Category: Episode Reviews
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Series Premiere — The Chicago Code, “Pilot”
Because Shawn Ryan’s new police drama on FOX was up for the network’s fall schedule last spring, it feels like we’ve been talking about and waiting for The Chicago Code (formerly Ride-Along) for a very long time and the anticipation has been building. This has probably only been compounded by the fact that Shawn Ryan’s other…
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Supernatural, “Like A Virgin”
Again, my apologies for the delay with this review. This season, Supernatural has a lot of balls in the air, more so than usual. And although the last few episodes of 2010 suggested that the series wasn’t going to have much trouble burning through plot developments at a solid rate — instead of hanging on…
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Glee, “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle”
Although so much of the discourse has focused on how Glee and the Super Bowl seem like such an insane and difficult pairing, I tend to believe the opposite is actually true. The Super Bowl is most certainly the greatest spectacle in America. It’s all about the grandiose, the loud, the bright, etc. For better or…
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Smallville, “Collateral”
Apologies for the delay in this review, hectic weekend. When it was announced that Smallville‘s 2011 return would be pushed back a week, I wasn’t really upset. For the most part, this final season has been more scatter-brained and problematic than the last two seasons, despite some very, very great moments. Usually the series is…
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Community, “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”
I have never in my life played Dungeons & Dragons. Never came close to even thinking about playing. My knowledge of the game is slim, obtained only from that fantastic final episode of Freaks and Geeks and a few passing conversations with members of my co-hort who do enjoy the same and were rightfully excited…
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The Vampire Diaries, “Daddy Issues”
It sucks being Tyler Lockwood. Not only did he not ask to be born into the werewolf gene pool, but he did his damnedest to avoid actually triggering the curse that would turn him into a monster. And when that didn’t work, he thought he’d found a friend, confidant and lover in Caroline who could protect him…
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Cougar Town, “Cry To Me”
“Cry To Me” is unfortunately the last episode of Cougar Town for a couple of months. ABC was to line up Matthew Perry’s Mr. Sunshine and I think even Happy Endings in the post-Modern Family timeslot, so the cul-de-sac crew is going to be gone for a fairly substantial amount of time. No matter what,…
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Human Target, “The Trouble With Harry”
And we’re back for another episode of Human Target this week, also known as FOX Putting The Series Out Of Its Misery Week! This is the penultimate episode of season two and well, it’s not very good. While I was watching “The Trouble With Harry” I found myself enjoying it. Then I thought about it…
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The Good Wife, “Silly Season”
When you’re working with such a deep cast of series regulars and fantastic guest stars, it’s fairly easy to step away from your lead character to tell a great story about someone else and not lose a step. The Good Wife is one of those kind of series and last night’s “Silly Season” is one…
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White Collar, “What Happens in Burma”
After the first two episodes of season 2.5 focused on the major narratives, White Collar fell comfortably back into its procedural charms with “What Happens in Burma.” And unlike most series where I’d rather spend time discussing the overall threads, I find myself enjoying episodes like this one much more. I don’t have an overt…
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Human Target, “Kill Bob”
Poor Human Target. Not only has it been constantly shuffled around on the schedule because FOX really has no confidence in it (and for good reason), but it has been heavily criticized by its small band of S1 fans. Those circumstances make last night’s special viewing of “Kill Bob” sort of interesting — or disappointing, depending…
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus The Push Mix”
Josh Schwartz has gone on record countless times, both on Twitter and on the Firewall and Iceberg Podcast, that the final 10 minutes of “Chuck Versus The Push Mix” were the greatest in the series’ history. Even for a series that’s been on varying planes of struggle for a full calendar year, that’s a big,…
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Fringe, “Reciprocity”
Hola Fringe fans! I didn’t get to review last week’s episode because I was traveling, but let me just say this: it was a good one. People seemed to be really jacked up about “Firefly” and while I don’t overtly disagree with the enthusiasm, I think a lot of it had to do with the…
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Parks and Recreation, “Flu Season”
There’s been a lot of hype about Parks and Recreation‘s “Flu Season.” Showrunner Michael Schur has consistently said that it is the series’ best effort to-date, the critics were all buzzing about it once they received screeners near the end of 2010 and in general, this is supposed to be the episode for the series.…
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Community, “Celebrity Pharmacology”
When a series is as lowly-rated as Community is, the internet-fueled hype about its greatness is a good thing. But as with anything, that hype comes with a price: expectations. When you’ve been anointed as the next Arrested Development by the internet commenter hive-mind, it’s a blessing and a curse. After tonight’s “Celebrity Pharmacology,” I…
CB, PhD 