What Happened, Yo!:
-Taylor is going OTG for the next day. He and Skye talk about how the anniversary of her parents death from some serious disease I've forgotten the name of is very soon, and how when he gets back they'll walk to some memorial area.
-Heightened security measures are in place until the spy is caught. Because Washington is away, Jim is left in charge while Taylor is gone and hopes to track down the mole.
-Zoe's pet Ankylosaur is getting big and will have to be released soon. Zoe isn't happy about it.
-Skye still isn't happy that Josh ignored her and stole from his mother.
-Oh, and Skye is also the spy! And she accidentally left a blood sample for Jim and Reynolds to find!
-Taylor is examining the latest equations Lucas has left behind when Mira gets the jump on him and captures him.
-Skye volunteers to go on a detail with Josh so she can sneak away and meet up with her Sixers contact.
-It turns out that the Sixers are keeping her mother alive with a cure but will stop giving her the cure if Skye stops getting them information.
-Taylor and Mira trade info as Mira marches Taylor to her base. Lucas is apparently close to completing his work and hates Taylor because of something he did in Somalia.
-Mira is startled by a dinosaur, giving Taylor a chance to turn the tables and make her his hostage, but we see slashers are stalking them.
-Jim strong arms Malcolm into getting the DNA from the blood sample and the computer begins computing it.
-The Slashers attack and Taylor and Mira have to dive over a waterfall where they lose their guns.
-Determining that the Slashers are a young male and female who are staking out their region and being territorial, Taylor and Mira team up to fight them off.
-Reynolds tells Jim he intends to marry Maddy. Jim points out that she's only 16, so that's kind of creepy (well he doesn't use the word creepy. But it's kind of creepy.)
-Skye, who has the night shift on her medical internship, notices her DNA being computed. Later on, she sneaks into the lab and destroys it.
-Though the sample has been destroyed, by determining who had access to the centre, and using the info they could get from the DNA to narrow down gender, Jim narrows it down to 47 suspects.
-Mira and Taylor successfully fight off the dinosaurs.They admit they could've been a good team if they were on the same side and go their separate ways.
-Jim tells Reynolds he's a good kid and that he's a lot easier on him than Elizabeth's father was on Jim.
-The Shannons release the Anklyosaur into the wild and it quickly finds a bigger Ankylosaur.
-Skye and Taylor set off on their walk to the memorial area, with Taylor still unaware that she is the spy.
I Liked This: This episode continued the trend of pushing things forward towards a big conclusion. I'm fine with the reveal that Skye is the spy, because she's been underused these past few weeks and the justification of the reveal was well done. I had a feeling that Skye's mention that she hoped a cure for the disease that killed her parents would turn out to be significant, but the reveal that her mother was actually alive was an unexpected one. Plus Terra Nova made up for the past couple dino-sparse weeks with the Taylor/Mira plot (which was a pretty solid plot in general). And the dinosaurs all looked real good too. Way better than that swordfish from a couple weeks ago.
But...: The Taylor/Mira plot was mostly solid, but it suffered from some pretty clunky dialogue in parts. Also, Taylor and Mira were so casual with each other, it robbed the plot of a lot of it's urgency. Skye destroying her DNA sample also just seemed like a way to drag out the spy plot for another week. And while the Anklyosaur story was sweet, since this was only the second time we'd seen this thing, the emotional impact of it leaving didn't really land.
The Bottom Line: A rather solid episode with some issues as things begin to ramp up for the finale. I'm getting psyched as to where we're going with this.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
-Dinosaur Scene Count: 7!
-Best Dinosaur Moment: Taylor and Mira versus the Slashers.
-Reynolds continues to be awkward around Jim. It's good to see them interact more this week and their relationship develop, but I'm still hoping this is leading up to something.
-Oh, and how could Reynolds think that the middle of a spy hunt is the proper time to declare his intentions for Maddy? Silly Reynolds.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Monday, 28 November 2011
Memorable Moments: The Simpsons: The Man In The Blue Flannel Pants
Quicky Opinion: The Man In The Blue Flannel Pants wasn't quite as good as the previous couple weeks, but it still managed to pack in lots of funny lines. Plus it used Mad Men to freshen up the standard "Homer get promoted" plot in funny and interesting ways. So season 23 continues being quite swell. Quicky Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)
Memorable Moments
-Bart's corpse bride fantasy was pretty funny. Especially Homer's tearful response to the bride eating Bart's brains. "Why does she get to eat before the reception?"
-Milhouse: "Maybe for once, I'll win." Krusty: "Children of troubled marriages not eligible".
-Homer once hired an unauthorized Krusty look-alike for Lisa's first communion. Krappy the Klonk.
-Absolut Krusty Presents: Celebrating Friendship With The Stimsons
-Kurt has to go to the kid's party because he said the clown scared him.
-Mr. Burns: "I was in an anecdote once".
-Mr. Burns is asked to do a popular song for karaoke.: "Do you have anything by Prince... Wilhelm of Prussia?"
-Smithers: "As safety inspector, he hasn't really set the world on fire. Although, he came close several times."
-Robet Marlow: "Before you go any farther Simpson, it's my duty to warn you. Account men lose their soul". Homer: "Woohoo! No more church!"
-Homer: "Wow! I can't believe I'm eating steak with the mayor! The next time I vote for you, it's going to be on purpose!"
-Homer: "Could you be my dad?" Marlow: "If your mom was a secretary, there's a pretty good chance I am".
-Bart: "I'll get one of those jobs where you don't have to read like french fry maker or general!"
-Homer: "You can't touch electricity Marge. You can't feel it". Marge: "That's because it would kill you".
