Category: Episode Reviews
-
Glee, “Comeback”
I entered my viewing of “Comeback” with loads of dread. Sue has been disastrously insufferable this year and the idea of her joining New Directions just a week after the near-greatness that was “Silly Love Songs” just made me sad. Watching this episode through that lens, I found “Comeback” to be surprising in its general…
-
Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Cat Squad”
In his guest review of this episode last night for the A.V. Club, Myles McNutt discussed his frustrations with this season’s general staleness and lack of real stakes. If you’ve been reading my reviews of Chuck this season, you know that I’ve often felt exactly the same but if you take a look at Myles’…
-
The Chicago Code, “Hog Butcher”
As I and other, real critics like to talk about, second episodes are tricky, especially for series’ with a lot going on. Pilots are intended to hook the viewers in with great characters, big moments and a nice, established world, but when the second episode rolls around, it’s time to really think about what the…
-
Smallville, “Beacon”
Apologies yet again for the delay. Busy Valentine’s Day weekend. Such is life. After last week’s “Collateral,” I was legitimately concerned about the final run of Smallville. That episode was so tepid, uninspired and generally stupid that it set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the season. I don’t want to say I had…
-
Parks and Recreation, “Ron & Tammy: Part Two”
Bringing back successful supporting characters is always a bit of a crapshoot. If their initial introduction to the series and its world is so tremendous, it’s always going to be hard to top or create a story that lives up to the fans’ expectations. And one of the easiest ways to try to avoid any…
-
Community, “Early 21st Century Romanticism”
On the surface, “Early 21st Century Romanticism” doesn’t feel like a complex or ambitious episode. And for the most part, it’s not really. But even though this appears to be a season one-esque episode that is fairly low-key in its approach and execution, there is actually a lot going on. Not only episodes of the…
-
The Vampire Diaries, “Crying Wolf”
Trust is hardly earned in The Vampire Diaries universe. Deals are constantly being struck and destroyed and even the person closest to you probably isn’t telling the whole truth. It’s not always intentional, sometimes the lies for someone else’s one good. Other times, a lack of information flow is fully purposeful and ultimately, dangerous. “Crying…
-
Season Premiere — Justified, “The Moonshine War”
There was a lot to love about Justified‘s first season, but one of the things I found most impressive about those 13 episodes is how easily and quickly the series created the world of Harlan, Kentucky. Harlan is certainly a unique place and from very early on in the pilot episode, the series presented those…
-
Series Premiere — Mr. Sunshine, “Pilot”
Of all the Friends actors, it always seemed like Matthew Perry would be the one to strike the balance between sheer popularity (like Jennifer Aniston) and just straight-up talent (probably like Lisa Kudrow, though she’s not my kind of taste). Aniston and probably Courtney Cox were always meant to be more famous, but Matthew Perry…
-
White Collar, “Countermeasures”
Let’s just get this out of the way first: The actual case narrative and the guest stars in “Countermeasures?” Not so good. I like Billy Dee Williams as much as the next guy, but this was not his strongest performance and the guy playing Jonas Ganz was also messy. Moreover, there was a point about…
-
The Good Wife, “Real Deal”
Just a disclaimer: I’m a total sucker for Michael J. Fox. My favorite movie of all-time is Back To The Future and I’ve probably seen nearly all of MJF’s films and even watched a good amount of Spin City because I just love the guy. I say this because I was fully charmed by “Real…
-
Raising Hope, “Romeo and Romeo”
I’ve been a big supporter of Raising Hope since the very beginning, but I didn’t really feel like I was missing it badly since it has been off the air. But then I fired up the DVR to watch “Romeo and Romeo” late last night and I remembered how much fun these characters and this…
-
Glee, “Silly Love Songs”
I, like most people, was not too kind to the post-Super Bowl episode of Glee. “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle” was a disastrous attempt to introduce the series’ primary narratives and beats to a new audience. In classic Glee form, the series turns right around two days later and knocks out its second best episode of the season…
-
Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Seduction Impossible”
I was angry with last week’s Chuck. For so many reasons that I don’t need to go into again. I say this because I completely adored this week’s episode, which probably makes me the worst Chuck fan of the week or something. I think I’ve decided that if Chuck doesn’t want to create sustaining narratives…
CB, PhD 