we see that she doesn't want to meet her.
-Robert California shows up, depressed after his recent divorce and becomes the bartender for the party.
-He convinces Erin to have a couple drinks, and soon Erin has become very, very drunk.
-Hearing that Cathy wants to switch desk clumps because she's tired of Jim and Dwight's constant pranking and oneupmanship, Andy tells them to stop pranking for the day or he will take away the Christmas bonus of the one who pranks and give it to the other.
-Jessica shows up and she seems nice.
-Dwight keeps trying to aggravate Jim into pranking him so he will get Jim's bonus, even trying to frame him for putting a porcupine in his desk.
-Erin tries to be nice to Jessica, but she also keeps getting drunker, until she eventually confesses to Andy that her Christmas Wish is for Jessica to die. Andy gets angry at her and tells her to just accept that they are over.
-Jim pretends that Dwight defaced a picture of Cece, but backs off when Andy threatens to fire Dwight.
-After his confrontation with Erin, Andy wonders to Jim if people who aren't sleeping together can be friends. He also tells Jim that he won't mess with his and Dwight's bonues after all, because that's just causing more problems. Jim says he'll pass it along to Dwight.
-Robert takes Erin for a walk, where they lament about love and he tells her he was hoping she could make him feel better. Andy notices the two of them together from afar and becomes nervous.
-Andy's nervousness escalates when he sees Robert is giving Erin a ride home, so while giving Meredith a ride (her wish was for Andy to be her designated driver), he drives by Erin's house and is relieved to see that Robert is only dropping her off.
-Jim "forgets" to tell Dwight that their bonuses aren't getting messed with, so Dwight spray paints Jim Is Awesome on his car, and writes the word Idiot on his forehead, and pretends Jim did it while he was asleep by Jim's desk.
-Meanwhile, Daryl invites Val to the party, but she accidentally comes overdressed. To make her feel better, Daryl later puts on a tux so she doesn't stick out as much.
I Liked This: The Office has a history of strong Christmas episodes and this episode was no exception. The Andy/Erin story had been limping along for a while now, but with Christmas Wishes it bounces back in full force. Andy as manager worked well here and his desire to grant the wishes of others was a good idea that didn't seem like they could've done with Michael (He's a more self-centered character than Andy when it comes to parties). Also, The Office should find more excuses to get Erin drunk, because it makes her character a lot funnier (and she was funny to start with). The whole thing with Robert was an interesting development, but like Andy, I was glad to see that he and Erin didn't sleep together. That would've been kind of creepy (Though it would make for fascinating television if handled right.). The Daryl/Val romance storyline continues to be one of the more sweet storylines The Office has tackled yesterday, and I like their whole little plot this episode. And Jim/Dwight continues to provide lots of laughs, especially with Jim's prank at the end of not telling Dwight their bonuses wouldn't be touched. Good show, Office.
But...: One issue. The character of Cathy has been completely wasted. What's the point of introducing a temp for Pam if she's not going to do anything after her introductory episode? We don't even get to see her complain about Jim and Dwight to Andy.
The Bottom Line: The Office delivers a great Christmas episode, as per usual. Hopefully, they do more episodes of this quality when the show comes back this January.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-The cold open with Stanley ranting about wanting a normal Christmas was gold: “I’ve been here 18 years and suffered through some weird thematic Christmases. A Honolulu Christmas, a "Pulp Fiction" Christmas, A Muslim Christmas, A Moroccan Christmas, a Mo Rocca Christmas. I don't want it. Christmas is Christmas is Christmas is Christmas!"
-Creed is interested in Andy's Grandma, but Andy insists she is out of his league.
-Andy: “Mistletoe is not an excuse for sexual assault. And don’t go near Gam Gam.”
-Erin: "I love Jessica and I haven’t even met her. In fact, we don’t need to meet. I already love you. Stay home!"
-Kevin comforts Robert. Robert: "I feel like a kitten being cradled by a gorilla".
-Toby talking about his detective novel to no one's amusement was also great. Even without Michael, he can't catch a break".
-When Erin finally lets Kelly be mean to Jessica, she keeps it simple. "Did you just Fart?", she asks Jessica in front of half the office.
-Meredith had some good stuff tonight too. From giving Jim a pamphlet on Vasectomies to apparently being a hoarder.
-It's Christmas and Andy as Santa wants to grant everybody a wish.
-Andy is bringing his girlfriend Jessica to the party and while Erin is nice about it, we see that she doesn't want to meet her.
-Robert California shows up, depressed after his recent divorce and becomes the bartender for the party.
-He convinces Erin to have a couple drinks, and soon Erin has become very, very drunk.
-Hearing that Cathy wants to switch desk clumps because she's tired of Jim and Dwight's constant pranking and oneupmanship, Andy tells them to stop pranking for the day or he will take away the Christmas bonus of the one who pranks and give it to the other.
-Jessica shows up and she seems nice.
-Dwight keeps trying to aggravate Jim into pranking him so he will get Jim's bonus, even trying to frame him for putting a porcupine in his desk.
-Erin tries to be nice to Jessica, but she also keeps getting drunker, until she eventually confesses to Andy that her Christmas Wish is for Jessica to die. Andy gets angry at her and tells her to just accept that they are over.
-Jim pretends that Dwight defaced a picture of Cece, but backs off when Andy threatens to fire Dwight.
-After his confrontation with Erin, Andy wonders to Jim if people who aren't sleeping together can be friends. He also tells Jim that he won't mess with his and Dwight's bonues after all, because that's just causing more problems. Jim says he'll pass it along to Dwight.
-Robert takes Erin for a walk, where they lament about love and he tells her he was hoping she could make him feel better. Andy notices the two of them together from afar and becomes nervous.
-Andy's nervousness escalates when he sees Robert is giving Erin a ride home, so while giving Meredith a ride (her wish was for Andy to be her designated driver), he drives by Erin's house and is relieved to see that Robert is only dropping her off.
-Jim "forgets" to tell Dwight that their bonuses aren't getting messed with, so Dwight spray paints Jim Is Awesome on his car, and writes the word Idiot on his forehead, and pretends Jim did it while he was asleep by Jim's desk.
-Meanwhile, Daryl invites Val to the party, but she accidentally comes overdressed. To make her feel better, Daryl later puts on a tux so she doesn't stick out as much.
I Liked This: The Office has a history of strong Christmas episodes and this episode was no exception. The Andy/Erin story had been limping along for a while now, but with Christmas Wishes it bounces back in full force. Andy as manager worked well here and his desire to grant the wishes of others was a good idea that didn't seem like they could've done with Michael (He's a more self-centered character than Andy when it comes to parties). Also, The Office should find more excuses to get Erin drunk, because it makes her character a lot funnier (and she was funny to start with). The whole thing with Robert was an interesting development, but like Andy, I was glad to see that he and Erin didn't sleep together. That would've been kind of creepy (Though it would make for fascinating television if handled right.). The Daryl/Val romance storyline continues to be one of the more sweet storylines The Office has tackled yesterday, and I like their whole little plot this episode. And Jim/Dwight continues to provide lots of laughs, especially with Jim's prank at the end of not telling Dwight their bonuses wouldn't be touched. Good show, Office.
But...: One issue. The character of Cathy has been completely wasted. What's the point of introducing a temp for Pam if she's not going to do anything after her introductory episode? We don't even get to see her complain about Jim and Dwight to Andy.
The Bottom Line: The Office delivers a great Christmas episode, as per usual. Hopefully, they do more episodes of this quality when the show comes back this January.
Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-The cold open with Stanley ranting about wanting a normal Christmas was gold: “I’ve been here 18 years and suffered through some weird thematic Christmases. A Honolulu Christmas, a "Pulp Fiction" Christmas, A Muslim Christmas, A Moroccan Christmas, a Mo Rocca Christmas. I don't want it. Christmas is Christmas is Christmas is Christmas!"
-Creed is interested in Andy's Grandma, but Andy insists she is out of his league.
-Andy: “Mistletoe is not an excuse for sexual assault. And don’t go near Gam Gam.”
-Erin: "I love Jessica and I haven’t even met her. In fact, we don’t need to meet. I already love you. Stay home!"
-Kevin comforts Robert. Robert: "I feel like a kitten being cradled by a gorilla".
-Toby talking about his detective novel to no one's amusement was also great. Even without Michael, he can't catch a break".
-When Erin finally lets Kelly be mean to Jessica, she keeps it simple. "Did you just Fart?", she asks Jessica in front of half the office.
-Meredith had some good stuff tonight too. From giving Jim a pamphlet on Vasectomies to apparently being a hoarder.
Saturday 10 December 2011
Community: Regional Holiday Music
What Happened, Yo!:
-It's Christmas and Abed was hoping to spend some time with the study group, but everyone has different plans.
-The Glee Club comes around doing songs to promote their upcoming Christmas Pageant. Everyone's upset by this, except Jeff who has tipped off the music industry that the club is doing unlicensed covers without permission, leading to a cease and desist order. This causes the club to have a mental breakdown.
-Cory Raddison (who like's being called Mr. Rad) wants the study group to fill in like they did when the first club all died in a bus crash, but they decline.
-Abed, who just wants to end the semester on a light note goes to see Mr. Rad and winds up getting talked into recruiting the study group to do the pageant.
-One by one, the various members of the study group fall to songs targeted to get them (Abed gets Troy to do a rap about infiltrating Christmas, Abed and Troy appeal to Pierce's baby boomer side, Pierce gets orphans who don't know what Christmas is about to get Shirley, Annie seduces Jeff, and we don't see Annie and Britta get turned.)
-During the turning process, Abed talks to Mr. Rad about the pageant and notices that he won't consider Britta for the role of Christmas Queen and wants her to play a tree.
-On the night of the pageant, the study group is all ready to perform the pageant and get ready for Regionals. Abed learns that Mr. Rad plans to keep the study group in the Glee Club after the pageant for a never-ending series of competitions.
-As the pageant begins, Abed tells Britta that Mr. Rad wants her to play his role and that the lyrics to the song will be in her heart.
-Britta goes out and is just awful, but when Mr. Rad freaks out and calls her the worst, everyone thinks that's too far. The Dean permits Britta to finish her song, but Mr. Rad has a meltdown, where he accidentally confesses to killing the previous glee club by cutting the brakes to the bus.
-Abed sadly admits that Jeff is right and trying to make things brighter only makes things darker.
-Christmas morning, Abed goes to watch the terrible Inspector Spacetime holiday special from the 80's when he gets a knock on the door.
-The study group has decided he was right and they should be together this Christmas, so they all settle in to watch the special together.
-And with that, Community goes on to a indefinite hiatus.