-Marge's confrontation with Marlow and the constantly switching backgrounds was great.
-Marlow: "I gave up on my family. Than I gave up on my other secret family. I missed my son's graduation, my father's funeral and my dog's best in show".
-Nelson: "You're reading a chapter book! For fun! Bully's! To me!"
-The bully's getting drawn into Little Women was also classic. "Bart needs to work on differentiating the character voices a little better". "I know. I keep thinking, why is Meg saying that and than I realize, it's Beth!"
-Secretary: "This is a whisper amplifying intercom!"
-Mr. Burns: "It's about time. We've been making small talk abotu Mussolini for 15 minutes!"
-Diversity Kittens on Melting Pot Mountain. Also great!
-Homer: "My co-workers are like a family. But in some ways, my family are like a family too".
-Mr. Burns: "How ironic. I survived the titanic by making a raft out of stirrage passengers. And now this".
-Homer falls off a waterfall but he survives AND finds gold.
-Homer: "Your worries are over. Now I'm back to being a boring old safety inspector at a nuclear power plant".
Memorable Moments
-Bart's corpse bride fantasy was pretty funny. Especially Homer's tearful response to the bride eating Bart's brains. "Why does she get to eat before the reception?"
-Milhouse: "Maybe for once, I'll win." Krusty: "Children of troubled marriages not eligible".
-Homer once hired an unauthorized Krusty look-alike for Lisa's first communion. Krappy the Klonk.
-Absolut Krusty Presents: Celebrating Friendship With The Stimsons
-Kurt has to go to the kid's party because he said the clown scared him.
-Mr. Burns: "I was in an anecdote once".
-Mr. Burns is asked to do a popular song for karaoke.: "Do you have anything by Prince... Wilhelm of Prussia?"
-Smithers: "As safety inspector, he hasn't really set the world on fire. Although, he came close several times."
-Robet Marlow: "Before you go any farther Simpson, it's my duty to warn you. Account men lose their soul". Homer: "Woohoo! No more church!"
-Homer: "Wow! I can't believe I'm eating steak with the mayor! The next time I vote for you, it's going to be on purpose!"
-Homer: "Could you be my dad?" Marlow: "If your mom was a secretary, there's a pretty good chance I am".
-Bart: "I'll get one of those jobs where you don't have to read like french fry maker or general!"
-Homer: "You can't touch electricity Marge. You can't feel it". Marge: "That's because it would kill you".
-Marge's confrontation with Marlow and the constantly switching backgrounds was great.
-Marlow: "I gave up on my family. Than I gave up on my other secret family. I missed my son's graduation, my father's funeral and my dog's best in show".
-Nelson: "You're reading a chapter book! For fun! Bully's! To me!"
-The bully's getting drawn into Little Women was also classic. "Bart needs to work on differentiating the character voices a little better". "I know. I keep thinking, why is Meg saying that and than I realize, it's Beth!"
-Secretary: "This is a whisper amplifying intercom!"
-Mr. Burns: "It's about time. We've been making small talk abotu Mussolini for 15 minutes!"
-Diversity Kittens on Melting Pot Mountain. Also great!
-Homer: "My co-workers are like a family. But in some ways, my family are like a family too".
-Mr. Burns: "How ironic. I survived the titanic by making a raft out of stirrage passengers. And now this".
-Homer falls off a waterfall but he survives AND finds gold.
-Homer: "Your worries are over. Now I'm back to being a boring old safety inspector at a nuclear power plant".
Friday, 25 November 2011
Modern Family: Punkin Chunkin'
What Happened, Yo!:
-Kenneth, a former neighborhood kid who looked up to Phil is coming to visit on Thanksgiving.
-Kenneth reveals that he's become very rich and successful and he owes it all to emulating Phil and following his heart.
-When Luke wonders why Kenneth has gotten rich being like Phil and Phil hasn't, Phil decides it because Claire supresses him.
-After Claire criticizes his efforts setting the tables for Thanksgiving, he vents his frustrations at her.
-Meanwhile Manny has made a bad centrepiece for Thanksgiving, but Gloria insists on praising it and tells Jay not to be negative.
-Jay eventually tells Manny anyways, because he feels he could handle it. Manny takes it, but he clearly isn't happy about it.
-Also meanwhile, Cameron is telling his Punkin Chunkin' story, which is about how he and his friends allegedly shot a pumpkin across a football field and through the sunroof of the local preacher. When it ends a little flat, Mitchell makes the wah-wah sound and saves it. Cam does not appreciate this.
-Mitchell tells Cam to maybe stick with the stories that are true, but Cam insists Punkin Chunkin' happened.
-Lastly meanwhile, Alex distracts Hayley who inadvertantly dents the family van. Hayley wants Alex to keep it a secret, but Alex has a hard time with this.
-At the Thanksgiving dinner, all the tension comes to a head with the family dividing into camps based on who believes Cam's story. This means we have the Dreamers (Most of the characters) and the Pritchetts (Jay, Claire, Mitchell, Alex). They decide to settle once and for all if you can shoot a pumpkin across a football field.
-The dreamers try and fail, but the Pritchetts take pity on them and decide to help them, by adjusting the sling they're using and getting more pumpkins.
-Alex and Hayley come clean about the van just as a pumpkin finally makes it across the field and slams into the side, meaning it would've been dented anyways and they could've got away with it.
I Liked This: I haven't talked about Modern Family in a while, mostly due to timing issues, but I was a fan of Punkin Chunkin'. A lot of the elements in it are familliar (Claire, Mitchell and Jay being spoilsports isn't exactly breaking new ground), but there's plenty of comedy in it and they did find some new places to go with it. Phil and Luke continue to be a stellar combination, and the whole thing with the headscratcher was great. And the resolution of the realists helping the dreamers was sweet. Also, this is the second time in like two weeks that a character named Kenneth has been on a show I watch. I find that awesome.
