The Season Of The Switch

I've already made my feelings on the quality decline of Hellcats clear so I'm not going to bitch too much more about it. I will only add that after a half season of being perfectly enjoyable, campy, and better than it had any right to be based on its name and subject, Hellcats ended it's series run with a dramatic story about strep throat. Strep. Throat. There's almost no one on that show that doesn't deserve better.  It did remind me how much I like Christine Lakin though.  Someone should give her a regular role in something. 

Glee hasn't ended it's season yet but it did take another giant step away from fun entertainment and toward unbearable self-satisfaction and preachy emotional manipulation at the expense of coherent storytelling and consistent characterization.  Did I cry at the funeral? Yes.  My heart is not made of stone.  But just because I'm easily manipulated (I seriously cry at everything, you guys) doesn't mean I mistake sappiness for quality.  Can Lea Michelle sing the fuck out of a Barbra Streisand song? Yes. Do I love Funny Girl to hell and back? Yes.  Would I pay cash money to hear Amber Riley sing "Try A Little Tenderness" twice a week for the rest of my life? Probably.  But none of that made the episode good. They've ruined this show while keeping just enough things in it that I can stand to keep me from abandoning ship.  I hate them for that.

One To Grow Weary On

Remember when I used to love Glee?  When it was fun and funny and mostly good-natured silliness and over-the-top insults with a sweet underlying message about acceptance and individuality with a bunch of catchy, auto-tuned, entertaining songs throughout?  I know, I barely do either. 

Somewhere along the way the show became so self-satisfied that it stopped trying to be about anything and started trying to be about...everything?  Bullying is bad, unless it's funny.  Emma is over Will and her new dentist husband has improved her issues, except that now OCD isn't just funny, it's a real, debilitating disease that keeps her from having sex so now they're not married and she needs medication to eat her grapes.  Sue hates Glee club except when they might lose and then she secretly likes them but still wants to destroy them but not really.  The glee club are friends with a strong "us against the world" bond unless there is no world against them and then they spend all of their time infighting and back stabbing.  Religion, health scares, sick kids, down syndrome, closeted teens, poor self image, tater tot addiction - you name it, they want to make a very special episode out of it.

If I have to sit through one more lecture from this show about how bad bullying is while they try to make me feel sympathy for Santana who is in the top three worst bullies at the school (the order goes: Karofsky, Sue, Santana), I will lose my shit.  Santana is the epitome of my biggest beef with the show - that they completely change the personalities of their characters to fit the lesson they're trying to impart regardless of how the character has ever acted before.  Quinn is pregnant, off the Cheerios and kicked out of her home? She becomes a sweetheart who bonds with Rachel and is BFFs with Mercedes. Quinn has the baby and the writers need a love triangle? She's a snotty bitch who only cares about being prom queen and stealing Finn back.  Mercedes, who? Nothing for Puck to do this episode? He's in juvie for knocking over a liquor store or something.  Need him to play guitar in the background next week?  He's out of juvie and in love with Lauren, who, incidentally is a truly unpleasant character.  Kurt needs to feel loved despite being threatened by a bully? Santana is a fiercely loyal friend. Have a bunch of clever jokes saved up about Rachel or Sam? Santana is a raving bitch with nothing nice to say about anyone. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the statements about how abhorrent bullying is, and I'm fine with the meat of the story revolving around gay bullying in particular, I just wish they'd admit that Santana is every bit the bully that Karofsky is.  It isn't ok to threaten a kid, shove him against walls, or throw slushies in peoples faces, but guess what?  Bullying doesn't have to be physical intimidation.  It can also be incessant, mean-spirited teasing and name calling - you know, like how Santana is always calling Sam "trouty mouth" or spewing venom at Rachel.  It's irresponsible to make one bully the bad guy and another a voice of your "comic" sensibilities.  You want to make a statement about bullying?  Don't make the one that says if you're a pretty girl and someone laughs, whatever you do is ok.