I Liked This: I was always going to love this episode. It combines 5 of my favorite things: Community, Glee, jokes about Glee, TV shows that do musical episodes with original music, and Christmas music. Plus, it's the last Community for a while so I'm not going to be looking for flaws. But even if I was looking, I don't think I would've found anything. Regional Holiday Music was full of heart and humour. I found all of the songs to be hilarious, and the climax with Britta being the worst and the Glee teacher being homicidal was a good way to resolve the story (before the real resolution at Abed's.). And of course, the show got in plenty of clever jokes about Glee, from recreating the choir room complete with mute Piano teacher, to pointing out that calling someone a bully for not liking Glee is reverse bullying. Plus the Regionals runner was never not funny. Community had a lot to live up to after last year's Christmas episode and boy did it deliver.
But...: It's so good, I'm even more furious at NBC!
The Bottom Line: Excellent Episode. Excellent Show. Come back soon, Community!
Grade: Holy BLANK! (Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-If I had to pick a favorite song, it would be Troy and Abed's rap. But Annie's ridiculous Santa Baby-esque sexpot song, where she gets dumber and dumber is a close second.
-Jeff: "Merry Christmas everyone. The Glee club just became the History club".
-Abed: "Glee! I'll understand every scene, because we'll sing what we mean instead of making a face!"
-Mr. Rad:"Families are closer when families are winning!" Abed: "Everything's cooler when camera's are spinning!"
-Jeff: "Oh please, not liking Glee club doesn't make us bullies and implying that is reverse bully-ism!"
-Annie: “Boopy boopy boop doop sex”
-Jeff: "Look, eventually you hit a diminishing returns on the sexiness!"
-Choir of Orphans Wondering Who Was Born On Christmas: We asked our public school to give the answer
But they could only teach us not to pray. The Constitution says the state can't tell us. Was anyone important born today?
-Mr. Rad: "When we win Regionals, then it's straight on to Sectionals, and then a week later is Semi's, then Semi Regionals, then Regional Semi's, then National Lower Zone Semi's!"
-Britta: "Me so Christmas, Me so Merry!"
-Dean: "Why don't we let Britta sing her awkward song?"
-Mr. Rad: "...And you can let me do that, or there can be another BUS CRASH!!!" Crowd: Gasps and mumurs. Mr. Rad: "Well... figuratively. I'm not saying 'I killed the last Glee club'. Ha, I'm saying you not listening to me is like metaphorically cutting the brake lines on your own... Look! Kings of Leon!"
-The Choir of the Bells thing at the end was also great.
-It's Christmas and Abed was hoping to spend some time with the study group, but everyone has different plans.
-The Glee Club comes around doing songs to promote their upcoming Christmas Pageant. Everyone's upset by this, except Jeff who has tipped off the music industry that the club is doing unlicensed covers without permission, leading to a cease and desist order. This causes the club to have a mental breakdown.
-Cory Raddison (who like's being called Mr. Rad) wants the study group to fill in like they did when the first club all died in a bus crash, but they decline.
-Abed, who just wants to end the semester on a light note goes to see Mr. Rad and winds up getting talked into recruiting the study group to do the pageant.
-One by one, the various members of the study group fall to songs targeted to get them (Abed gets Troy to do a rap about infiltrating Christmas, Abed and Troy appeal to Pierce's baby boomer side, Pierce gets orphans who don't know what Christmas is about to get Shirley, Annie seduces Jeff, and we don't see Annie and Britta get turned.)
-During the turning process, Abed talks to Mr. Rad about the pageant and notices that he won't consider Britta for the role of Christmas Queen and wants her to play a tree.
-On the night of the pageant, the study group is all ready to perform the pageant and get ready for Regionals. Abed learns that Mr. Rad plans to keep the study group in the Glee Club after the pageant for a never-ending series of competitions.
-As the pageant begins, Abed tells Britta that Mr. Rad wants her to play his role and that the lyrics to the song will be in her heart.
-Britta goes out and is just awful, but when Mr. Rad freaks out and calls her the worst, everyone thinks that's too far. The Dean permits Britta to finish her song, but Mr. Rad has a meltdown, where he accidentally confesses to killing the previous glee club by cutting the brakes to the bus.
-Abed sadly admits that Jeff is right and trying to make things brighter only makes things darker.
-Christmas morning, Abed goes to watch the terrible Inspector Spacetime holiday special from the 80's when he gets a knock on the door.
-The study group has decided he was right and they should be together this Christmas, so they all settle in to watch the special together.
-And with that, Community goes on to a indefinite hiatus.
I Liked This: I was always going to love this episode. It combines 5 of my favorite things: Community, Glee, jokes about Glee, TV shows that do musical episodes with original music, and Christmas music. Plus, it's the last Community for a while so I'm not going to be looking for flaws. But even if I was looking, I don't think I would've found anything. Regional Holiday Music was full of heart and humour. I found all of the songs to be hilarious, and the climax with Britta being the worst and the Glee teacher being homicidal was a good way to resolve the story (before the real resolution at Abed's.). And of course, the show got in plenty of clever jokes about Glee, from recreating the choir room complete with mute Piano teacher, to pointing out that calling someone a bully for not liking Glee is reverse bullying. Plus the Regionals runner was never not funny. Community had a lot to live up to after last year's Christmas episode and boy did it deliver.
But...: It's so good, I'm even more furious at NBC!
The Bottom Line: Excellent Episode. Excellent Show. Come back soon, Community!
Grade: Holy BLANK! (Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-If I had to pick a favorite song, it would be Troy and Abed's rap. But Annie's ridiculous Santa Baby-esque sexpot song, where she gets dumber and dumber is a close second.
-Jeff: "Merry Christmas everyone. The Glee club just became the History club".
-Abed: "Glee! I'll understand every scene, because we'll sing what we mean instead of making a face!"
-Mr. Rad:"Families are closer when families are winning!" Abed: "Everything's cooler when camera's are spinning!"
-Jeff: "Oh please, not liking Glee club doesn't make us bullies and implying that is reverse bully-ism!"
-Annie: “Boopy boopy boop doop sex”
-Jeff: "Look, eventually you hit a diminishing returns on the sexiness!"
-Choir of Orphans Wondering Who Was Born On Christmas: We asked our public school to give the answer
But they could only teach us not to pray. The Constitution says the state can't tell us. Was anyone important born today?
-Mr. Rad: "When we win Regionals, then it's straight on to Sectionals, and then a week later is Semi's, then Semi Regionals, then Regional Semi's, then National Lower Zone Semi's!"
-Britta: "Me so Christmas, Me so Merry!"
-Dean: "Why don't we let Britta sing her awkward song?"
-Mr. Rad: "...And you can let me do that, or there can be another BUS CRASH!!!" Crowd: Gasps and mumurs. Mr. Rad: "Well... figuratively. I'm not saying 'I killed the last Glee club'. Ha, I'm saying you not listening to me is like metaphorically cutting the brake lines on your own... Look! Kings of Leon!"
-The Choir of the Bells thing at the end was also great.
Thursday 8 December 2011
5 Things I Enjoyed About Survivor: South Pacific: Ticking Time Bomb
You didn't fool me this time Survivor. For all of Edna's scheming and good arguments this week, and for all of Brandon's craziness and not understanding why Edna might be angry at him this week, I never believed that Brandon would go home. So I wasn't disappointed when Edna's plan failed because And now with two episodes left, I'm hoping for some truly crazy gameplay to take us home on a good note. But anyways, here are 5 Things I Enjoyed!
1. Cochran Almost Does The Impossible: I wasn't expecting Cochran to beat Ozzy, but I was hoping for it, just so it would shake things up. And Cochran actually almost did it. I was holding my breath during the last 30 seconds or so of that challenge and exclaimed rather loudly when Cochran just lost. Oh, well. He had a good run. Maybe Edna can take down Ozzy
2. Brandon's Dad: Has CBS ever thought of just giving the Hantz family a reality show where we follow them around in regular life? First, Russell, then Brandon, and now Brandon's dad who finds it crazy that Brandon refuses to make a move, gives his son a 'C' in terms of gameplay (without even knowing how generous that grade actually is), and tries to get Coach to promise Brandon's in the final 3. Based on those 3, this family is full of interesting characters. Anyways, Shawn Hantz livens up the family visit sequence and gives us some good quotes to. "Get to the Final 3. THEN it's up to God."
3. Coach Has A Master Plan: Coach sees Ozzy picking him to see family as an effort to court favour, so he goes to Ozzy... and tells him that if Ozzy returns Coach will take him to the Final 3. He wants to see the strongest duke it out. Apparently, he hasn't realized that Ozzy could win if he makes it to the Final 3. But anyways, it's good to see Coach continue to play a good game this season, and this adds a twist into the otherwise predictable proceedings.
4. Edna's Angry At Brandon? Shocker.: After Brandon revealed that Edna was the next to go last week, Edna was understandably upset and pissed. This led to some funny moments like Edna not going to morning prayer because "she's not part of the tribe", and it also led to some funny Brandon moments. Brandon was willing to let her be mad at him, but he didn't understand how she could slam his character? I mean, how could you hate the guy who outright states he was trying to make you lose the immunity challenge (Well he didn't use her name, but that makes it worse)? Or the guy who thinks saying "Sorry" makes everything better, and then goes on to the next insult. I felt bad for Edna this week and wish that she had been able to convince the others to vote out Brandon.
5. Edna Makes An Effort: As I've already said, Edna made a good argument to vote out Brandon instead of her. I liked her argument and the aftermath of her argument, with Coach managing to be detached and non-committal, but still making her think he was onboard, leading to her telling Albert and Sophie that Coach was so onboard, she would eat his... excrements. Of course, Coach wasn't as onboard as she thought but at least she tried. And again, there's always the outside chance that she beats Ozzy next week. Wouldn't that be something?
1. Cochran Almost Does The Impossible: I wasn't expecting Cochran to beat Ozzy, but I was hoping for it, just so it would shake things up. And Cochran actually almost did it. I was holding my breath during the last 30 seconds or so of that challenge and exclaimed rather loudly when Cochran just lost. Oh, well. He had a good run. Maybe Edna can take down Ozzy
2. Brandon's Dad: Has CBS ever thought of just giving the Hantz family a reality show where we follow them around in regular life? First, Russell, then Brandon, and now Brandon's dad who finds it crazy that Brandon refuses to make a move, gives his son a 'C' in terms of gameplay (without even knowing how generous that grade actually is), and tries to get Coach to promise Brandon's in the final 3. Based on those 3, this family is full of interesting characters. Anyways, Shawn Hantz livens up the family visit sequence and gives us some good quotes to. "Get to the Final 3. THEN it's up to God."
3. Coach Has A Master Plan: Coach sees Ozzy picking him to see family as an effort to court favour, so he goes to Ozzy... and tells him that if Ozzy returns Coach will take him to the Final 3. He wants to see the strongest duke it out. Apparently, he hasn't realized that Ozzy could win if he makes it to the Final 3. But anyways, it's good to see Coach continue to play a good game this season, and this adds a twist into the otherwise predictable proceedings.