But...: There was some weak moments to all the plots, and the Alex/Hayley story could've used at least one more scene before the conclusion. And while the resolution of the episode was sweet, it was a bit too predictable.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
The Bottom Line: Punkin Chunkin' was a solid Modern Family episode with lots of fun to be had, even with the rehashing of old themes.
Memorable Moments
-Luke's inexplicable hatred of Lily continues to be great for comedy. Especially his desire to try shooting her across the football field.
-Phil and Luke do the voice of the turkey while Claire prepares it. When she adds in "Tell my wife and kids I love them" as she puts the turkey in the oven, they find that too dark.
-Phil: "If I had a son he'd be like Kenneth Ploufe". Claire: "You do have a son".
-Phil: "I wouldn't say I was his hero". Claire: "You just did". Phil: "Because you weren't going to".
-Jay: "If you told him the truth he'd thank you later". Gloria: "Like Claire and Mitch, did they thank you?" Jay: "Not yet, but it's coming".
-Haley: "Saying nothing is not lying. It's just letting the truth speak for itself".
-Phil: "I love your 'I love you,' but I'm getting tired of your 'but.' Yeah I heard it."
-Kenneth, a former neighborhood kid who looked up to Phil is coming to visit on Thanksgiving.
-Kenneth reveals that he's become very rich and successful and he owes it all to emulating Phil and following his heart.
-When Luke wonders why Kenneth has gotten rich being like Phil and Phil hasn't, Phil decides it because Claire supresses him.
-After Claire criticizes his efforts setting the tables for Thanksgiving, he vents his frustrations at her.
-Meanwhile Manny has made a bad centrepiece for Thanksgiving, but Gloria insists on praising it and tells Jay not to be negative.
-Jay eventually tells Manny anyways, because he feels he could handle it. Manny takes it, but he clearly isn't happy about it.
-Also meanwhile, Cameron is telling his Punkin Chunkin' story, which is about how he and his friends allegedly shot a pumpkin across a football field and through the sunroof of the local preacher. When it ends a little flat, Mitchell makes the wah-wah sound and saves it. Cam does not appreciate this.
-Mitchell tells Cam to maybe stick with the stories that are true, but Cam insists Punkin Chunkin' happened.
-Lastly meanwhile, Alex distracts Hayley who inadvertantly dents the family van. Hayley wants Alex to keep it a secret, but Alex has a hard time with this.
-At the Thanksgiving dinner, all the tension comes to a head with the family dividing into camps based on who believes Cam's story. This means we have the Dreamers (Most of the characters) and the Pritchetts (Jay, Claire, Mitchell, Alex). They decide to settle once and for all if you can shoot a pumpkin across a football field.
-The dreamers try and fail, but the Pritchetts take pity on them and decide to help them, by adjusting the sling they're using and getting more pumpkins.
-Alex and Hayley come clean about the van just as a pumpkin finally makes it across the field and slams into the side, meaning it would've been dented anyways and they could've got away with it.
I Liked This: I haven't talked about Modern Family in a while, mostly due to timing issues, but I was a fan of Punkin Chunkin'. A lot of the elements in it are familliar (Claire, Mitchell and Jay being spoilsports isn't exactly breaking new ground), but there's plenty of comedy in it and they did find some new places to go with it. Phil and Luke continue to be a stellar combination, and the whole thing with the headscratcher was great. And the resolution of the realists helping the dreamers was sweet. Also, this is the second time in like two weeks that a character named Kenneth has been on a show I watch. I find that awesome.
But...: There was some weak moments to all the plots, and the Alex/Hayley story could've used at least one more scene before the conclusion. And while the resolution of the episode was sweet, it was a bit too predictable.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
The Bottom Line: Punkin Chunkin' was a solid Modern Family episode with lots of fun to be had, even with the rehashing of old themes.
Memorable Moments
-Luke's inexplicable hatred of Lily continues to be great for comedy. Especially his desire to try shooting her across the football field.
-Phil and Luke do the voice of the turkey while Claire prepares it. When she adds in "Tell my wife and kids I love them" as she puts the turkey in the oven, they find that too dark.
-Phil: "If I had a son he'd be like Kenneth Ploufe". Claire: "You do have a son".
-Phil: "I wouldn't say I was his hero". Claire: "You just did". Phil: "Because you weren't going to".
-Jay: "If you told him the truth he'd thank you later". Gloria: "Like Claire and Mitch, did they thank you?" Jay: "Not yet, but it's coming".
-Haley: "Saying nothing is not lying. It's just letting the truth speak for itself".
-Phil: "I love your 'I love you,' but I'm getting tired of your 'but.' Yeah I heard it."
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Terra Nova: Vs.
What Happened, Yo!:
-We discover that Mira's method of getting info about Terra Nova involves a bigger than normal, but not dinosaur-huge dinosaur.
-Taylor is interrogating Boylan, who claims to know nothing and that his only business with Mira was trading.
-It's almost time for the Harvest Festival and Zoe has landed the part of Commander Taylor in the kid's harvest play, which Maddy is overseeing.
-A drugged Boylan mistakes Jim for Taylor and tells him some cryptic thing about knowing about what's buried underneath the Pilgrim Tree. Jim finds a one-armed skeleton.
-Elizabeth is examining the skeleton.
-A soldier hits the dragonfly as it flies by the kid's rehearsing their show and Maddy finds that there's a microchip on it.