Last night it was time for us to again learn about the damage that rumors can do and to be reminded that it's ok for Santana to be mean because she's afraid to come out of the closet (despite the repeated insistence that it's not ok for Karofsky to be a closeted bully, I guess because Karofsky isn't in Glee Club).  The secondary lesson was that being poor is shamefull unless there are cute kids and music.  Or something like that.  And we learned it all through the songs of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. 

You guys, I really think I've grown to hate this show. 

Catching Up On Reviews

Remember when I used to write something here every day?  Ah, memories.  I've already made my apologies and excuses for my neglect but what I didn't mention before is that it's not going to improve in the immediate future either.  Why, you ask?  Mind your own business, I say.  Or, I explain that the little sis is visiting on her spring break and I hope to be much too busy doing fun things with her to stop in and post.  But this week isn't over yet and I've still got stuff to talk about so here goes. 

Fringe - Caught up on three episodes over the weekend and holy MOLY does that show know how to creep me out and also make me wish that we could pick and choose people from each world to make one ideal world while the other be destroyed by that wacky contraption.  I'd want to keep Broyles and Walter and Astrid.  But then I kind of want Peter to pick Fauxlivia because she has better hair and I like her Alterna-World peeps so much.  The show gets more interesting every week.

Hawaii Five-0 - It isn't great art or anything, but this is a very fun guilty pleasure show and I could watch Scott Caan stomp around bitching about everything all day long.  The writers are all clearly in love with Alex O'Loughlin.  Every episode is like "he takes off his shirt and then is AMAZING at something that a mere mortal would DIE at the thought of!"  It's hilarious. 

Supernatural - In all honesty, I don't remember the last episode very well at all.  It was a perfectly good episode.  I recal that the wall of supressed torture memories that Death put up when he re-souled him is breaking down and Sam is having some issues.  I know that Ben tricked Dean into coming "home" and then they had a "father/son" talk about how Ben wants to be like Dean but Dean doesn't want that to happen and then I decided that Ben should totally do that and be the star of Supernatural: The Next Generation.  Other than that, I don't know what the case of the week was or anything.  Oh, but tonight is the meta ep where Sam and Dean meet Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.  I'm cautiously optimistic about enjoying this one. 

Pretty Little Liars - I'll be honest with you, I don't give a shit who A is.  I just love everything else about the show so much that the identity of A is secondary and completely irrelevant to me.  Hanna is my fave, of course and I'm completely invested in her new relationship with Caleb who, despite his hair, does not suck at all.  I'm super sad for Em because she wants to be BFFs with Toby but he's gone all hos before bros on her with Spencer who totally wants to hook up with Toby now that he's got a hair cut and isn't a murderer.  I'd probably be super bored with Aria and Ezra if they weren't so attractive and Ezra if they weren't so freaking attractive.  Plus this new school play story is teriff. 

One Tree Hill - Last week, after Julian and Brooke spent an entire day engaged in role-playing sex games, Julian realized they had entirely too much time on their hands so they should probably adopt a kid.  This week, they lied to a birth mother who promptly found out that everyone they know has spent time in jail, drinks, used to do coke, attempted suicide, is unemployed and/or has been stalked and nearly murdered by a psycho.  Then she told them they could have her baby.  They should be parents by next week.  Meanwhile, Nathan and Clay hung out with a college pitcher whom I find good looking despite my concerted efforts to the contrary.  He's a douche and a dick and he's up to his ears in daddy issues so naturally he hires them to be his agents.  If OTH's series finale doesn't end with the phrase "...and they all lived happily ever after" on a black screen, I will gasp in shock. 

Glee - Last week was maybe the worst, most cringy episode of the series so far (and there have been some very bad, very cringy episodes) but then this week everyone got drunk and it was fun and awesome.  Drunk Rachel is the best version of her.  Turns out Brittany is the one thing that can make "Key-dollar sign-ha" palatable.  And when Will hangs out with Beiste, I don't hate him very much at all.  Win!

Hellcats - I'm going to tell you what you need to know about this episode, ready?  Dan Patch wore a tux.  Dan Patch has a dad who is every bit as awesome as Dan himself.  Dan Patch and Savannah got back together.  The end. 

