Category Archives: Network Television
‘Mom’: “Loathing and Tube Socks” Review
Believe it or not, Mom is the best new sitcom. To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for the show and really thought it would be cancelled at this point. Well, I was wrong. Shows that I had much higher hopes for, such as We Are Men and The Michael J. Fox Show, have either crashed and burned or their cancellation is only a matter of time. Mom has improved. Stepping back from the show and not reviewing it for a week has made me see that.
In “Loathing and Tube Socks,” Christy comes to terms with the fact that she is the problem in her life, which is only slightly the case. Christy’s attitude doesn’t help matters, but how would you feel if your teenage daughter was pregnant and your mother would make you her fall guy? Granted, Bonnie only made her daughter the fall guy in Christy’s dream, which had them smuggling drugs from Mexico. However, it was clearly a little too real for Christy. Christy even called her mother to yell at her. Bonnie didn’t take to well to this, but Bonnie has little more than a superficial love for her daughter and thinks she’s a crazy person.
‘Sean Saves the World’: “Busted” Review
Sean Saves the World’s second episode, “Busted,” is much better than the pilot. The writers still appear to be behind the times because this episode makes a big deal about Sean’s daughter’s first bra. With the exception of Sean being a gay father, the show could have taken place in the 1980s.
The entire episode revolved around Sean’s daughter, Ellie (Samantha Isler), trying to find the perfect first bra. Since her mother isn’t around, Grandma Lorna (Linda Lavin) and older sister figure Liz (Megan Hilty) both want to take Ellie bra shopping. Let the wacky antics begin!
Liz takes Ellie shopping first. Liz doesn’t realize that Ellie is a sensible 14-year-old. All Ellie wants is something to keep her breasts from jiggling. However, Liz has other plans. She even asks Ellie, “Are you sexually active? Do you want to be?” It’s a little disturbing that Liz wants Ellie to sleep around like she did. After browsing the store, Liz buys Ellie a bunch of sexy bras and a piece of lingerie, which Sean doesn’t have a problem with because Ellie makes it clear she is unhappy with Liz’s choices.
‘Modern Family’ Reflects Modern Values
Year after year, Modern Family continues to bring home the awards. This past year, the show took home an Emmy for outstanding comedy. Since the show is so popular with award show voters and the public, some people may wonder how accurately the show portrays modern suburban life. You might even compare Modern Family to the family oriented Leave It To Beaver. However, we as a society have come a long way from the 1950’s. The suburban lifestyle and TV show’s morals and values have changed over the course of many generations.
Most viewers would have to agree that the writers do a great job with the well written dialogue and an interesting portrayal of the diverse characters. The show brings a new insight to family dynamics. Not only are the characters relatable, but the dysfunction of the Dunphy/Pritchett family makes it feel real. Dysfunction is the new normal. Now we can embrace this show as part of our society because more and more families are becoming blended. Modern Family is a nice change of pace and is very refreshing to watch.
‘Glee’: “The Quarterback”
A box of tissues and a pint of ice-cream were certainly needed for last night’s tribute to Glee’s Finn Hudson. What’s great about the episode is that the creators wanted to celebrate Finn’s life. Finn was a true leader in the glee club and a true quarterback hence the title. Millions of fans have idolized him since day one. No one will ever forget him singing in the shower to “Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” or performing his first routine to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Not only was his death so sudden, but Cory Monteith/Finn Hudson had so much potential. Having “Glee” been his big break, all his fans were hoping to see him pursue other adventures. We grew up with the character and felt like he could have easily been a friend to us all. By keeping Cory’s memory alive, all the proceeds of the songs played will go to Cory’s charities of choice.
Within the first five minutes, emotions rose quickly. The New Directions begin singing a beautiful rendition of “Seasons of Love.” What made the episode even more moving was seeing some of the original cast members come back and support their Glee family. Once they look behind the stage, they see a picture of Finn in his quarterback uniform. Soon after, the glee graphic automatically came up on the screen, the creators replaced the letter “L” with a black and white silhouette of Finn from episode one. He was performing “Don’t Stop Believing” in season one. If that didn’t start the waterworks, I don’t know what will.
‘Parks and Rec’: “Doppelgangers” Invade Pawnee
Early Leslie Knope was not always pleasant. She was sometimes selfish, a little narrow-minded, and always allowed her passion to cloud her judgment. Her semi-temper tantrum after Ann revealed her plans to relocate in “Doppelgangers” definitely hearkened back to that. This is not to say I don’t love Leslie because believe me, I DO LOVE LESLIE. But girl needs to think before reacts sometimes. Ann, smartly, tried to absorb the shock with waffles and a shirtless photo of Joe Biden before she confessed, but Leslie saw right through it and stalked off on a loyalty tangent. She’s actually kind of intolerable for much of the episode, trying to force everybody to sign legally-binding friendship contracts after other Pawnee employees hinted at leaving because “No one around here understands loyalty.” After (another) enlightening conversation with Ron, though, she realizes her mistake and tells Ann she’s ready to talk.
‘We Are Men’: “We Are Dognappers Review”
We Are Men is probably going to be cancelled soon. The show is only mildly entertaining, which is never a good sign.
