Wednesday Night Comedies Quick Thoughts

Happy Endings
I actually feel this show has got even better. Casey Wilson stood out in this episode. “The Year of Penny,” I don’t need to say anymore about this.

Free Agents
I’ve tried with this show. I didn’t really like the British version and I wanted to give the US version a fair shot but the show is just not my cup of tea and is the first casualty from my viewing list of the new shows.

Up All Night
I fully expected this show to be better than it is with the cast involved. Though I wasn’t overly impressed with the first episode, I do feel the show is getting better.

Modern Family
This wasn’t its best episode but it still manages to be better than other shows. Even Emmy award winning comedies can have a blip.

The Middle
Former “Glee” star Chord Overstreet guest-stars as Brick’s new teacher. Frankie finally figures out she isn’t really in charge. The show continually manages to pull out funny episodes without the same plaudits as the other ABC comedies get but it’s the best way to start off the comedy block.

Suburgatory
A strong pilot that has the potential for the show to get better. Interesting to see how the show grows but I still miss Cougar Town.

Brothers & Sisters 5.20 “Father Unknown” Quick Thoughts

I’ve never been a fan of the paternity storyline involving Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) so i grumbled when it was brought up again in “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” The story continues in “Father Unknown” as Nora (Sally Field) finds out from Justin (Dave Annable) that Brody (Beau Bridges) lied about his blood type. This sets up some comedic attempts from Nora and Justin to get something with Sarah’s DNA. It feels like paternity issues are the go to storyline of this show and I’m bored of it.

On the other side of the coin is the story revolving Scotty (Luke MacFarlane), Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Michelle (Roxy Olin). It’s not often you see a show cover the ups and downs of surrogacy and Scotty and Kevin have been through plenty of ups and downs of late. I found Michelle dumping Daniel at Justin’s lazy and dealt with rather too quickly. Michelle has obviously gone to great lengths to hide Daniel so why would a woman who pretended she had a miscarriage just dump the kid and run off? Will we ever know; I don’t it, seeing as there’s two episodes left and the family will have to deal with whatever crisis that will come about before Sarah and Luc’s (Gilles Marini) wedding.

Other notes:

• Saul suggests Sarah and Luc get a prenuptial agreement but Sarah shoots the suggestion down.
• Justin ends up being the keeper of all the secrets but in true Walker fashion, nothing stays a secret for long.
• With Brothers & Sisters failure to have all Walker children in the same episode (due to budget, schedule, etc) this season, will it actually happen for Sarah’s wedding seeing as the season finale could very well be the series finale.

Parks and Recreation 3.10 “Soul Mates” Quick Thoughts

Out of the four NBC comedies I watched on Thursday, Parks and Recreation’s “Soul Mates” is my favorite. The episode had me laughing from start to finish and again when I watched it a second time.

The episode sees Chris (Rob Lowe) and Ron (Nick Offerman) in a cook-off to find the best burger; Chris with a turkey burger with spices and Ron’s beef burger in a bun and nothing else. The other story sees Ann (Rashida Jones) set-up an online dating profile for Leslie (Amy Poehler) which leads to a 98% match to Tom (Aziz Ansari).

Aziz Ansari and Amy Poehler add an extra element of comedy with their facial expressions. Just the simple act of Leslie’s reactions as she watches Tom on the phone, sent me into a fit a laughter. The scene when Leslie informs Tom about the online match was equally funny, especially Tom’s song.

Favorite lines:

• Leslie’s opinion on turtles: “No opinion. They’re condescending.”
• Leslie complaining to the company about their service. “Your soul-mate match was totally wrong for me. I like him as a friend and everything but I’d never go out with him. He’s like a little sister to me.”

Other notes:

• Following Leslie’s suggestion of dodgeball, I now want to see the show do an episode/scene with that theme. I can already imagine Jerry (Jim O’Heir) being piled with a load of balls and Ron being the king; why else would Lesley pick Ron first.
• Ron looking at the healthy food store like it’s a zoo.
• Tom has 26 profiles and Lesley was matched to the nerd version, Tom N. Haverford, where his favorite film is books.
• Both Leslie and Donna (Retta) kiss Tom to shut him up.
• Leslie finds out why Ben (Adam Scott) doesn’t want to have dinner with her outside of work – because of Chris’ policy on dating within the workplace. I love how they’ve been developing Leslie and Ben; it has a sweetness to it.

With 30 Rock and The Office in the latter years of their shows, Parks and Recreation proves time and time again why its ready to take over the mantle as the network’s best comedy. I hope NBC premiere the next season in the fall and not mid-season.

Community 2.21 “Paradigms of Human Memory” Quick Thoughts

This week’s episode makes up for the last offering “Competitive Wine Tasting.” It wasn’t the worst episode but I didn’t love it. “Paradigms of Human Memory” is a clip show with a difference and that’s what is part of the joke; the clips shown haven’t been seen before.

While completing a diorama , Troy’s (Donald Glover) monkey Annie’s Boobs steals a brush. This leads to Chang (Ken Jeong) finding the monkey’s stash of stolen goods. Upon going through the items, the group reminisces.

Some of the clips include Annie (Alison Brie), Troy and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) singing in glee club, Abed (Danny Pudi) revealing Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Jeff’s (Joel McHale) secret hook-ups, Abed and Troy’s impression of Jeff, Abed’s love of The Capeand various moments of the group fighting.

Favorite clips:

• Dean Pelton’s (Jim Rash) outfits which include cat-woman and Tina Turner.
• The Jeff/Annie “Gravity” moment and even more funny, the Abed/Pierce (Chevy Chase) clips that followed.
• Annie’s martial art training takes over when startled, which leads to her punching Shirley.