The Good Wife - I found this to be a bit of a ramp-up episode.  The calm before the storm of "the vote" next week.  A fine episode but not anything that blew my mind clean out of my head.  But happiness awaits us next week, friends because they're calling for a vote and Bond is going to move that Diane get the boot and OMG, if Will and Diane's plan to turn the tables and bounce Bond comes together like they want, I will dance around with joy.  Y'all know I love me some Diane/Will scenes. 

Justified - I've tried to form coherent words and thoughts about the latest episode but every time I start to talk about it, all I can say is: Walton Goggins.  Walton fucking Goggins.  So I'm going with it.  If you aren't watching this show and you don't know who Walton Goggins is, you should remedy that RIGHT NOW.  The show is great and Walton Goggins is AMAZING. 

The Vampire Diaries - Spring hiatus starts now.  So the bad news is we have a five week wait for new episodes.  The good news is that I can be totally late with my recap due to my vacation but still get one up.  I have many things to say and some of them aren't even "MAAAAAATTTTTTT!"  So I'll see you back here in a week or so for that. 

The Hollywood Foriegn Putz Association

Since I was sick yesterday and could muster only the one quick post, I didn't get a chance to really chime in with my thoughts on the Golden Globe nominations - such as they were. 

Today I just want to talk about the Television categories and really pick them apart.  Ready?  Let's bitch!


Best TV Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire - I haven't seen this show because I don't have HBO but I've seen clips and I feel like, for the most part, the acting is merely fine.  It's good.  It's completely serviceable and enjoyable even but, when held up against everything else there is, it falls comfortably in the middle - maybe the upper middle - in terms of quality.  If your acting isn't outstanding, then how can your show be the best?  That said, I won't flat out deny them this nomination because I can't judge a show by its clips.

Dexter - I don't have Showtime either and I've never seen a single minute of this show so I'll take the word of critics and friends and give them this one.


The Good Wife - The one nomination in this category I stand behind completely.  It has what I believe any contender for the title of "best" must - excellence in writing, directing, acting, and production. 


Mad Men - Look, I've just accepted that everyone else feels differently about this show than I do but I'd kind of like someone to explain to me the ways in which this show is not bone-crushingly boring.  Yes, it is beautiful to look at.  I suppose that most of the actors are doing an above average job (I swear to God, the praise for January Jones makes me feel homicidal though - the woman is SO WOODEN!), but on the whole, I really don't understand why this show gets so much love. 


The Walking Dead - You have GOT to be kidding me!  For starters, the season was SIX EPISODES LONG!  How can you call it a best show when you've only seen six episodes of it?  The writing is all the fuck over the place, the pacing is glacial which is pretty ridiculous for a show about a zombie apocalypse, and the acting ranges from "serviceable" to "Sarah Wayne Callies does her best work as a severed head." 


What would I have nominated?  Friday Night Lights which is the perfect blend of great story, brilliantly simple characterization, pacing, acting, writing and directing that come together to create a perfect show.  Terriers for doing more with less than any other show this season and delivering 13 episodes that got every single thing right.  The Vampire Diaries (don't look at me like that) because whether you believe it or not, this is another show that is firing on all cylinders - writing, acting, directing, pacing, and story.  The Good Wife due to the aforementioned excellence.  And I can concede the fifth spot to something I don't watch that everyone insists is brilliant - your Dexters, Sons of Anarchys, Breaking Bads - so long as it isn't Mad Men. 

Best TV Series — Musical or Comedy
30 Rock - I don't watch it because my Thursday TV calendar is so jam-packed as it is that I'd need a 4th DVR to incorporate this into my schedule and, even for me, that's excessive.  But Tina Fey is smart and funny and I have no trouble believing that hilarious sun shines right out of Alec Baldwin's ass so I'll allow it.


The Big Bang Theory - I do watch it, and I love it, and I think it's very funny.  It's nice to see a multi-camera sitcom get a nomination and not have it involve Charlie Sheen.  I don't think it should win, but the nomination is fine.


