For some reason all the TV worth watching is currently on either Sunday, Monday or Thursday. This means that I tend to watch things all at once. Thus, I will now write about them all at once.
I apologize for the lack of posting this week and hopefully can make up for it with one jumbo review.
Here we go.
SUNDAY
Desperate Housewives- is it sad that I can barely remember what happened in this episode? Kayla is severely creepy and I remain, as always, firmly on team Lynette though I understand why Tom is fooled by his seemingly sweet daughter. I'm already tired of Gabby and Carlos again though am kind of enjoying Justine Bateman's turn as the friendly tenant/coke dealer. As for the Mayfairs, I really don't like Dylan and anyone who couldn't tell that she wasn't the same kid as used to live on Wysteria Lane clearly was paying no attention at all. I'm slightly intrigued though also very bored. I'm also already bored of Susan's baby (who has been born about 30 seconds at this point). But hey, not only does Edie know the truth about Benjamin Hodge, she used it to blackmail Bree. This resulted in an always awesome strut down the lane as Bree told her friends the truth and the four ladies marched up to Edie, proclaiming that from that moment on, Edie doesn't exist. Overall an uninteresting episode with a few good moments.
Brothers & Sisters- meh. The wedding was sweet. Nora was Nora. I've come to terms with Justin and Rebbecca. I'm not sure how I feel about Sarah. I don't care about Sol. or Tommy. or Holly. or Ryan (the new twist of a long-lost brother) for that matter. I do, however, care a great deal about Kevin and Scotty and though their wedding was nothing in comparison to their engagement it still makes me smile to see them together and happy. This show, even when mediocre, is consistently one of the best shows out there.
MONDAY
Samantha Who?- Funny. Quite funny. Not my favourite episode but Samantha's first birthday party was entertaining and sweet. There were some great Andrea moments (Jennifer Esposito is fully in character even when she's in the back of a scene- watch her, she's hilarious), some awkward Dina stalkage bits and some really great moments for Sam's dad (who doesn't usually get much screen time).
Gossip Girl- The last few episodes of this show have really frustrated me (since Georgina arrived). I was totally behind
Gossip Girl. It knew what it was and it did it well. The character motivations always made sense and the plots, though outrageous, were far from frustrating. But recently the main plot of this show has been driven entirely by the intelligent characters acting stupidly. If people would just tell Dan the truth ever once in awhile none of these problems would exist. The writers need to come up with storylines strong enough that the characters can be rational and intelligent and still have roadblocks instead of having to create them through idiocy. See
Desperate Housewives' Bree this week; when confronted with a blackmailer she didn't shudder at what her friends would think were her secret revealed. Rather she strode right up to them and told them everything, thus reclaiming her power from Edie. Serena- stop worrying about stupid things, prioritize, stop making bad life decisions and tell your mother and your boyfriend the truth every once in awhile. Dan- don't be an idiot, why would you a) trust Georgina and b) believe that Serena would cheat on you. Nate- don't date Vanessa, I don't like her. This show aggravates me but I still really like most of the characters (even when they are acting like idiots) so I always enjoy this show. I just need them to get their stories back on track and get rid of Dawn, the world's most annoying person.
One Tree Hill- haha. It is comical that I still watch this but I can't stop now, I have to see what happens. All I can say is a) Hayley is dumb, she handles the Dan thing wrong every single week. b) though Brooke's storyline is completely predictable (I was literally saying the lines before they came) I still care somehow, and that doctor is way hotter than Ethan so I'm excited for that inevitable love story. I'm also slightly confused by/really liking that they are bringing Brooke and Lucas back together as friends taking care of the baby. That friendship never really recovered after their on and off screen breakup. c) I can't stand Mouth, he's the worst reporter EVER. d) I love Skills, end of story. e) Jamie's the cutest kid ever. f) What was with Nathan dragging Jamie up the hill like he was a horse? that was soooo strange. g) Dan is so going to kill that reverend. h) go away Lindsay and Lucas SMARTEN UP, you love Peyton, its not her fault Lindsay left. and most notably i) Peyton keeps getting stomped on. I don't even like her very much but she keeps taking hit after hit. First Brooke doesn't want her at the hospital then Lucas says he hates her (and that's not even including 2 dead mothers, an absentee father, a gunshot wound, a psycho stalker and definite sexual harassment in LA). OK maybe I had more to say than I thought.
Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother- do to some sort of stupid "breaking news" that centred around a man sitting in a truck for a very long time, the channel that these 2 shows were supposed to record on didn't air their entire Monday night lineup. Thank you very much man in truck.