4. Edna's Angry At Brandon? Shocker.: After Brandon revealed that Edna was the next to go last week, Edna was understandably upset and pissed. This led to some funny moments like Edna not going to morning prayer because "she's not part of the tribe", and it also led to some funny Brandon moments. Brandon was willing to let her be mad at him, but he didn't understand how she could slam his character? I mean, how could you hate the guy who outright states he was trying to make you lose the immunity challenge (Well he didn't use her name, but that makes it worse)? Or the guy who thinks saying "Sorry" makes everything better, and then goes on to the next insult. I felt bad for Edna this week and wish that she had been able to convince the others to vote out Brandon.
5. Edna Makes An Effort: As I've already said, Edna made a good argument to vote out Brandon instead of her. I liked her argument and the aftermath of her argument, with Coach managing to be detached and non-committal, but still making her think he was onboard, leading to her telling Albert and Sophie that Coach was so onboard, she would eat his... excrements. Of course, Coach wasn't as onboard as she thought but at least she tried. And again, there's always the outside chance that she beats Ozzy next week. Wouldn't that be something?
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Glee: Hold On To Sixteen
What Happened, Yo!:
-Quinn tells Rachel she plans to get Shelby fired by telling people she's sleeping with Puck. Rachel points out that if Quinn does this, she will be hurting her child and will truly hit rock bottom.
-Sectionals is at McKinley this year.
-Finn tells Mr. Schue that they need to get Sam Evans to win Sectionals and he's only 4 hours away.
-Blaine laments to Kurt that Finn won't let him help the Glee club. Sebastian shows up and while Blaine is gone, he and Kurt express their dislike for each other.
-Rachel and Finn travel to Kentucky to get Sam, where they find that Sam is secretly working in a male strip club to help pay for some of his family's needs. They convince him to go back with them.
-Quinn tries to get back together with Sam so he can help her raise Beth when she gets Shelby fired. Sam tells her she has "rich white girl problems" and encourages her to just enjoy her senior year.
-Tina tries to get Mike to apply for a school where he can dance, but Mike tells her that he's applied to Stamford Pre-Med because he doesn't want to rip his family apart. Tina tells him not to be a coward and follow his passion, but Mike gets upset.
-Sam tries to convince the boys that they need "sex appeal" to win, and most of the boys are ready to go with that, but Blaine disagrees. He takes a crack at Sam for selling himself and they have a brief physical altercation.
-Blaine asks Finn what his problem with him is. Finn admits that he was jealous, but they need Blaine to win. Fin apologises and they unite.
-Sam tries to get Mercedes back. Mercedes tells him to move on, but Sam tells her he's going to get her back.
-Tina confronts Mike's dad and tries to get him to watch the West Side Story DVD with Mike's performance. Mike Sr. tells Tina that the path of the performer will be filled with hardship and there won't be lots of opportunities for them. Tina tells him she doesn't care if there's hardships and he should honour his son's gifts.
-The Troubletones approach New Directions and tell them that when they lose, they can join Troubletones for Regionals. This makes New Directions indignant and Will tells him they're going to focus on winning, while Quinn makes an oblique reference to knowing Shelby's secret.
-At Sectionals, the first group performs, and they have that Glee Project Girl from the first episode. They're good.
-Quinn is heading to get Shelby fired, when Rachel pleads with her to wait until after Sectionals.
-Quinn confronts Shelby, who tells her she's ending it with Puck, and that Quinn should enjoy being young before it slips away from her. She also apologizes.
-Troubletones perform and are good but Finn and Blaine are still confident.
-As New Directions begin their performance, Mike Chang Sr. arrives and seems impressed. Their rendition of ABC gets the crowd to their feet.
-New Directions also does Control and Man in the Mirror. At the end they get a standing ovation from even Mike Chang Sr.
-New Directions celebrates their good performance. Mike's dad tells him that dancing is his path and he and his mother will help him anyway they can. Mike's worried that he missed the deadlines for the schools he wanted, but Tina has sent in his application just in case.
-New Directions wins Sectionals! Troubletones come in second and are devastated.
-Quinn tells Rachel that she's not going to get Shelby fired and thanks her for stopping her from doing something stupid. They finally become friends and Quinn decides she wants to go to Yale for the Drama program.
-Quinn tries to gets Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany back to New Directions with a promise from Will and Rachel that Troubletones will get one number a competition. She also tells them that they'll all be gone soon, and with her life in front of her, she wants to be with her girls while she can.
-Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, and Sugar come to the auditorium during the victory rendition of "We Are Young", and join in, finally reconciling the two clubs together.
I Liked This: Glee took a real stumble last week, but they always manage to do good competition episodes and this one was a good one. I liked that the main dramatic thrust of the episode was redeeming the character of Quinn, and finally getting her back on a path to some kind of stability. I liked that the writers found a suitable way to possibly lure Mercedes and Santana back to the Glee club (and that Brittany was more than willing to go back.). I liked that Tina had a storyline, even if it was another part of Mike Chang's storyline. I liked that Glee shared the wealth with their sectional numbers and got everyone involved in some way. I was also a fan of Finn and Blaine's stuff this week. And somehow the writers were able to get in an appropiate amount of tension, even though everyone knew New Directions would win (I also didn't miss having a scene with the judges. After season 1, those scenes were never as good, and really the only judge I wanted to hear from was Tickles the clown.). Plus Tina and Mike Chang did lots of singing! Really, this was a swell episode of Glee.
But...: There was still flaws with this episode. The beginning of the episode made a big deal over needing to get Sam back, and besides the fact that they thought the best way to reintroduce the character was to put him in a strip club (Though I could somewhat appreciate his justification of it.), we don't get any real resolution to his conflict with Blaine and he doesn't seem that instrumental to their victory. And I would've liked to see one more thing of New Directions getting ready for Sectionals, before (or possibly after) their scene with the Troubletones.
The Bottom Line: It wasn't as good as the first two sectionals (I really liked Special Education, even in that mess of a first part of season 2.), but Hold On To Sixteen was a solid installment and a good resolution of the plotlines for the initial part of the season.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Best Musical Number: I really dug ABC the most out of all the Sectionals numbers.
-Worst Musical Number: Red Solo Cup. What was the point, besides "Chord Overstreet decided he wanted to return after all, so let's give him a solo to welcome him back!".
-Now that I think of it, Sam's stripping may have been the writer's way of getting back at him for leaving. Good one, writers.
-Tonight was the first episode in a while where the theme was incredibly obvious. In case you missed it, it was "stop being young the first chance you get" (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.).
-Good to see they remembered that they needed 12 people and recruited some people from the bad. Because I would've been pissed off if they just waved that off.
-Dalton Academy also advances to Regionals, which means we get to see more of Sebastian. I'm fine with that.
-Santana had already prewritten her welcome back insult to Sam: "Welcome back, Lisa Rinna. I've missed you so much since your family packed their bags, loaded them into your mouth, and skipped town. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to enjoy a crisp pickle but couldn't find anyone to suck the lid off the jar. I assume you've been working as a baby polisher, where young mothers place their infants heads in your mouth to get back that newborn shine. So glad you're back. I haven't seen a smile that big since the abominable snowman got his teeth pulled by that little gay elf dentist. Love, Santana."
-Blaine is a good boxer! "I also started the Dalton branch of the fight club. Which I obviously can't talk about."
-I liked Tickles line about getting to be around kids that are only sick with talent. Honestly, of all the ideas for ridiculous judges, Tickles is the best one since the Comptroller from season 1.
-Quinn tells Rachel she plans to get Shelby fired by telling people she's sleeping with Puck. Rachel points out that if Quinn does this, she will be hurting her child and will truly hit rock bottom.
-Sectionals is at McKinley this year.
-Finn tells Mr. Schue that they need to get Sam Evans to win Sectionals and he's only 4 hours away.
-Blaine laments to Kurt that Finn won't let him help the Glee club. Sebastian shows up and while Blaine is gone, he and Kurt express their dislike for each other.
-Rachel and Finn travel to Kentucky to get Sam, where they find that Sam is secretly working in a male strip club to help pay for some of his family's needs. They convince him to go back with them.
-Quinn tries to get back together with Sam so he can help her raise Beth when she gets Shelby fired. Sam tells her she has "rich white girl problems" and encourages her to just enjoy her senior year.
-Tina tries to get Mike to apply for a school where he can dance, but Mike tells her that he's applied to Stamford Pre-Med because he doesn't want to rip his family apart. Tina tells him not to be a coward and follow his passion, but Mike gets upset.
-Sam tries to convince the boys that they need "sex appeal" to win, and most of the boys are ready to go with that, but Blaine disagrees. He takes a crack at Sam for selling himself and they have a brief physical altercation.
-Blaine asks Finn what his problem with him is. Finn admits that he was jealous, but they need Blaine to win. Fin apologises and they unite.
-Sam tries to get Mercedes back. Mercedes tells him to move on, but Sam tells her he's going to get her back.
-Tina confronts Mike's dad and tries to get him to watch the West Side Story DVD with Mike's performance. Mike Sr. tells Tina that the path of the performer will be filled with hardship and there won't be lots of opportunities for them. Tina tells him she doesn't care if there's hardships and he should honour his son's gifts.
-The Troubletones approach New Directions and tell them that when they lose, they can join Troubletones for Regionals. This makes New Directions indignant and Will tells him they're going to focus on winning, while Quinn makes an oblique reference to knowing Shelby's secret.
-At Sectionals, the first group performs, and they have that Glee Project Girl from the first episode. They're good.
-Quinn is heading to get Shelby fired, when Rachel pleads with her to wait until after Sectionals.
-Quinn confronts Shelby, who tells her she's ending it with Puck, and that Quinn should enjoy being young before it slips away from her. She also apologizes.
-Troubletones perform and are good but Finn and Blaine are still confident.
-As New Directions begin their performance, Mike Chang Sr. arrives and seems impressed. Their rendition of ABC gets the crowd to their feet.
-New Directions also does Control and Man in the Mirror. At the end they get a standing ovation from even Mike Chang Sr.
-New Directions celebrates their good performance. Mike's dad tells him that dancing is his path and he and his mother will help him anyway they can. Mike's worried that he missed the deadlines for the schools he wanted, but Tina has sent in his application just in case.
-New Directions wins Sectionals! Troubletones come in second and are devastated.
-Quinn tells Rachel that she's not going to get Shelby fired and thanks her for stopping her from doing something stupid. They finally become friends and Quinn decides she wants to go to Yale for the Drama program.
-Quinn tries to gets Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany back to New Directions with a promise from Will and Rachel that Troubletones will get one number a competition. She also tells them that they'll all be gone soon, and with her life in front of her, she wants to be with her girls while she can.
-Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, and Sugar come to the auditorium during the victory rendition of "We Are Young", and join in, finally reconciling the two clubs together.