-Malcolm tells Taylor the dragonfly was like a prehistoric carrier pidgeon and tries to figure out how it's being controlled.
-Boylan is released and tells Jim he helped Taylor bury the body the night before he left the service and that's all he knows.
-Elizabeth finds through a time signature that the body apparently came between the second and third pilgrimage.
-Malcolm discovers the body and alerts Taylor. Jim claims a note led him to the body and that he suspects it was killed by a dinosaur. Taylor lets it go fornow.
-Malcolm hones in on the frequency used to control the dragonfly, fixes it's broken wing and releases it during the play to figure out where it was going.
-During the play, Jim and Elizabeth realize that Taylor's superior was a one-armed man who went missing around the same timeframe the man appeared. They deduce that he was probably coming to relieve Taylor of his command.
-The dragonfly goes to the Shannon's house, implying the spy is from there. Jim is arrested as the spy.
-Taylor tries to get him to drop the investigation but Jim won't and Taylor eventually tells him the truth.
-The people who sent the Sixers to Terra Nova want to drain it of it's resources, much like they ruined the future. They sent Taylor's son to work on two-way travel between Terra Nova and the future so this would be possible.
-Taylor found out and destroyed Lucas' research. A couple days later the general (also working with the guys from the future) appeared to relieve Taylor of command. Taylor won't relent, so he tries to kill him. Taylor kills the general first and banishes his son from Terra Nova. His son still carries on with his work and leaves equations for Taylor to find.
-Jim agrees to help Taylor fight and is released.
-Later it is implied that Taylor set the whole confrontation with Jim up.
-At the evening part of the Harvest Festival, Taylor welcomes a baby to Terra Nova and says how thankful he is for the colony.
-As fireworks go off, we see Lucas in the forest watching the fireworks.
I Liked This: This was a rather solid installment. We got a lot of answers this week and I liked them. The idea of corporations wanting to stripmine Terra Nova's resources is an interesting one, though I wonder if there's more to the story than what we heard. The whole mystery with the one-armed general was also well done (with the exception of one thing which I'll mention shortly), as was the latest development in the Jim/Taylor relationship. And Zoe playing Taylor in the play filled the adorable quota for the week.
But...: The dinosaur quoto this week went completely unfilled. They didn't even have other big prehistoric creatures to fill the void! Not even an establishing shot or a check in with that Anklyosaurus Zoe is supposed to be raising! What's up with that? On a more legitimate complaint note, though I liked the answers, I'm a bit disappointed in the manner we got them. I can accept that we basically got an info dump, with everything given in one monologue followed by one flashback, but I didn't feel that the show had earned that info dump, with the way the story was set up. Maybe if Taylor and Jim had had one more confrontation, before the arrest sequence, but oh well. And the fact that the play revealed the identity of the skeleton felt a bit too convenient for my tastes.
The Bottom Line: The answers could've been better delivered, but this was a rather solid episode of Terra Nova with plenty of answers, and a good way to start the lead-up to the forthcoming season finale. If only there were dinosaurs.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
Dinosaur Scene Count: Zero!
Best Dinosaur Moment: None!
-I also think the "Harvest Festival" was Terra Nova's sneaky way of doing a Thanksgiving episode.
-They have to reveal the spy next week. Right?
-The soldier who hit the dragonfly claimed he was doing it because he thought it was scaring the children. Sure. The children.
-Next weeks episode looks to make up for these past couple dino-sparse weeks. Excellent.
-We discover that Mira's method of getting info about Terra Nova involves a bigger than normal, but not dinosaur-huge dinosaur.
-Taylor is interrogating Boylan, who claims to know nothing and that his only business with Mira was trading.
-It's almost time for the Harvest Festival and Zoe has landed the part of Commander Taylor in the kid's harvest play, which Maddy is overseeing.
-A drugged Boylan mistakes Jim for Taylor and tells him some cryptic thing about knowing about what's buried underneath the Pilgrim Tree. Jim finds a one-armed skeleton.
-Elizabeth is examining the skeleton.
-A soldier hits the dragonfly as it flies by the kid's rehearsing their show and Maddy finds that there's a microchip on it.
-Malcolm tells Taylor the dragonfly was like a prehistoric carrier pidgeon and tries to figure out how it's being controlled.
-Boylan is released and tells Jim he helped Taylor bury the body the night before he left the service and that's all he knows.
-Elizabeth finds through a time signature that the body apparently came between the second and third pilgrimage.
-Malcolm discovers the body and alerts Taylor. Jim claims a note led him to the body and that he suspects it was killed by a dinosaur. Taylor lets it go fornow.
-Malcolm hones in on the frequency used to control the dragonfly, fixes it's broken wing and releases it during the play to figure out where it was going.
-During the play, Jim and Elizabeth realize that Taylor's superior was a one-armed man who went missing around the same timeframe the man appeared. They deduce that he was probably coming to relieve Taylor of his command.
-The dragonfly goes to the Shannon's house, implying the spy is from there. Jim is arrested as the spy.
-Taylor tries to get him to drop the investigation but Jim won't and Taylor eventually tells him the truth.
-The people who sent the Sixers to Terra Nova want to drain it of it's resources, much like they ruined the future. They sent Taylor's son to work on two-way travel between Terra Nova and the future so this would be possible.
-Taylor found out and destroyed Lucas' research. A couple days later the general (also working with the guys from the future) appeared to relieve Taylor of command. Taylor won't relent, so he tries to kill him. Taylor kills the general first and banishes his son from Terra Nova. His son still carries on with his work and leaves equations for Taylor to find.
-Jim agrees to help Taylor fight and is released.
-Later it is implied that Taylor set the whole confrontation with Jim up.