The Big C - Again, don't have the pay-cable channel that airs this so I can't speak to whether or not it's deserved though I've heard some questionable things about the evenness of quality and I really do find it hard to accept that it's a genuinely funny show about cancer but whatev.


Glee - No.  Look, I have loved Glee and liked Glee and sort of wanted to kill Glee in it's sleep so I'm kind of all over the place with this show but I've been in the same place for a while which is to say that since the Golden Globe nominations were announced last year, the quality of the writing on Glee has been in a bit of a free-fall so no matter what period of time these nominations are based on it is absolutely NOT the best show in any category. 


Modern Family - Yes, I absolutely and whole-heartedly concur with this nomination.  Modern Family is sweet and funny with an outstanding cast from top to bottom. 


Nurse Jackie - I have seen exactly one and a half episodes of this show.  I didn't laugh once, hell, I didn't even know it was supposed to be a comedy.  I admit I have a completely irrational aversion to Edie Falco (something about her eyes and the tone of her voice makes me feel like she's always crabbing at me...I find her off-putting for absolutely no good reason) but that aside, I still don't think this show is remotely funny and that means I think it's a supremely shitty pick for best comedy.

What would I have nominated?  I'm not sure how they categorize themselves, but I'd call Chuck a comedy and I'd nominate it here.  Funny, original, sweet and silly in the very best way.  Cougar Town is the funniest show with the worst name.  Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and either 30 Rock or Community. 

Best Actor — Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire


Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad


Michael C. Hall, Dexter


Jon Hamm, Mad Men


Hugh Laurie, House M.D.

I won't pick apart the list since it's mostly people from shows I don't watch, though I will say that while I love a Hugh Laurie acceptance speech as much as the next gal, I don't think we need to keep nominating him every year for a show that stopped being good a while ago and whether he's good as House or not, there are other people whose turn it is to be recognized. 

Who would I have nominated?  Kyle Chandler for Friday Night Lights.  He is what we mean when we say that a person embodies their character.  Every word, every look, every exasperated breath is pure Coach Taylor to the extent that I think people don't truly appreciate that it isn't just a guy out there being himself.  There is acting being done out there every week and it's amazing.  Ian Somerhalder for The Vampire Diaries.  In the hands - or eyes - of a lesser actor, there would be nothing redeemable about Damon and, in fact, he would probably seem like nothing so much as a mustache-twirling cartoon villain.  Ian gives him nuance and depth and the eye thing.  Michael Raymond James for Terriers.  The journey that Britt took in those 13 episodes were something to behold and in the last 3 or 4 episodes in particular, he was absolutely breathtaking for every second he was on screen. 


Best Actress — Drama
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men


Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife


Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs


Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy


Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer


There aren't a whole lot of ways to say "are you fucking kidding me?" but the internet has gone through all of them since yesterday morning because Piper Perabo?  First of all, she's TERRIBLE!  Second, her show is, like, the guiltiest of all pleasures and she is by far the least good thing about it.  Her character, her clothes, her hair, her acting, her very existence is the worst thing about a show that is pure, stupid fluff.  And in much the same way that I object to Hugh Laurie's nomination, I also object to Kyra Sedgwick's because I like The Closer a lot and I think Kyra Sedgwick is awesome but the work she does as Brenda is not better than the work that EVERYONE else is doing.  It just isn't. 

Who would I have nominated?  Connie Britton for Friday Night Lights.  If you want to see a New Yorker play a convincing southerner, a Texan no less, then Connie as Tami Taylor is for you.  There is no one on earth that can fit so much subtext into "thank y'all so much" and she brings gravity to every moment, every interaction, every word.  Nina Dobrev for The Vampire Diaries.  Scoff if you must but I've said it before and I'll say it again, the way that she plays a dual, almost triple, role on that show is nothing short of amazing.  And Julianna Marguilies, Elizabeth Moss and Katie Sagal all seem like great choices to me. 