I Liked This: Glee took a real stumble last week, but they always manage to do good competition episodes and this one was a good one. I liked that the main dramatic thrust of the episode was redeeming the character of Quinn, and finally getting her back on a path to some kind of stability. I liked that the writers found a suitable way to possibly lure Mercedes and Santana back to the Glee club (and that Brittany was more than willing to go back.). I liked that Tina had a storyline, even if it was another part of Mike Chang's storyline. I liked that Glee shared the wealth with their sectional numbers and got everyone involved in some way. I was also a fan of Finn and Blaine's stuff this week. And somehow the writers were able to get in an appropiate amount of tension, even though everyone knew New Directions would win (I also didn't miss having a scene with the judges. After season 1, those scenes were never as good, and really the only judge I wanted to hear from was Tickles the clown.). Plus Tina and Mike Chang did lots of singing! Really, this was a swell episode of Glee.
But...: There was still flaws with this episode. The beginning of the episode made a big deal over needing to get Sam back, and besides the fact that they thought the best way to reintroduce the character was to put him in a strip club (Though I could somewhat appreciate his justification of it.), we don't get any real resolution to his conflict with Blaine and he doesn't seem that instrumental to their victory. And I would've liked to see one more thing of New Directions getting ready for Sectionals, before (or possibly after) their scene with the Troubletones.
The Bottom Line: It wasn't as good as the first two sectionals (I really liked Special Education, even in that mess of a first part of season 2.), but Hold On To Sixteen was a solid installment and a good resolution of the plotlines for the initial part of the season.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Best Musical Number: I really dug ABC the most out of all the Sectionals numbers.
-Worst Musical Number: Red Solo Cup. What was the point, besides "Chord Overstreet decided he wanted to return after all, so let's give him a solo to welcome him back!".
-Now that I think of it, Sam's stripping may have been the writer's way of getting back at him for leaving. Good one, writers.
-Tonight was the first episode in a while where the theme was incredibly obvious. In case you missed it, it was "stop being young the first chance you get" (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.).
-Good to see they remembered that they needed 12 people and recruited some people from the bad. Because I would've been pissed off if they just waved that off.
-Dalton Academy also advances to Regionals, which means we get to see more of Sebastian. I'm fine with that.
-Santana had already prewritten her welcome back insult to Sam: "Welcome back, Lisa Rinna. I've missed you so much since your family packed their bags, loaded them into your mouth, and skipped town. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to enjoy a crisp pickle but couldn't find anyone to suck the lid off the jar. I assume you've been working as a baby polisher, where young mothers place their infants heads in your mouth to get back that newborn shine. So glad you're back. I haven't seen a smile that big since the abominable snowman got his teeth pulled by that little gay elf dentist. Love, Santana."
-Blaine is a good boxer! "I also started the Dalton branch of the fight club. Which I obviously can't talk about."
-I liked Tickles line about getting to be around kids that are only sick with talent. Honestly, of all the ideas for ridiculous judges, Tickles is the best one since the Comptroller from season 1.
Tuesday 6 December 2011
How I Met Your Mother: Symphony of Illumination
What Happened, Yo!:
-We open with "Future" Robin telling her two children the story of how she met their father and deciding to start by recounting the moment she told him she was pregnant.
-Robin is a week late for her period, and since she's never late she worries she's pregnant. And since she hasn't slept with Kevin yet, that means Barney is the father. Much to her surprise, Barney is happy about this, because he wants a baby.
-When Barney and Robin help Lily go shopping for baby things, Barney tries to change Robin's mind but she keeps getting terrified, and Barney gets turned against the idea himself when he finds out his old best friend has become a dad after a one night stand and a shell of himself.
-Dr. Sonia informs Robin that she is not pregnant, and both she and Barney dance for joy. Later they go back to just being friends.
-Later on though, Robin learns that she is infertile and can never have children. Even though she never wanted kids, Robin takes the news hard and is surprised by how she's reacting.
-Because she doesn't want to deal with the reactions from her friends though, she lies and tells her she's upset because she can never be a Pole Vaulter for the Canadian Olympics. This causes the exact same reactions she was hoping to avoid.
-Back at the baby store with Lily, Robin becomes overwhelmed and runs off crying.
-The gang deduces that Robin's really upset about something else and Ted thinks she's upset because she can't go back to Canada for Christmas.
-Ted gets Robin a plane ticket to go with him to Cleveland for Christmas, but she turns him down saying it's not his job to cheer her up and she'll be fine spending Christmas alone with her eggnog.
-On a walk through Central Park, "Future" Robin contemplates on how she never really wanted kids anyway and that's why she's glad her kids aren't real. At this point Robin's "kids" and the house they were in fade away and we see Robin is all by herself in Central Park.
-She returns to the apartment, where Ted has set up an AC/DC light show for her and tells her that he's never going to stop trying to cheer her up.
-As they hug, Future Ted tells his kids that Robin never became a "Pole Vaulter", but she achieved many other things, and most importantly, was never alone.
-Meanwhile Marshall bonds with a kid who lives across the street from his new home and lets the kid help him put up Christmas lights.
-The kid traps Marshall up on the roof and has a big party at Marshall's home.
-He tells Marshall he looks up to him as a father, and Marshall lets the party continue for another half an hour, but he continues to go wild (and desecrate a stocking Marshall's nana had made him before she died.)
-Lily arrives and gives the kid fifty bucks for helping Marshall, not aware what the kid had done until she enters the house to find it a wreck and sees Marshall on the roof.
I Liked This: Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! How I Met Your Mother got me again with another ingenious twist. There are probably plenty of people out there who are going to be upset that they screwed with us like that. That they seemed to end the mystery of who Barney got together with once and for all before revealing it to be a lie. But I loved it. It comes as a total emotional punch in the gut, and then really adds to the emotional weight of the final scene with Ted. When Future Ted tells his kids that Robin was never a "Pole Vaulter", but was also never alone, I choked up a little. I'm choking up now simply typing about it. Cobie Smulders truly delivered some amazing work this week and I'm more drawn into Robin's storyline than other.
Of course, the episode was also really funny. I enjoyed Marshall's bonding with the kid, and the sudden turn with Marshall getting stranded on the roof while the kid threw a party and "ate sandwiches" was great. Also great was Robin imagining how her friends would react to her bad news, only to have them react the exact same way to her fake bad news. And Barney getting shocked by what happened to Crazy Dwayne was a good way to reset the character a little (at least to get him back from his "I really want a kid kick". Great work this week, HIMYM.
But...: One little thing. This episode could have benefited from a bit of Kevin. Not a lot, but maybe a scene or two. Just saying.
The Bottom Line: A big twist works well and paired with some excellent acting from Cobie Smulders and some good laughs, it all leads to one fantastic episode of How I Met Your Mother.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
Future Events Set-Up Alert: At one point, Robin was briefly a bullfighter.
-Barney starts the episode by waking up. Not because Robin's news had caused him to pass out, but because his response was "are you sure you're not just getting fat?", causing him to be punched out. He quickly gets punched out again when he says no one told Robin's boobs she was pregnant.
-I laughed whenever Robin went on about not ever wanting kids, only to have "future" Robin interject "Sorry Kids" to her offended looking "children".
-Past Barney: "Here's twenty for picking up a girl with only one word and here's another twenty for that word being boner."
-Kid Who Trapped Marshall on Roof (Scotty, I think.): “I don’t think of you as some dummy I trapped on the roof. I think of you like my dad.”
-Ted: "You can't fire me. I'm union, Bitch."
-"Future" Robin: "So kids, I settled in for Christmas alone. I appreciated that Ted wanted to cheer me up, but honestly, it wasn't necessary. So I can't have kids. Big deal. This way, there's no one to hold me back in life. No one to keep me from travelling where I want to travel. No one to get in the way of my career. If you want to know the truth of it... I'm glad you guys aren't real."
-Future Ted: "Kids, your Aunt Robin never became a pole vaulter. But she did become a famous journalist, a successful businesswomen, a world traveller. She was even briefly a bullfighter. That's a funny story. I'll get to that one later. But there's one thing your Aunt Robin never was: she was never alone".
-We open with "Future" Robin telling her two children the story of how she met their father and deciding to start by recounting the moment she told him she was pregnant.
-Robin is a week late for her period, and since she's never late she worries she's pregnant. And since she hasn't slept with Kevin yet, that means Barney is the father. Much to her surprise, Barney is happy about this, because he wants a baby.
-When Barney and Robin help Lily go shopping for baby things, Barney tries to change Robin's mind but she keeps getting terrified, and Barney gets turned against the idea himself when he finds out his old best friend has become a dad after a one night stand and a shell of himself.
-Dr. Sonia informs Robin that she is not pregnant, and both she and Barney dance for joy. Later they go back to just being friends.
-Later on though, Robin learns that she is infertile and can never have children. Even though she never wanted kids, Robin takes the news hard and is surprised by how she's reacting.
-Because she doesn't want to deal with the reactions from her friends though, she lies and tells her she's upset because she can never be a Pole Vaulter for the Canadian Olympics. This causes the exact same reactions she was hoping to avoid.
-Back at the baby store with Lily, Robin becomes overwhelmed and runs off crying.
-The gang deduces that Robin's really upset about something else and Ted thinks she's upset because she can't go back to Canada for Christmas.
-Ted gets Robin a plane ticket to go with him to Cleveland for Christmas, but she turns him down saying it's not his job to cheer her up and she'll be fine spending Christmas alone with her eggnog.
-On a walk through Central Park, "Future" Robin contemplates on how she never really wanted kids anyway and that's why she's glad her kids aren't real. At this point Robin's "kids" and the house they were in fade away and we see Robin is all by herself in Central Park.
-She returns to the apartment, where Ted has set up an AC/DC light show for her and tells her that he's never going to stop trying to cheer her up.
-As they hug, Future Ted tells his kids that Robin never became a "Pole Vaulter", but she achieved many other things, and most importantly, was never alone.
-Meanwhile Marshall bonds with a kid who lives across the street from his new home and lets the kid help him put up Christmas lights.
-The kid traps Marshall up on the roof and has a big party at Marshall's home.
-He tells Marshall he looks up to him as a father, and Marshall lets the party continue for another half an hour, but he continues to go wild (and desecrate a stocking Marshall's nana had made him before she died.)
-Lily arrives and gives the kid fifty bucks for helping Marshall, not aware what the kid had done until she enters the house to find it a wreck and sees Marshall on the roof.
I Liked This: Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! How I Met Your Mother got me again with another ingenious twist. There are probably plenty of people out there who are going to be upset that they screwed with us like that. That they seemed to end the mystery of who Barney got together with once and for all before revealing it to be a lie. But I loved it. It comes as a total emotional punch in the gut, and then really adds to the emotional weight of the final scene with Ted. When Future Ted tells his kids that Robin was never a "Pole Vaulter", but was also never alone, I choked up a little. I'm choking up now simply typing about it. Cobie Smulders truly delivered some amazing work this week and I'm more drawn into Robin's storyline than other.