-At the evening part of the Harvest Festival, Taylor welcomes a baby to Terra Nova and says how thankful he is for the colony.
-As fireworks go off, we see Lucas in the forest watching the fireworks.
I Liked This: This was a rather solid installment. We got a lot of answers this week and I liked them. The idea of corporations wanting to stripmine Terra Nova's resources is an interesting one, though I wonder if there's more to the story than what we heard. The whole mystery with the one-armed general was also well done (with the exception of one thing which I'll mention shortly), as was the latest development in the Jim/Taylor relationship. And Zoe playing Taylor in the play filled the adorable quota for the week.
But...: The dinosaur quoto this week went completely unfilled. They didn't even have other big prehistoric creatures to fill the void! Not even an establishing shot or a check in with that Anklyosaurus Zoe is supposed to be raising! What's up with that? On a more legitimate complaint note, though I liked the answers, I'm a bit disappointed in the manner we got them. I can accept that we basically got an info dump, with everything given in one monologue followed by one flashback, but I didn't feel that the show had earned that info dump, with the way the story was set up. Maybe if Taylor and Jim had had one more confrontation, before the arrest sequence, but oh well. And the fact that the play revealed the identity of the skeleton felt a bit too convenient for my tastes.
The Bottom Line: The answers could've been better delivered, but this was a rather solid episode of Terra Nova with plenty of answers, and a good way to start the lead-up to the forthcoming season finale. If only there were dinosaurs.
Grade: Awesome! (Good)
Memorable Moments
Dinosaur Scene Count: Zero!
Best Dinosaur Moment: None!
-I also think the "Harvest Festival" was Terra Nova's sneaky way of doing a Thanksgiving episode.
-They have to reveal the spy next week. Right?
-The soldier who hit the dragonfly claimed he was doing it because he thought it was scaring the children. Sure. The children.
-Next weeks episode looks to make up for these past couple dino-sparse weeks. Excellent.
How I Met Your Mother: The Rebound Girl
What Happened, Yo!:
-Marshall and Lily are going to sell their house at the suburbs, but after realizing how much bigger it is than their apartment, they decide to move in.
-Ted and Barney are both going through hard times, consider going gay but realize they can't do it. Then, both going through hard times, they decide they want to adopt a baby together.
-Robin freaks out when she hears that Lily and Marshall want to move to Long Island. She tries to get them to not do it and they decide to wait for a sign. Then their neighbor tells them that if they were selling their apartment, he'd give them a good price for it so they decide to sell.
-Ted begins to have second thoughts about adopting a baby with Barney, when Barney starts talking about things like getting a pet cobra. So Barney gets a real baby to try and convince Ted. Ted is worried about the origins of the baby, but likes the attention it gets from women so decides to go with it.
-As they begin to gather for Thanksgiving in Lily and Marshall's new house, Robin locks herself in the bathroom and refuses to leave until Lily and Marshall change their minds.
-Lily is surprised when Ted and Barney show up with a baby, and when Barney goes off to find diapers, she convinces Ted that this isn't a good idea after all.
-Marshall talks to Robin and figures out that she's upset about something else besides him and Lily moving.
-The baby is revealed to belong to Barney's brother who Barney had invited to Thanksgiving without telling Lily (Well he had sent the e-mail about it to her Compuserve account.). James tells Ted that it isn't crazy to want a baby, but it'll be better if he waits for the right person.
-Ted and Barney don't go through with adopting a baby. Barney talks to Robin and asks if they're still friends. She says she hopes so. Barney tries to pass the whole baby thing off as Ted's idea. He asks Robin if she could ever she him with a baby.
-Robin reveals that she's pregnant.
I Liked This: Holy crap! I did not see that twist coming. The whole Robin/Barney storyline just got turned on it's head and I'm genuinely excited to see where the writers are going with this. And the episode building up to it was pretty great too. I liked the jokes about Marshall and Lily's apartment being too small, especially with Robin breaking two lamps. And the whole flashback where Marshall considers whether or not he should leave his job at the bank and becomes convinced he should become a Ghostbuster, complete with Ernie Hudson asking him "Who you gonna call?" was easily the comic highlight of the episode. The baby plot was also funny, with HIMYM showing that Hurricane is a great baby name. And Barney not knowing what diapers are appropiate for a baby was good too. But man, that ending.
But...: As great as the twist was, there is the chance that this twist could derail the rest of the season if this storyline isn't handled right. I'm confident this won't be an issue though.
The Bottom Line: This was a great episode with a big twist at the end, that's sure to affect the rest of the season in an interesting way. As long as it's handled right. Which it should be.
Memorable Moments:
-Barney: "I don't think I even like girls anymore". Ted: "Based on all the stuff you've done with them over the years, I'm not sure you ever liked them."
-Barney on seahorses: "They have little pouches! They should be sea kangaroos".
-Future Ted: "Kids, I cannot stress this enough. Barney and I were going through a tough time."
-Barney: "A kid needs a pet cobra. Ted don't be pill about this."
-Robin: "Facts about Long Island: No. 1 It's Brooklyn's fart trail."
-Lily: "Ernie Hudson even begged you not to go through with it." Marshall: "Ernie Hudson is a coward."
-Marshall and Lily are going to sell their house at the suburbs, but after realizing how much bigger it is than their apartment, they decide to move in.
-Ted and Barney are both going through hard times, consider going gay but realize they can't do it. Then, both going through hard times, they decide they want to adopt a baby together.
-Robin freaks out when she hears that Lily and Marshall want to move to Long Island. She tries to get them to not do it and they decide to wait for a sign. Then their neighbor tells them that if they were selling their apartment, he'd give them a good price for it so they decide to sell.