THURSDAY
Ugly Betty- I loved this episode!!! This was exactly what the show needed- to get back to its roots. Wilhelmina's return to Mode was no disappointment after all the anticipation. I knew she'd get Alexis on her side in no time, it was perfect. It's fun to see her manipulate the media as well... and Larry King is always fun on these types of shows. Marc and Amanda were also reunited with Willy's return to Mode and they were back to their usual brilliance. Marc had so many fabulous one- liners I can't even remember them all. Michael Urie and Becky Newton's chemistry is irreplaceable and they've been apart too long. Amanda's reality show with her "father" Gene Simmons was hysterical!!! There was also some great Suarez household stuff (who wouldn't want "juice ala Hilda"?) and some really nice Betty/Gio moments as well. I admit I didn't like Gio at first but he's really grown
on me and with his final line of "I don't want to be the rebound guy, I want to be the guy" I officially hopped on the Betty/Gio train. I love Chris Gorham but now is the time of Freddy Rodriguez. The true star of the episode though was Justin. Consistently one of my favourite characters, Justin really got to shine in this episode, showing off his fashion sense, sweetness and maturity as he worked the school dance and fed the flames of his mother's sparking romance with his gym coach. Mark Indelicato has impeccable comic timing and is one of the most underrated actors in this outstanding cast. What is all comes down to is a simple statement: Betty is Back.
Grey's Anatomy- The same cannot be said, however, of its ABC Thursday counterpart
Grey's Anatomy. Though, since its post-strike return,
Grey's has been better than ever, this week's installment fell short. First let me say that there is no way Meredith's therapist should be allowed to keep her licence, she's so far past the line that she can't even remember what it looked like. Derek and Mark had some great moments (though its hard to go wrong with Mark Sloan) and I even liked George (something I NEVER do) but I simply didn't care at all what happened in this episode. Unlike last week when there were multiple engaging and heartrending medical stories, this week bored me (even though the medical stories were, in many ways, tied more closely to the characters). I like Christina acknowledging Burke's absence and letting it get to her for the first time, I like Callie questioning her friendship with Hahn and her sexuality, I like George's quest to be recognized, I like Bailey's desperation for reconciliation in her marriage, I like Izzy's new found maturity, independence and strength, I like Alex's sweetness and commitment to helping Rebbecca. I like Mark's attempts at being a deeper human being and I even like Derek and Meredith attempting to come to terms with the kind of relationships they want in life. I like it all but for some reason, this week, it just didn't work.
The Office- halfway through last night's 4th season finale I turned to my friend sitting next to me and said "this is a REALLY good episode" and I jinxed it. The first half was great. Better than great, it was some of the best the show's been all season. I laughed out loud many times. I loved Phyllis planning the party, I loved Michael asking for the anti-gravity machine, I loved Pam asking how much potion he wanted with a straight face, I loved Pam getting accepted to design school, I loved her saying "perfect" in her talking head interview, I loved Jim planning to propose, I ADORED Holly thinking Kevin was mentally handicapped, I loved Michael falling in love with Holly, I loved the Holly is really perfect for Michael. I loved Toby wanting a picture with Pam, I loved Jim fighting back against Ryan, I loved Ryan getting arrested and Oscar saying that the true crime was the beard, I loved Creed trying to remember what he does for a living and accusing Holly of asking too many questions. And then it all stopped. Once that painful scene in the conference room started it all went downhill and my hysterical laughter turned to what has become the norm for any 4th season
Office episode, annoyed sighs. There was WAY too much zany Michael and Andy idiotically proposing, thus preventing Jim from proposing was nothing but annoying. It broke my heart a little to see how sad Pam was that Jim didn't propose and though the final moment when it was revealed that Angela went back to Dwight was a nice touch, it had nothing on the previous 2 seasons of cliffhangers. This week
The Office broke my heart by building me up and then letting me down really badly.
*Lost review to come separately
If you choose to ignore the final 30 seconds or so of tonight's final Samantha Who episode, you can really delude yourself into thinking that the series had a proper sendoff.
The series wrapped tonight with a sweet and funny episode (after a very confusing batch of summer aired out of order installments) that wrapped up the love stories of all three central friends wonderfully. We were left with a satisfying, if a little ambiguous, ending for Andrea, her gay fiancee and the man who's really in love with her. Dena was whisked off her feet by her long-time boyfriend and Sam and Todd finally found each other and completed their tale with one of the more unique proposal stories I've seen.
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