Of course, the episode was also really funny. I enjoyed Marshall's bonding with the kid, and the sudden turn with Marshall getting stranded on the roof while the kid threw a party and "ate sandwiches" was great. Also great was Robin imagining how her friends would react to her bad news, only to have them react the exact same way to her fake bad news. And Barney getting shocked by what happened to Crazy Dwayne was a good way to reset the character a little (at least to get him back from his "I really want a kid kick". Great work this week, HIMYM.
But...: One little thing. This episode could have benefited from a bit of Kevin. Not a lot, but maybe a scene or two. Just saying.
The Bottom Line: A big twist works well and paired with some excellent acting from Cobie Smulders and some good laughs, it all leads to one fantastic episode of How I Met Your Mother.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
Future Events Set-Up Alert: At one point, Robin was briefly a bullfighter.
-Barney starts the episode by waking up. Not because Robin's news had caused him to pass out, but because his response was "are you sure you're not just getting fat?", causing him to be punched out. He quickly gets punched out again when he says no one told Robin's boobs she was pregnant.
-I laughed whenever Robin went on about not ever wanting kids, only to have "future" Robin interject "Sorry Kids" to her offended looking "children".
-Past Barney: "Here's twenty for picking up a girl with only one word and here's another twenty for that word being boner."
-Kid Who Trapped Marshall on Roof (Scotty, I think.): “I don’t think of you as some dummy I trapped on the roof. I think of you like my dad.”
-Ted: "You can't fire me. I'm union, Bitch."
-"Future" Robin: "So kids, I settled in for Christmas alone. I appreciated that Ted wanted to cheer me up, but honestly, it wasn't necessary. So I can't have kids. Big deal. This way, there's no one to hold me back in life. No one to keep me from travelling where I want to travel. No one to get in the way of my career. If you want to know the truth of it... I'm glad you guys aren't real."
-Future Ted: "Kids, your Aunt Robin never became a pole vaulter. But she did become a famous journalist, a successful businesswomen, a world traveller. She was even briefly a bullfighter. That's a funny story. I'll get to that one later. But there's one thing your Aunt Robin never was: she was never alone".
Monday 5 December 2011
Memorable Moments: The Simpsons: The Ten-Per-Cent Solution
Quicky Opinion: The Ten-Per-Cent Solution was a lot of fun, taking another classic Simpsons plot (How many career comebacks has Krusty had now?) and throwing a new spin on it, by focusing the story on Krusty's relationship with his original agent. It also targets cable networks, Nostalgia, and even itself in a couple places for another solid episode. Season 23 has been good so far and it'll hopefully get even better from here. Quicky Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-My favorite of the Itchy and Scratchy's was The Social Petwork, mostly for the way it resolved the cartoon through a big block of text, while Scala and Kolacny Brother's cover of Creep (which helped make The Social Network's trailer really memorable) played. I also liked Maggie doing a Nazi Salute after The King's speech parody
-Krusty: "And all the movies are over a year old! It's like like those parodies were written when the movies came out but it took so long to animate them that we look dated and hacky!"
-Marge: “No more TV! We’re going to get some fresh air and visit a museum. Of television!”
-Marge: "We have to see the museum of TV before next Wednesday when it's closing. Forever!" Homer: "It's closing?! But where will people find clips of old TV shows if they're not housed in a giant building?!" Cut to clever Hulu gag.
-Museum of TV and Television. Liquidation Sale: Touch the things you used to watch.
-Bart accidentally fires a gun, which hits another gun in Homer's pocket. While Homer is admiring his other gun, it fires, shoots JR, hits the enterprise, bounces off Superman and uncovers oil by the Beverly Hillbillies.
-Homer: "My pants are splitting open! And people will see my tattoo of Donald Duck smoking a doob. That was for Marge's eyes only".
-Marge: "Isn't that just a rip-off of the Honeymooners?" Homer: "Everything's a rip-off of the Honeymooners! Margie, you're the greatest!" Marge: "Oh, Ralph, Fred, Archie, King of Queens, I mean Homer".
-Homer enjoys The Adventures of Fatso Flannigan. "Hehehe. They were so childless and miserable!"
-Annie: “If you ever hear a star’s name and wonder: Is he dead? The answer is either ‘I represent him’ or yes!”
-TV Executive: "Krusty, this is never easy but... you're fired. Oh! That was easy"
-Krusty's contract states that if he's fired, it has to be done by literally firing him from a cannon. Too bad he lands in another cannon which shoots him back into the first cannon.
-Krusty: "They took my dressing room, my parking space, even my writer, so I don't have a funny third item!"
-Agent: "Krustala, I'm gonna drop you as a friend first, so that when I drop you as a client, you'll know it was only business."
-Krusty: "Go away! No kid should see his hero sunk so low!" Lisa: "Well you're not exactly my hero. I see you more as a cautionary tale".
-Bart: "People also lover a quitter. Sarah Palin. The Beatles."
-Young Krusty: "Scary world. We start with the A Bomb then skip right to the H Bomb. These geniuses can blow up the planet, but they don't know the alphabet!"
-In the flashback we also see young Jasper, young crazy cat lady, young Hans, young Agnes Skinner, and pretty much the same but in an Army Uniform Seymour Skinner.
-Young Krusty: "I don't wanna play in Peoria. They're always doing contruction on highway 74!"
-Annie: “Today’s kids are less sensitive than an army condom. They see more on TV than my mother did on her wedding night. And they don’t complain about it for the next 50 years!”
-Annie: "I was so mad at him, I didn't have sex with a clown for 5 months!" Homer: "What about mimes?" Annie: "I'm not made of stone!"
-Krusty: "Deep down I'm doing this to get back at my father!" Rabbi Krustofski: "Don't blame this on me. Your childhood was heaven."
-Annie: "I promise you, Krusty will show up on time or sober. That's right! I said 'or'!"
-Krusty: “They were kids, and we gave them candy if they laughed! And if they didn’t, until the 70s, I hit them with a stick! Some jerk tracked down the kids and made a documentary. It’s called ‘Circus of Shame’ or something.”
-Sideshow Mel: "And now let's welcome a man the Spanish called Senor No-Fun, Krusty the Klown!"
-Nostalgic Fan: "Everything I loved as a kid and hated as a teenager, I love as an adult!"
-Krusty's new show is getting the best reviews of his career. 2 and a Half stars. For fans only.
-Krusty: "I'm back on top! And this time, I'm not going to blow it all on cocaine for my horses!"
-Krusty: "Wait a minute... THERE'S SOFT PORNO?!"
-Krusty: "And you know anything said at a network pitch meeting can be taken to the bank.
-Hbowtime: It's not just TV, it's more expensive.
-Annie: "Wait a minute! We have very specific language in our contract saying 'No guests that are funnier than Krusty!'" Executive: "Janeane has promised to be strictly angry and political. Janeane Garofolo: "And I'll keep my promise. Like Obama did with Guantanamo". Krusty: Ohh, it's funnier than I can ever hope to be".
-Executive: "Krusty, this is exactly the type of meddling that only we're supposed to do".
-Krusty: "I did that laugh that people can interpret anyway they want". Annie: "I thought that laugh meant 'I Love You!'" Krusty: "It can..."
-Moe: "I'm paying extra for this channel? It hasn't been good since The Wire! Aw, who am I kidding. I never watched The Wire! I had to bluff my way through so many conversations.
Memorable Moments
-My favorite of the Itchy and Scratchy's was The Social Petwork, mostly for the way it resolved the cartoon through a big block of text, while Scala and Kolacny Brother's cover of Creep (which helped make The Social Network's trailer really memorable) played. I also liked Maggie doing a Nazi Salute after The King's speech parody
-Krusty: "And all the movies are over a year old! It's like like those parodies were written when the movies came out but it took so long to animate them that we look dated and hacky!"
-Marge: “No more TV! We’re going to get some fresh air and visit a museum. Of television!”
-Marge: "We have to see the museum of TV before next Wednesday when it's closing. Forever!" Homer: "It's closing?! But where will people find clips of old TV shows if they're not housed in a giant building?!" Cut to clever Hulu gag.
-Museum of TV and Television. Liquidation Sale: Touch the things you used to watch.
-Bart accidentally fires a gun, which hits another gun in Homer's pocket. While Homer is admiring his other gun, it fires, shoots JR, hits the enterprise, bounces off Superman and uncovers oil by the Beverly Hillbillies.
-Homer: "My pants are splitting open! And people will see my tattoo of Donald Duck smoking a doob. That was for Marge's eyes only".
-Marge: "Isn't that just a rip-off of the Honeymooners?" Homer: "Everything's a rip-off of the Honeymooners! Margie, you're the greatest!" Marge: "Oh, Ralph, Fred, Archie, King of Queens, I mean Homer".
-Homer enjoys The Adventures of Fatso Flannigan. "Hehehe. They were so childless and miserable!"
-Annie: “If you ever hear a star’s name and wonder: Is he dead? The answer is either ‘I represent him’ or yes!”
-TV Executive: "Krusty, this is never easy but... you're fired. Oh! That was easy"
-Krusty's contract states that if he's fired, it has to be done by literally firing him from a cannon. Too bad he lands in another cannon which shoots him back into the first cannon.
-Krusty: "They took my dressing room, my parking space, even my writer, so I don't have a funny third item!"
-Agent: "Krustala, I'm gonna drop you as a friend first, so that when I drop you as a client, you'll know it was only business."
-Krusty: "Go away! No kid should see his hero sunk so low!" Lisa: "Well you're not exactly my hero. I see you more as a cautionary tale".
-Bart: "People also lover a quitter. Sarah Palin. The Beatles."
-Young Krusty: "Scary world. We start with the A Bomb then skip right to the H Bomb. These geniuses can blow up the planet, but they don't know the alphabet!"
-In the flashback we also see young Jasper, young crazy cat lady, young Hans, young Agnes Skinner, and pretty much the same but in an Army Uniform Seymour Skinner.
-Young Krusty: "I don't wanna play in Peoria. They're always doing contruction on highway 74!"
-Annie: “Today’s kids are less sensitive than an army condom. They see more on TV than my mother did on her wedding night. And they don’t complain about it for the next 50 years!”
-Annie: "I was so mad at him, I didn't have sex with a clown for 5 months!" Homer: "What about mimes?" Annie: "I'm not made of stone!"
-Krusty: "Deep down I'm doing this to get back at my father!" Rabbi Krustofski: "Don't blame this on me. Your childhood was heaven."
-Annie: "I promise you, Krusty will show up on time or sober. That's right! I said 'or'!"
-Krusty: “They were kids, and we gave them candy if they laughed! And if they didn’t, until the 70s, I hit them with a stick! Some jerk tracked down the kids and made a documentary. It’s called ‘Circus of Shame’ or something.”
-Sideshow Mel: "And now let's welcome a man the Spanish called Senor No-Fun, Krusty the Klown!"
-Nostalgic Fan: "Everything I loved as a kid and hated as a teenager, I love as an adult!"