-Ted begins to have second thoughts about adopting a baby with Barney, when Barney starts talking about things like getting a pet cobra. So Barney gets a real baby to try and convince Ted. Ted is worried about the origins of the baby, but likes the attention it gets from women so decides to go with it.
-As they begin to gather for Thanksgiving in Lily and Marshall's new house, Robin locks herself in the bathroom and refuses to leave until Lily and Marshall change their minds.
-Lily is surprised when Ted and Barney show up with a baby, and when Barney goes off to find diapers, she convinces Ted that this isn't a good idea after all.
-Marshall talks to Robin and figures out that she's upset about something else besides him and Lily moving.
-The baby is revealed to belong to Barney's brother who Barney had invited to Thanksgiving without telling Lily (Well he had sent the e-mail about it to her Compuserve account.). James tells Ted that it isn't crazy to want a baby, but it'll be better if he waits for the right person.
-Ted and Barney don't go through with adopting a baby. Barney talks to Robin and asks if they're still friends. She says she hopes so. Barney tries to pass the whole baby thing off as Ted's idea. He asks Robin if she could ever she him with a baby.
-Robin reveals that she's pregnant.
I Liked This: Holy crap! I did not see that twist coming. The whole Robin/Barney storyline just got turned on it's head and I'm genuinely excited to see where the writers are going with this. And the episode building up to it was pretty great too. I liked the jokes about Marshall and Lily's apartment being too small, especially with Robin breaking two lamps. And the whole flashback where Marshall considers whether or not he should leave his job at the bank and becomes convinced he should become a Ghostbuster, complete with Ernie Hudson asking him "Who you gonna call?" was easily the comic highlight of the episode. The baby plot was also funny, with HIMYM showing that Hurricane is a great baby name. And Barney not knowing what diapers are appropiate for a baby was good too. But man, that ending.
But...: As great as the twist was, there is the chance that this twist could derail the rest of the season if this storyline isn't handled right. I'm confident this won't be an issue though.
The Bottom Line: This was a great episode with a big twist at the end, that's sure to affect the rest of the season in an interesting way. As long as it's handled right. Which it should be.
Memorable Moments:
-Barney: "I don't think I even like girls anymore". Ted: "Based on all the stuff you've done with them over the years, I'm not sure you ever liked them."
-Barney on seahorses: "They have little pouches! They should be sea kangaroos".
-Future Ted: "Kids, I cannot stress this enough. Barney and I were going through a tough time."
-Barney: "A kid needs a pet cobra. Ted don't be pill about this."
-Robin: "Facts about Long Island: No. 1 It's Brooklyn's fart trail."
-Lily: "Ernie Hudson even begged you not to go through with it." Marshall: "Ernie Hudson is a coward."
Monday, 21 November 2011
Memorable Moments: The Simpsons: The Book Job
Quicky Opinion: Wow. The Book Job was definitely the best episode of the 23rd season so far and also one of the better modern Simpsons episodes in general. Combining satire about books written by committee with a heist film parody, making good use of characters like Moe or Professor Frink, and filled with tons of great jokes (and two great guest stars), this episode will stick in my memory for a while to come now. Grade: Zoundas! (Almost Perfect)
Memorable Moments
-For the second time in the row, no opening sequence, but if the episodes are this strong, I'm fine with that.
-The opening scene at the Dinosaur Show was great, especially with many of the kids freaking out at the dinosaurs. Milhouse shouts: "Those aren't dinosaurs! Dinosaurs sing!" before throwing his Barney doll at one. Ralph simply says: "I wanna go back inside Mommy." and tries to re-enter the womb.
-Lisa is shocked that T.R Francis isn't a real person. "Everybody knows you got the idea for the series after an explosion at a crumpet factory knocked you off a double-decker bus. How could that be made-up?"
-Angelica Button adventures include "Angelica Button and the Chalice of Consequence", "Angelica Button and The Mystery of Secrets", and "Angelica Button and the Half-Blood Pudding"
-Patty has read "enough fantasy novels to choke a hippogriff". Books on her shelf include: "My Orthodontist Is A Werewolf", "The Body Snatcher In The Rye", "Epic Fail", and "Booze Cruise of the Dawn Treader."
-Moe has apparently written five moderately successful childrens books, including There's A Rainbow In My Basement.
-Bart: "All we need now is a computer guy". Cut to them at Professor Frink's house. Homer: "Do you have a computer?" Professor Frink: "Uh, uh yes." Homer: "You're in." Frink: "In what?".
-Bart: "Like no one ever writes for money, Lisa? I don't see your boyfriend William Shakespeare missing out on too many meals."
-Some of the vampire books/categories shown include "Vampire Umpire", "Pep Rally of the Damned", books on Vampirates, "Tru Blood" (in the Southern Vampire section), and "The Babybiters Club".
-Bart: "OK Gaiman, you're in. Your job is to get lunch".
-Book titles seen at the book fair include: "Girl With The 'How To Train Your Dragon' Tatoo" "The Bourne Exploitation", "The Porpoise Driven Life", and "Sit, Stay, Love" by Rufus.
-CEO Guy: “Is R.L. Stine here? Because you just gave me goosebumps.”
-CEO Guy: "Don't feel bad. Before we got our hands on Twilight, it was about a girl who falls in love with a golem. But teenagers weren't going to spend their allowances to join team Schmule".
-Patty: "How could they do this to our book?" Skinner: "It was the singular vision of seven people!"
-Homer is inspired by the words of Neil Gaiman. “British Fonzie is right.”
-Bart: “Rule Number One of book heist: never fall in love with the book!”