I enjoyed the different take on a clip show; it was fresh while dealing with a recurring issue within the group; their fighting. The group have a familiarity that even despite the arguments the group won’t split up despite it.

Last note:
Now that Britta and Jeff have ended their hook-ups, what does this mean for Jeff and Annie?

The Paul Reiser Show 1.02 “The Playdate” Quick Thoughts

I must be a gluten for punishment to sit down and watch this show again after the first episode. I thought that maybe there might be a little spark in the show that would make the second episode a bit better but I was wrong. The things I found wrong with the show are on display again; the show just isn’t funny. To put it into context, the joke Terrance (Henry Rollins) tells is just as funny as the show itself.

The episode’s main plot was Paul trying to pick up Jonathan’s (Ben Shenkman) son for a playdate. Unfortunately he ends up picking up Brad’s (Andrew Daley) son instead. Various interruptions like Fernando (Duane Martin) getting Paul to make peace with Terrance, lead up to what is meant to be a funny end.

It feels like the show is banking more on Mad About You and Paul Reiser fans watching out of pure loyalty rather than making something watchable. In this day and age it’s hard to find something fresh but The Paul Reiser Show feels like they’ve taken jokes that were used 5-10 years ago and not bothered to give them a new twist. My own rule states I must watch the next episode before dumping it from my TV lineup, but for this, I really want to break that rule.

Update: It seems I don’t have make a decision as NBC have apparently pulled The Paul Reiser Show from the schedule

The Middle 2.20 “Royal Wedding” Quick Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s offering of The Middle. “Royal Wedding” sees Sue (Eden Sher) try for the school news anchor role and Mike (Neil Flynn) has trouble at the quarry when he cuts the pretzel budget. The main story is the biggest highlight; Frankie’s (Patricia Heaton) excitement for the royal wedding. I mean she’s more excited then some of the Brits I know. Frankie goes to some great lengths before the wedding takes place. She buys a commemorative plate and cup and a new TV. The Hecks aren’t exactly loaded with money so Frankie takes a card out in Axl’s (Charlie McDermott) name. It’s not exactly the most parental thing to do and it reminds me of Frank from Shameless racking up a list of credit cards in his children’s names.

Brick (Atticus Shaffer) tries to help Sue for her anchor audition. Despite him constantly telling her not to do it, he gives her so many coaching tips that she ends up looking like a crazy person on air. You have to love Sue’s effort for trying and not giving up. Even though she’s disastrous at everything, her spirit stops her from quitting.

“Royal Wedding” has one of my favorite performances from Heaton this season. Her rant of how important the wedding is for her is hilarious as is her actions leading up to the wedding. All her efforts lead to Mike having to describe what’s going on as Frankie ends up having pink-eye. My favorite line is the description of scones “They’re supposed to be stale and dry, their British.”

Brothers and Sisters 5.14 “The One That Got Away” Quick Thoughts

Valentine’s Day sees some of the usual Walker craziness and a hint of childishness. I thought I needed to adjust my television when watching Saul (Ron Rifkin) and Jonathan (Richard Chamberlain) and Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) and Tommy (Balthazar Getty).

It was slightly weird to see Saul and Jonathan act like jealous teenagers. This behavior includes Saul not telling Jonathan the food he orders contains shrimp, which he’s allergic to. What the episode shows is being scared doesn’t change with age and once they lay their cards on the table, Saul and Jonathan share a kiss.

Jonathan (Richard Chamberlain) and Saul (Ron Rifkin)

My real issue with “The One That Got Away” is the question mark surrounding Sarah’s birth certificate. The prospect of yet another paternity storyline has me rolling my eyes. I can understand a daytime soap visiting storylines like this in the same time period since Brothers and Sisters has been on the air but not a primetime show. The writers spent far too much time with who William Walker’s (Tom Skerritt) other child was and now there’s question marks over Sarah’s biological father. It also questions Nora (Sally Field) and whether or not she’s hiding something. With Sarah pursuing the matter, I wonder how far they will take the whole situation with Brody and how long the story-arc involving him, will last. The next episode might offer some answers or even more questions as it’s titled “Brody.”

Rose (Cara Buono) and Sarah (Rachel Griffiths)

Let’s not forget how all this came to light; Rose’s (Cara Buono) constant digging into the family tree and Tommy childishly throwing the information at Sarah in a fight. I’m waiting for Tommy’s return to actually become a good idea because I’m not seeing it yet.

Brothers and Sisters use to be one of my favorite shows but this season, it has had more misses for me. I’m not sure if its partly to do with the dynamics or the writing but I’ve found it disappointing.

Photos courtesy of © ABC

90210 3.13 “It’s Getting Hot In Here” Quick Thoughts

This season has definitely been the best so far for the reboot. This is partly why I feel the show has taken a step back in quality since it came back from its hiatus.

Naomi at the retreat

“It’s Getting Hot In Here” sees Annie, Adrianna, Naomi, Silver and Emily on a yoga retreat. Naomi grows from the experience, I was waiting for her character to do after Mr Cannon. The question is, what exactly has she let herself in for by staying at the retreat.

Adrianna has taken the opposite route and hasn’t grown at all. I enjoyed seeing Silver and Naomi call her out on playing the victim, when she caused everything by stealing Javier’s song. Adrianna doesn’t seem to know when to stop as she’s trying to sell her story. I don’t believe she has any good intentions of wanting to find her daughter; it gets her the attention she needs in the public eye.

The storyline with Annie’s cousin is a step back and I somehow feel it’s something that would have been better placed in season one or two. You can see Noami and Adrianna buying Emily’s lies but you would assume they would think better of Annie.