-Krusty's new show is getting the best reviews of his career. 2 and a Half stars. For fans only.
-Krusty: "I'm back on top! And this time, I'm not going to blow it all on cocaine for my horses!"
-Krusty: "Wait a minute... THERE'S SOFT PORNO?!"
-Krusty: "And you know anything said at a network pitch meeting can be taken to the bank.
-Hbowtime: It's not just TV, it's more expensive.
-Annie: "Wait a minute! We have very specific language in our contract saying 'No guests that are funnier than Krusty!'" Executive: "Janeane has promised to be strictly angry and political. Janeane Garofolo: "And I'll keep my promise. Like Obama did with Guantanamo". Krusty: Ohh, it's funnier than I can ever hope to be".
-Executive: "Krusty, this is exactly the type of meddling that only we're supposed to do".
-Krusty: "I did that laugh that people can interpret anyway they want". Annie: "I thought that laugh meant 'I Love You!'" Krusty: "It can..."
-Moe: "I'm paying extra for this channel? It hasn't been good since The Wire! Aw, who am I kidding. I never watched The Wire! I had to bluff my way through so many conversations.
Saturday 3 December 2011
Community: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism
What Happened, Yo!:
-It's the weekend and Troy and Abed are planning to watch The Dark Knight Extended Extended Edition, which cost them a few hundred dollars. Abed is naturally very protective of it.
-While dusting the TV, Annie accidentally steps on the DVD and breaks it. Troy finds out and they both panic. Annie wants to replace the DVD, but Troy points out that that would be impossible, due to the rarity of the disc and Abed's familiarity with the "Try to replace a broken object" sitcom trope.
-Annie wrecks the apartment to make it look like someone broke in and stole the DVD (and a fictitious piece of jewelry she supposedly owns.).
-Abed determines that their landlord stole his DVD and dresses up in his Batman outfit, while Annie stands by. When Abed intends to go after the landlord, Annie tries to come clean, but Abed doesn't believe her, because he thinks she would've come forward before this point.
-Abed descends down the apartment to the landlords window, where it turns out that he's been stealing women's footwear. Annie claims that the DVD is also in there and is broken.
-After the landlord and Annie and Co. agree to no longer go into each others apartments, Abed figures out that Annie had broken it accidentally and hadn't told him because of how severe he can be. They make amends, while Abed is in the Batman suit.
-Meanwhile, Jeff is getting annoyed by a group of Europeans who have taken over the Foosball table. He attempts to get them to leave, but they'll only do it if he can score a point on them. Which he can't.
-Shirley sees Jeff practicing and tries to get him to leave it, but Jeff reveals that as a boy, he used to love Foosball until a gang of bullies, similar to the Europeans drove him to quit.
-Shirley says that Foosball is an evil game that brings out the worst in people, but turns out to be quite good at it. So Jeff convinces her to train him.
-The next day, as they're practicing, they encounter the Europeans again and challenge them to a game Monday, with the losers never playing on those tables again.
-Shirley and Jeff bond while training, and become closer.
-Later, they go to Dinner, where Shirley reveals she used to be really good as a kid. But one day, she humiliated a skinny white boy (guess where this is going) and made him pee his pants, and felt so bad about it, she never played again. Jeff realizes that he is the skinny white boy in Shirley's story and she is the one who drove him to quit the game.
-The two have a falling out and wind up playing a game of Foosball, which is stylized and presented like Anime.
-As Jeff and Shirley clash, they soon get the ball to a spot that their players can't reach. As they argue over who should get the ball, they point out that they each think the other is a good person. They soon settle the feud between the two of them
-At the Foosball game with the Euros, Jeff and Shirley get the ball into the spot none of the players can reach and simply leave the Euros to argue about who should get the ball, while they go see a movie. The rest of the group wonders how those two became so close.
I Like This: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism was yet another very strong episode of Community. It gave Shirley her strongest storyline of the season and also gave us the Jeff/Shirley pairing, which isn't used very often (The last major plot I remember Jeff and Shirley having was in Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy, and even that was more about Chang), but hopefully that'll change, because these two characters are good together. I liked the fact that they share a common origin and that one incident between them was a big part of how they became the people they are (and it is plausible in the world of the show that they knew each other as kids, because the season 1 DVD lists them as having the same home town.). I liked how the anime sequence comes out of nowhere, and amplifies the climax, without completely taking over the episode. As far as the other story goes, Troy/Abed/Annie isn't as uncommon to see as Jeff/Shirley, but it was effective, and I liked their twist on an old sitcom convention. And anytime Abed gets to imitate Christian Bale is a good time.
But...: As enjoyable as it was, the Annie/Abed/Troy story got maybe a bit too goofy in places.
The Bottom Line: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism is another great episode of this great show. With next week's episode being the last one for the foreseeable future, I'm expecting great things.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-Lots of references to past episodes this week. From Jeff remembering the time he and Shirley gossiped about Vaughn to Troy humming the tune from Abed's Halloween story, to the police officer recalling teaching Annie a lesson to of course, Abed's Batman costume. Good stuff.
-Cracking a mystery: So if Shirley is only two years older than Jeff, and Jeff was 19 in 1997 (as established in Intro to Political Science) that makes Jeff 33 and Shirley 35. And the flashback took place in 1988.
-Britta: "I'm volunteering at the animal hospital." Troy (excitedly): Animal Hospital?! Abed: "The animals are the patients". Troy (much less excited now): "That makes sense".
-The Dark Knight Extended Extended Edition contains a personalized message from the man himself. Annie reads it aloud: "Abed is Batman now." Abed: "It's official" Troy: "From the man himself."
-Foosball player: "I wish there was some word I could use to describe my pleasure at your misfortune".
-Annie's Christian Bale impression when thinking about replacing the special commentary was also classic.
-Shirley: "Shut up Leonard! I found your Youtube page. What's the point in reviewing frozen pizza?" Leonard: "You're talking about it." Shirley: "..Well that is true."
-Jeff is surprised that the Euros were carrying around a soccer ball to do one lame Foosball bit. "That's like a 25 dollar bit! And it's not even that good!"
-Abed: “Men like Rick operate above the law. But there’s something else above the law: bats…and me.”
-Troy: "Maybe we should all take a step back and- aww, is that the grappling hook I got you for Christmas?"
-Troy (referring to Annie): "You moving here was supposed to tone us down!"
-Shirley: "Once you make a boy pee his pants, you think about where you're life is headed".
-Jeff: "You were Big Cheddar?" Shirley: "Who told you tha- Oh good lord! You're Tinkletown? Jeff: "Don't call me that!"
-I wish there actually was a Youtube channel of Leonard reviewing Frozen Pizza.
-It's the weekend and Troy and Abed are planning to watch The Dark Knight Extended Extended Edition, which cost them a few hundred dollars. Abed is naturally very protective of it.
-While dusting the TV, Annie accidentally steps on the DVD and breaks it. Troy finds out and they both panic. Annie wants to replace the DVD, but Troy points out that that would be impossible, due to the rarity of the disc and Abed's familiarity with the "Try to replace a broken object" sitcom trope.
-Annie wrecks the apartment to make it look like someone broke in and stole the DVD (and a fictitious piece of jewelry she supposedly owns.).
-Abed determines that their landlord stole his DVD and dresses up in his Batman outfit, while Annie stands by. When Abed intends to go after the landlord, Annie tries to come clean, but Abed doesn't believe her, because he thinks she would've come forward before this point.
-Abed descends down the apartment to the landlords window, where it turns out that he's been stealing women's footwear. Annie claims that the DVD is also in there and is broken.
-After the landlord and Annie and Co. agree to no longer go into each others apartments, Abed figures out that Annie had broken it accidentally and hadn't told him because of how severe he can be. They make amends, while Abed is in the Batman suit.
-Meanwhile, Jeff is getting annoyed by a group of Europeans who have taken over the Foosball table. He attempts to get them to leave, but they'll only do it if he can score a point on them. Which he can't.
-Shirley sees Jeff practicing and tries to get him to leave it, but Jeff reveals that as a boy, he used to love Foosball until a gang of bullies, similar to the Europeans drove him to quit.
-Shirley says that Foosball is an evil game that brings out the worst in people, but turns out to be quite good at it. So Jeff convinces her to train him.
-The next day, as they're practicing, they encounter the Europeans again and challenge them to a game Monday, with the losers never playing on those tables again.
-Shirley and Jeff bond while training, and become closer.
-Later, they go to Dinner, where Shirley reveals she used to be really good as a kid. But one day, she humiliated a skinny white boy (guess where this is going) and made him pee his pants, and felt so bad about it, she never played again. Jeff realizes that he is the skinny white boy in Shirley's story and she is the one who drove him to quit the game.
-The two have a falling out and wind up playing a game of Foosball, which is stylized and presented like Anime.
-As Jeff and Shirley clash, they soon get the ball to a spot that their players can't reach. As they argue over who should get the ball, they point out that they each think the other is a good person. They soon settle the feud between the two of them
-At the Foosball game with the Euros, Jeff and Shirley get the ball into the spot none of the players can reach and simply leave the Euros to argue about who should get the ball, while they go see a movie. The rest of the group wonders how those two became so close.
I Like This: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism was yet another very strong episode of Community. It gave Shirley her strongest storyline of the season and also gave us the Jeff/Shirley pairing, which isn't used very often (The last major plot I remember Jeff and Shirley having was in Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy, and even that was more about Chang), but hopefully that'll change, because these two characters are good together. I liked the fact that they share a common origin and that one incident between them was a big part of how they became the people they are (and it is plausible in the world of the show that they knew each other as kids, because the season 1 DVD lists them as having the same home town.). I liked how the anime sequence comes out of nowhere, and amplifies the climax, without completely taking over the episode. As far as the other story goes, Troy/Abed/Annie isn't as uncommon to see as Jeff/Shirley, but it was effective, and I liked their twist on an old sitcom convention. And anytime Abed gets to imitate Christian Bale is a good time.
But...: As enjoyable as it was, the Annie/Abed/Troy story got maybe a bit too goofy in places.
The Bottom Line: Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism is another great episode of this great show. With next week's episode being the last one for the foreseeable future, I'm expecting great things.
Grade: Zounds! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-Lots of references to past episodes this week. From Jeff remembering the time he and Shirley gossiped about Vaughn to Troy humming the tune from Abed's Halloween story, to the police officer recalling teaching Annie a lesson to of course, Abed's Batman costume. Good stuff.
-Cracking a mystery: So if Shirley is only two years older than Jeff, and Jeff was 19 in 1997 (as established in Intro to Political Science) that makes Jeff 33 and Shirley 35. And the flashback took place in 1988.
-Britta: "I'm volunteering at the animal hospital." Troy (excitedly): Animal Hospital?! Abed: "The animals are the patients". Troy (much less excited now): "That makes sense".