-Skinner: "Bart, remember the thousand-year war between the trolls and the ogres?" Bart: "Yeah". Skinner: "Now It's a dance contest at the vampire prom".
-Tween Lit Inc. World Headquarters. Warning: Difficult To Break Into.
-Best one of the phase title cards that pop up from time to time: The Actual Heist.
-CEO Guy: "So you thought you would un-ruin your book. If it's any consolation, you never had a chance". Homer: "Woohoo! All right".
-CEO Guy: "Oh, by the way. The audio book is only available abridged. A-BRIDGED! Hahaha!"
-Lisa: “I got the idea from every movie ever made.”
-Neil Gaiman: "I heisted myself to the bestseller list once again. And the most brilliant part is I don't even know how to read."
-My favorite of all the fake book titles though, has to be "To Kill A Mockingjay", because To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and I just recently finished the Hunger Games Trilogy.
Memorable Moments
-For the second time in the row, no opening sequence, but if the episodes are this strong, I'm fine with that.
-The opening scene at the Dinosaur Show was great, especially with many of the kids freaking out at the dinosaurs. Milhouse shouts: "Those aren't dinosaurs! Dinosaurs sing!" before throwing his Barney doll at one. Ralph simply says: "I wanna go back inside Mommy." and tries to re-enter the womb.
-Lisa is shocked that T.R Francis isn't a real person. "Everybody knows you got the idea for the series after an explosion at a crumpet factory knocked you off a double-decker bus. How could that be made-up?"
-Angelica Button adventures include "Angelica Button and the Chalice of Consequence", "Angelica Button and The Mystery of Secrets", and "Angelica Button and the Half-Blood Pudding"
-Patty has read "enough fantasy novels to choke a hippogriff". Books on her shelf include: "My Orthodontist Is A Werewolf", "The Body Snatcher In The Rye", "Epic Fail", and "Booze Cruise of the Dawn Treader."
-Moe has apparently written five moderately successful childrens books, including There's A Rainbow In My Basement.
-Bart: "All we need now is a computer guy". Cut to them at Professor Frink's house. Homer: "Do you have a computer?" Professor Frink: "Uh, uh yes." Homer: "You're in." Frink: "In what?".
-Bart: "Like no one ever writes for money, Lisa? I don't see your boyfriend William Shakespeare missing out on too many meals."
-Some of the vampire books/categories shown include "Vampire Umpire", "Pep Rally of the Damned", books on Vampirates, "Tru Blood" (in the Southern Vampire section), and "The Babybiters Club".
-Bart: "OK Gaiman, you're in. Your job is to get lunch".
-Book titles seen at the book fair include: "Girl With The 'How To Train Your Dragon' Tatoo" "The Bourne Exploitation", "The Porpoise Driven Life", and "Sit, Stay, Love" by Rufus.
-CEO Guy: “Is R.L. Stine here? Because you just gave me goosebumps.”
-CEO Guy: "Don't feel bad. Before we got our hands on Twilight, it was about a girl who falls in love with a golem. But teenagers weren't going to spend their allowances to join team Schmule".
-Patty: "How could they do this to our book?" Skinner: "It was the singular vision of seven people!"
-Homer is inspired by the words of Neil Gaiman. “British Fonzie is right.”
-Bart: “Rule Number One of book heist: never fall in love with the book!”
-Skinner: "Bart, remember the thousand-year war between the trolls and the ogres?" Bart: "Yeah". Skinner: "Now It's a dance contest at the vampire prom".
-Tween Lit Inc. World Headquarters. Warning: Difficult To Break Into.
-Best one of the phase title cards that pop up from time to time: The Actual Heist.
-CEO Guy: "So you thought you would un-ruin your book. If it's any consolation, you never had a chance". Homer: "Woohoo! All right".
-CEO Guy: "Oh, by the way. The audio book is only available abridged. A-BRIDGED! Hahaha!"
-Lisa: “I got the idea from every movie ever made.”
-Neil Gaiman: "I heisted myself to the bestseller list once again. And the most brilliant part is I don't even know how to read."
-My favorite of all the fake book titles though, has to be "To Kill A Mockingjay", because To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and I just recently finished the Hunger Games Trilogy.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
The Office: Gettysburg
What Happened, Yo!:
-In the cold open, we learn Pam has been faking labor to get out of things she doesn't want to do. When her water breaks, it seems like it's happening for real, but it's another fake-out.
-Andy compares working in an office to war and wants to take the office to Gettysburg.
-Half of the office stays behind
-At Gettysburg, Dwight insists that Gettysburg is only the second-most northern battle of the city war, next to The Battle of Schrute Farms. Oscar thinks Dwight is nuts.
-Back at the office, Robert comes to visit and asks the rest of the office to come up with "game changers."
-Ryan's origami idea is rejected, but Kevin's "idea" about moving the best cookies in the vending machine to the stop spot is praised, because Robert confuses it for a metaphor. Ryan isn't pleased.
-At Gettysburg, Gabe is mistaken for Abraham Lincoln and soon finds himself putting on a play for tourists.
-Andy's efforts to inspire the office aren't working.
-Oscar and Dwight learn that Schrute Farms was in fact a part of the civil war, but as a commune for the sensitive, "fabulous", artist types and "The Battle At Schrute Farms" was a code. Oscar is incredibly amused. Dwight isn't.
-Much of the office sits down to rest and Andy hikes off on his own.
-Back at the office, Kevin is impressing Robert at lunch, until Ryan gets Kevin to tell Robert his "Big Mac Idea" (saving one part from a Big Mac a day until you have all the parts needed to build your own Big Mac, which you'll like more, because you made it.), getting Robert to realize Kevin was actually talking about cookies.