Two of the four main characters, Frank Russo (Tony Shalhoub) and Stuart Strickland (Jerry O’Connell), are total morons, who show few signs of character development. Frank’s aging Casanova ways show no signs of stopping. If anything, Stuart looks up to him and wants to live the same way. Frank still parties like a college student. His idea of a good party is one you can’t remember, which is why he loves Tiki Night. Stuart goes along with it as long as his second ex-wife, Amy, isn’t busy trying to empty his bank account.
It’s clear that Frank leads the group. In the episode “We Are Dognappers,” Stuart has the chance to finalize his divorce as long as he’s willing to give his ex-wife his dog, which he has had longer than his wife. Stuart gives in, but finds out that his wife ignores the dog. Frank’s solution is to have the group steal the dog. For some reason, the entire group agrees to this idea. Even Gil Bartis and Carter Thomas, who are the sane ones, don’t bring up the myriad of problems with this solution. Grown men try to go threw with a plot that a thirteen year old wouldn’t do because it’s stupid.
‘Dancing With The Stars’: Julianne’s Back
Within the first five minutes of last night’s Dancing with the Stars, the professional dancers were introducing guest judge Julianne Hough, who is a two time champion of the show. She was on the show last night to her new film Paradise and fill in for Len Goodman. Julianne mentioned that she is on the dancers’ side and wants to see everyone succeed. So when she gives a constructive criticism, she does it out of love.
Jack Osbourne danced the quickstep. The quickstep requires a lot of sprinting and its physically taxing on your body. He did pretty well throughout the routine and kept the energy in tact. The footwork seemed to be very polished and on point. Julianne said “Wow, that’s a definite improvement from last week.” The only critique she had for Jack is that he needs to showcase him having more fun. When he dances, he probably thinks way too hard about the dance steps and the counting aspect. Bruno was in love with Jack’s footwork, but in the end was starting to lose his frame. Carrie Ann thought Jack was more animated this week than last week which is a good sign. The judges all agreed and gave him 8s across the board. For this week, Jack scored a 24 out of 30.
Sleepy Hollow: “The Lesser Key of Solomon” Recap
This week, Sleepy Hollow took a break from fighting demons and delved into another topic: humans can be just as scary as demons. Especially, when they are Hessian soldiers whose sole purpose is to release the demons from Hell, including the demon that the show has been teasing for the last 3 episodes. He finally got a name: Moloch. He is the demon that Abbie and Jenny saw in the woods and he is responsible for killing John Cho’s character, Andy Dunn. Well, the first time Andy Dunn died.
Last night’s episode focused more on the strained relationship between Abbie and her sister Jenny. Their constant bickering with Ichabod scolding them makes for great bits of comedy. Lets hope they don’t keep this up, or else it will get very annoying very fast. Since Abbie is making a huge effort to prove how sorry she is for betraying Jenny, I think their bickering will be very minimal. Which is great, since Jenny agreed to help Ichabod and Abbie fight demons.
‘Glee : Tina in the Sky With Diamonds’
If you enjoyed the Beatles songs last week, Glee is back with even more Beatles songs. Not only did Glee continue to pay homage to the legendary fab four, but they had their McKinley High Prom. It was pure entertainment and jammed packed for episode two. Last night’s episode focused on Tina, the type of character you want to love and hate right now. This once shy, timid, girl, who pretended to have a stutter, is now the biggest bitch you can ever meet. She doesn’t want to be in the shadows anymore and wants to gain attention by becoming prom queen. This is not easy to say, but the diva award truly goes to Miss Tina Cohen Chang.
Once Tina finds out she was nominated for prom queen, she is ecstatic, but her prom date, Sam, isn’t so happy. Not only is Sam hurt that he didn’t get nominated for prom king, but Tina drops him as a date. She thought by going single, she could get more of the single prom votes. Soon after, she starts singing “Revolution,” an anthem in its own way. She truly wants to change the world. Everyone knows that Tina wants to shine, but the glee club decides to leave while she continues to sing.
Pawnee and Eagleton: Together Again on ‘Parks and Rec’
Leslie Knope would sooner give up waffles at JJ’s before making peace with Eagleton, Pawnee’s wealthy, Michael Buble-listening archrival, but in “The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic,” that’s exactly what happened. Let’s go by character to see how we got there.
Leslie, Ben, and Chris
Leslie is one of the most lovable characters on television. She’s kind and tactical and loving; when it comes to her nemeses in Eagleton, though, she tends to throw all of that out the window. The episode opened with a press conference led by Leslie and Ingrid de Forest (Kristen Bell), her Eagleton counterpart. Deep in the trenches of the recall election, Leslie tries to win over her fellow Pawneeans in the only way she can: by cracking jokes at Eagleton’s expense.
Meanwhile, the dream team is back. Ben and Chris’ superiors over in Indianapolis enlisted the pair to help solve a budget crisis in Eagleton. AUDITING BROS! Leslie, who can’t pass up an opportunity to see Eagleton’s demise, tags along. The town is going bankrupt and Leslie likely hasn’t felt this much joy since meeting Joe Biden. She makes a great, predictable Good Will Hunting joke, and Ben seems to already be regretting his decision to let her join.
Wait! What's A Dial? 