-The Dark Knight Extended Extended Edition contains a personalized message from the man himself. Annie reads it aloud: "Abed is Batman now." Abed: "It's official" Troy: "From the man himself."
-Foosball player: "I wish there was some word I could use to describe my pleasure at your misfortune".
-Annie's Christian Bale impression when thinking about replacing the special commentary was also classic.
-Shirley: "Shut up Leonard! I found your Youtube page. What's the point in reviewing frozen pizza?" Leonard: "You're talking about it." Shirley: "..Well that is true."
-Jeff is surprised that the Euros were carrying around a soccer ball to do one lame Foosball bit. "That's like a 25 dollar bit! And it's not even that good!"
-Abed: “Men like Rick operate above the law. But there’s something else above the law: bats…and me.”
-Troy: "Maybe we should all take a step back and- aww, is that the grappling hook I got you for Christmas?"
-Troy (referring to Annie): "You moving here was supposed to tone us down!"
-Shirley: "Once you make a boy pee his pants, you think about where you're life is headed".
-Jeff: "You were Big Cheddar?" Shirley: "Who told you tha- Oh good lord! You're Tinkletown? Jeff: "Don't call me that!"
-I wish there actually was a Youtube channel of Leonard reviewing Frozen Pizza.
Friday 2 December 2011
The Office: Mrs. California
What Happened, Yo!:
-Robert announces to Andy (and Jim who happens to be in Andy's office) that in 4 seconds, his wife will be coming in. He told her she could work there, but under no circumstances can that happen.
-Susan California enters and though Andy informs her they are all staffed up, Robert insists they make something happen and gets Andy to show her around to all the departments.
-Later on, Andy keeps trying to insist that there's nothing they can do, but Robert is so persistent that they find his wife a place here, that eventually Andy gives her a job.
-Robert is not happy about this and unsure why Andy couldn't do this one simple thing.
-Andy insists to the office that they all be as mean to Susan as possible in order to get her to quit.
-The office does make Susan feel unwanted (though they all like her) until she goes to Robert, but Robert once again gets Andy to handle the situation.
-Susan figures out Robert has a hand in this, but Robert fervantly denies it when Andy claims that Robert told him not to hire her.
-Andy pulls Jim into it, so Jim makes a run for it.
-Eventually they catch him, but Jim just offers some advice about a husband and wife working together.
-Susan and Robert have the room alone and they have an unheard argument.
-Susan and Andy later say that they hit it off and he mentions the office would've loved for her to work there (except for Robert.). Susan says something that implies she wants to go on a date with Andy after all this settles down, and Andy is confused once more.
-Meanwhile, Dwight starts a gym and tries to get Daryl to join. The "gym" is all farm equipment, so Daryl makes him get real equipment.
-Later Daryl admits he's working out so he can look good for Val (the new girl in the warehouse.). Dwight assumes he means Val Kilmer.
I Liked This: After the underwhelmingness of Gettysburg, The Office recovered from that with Mrs. California, which I enjoyed for the most part. Once again, we get a bit more insight into the life of Robert, while adding to the mysteriousness, which is a big part of the character, currently. Susan was a good character and I hope to see more of her throughout the season, especially now that she's flirting with Andy, which would make for an intriguing dynamic between Andy and Robert. Daryl and Dwight's plot meanwhile delivered the laughs, and had a higher purpose at the end, now that we know for sure that Daryl is interested in Val. And John Krasinski got to do some good physical comedy with Jim's race to get away from the situation (which led to a classic Creed moment).
But...: While Jim running through the office park was funny, it really just seemed to be there because the writers had to fill out the third act of the story before the ending. Even Jim's speech on loving that he works with his life seemed sort of filler. Also, we never really got much insight into why Robert didn't want Susan working there, which could've added to the gravity of the ending. And while the cold open with Dwight's vow to never sit was funny, it seemed like a rerun of a couple other cold opens.
The Bottom Line: The Office rebounds after a disappointing outing with a solid episode, though not a flawless one.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Not much time for these this weeks but still have a couple.
-Creed on the roof with a romote-controlled helicopter was gold. As was Jim: "If anyone asks, I wasn't here". Creed: "Ok. But what about your friend?"
-Dwight: "I'm going to make you the buffest man Val Kilmer has ever seen!"
-Robert announces to Andy (and Jim who happens to be in Andy's office) that in 4 seconds, his wife will be coming in. He told her she could work there, but under no circumstances can that happen.
-Susan California enters and though Andy informs her they are all staffed up, Robert insists they make something happen and gets Andy to show her around to all the departments.
-Later on, Andy keeps trying to insist that there's nothing they can do, but Robert is so persistent that they find his wife a place here, that eventually Andy gives her a job.
-Robert is not happy about this and unsure why Andy couldn't do this one simple thing.
-Andy insists to the office that they all be as mean to Susan as possible in order to get her to quit.
-The office does make Susan feel unwanted (though they all like her) until she goes to Robert, but Robert once again gets Andy to handle the situation.
-Susan figures out Robert has a hand in this, but Robert fervantly denies it when Andy claims that Robert told him not to hire her.
-Andy pulls Jim into it, so Jim makes a run for it.
-Eventually they catch him, but Jim just offers some advice about a husband and wife working together.
-Susan and Robert have the room alone and they have an unheard argument.
-Susan and Andy later say that they hit it off and he mentions the office would've loved for her to work there (except for Robert.). Susan says something that implies she wants to go on a date with Andy after all this settles down, and Andy is confused once more.
-Meanwhile, Dwight starts a gym and tries to get Daryl to join. The "gym" is all farm equipment, so Daryl makes him get real equipment.
-Later Daryl admits he's working out so he can look good for Val (the new girl in the warehouse.). Dwight assumes he means Val Kilmer.
I Liked This: After the underwhelmingness of Gettysburg, The Office recovered from that with Mrs. California, which I enjoyed for the most part. Once again, we get a bit more insight into the life of Robert, while adding to the mysteriousness, which is a big part of the character, currently. Susan was a good character and I hope to see more of her throughout the season, especially now that she's flirting with Andy, which would make for an intriguing dynamic between Andy and Robert. Daryl and Dwight's plot meanwhile delivered the laughs, and had a higher purpose at the end, now that we know for sure that Daryl is interested in Val. And John Krasinski got to do some good physical comedy with Jim's race to get away from the situation (which led to a classic Creed moment).
But...: While Jim running through the office park was funny, it really just seemed to be there because the writers had to fill out the third act of the story before the ending. Even Jim's speech on loving that he works with his life seemed sort of filler. Also, we never really got much insight into why Robert didn't want Susan working there, which could've added to the gravity of the ending. And while the cold open with Dwight's vow to never sit was funny, it seemed like a rerun of a couple other cold opens.
The Bottom Line: The Office rebounds after a disappointing outing with a solid episode, though not a flawless one.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Not much time for these this weeks but still have a couple.
-Creed on the roof with a romote-controlled helicopter was gold. As was Jim: "If anyone asks, I wasn't here". Creed: "Ok. But what about your friend?"
-Dwight: "I'm going to make you the buffest man Val Kilmer has ever seen!"
Parks and Recreation: The Trial of Leslie Knope
What Happened, Yo!:
-Leslie and Ben disclose their relationship to Chris, who even though he believes they are exemplary employees, has no choice but to set up ethics trials for the two of them to figure out how to proceed.
-Leslie's trial is first and while Ben can't be there, he tells her he'll be right outside, adjacent to an ugly portrait of a Pawnee Judge whose face was exploded by dynamite.
-As the trial begins, Leslie admits to having an illicit relationship, and insists that's the only rule she's broken. She's shocked however, when Chris announces he believes the relationship started sooner than she claimed, she got special treatment over it, and that she's guilty of bribery, and that he's bringing in 14 witnesses to prove it. This makes her decide to fight back.
-As she goes through all the witnesses, she disproves every one of Chris' claims. He still supposedly has a killer witness though. This seems to be Tammy 2 until Chris points out that she will be fired and prosecuted if she lies, causing her to leave.
-It then turns out that the killer witness is the maintenance worker that Leslie and Ben bribed in the season 3 finale.
-Leslie knows she's sunk now and has half an hour to find something to help her case. She gets everyone to help look and even sends Donna to get Ben. But Ben is no longer where he said he would be for some reason.
-As she worries to Ron that she's a bad person, Ron tells her that a good person can still do bad things. But a good person owns up to what they've done. Leslie stops searching for a loophole and decides to take the punishment.
-Ultimately she is given a two weeks paid suspension, because Ben has accepted full responsibility for everything and has resigned, despite Chris' protests.
-Chris tells Leslie once again that she is a great government worker, but he also adds that she is the only woman he knows who is worthy of dating Ben. He advises she hear the last page of Ben's testimony and we find out he declared his love for her.
-That night, she comes home to him with the court stenographer who reads Leslie's own court-recorded declaration of love to Ben. They kiss.
-In the end, we see Jerry's testimony, and learn that Jerry's name is really Gary, but the first park's director he worked for called him Jerry, and Jerry didn't bother to correct him. Leslie is still going to call him Jerry, but she and Chris can't get over this revelation and end his testimony prematurely.
I Liked This: Boom. This episode finally brings the story of Leslie and Ben's secret romance to a conclusion, and what a conclusion it was. It was full of heart and lots of comedic moments. In fact the seriousness of the situation was pretty underplayed until the big second act reveal. I liked how it alluded to the events of past episodes (and cut to clips from them when necessary), but still made it so a first time viewer could understand what was happening. I was also a fan of Chris this episode, who got to struggle with his duty as City Manager, and was only the bad guy because he was forced to be. For a guy who can be ultra over-the-top at times, it was good to see his more human side come out (though his over-the-topness was still there, through the insane amount of vitamin supplements he was taking and his jumping up and down during Ben's resignation, followed by his uncontrollable sobbing in Ben's arms). And of course, the rest of the ensemble also got their chance to shine. I also liked how the episode limited the use of Ben, making his final scenes that much more powerful. And anytime where we learn tidbits/see murals of the history of Pawnee is a good time, and this episode was loaded with them (My favorite tidbit being that it's still illegal for black people to use the sidewalk apparently.).
But...: One quibble. If Jerry really is Gary, than how come his mother referred to him as Gerald in her diary in the episode Time Capsule. Explain that Gar/Jerry.
The Bottom Line: Smallest Park didn't have a long reign as best episode of the season. The Trial of Leslie Knope truly shines as one of the series best.
Grade: Holy BLANK! (Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-The cold open with Ron learning about Google Earth was pure shiny gold.
-Leslie: "Marcus Everett Langley was Pawnee's greatest lawyer at the turn of century. His nickname was Old Stoneface because of his steely demeanor… and because he got in an accident at the rock quarry and dynamite blew up his face."