-Jim and Daryl follow Andy because the door to the bus is locked. Andy shouts at Jim that the office has a problem with sarcasm, snark, and tearing things people believe in down, but Jim points out that running a paper company is not like war, the office likes Andy as manager, and he should stop trying so hard.
-Andy concedes that Jim is right and they all head home.
I Liked This: There was plenty to like in Gettysburg. I liked the fake-out in the cold open, which strengthens my theory that the actual birth will be a surprise. I really enjoyed Robert confusing Kevin for a genius, and kind of wish that the writers had let this play out more, but I did enjoy the use of Ryan. I also enjoyed Gabe in this episode. He does kind of resemble Abraham Lincoln in a strange way and watching him ultimately embrace his role was a delight. And, while I was initially concerned with Dwight and Oscar learning that there was a "Battle at Schrute Farms", the ultimate reveal of what it was was great and made up for the fact that the writers have now inserted something into history (Though for all we know, such a place did exist during the war.). Oh, and the pink DM does GB hats were good too.
But...: The main plot of Andy taking half the office to Gettysburg didn't really do anything for me. Even Jim telling Andy that he was a good manager just reminded me of The Incentive, which had a stronger story leading up to the moment. And, even though the Kevin plot was funny, I kind of wished the whole Office had gone to Gettysburg, so the writers would have to make stronger use of the setting.
The Bottom Line: Gettysburg had a lot of funny lines and good moments in it. But there was a lack of a strong A-Story, and that wound up making it one of the weakest season 8 installments so far. I still love The Office and am confident they can come back strong next week, but I just wasn't enjoying it as much this week.
Grade: Enjoyable Enough (Pretty Good)
Memorable Moments
-Dwight: “The Civil War history industry has conveniently forgotten about the battle of Schrute farms. It’s just grossly irresponsible.”
-Dwight: “You are filling [Erin's] head with nonsense. You and the history books!”
-Again, Gabe as Lincoln was great. “Some people call me the emancipator, but you might know me from the penny.”
-Oscar: “I apologize for my friend, and the Republicans who are cutting your funding. “
-
-In the cold open, we learn Pam has been faking labor to get out of things she doesn't want to do. When her water breaks, it seems like it's happening for real, but it's another fake-out.
-Andy compares working in an office to war and wants to take the office to Gettysburg.
-Half of the office stays behind
-At Gettysburg, Dwight insists that Gettysburg is only the second-most northern battle of the city war, next to The Battle of Schrute Farms. Oscar thinks Dwight is nuts.
-Back at the office, Robert comes to visit and asks the rest of the office to come up with "game changers."
-Ryan's origami idea is rejected, but Kevin's "idea" about moving the best cookies in the vending machine to the stop spot is praised, because Robert confuses it for a metaphor. Ryan isn't pleased.
-At Gettysburg, Gabe is mistaken for Abraham Lincoln and soon finds himself putting on a play for tourists.
-Andy's efforts to inspire the office aren't working.
-Oscar and Dwight learn that Schrute Farms was in fact a part of the civil war, but as a commune for the sensitive, "fabulous", artist types and "The Battle At Schrute Farms" was a code. Oscar is incredibly amused. Dwight isn't.
-Much of the office sits down to rest and Andy hikes off on his own.
-Back at the office, Kevin is impressing Robert at lunch, until Ryan gets Kevin to tell Robert his "Big Mac Idea" (saving one part from a Big Mac a day until you have all the parts needed to build your own Big Mac, which you'll like more, because you made it.), getting Robert to realize Kevin was actually talking about cookies.
-Jim and Daryl follow Andy because the door to the bus is locked. Andy shouts at Jim that the office has a problem with sarcasm, snark, and tearing things people believe in down, but Jim points out that running a paper company is not like war, the office likes Andy as manager, and he should stop trying so hard.
-Andy concedes that Jim is right and they all head home.
I Liked This: There was plenty to like in Gettysburg. I liked the fake-out in the cold open, which strengthens my theory that the actual birth will be a surprise. I really enjoyed Robert confusing Kevin for a genius, and kind of wish that the writers had let this play out more, but I did enjoy the use of Ryan. I also enjoyed Gabe in this episode. He does kind of resemble Abraham Lincoln in a strange way and watching him ultimately embrace his role was a delight. And, while I was initially concerned with Dwight and Oscar learning that there was a "Battle at Schrute Farms", the ultimate reveal of what it was was great and made up for the fact that the writers have now inserted something into history (Though for all we know, such a place did exist during the war.). Oh, and the pink DM does GB hats were good too.
But...: The main plot of Andy taking half the office to Gettysburg didn't really do anything for me. Even Jim telling Andy that he was a good manager just reminded me of The Incentive, which had a stronger story leading up to the moment. And, even though the Kevin plot was funny, I kind of wished the whole Office had gone to Gettysburg, so the writers would have to make stronger use of the setting.
The Bottom Line: Gettysburg had a lot of funny lines and good moments in it. But there was a lack of a strong A-Story, and that wound up making it one of the weakest season 8 installments so far. I still love The Office and am confident they can come back strong next week, but I just wasn't enjoying it as much this week.
Grade: Enjoyable Enough (Pretty Good)
Memorable Moments
-Dwight: “The Civil War history industry has conveniently forgotten about the battle of Schrute farms. It’s just grossly irresponsible.”
-Dwight: “You are filling [Erin's] head with nonsense. You and the history books!”
-Again, Gabe as Lincoln was great. “Some people call me the emancipator, but you might know me from the penny.”
-Oscar: “I apologize for my friend, and the Republicans who are cutting your funding. “
-
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