-Leslie: “Sarah Nelson Quindle exposed her elbow outdoors which was a class A felony. Although she felt the law unjust, she acknowledged that she had broken it and she nobly accepted her punishment: to be set adrift on Lake Michigan like a human Popsicle.” Honestly, this may be my new favorite mural Parks has done, right up there with the secret wedding one from 94 Meetings and the one of the Magician being burned at the stake in 1974 from the Harvest Festival Producer's cut.
-On the night Leslie and Ben first hooked up, Leslie also discovered iMovie, made a ridiculous trailer, and sent it to Ann.
-Leslie kissing Tom is brought up again, but Tom insists dating Leslie would be like dating his older sister's elderly aunt. "No it wouldn't", says Leslie, distracted for a moment.
-Ron refusing to let the address of his cabin be spoken, despite it being important to Leslie's case was also great.
-At one point, Pawnee outlawed every sex position except Missionary. Two years later, Missionary was also banned.
-Another great old law. Any woman caught laughing is a witch.
-Chris: “Your actions wounded me to my core. Which is not easy since the bulk of my workouts are focused on core strengthening.”
-Ethel in the midst of Leslie and Ben's kiss: "Can I get a ride home? It's freezing out!"
-Leslie and Ben disclose their relationship to Chris, who even though he believes they are exemplary employees, has no choice but to set up ethics trials for the two of them to figure out how to proceed.
-Leslie's trial is first and while Ben can't be there, he tells her he'll be right outside, adjacent to an ugly portrait of a Pawnee Judge whose face was exploded by dynamite.
-As the trial begins, Leslie admits to having an illicit relationship, and insists that's the only rule she's broken. She's shocked however, when Chris announces he believes the relationship started sooner than she claimed, she got special treatment over it, and that she's guilty of bribery, and that he's bringing in 14 witnesses to prove it. This makes her decide to fight back.
-As she goes through all the witnesses, she disproves every one of Chris' claims. He still supposedly has a killer witness though. This seems to be Tammy 2 until Chris points out that she will be fired and prosecuted if she lies, causing her to leave.
-It then turns out that the killer witness is the maintenance worker that Leslie and Ben bribed in the season 3 finale.
-Leslie knows she's sunk now and has half an hour to find something to help her case. She gets everyone to help look and even sends Donna to get Ben. But Ben is no longer where he said he would be for some reason.
-As she worries to Ron that she's a bad person, Ron tells her that a good person can still do bad things. But a good person owns up to what they've done. Leslie stops searching for a loophole and decides to take the punishment.
-Ultimately she is given a two weeks paid suspension, because Ben has accepted full responsibility for everything and has resigned, despite Chris' protests.
-Chris tells Leslie once again that she is a great government worker, but he also adds that she is the only woman he knows who is worthy of dating Ben. He advises she hear the last page of Ben's testimony and we find out he declared his love for her.
-That night, she comes home to him with the court stenographer who reads Leslie's own court-recorded declaration of love to Ben. They kiss.
-In the end, we see Jerry's testimony, and learn that Jerry's name is really Gary, but the first park's director he worked for called him Jerry, and Jerry didn't bother to correct him. Leslie is still going to call him Jerry, but she and Chris can't get over this revelation and end his testimony prematurely.
I Liked This: Boom. This episode finally brings the story of Leslie and Ben's secret romance to a conclusion, and what a conclusion it was. It was full of heart and lots of comedic moments. In fact the seriousness of the situation was pretty underplayed until the big second act reveal. I liked how it alluded to the events of past episodes (and cut to clips from them when necessary), but still made it so a first time viewer could understand what was happening. I was also a fan of Chris this episode, who got to struggle with his duty as City Manager, and was only the bad guy because he was forced to be. For a guy who can be ultra over-the-top at times, it was good to see his more human side come out (though his over-the-topness was still there, through the insane amount of vitamin supplements he was taking and his jumping up and down during Ben's resignation, followed by his uncontrollable sobbing in Ben's arms). And of course, the rest of the ensemble also got their chance to shine. I also liked how the episode limited the use of Ben, making his final scenes that much more powerful. And anytime where we learn tidbits/see murals of the history of Pawnee is a good time, and this episode was loaded with them (My favorite tidbit being that it's still illegal for black people to use the sidewalk apparently.).
But...: One quibble. If Jerry really is Gary, than how come his mother referred to him as Gerald in her diary in the episode Time Capsule. Explain that Gar/Jerry.
The Bottom Line: Smallest Park didn't have a long reign as best episode of the season. The Trial of Leslie Knope truly shines as one of the series best.
Grade: Holy BLANK! (Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-The cold open with Ron learning about Google Earth was pure shiny gold.
-Leslie: "Marcus Everett Langley was Pawnee's greatest lawyer at the turn of century. His nickname was Old Stoneface because of his steely demeanor… and because he got in an accident at the rock quarry and dynamite blew up his face."
-Leslie: “Sarah Nelson Quindle exposed her elbow outdoors which was a class A felony. Although she felt the law unjust, she acknowledged that she had broken it and she nobly accepted her punishment: to be set adrift on Lake Michigan like a human Popsicle.” Honestly, this may be my new favorite mural Parks has done, right up there with the secret wedding one from 94 Meetings and the one of the Magician being burned at the stake in 1974 from the Harvest Festival Producer's cut.
-On the night Leslie and Ben first hooked up, Leslie also discovered iMovie, made a ridiculous trailer, and sent it to Ann.
-Leslie kissing Tom is brought up again, but Tom insists dating Leslie would be like dating his older sister's elderly aunt. "No it wouldn't", says Leslie, distracted for a moment.
-Ron refusing to let the address of his cabin be spoken, despite it being important to Leslie's case was also great.
-At one point, Pawnee outlawed every sex position except Missionary. Two years later, Missionary was also banned.
-Another great old law. Any woman caught laughing is a witch.
-Chris: “Your actions wounded me to my core. Which is not easy since the bulk of my workouts are focused on core strengthening.”
-Ethel in the midst of Leslie and Ben's kiss: "Can I get a ride home? It's freezing out!"
Thursday 1 December 2011
5 Things I Enjoyed About Survivor: South Pacific: Cult-Like
So once again, Survivor tricked me into thinking something could happen, only to go for the predictable vote. But this time around, I wasn't as bugged with the predictability of the vote, because there was plenty of interesting things going on with it. And of course, 5 things I enjoyed.
1. Cochran's Last Stand: Now that most of Savii is gone, Cochran is next on the chopping block unless he can change enough minds to rise him up to the sixth position. This is the thrust of much of the episode, and it's entertaining to watch Cochran try to save himself for one more day. His plea at the beginning of the episode seems to convince Albert and Coach (Though Sophie just got offended by it). But ultimately, he is voted out and sent to face Ozzy. Which means his big move was incredibly stupid in the long run and ultimately left him worse off than he would've been if he had just stuck with Savii. Which is too bad for him, but that's how the game is played.
2. Lie About Your Birthday And Get A Massage: I just found this really funny. Part of Cochran's plea was that it was almost his birthday and he'd like to spend it with Upolu. So Albert gave up his reward to Cochran as a birthday present (and also probably an attempt to get Cochran's vote at the end.). The best part of this? It wasn't anywhere close to Cochran's birthday. Of course, Albert still may have given Cochran the reward to get favour, but it's funnier that it was partially a birthday present.
3. Prince and Princess Albert: At first, I just liked the scene of Albert not doing work around camp and Edna and Rick complaining, because Rick got to do some talking. And his line about Prince Albert was funny. But Cochran later used Rick's comments to try and get Albert onboard to vote out Rick, which would've been an interesting turn of events, had they actually gone through with it. But even though, Cochran wound up getting voted out, it'll be interesting to see if this Prince Albert thing carries on to create more issues for Rick in the next couple episodes.
4. The Strange Case of Brandon Hantz: Over the course of the season, I've gone from being annoyed with Brandon to utterly fascinated by him. Here is a man with no room for the "shades of grey" theory on morality. Everything is black and white for him, which means he will always keep his word, but it makes it hard for him to strategize at all. Which is what everyone pointed out to him tonight, after his latest tribal outburst. There's something noble about a man who refuses to recognize a middle ground between good and bad, but in a game like Survivor, it's not that helpful. Things are definitely coming to a head for Brandon and I'm intrigued to see where things go from here, as next week hints Brandon is in trouble.
5. Saying No To Jeff Probst: So simple, but good enough to make my 5 Things I Enjoyed list. Jeff talks about what an eye-opening tribal they just had. Sophie just shakes her head no. She doesn't think it was eye-opening at all. Honestly, Sophie has been my pick to win for a while now and that simple gesture just elevated her further in my mind. Go Sophie! Keep disagreeing with Jeff.
1. Cochran's Last Stand: Now that most of Savii is gone, Cochran is next on the chopping block unless he can change enough minds to rise him up to the sixth position. This is the thrust of much of the episode, and it's entertaining to watch Cochran try to save himself for one more day. His plea at the beginning of the episode seems to convince Albert and Coach (Though Sophie just got offended by it). But ultimately, he is voted out and sent to face Ozzy. Which means his big move was incredibly stupid in the long run and ultimately left him worse off than he would've been if he had just stuck with Savii. Which is too bad for him, but that's how the game is played.
2. Lie About Your Birthday And Get A Massage: I just found this really funny. Part of Cochran's plea was that it was almost his birthday and he'd like to spend it with Upolu. So Albert gave up his reward to Cochran as a birthday present (and also probably an attempt to get Cochran's vote at the end.). The best part of this? It wasn't anywhere close to Cochran's birthday. Of course, Albert still may have given Cochran the reward to get favour, but it's funnier that it was partially a birthday present.
3. Prince and Princess Albert: At first, I just liked the scene of Albert not doing work around camp and Edna and Rick complaining, because Rick got to do some talking. And his line about Prince Albert was funny. But Cochran later used Rick's comments to try and get Albert onboard to vote out Rick, which would've been an interesting turn of events, had they actually gone through with it. But even though, Cochran wound up getting voted out, it'll be interesting to see if this Prince Albert thing carries on to create more issues for Rick in the next couple episodes.
4. The Strange Case of Brandon Hantz: Over the course of the season, I've gone from being annoyed with Brandon to utterly fascinated by him. Here is a man with no room for the "shades of grey" theory on morality. Everything is black and white for him, which means he will always keep his word, but it makes it hard for him to strategize at all. Which is what everyone pointed out to him tonight, after his latest tribal outburst. There's something noble about a man who refuses to recognize a middle ground between good and bad, but in a game like Survivor, it's not that helpful. Things are definitely coming to a head for Brandon and I'm intrigued to see where things go from here, as next week hints Brandon is in trouble.
5. Saying No To Jeff Probst: So simple, but good enough to make my 5 Things I Enjoyed list. Jeff talks about what an eye-opening tribal they just had. Sophie just shakes her head no. She doesn't think it was eye-opening at all. Honestly, Sophie has been my pick to win for a while now and that simple gesture just elevated her further in my mind. Go Sophie! Keep disagreeing with Jeff.
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