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock


Steve Carell, The Office


Thomas Jane, Hung


Matthew Morrison, Glee


Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Thoery


Another example of the HFPA's extreme insanity - IF we were to agree that Matthew Morrison was actually a lead in Glee (he gets less screen time than Kurt or Finn), it's the best actor in a COMEDY category which means, presumably, that the actor should be funny.  You know who isn't funny on Glee?  Mr. Schuster!  If you want to tell me that he's getting this for the musical half of the category I'd almost give it to you except that the category is best ACTOR, not best SINGER (and sometime ill-advised rapper) so once again I'm going to have to say an emphatic NO!  I also think that Steve Carell is a stretch in the same way Hugh and Kyra are so ppplllllbbbttttt.  Alec Baldwin and Jim Parsons are genuinely funny men and I guess I'll take their word for it where Thomas Jane is concerned though, I have to admit, they have little credibility and I'm not usually inclined to think Jane is funny so I'm really just looking right past that nomination like it's not there at all. 

Who would I have nominated?  Zachary Levi for Chuck.  I think it's a lot harder to act goofy than people usually give credit for and it's very rare to find someone who can convincingly pull off goofy and charming at the same time.  Chris Colfer for Glee who I think was incorrectly placed in the supporting group based on the size of his role.  Dule Hill for Psych which is not a great show, but is a pretty good show and Hill never fails to make me laugh, often with only his spot-on delivery of "I know that's right."  And of course, Alec and Jim.


Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara


Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie


Tina Fey, 30 Rock


Laura Linney, The Big C


Lea Michele, Glee


I almost don't have the energy.  If this were the best singer in a musical or comedy, I'd just go ahead and give the damn award to Lea Michele but I don't think her acting is particularly fantastic and that's coming from one of the 6 people in America who actually likes the Rachel character.  Everyone else is kind of a big, fat whatever for me. 

Who would I have nominated?  Courtney Cox for Cougar Town. 


Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-0

Chris Colfer, Glee


Chris Noth, The Good Wife


David Strathairn, Temple Grandin


Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family


This category is impossible because it combines all the supporting actors into one group and that's ludicrous but whatever.  I think Scott Caan is an interesting choice, though probably not one I would have made in a field this big but like I said yesterday, he's absolutely the best thing about his show and I do enjoy him a lot.  I already said I would have put Colfer in the lead group so he's out.  Chris Noth is fine, but he isn't the best supporting actor on his show, let alone in all of TV.  Same with Eric Stonestreet - he's good but I think there is better on his very show.  I do think David Strathairn is the bomb but I've not seen Temple Grandin so I can't make any call on him here. 

Who would I have nominated?  Alan Cumming for The Good Wife.  He's the best he's ever been as Eli Gold.  Ty Burrell for Modern Family.  His Phil is the heart, soul and funny bone of a show that is packed to the rafters with heart, soul and funny.  Zach Gilford for Friday Night Lights.  I'm not sure how the nominating rules account for the weird FNL DirecTV season but if last year can qualify, he should be in for the arc where Matt Saracen loses his father.  It was, in a word, beautiful.  Walton Goggins for Justified.  I spent the entire season wondering whether Boyd Crowder really had been born again in prison.  Goggins never once made it easy to know for sure where Boyd stood and that was what made the character and his relationship to Raylan so compelling.  John Noble for Fringe.  No one could make Walter's food fetishes and immunity to ick as entertainingly charming as John Noble does. 


Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship


Jane Lynch, Glee


Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire


Julia Stiles, Dexter


Sofia Vergara, Modern Family


I can get behind Jane Lynch's nomination and Sofia Vergara's.  I have absolutely no opinion of the other three. 

Who would I have nominated?  Archie Penjabi for The Good Wife.  Kalinda is one of the most fantastic women on TV and I can't believe she didn't even get a nod from the HFPA.  Busy Philipps for Cougar Town.  I think you kind of have to see her in action on the show to appreciate just how insanely funny she is.  Candice Accola for The Vampire Diaries.  Caroline has always added a touch of humanity and normalcy to a show about the supernatural and even this year, after becoming a vampire, she's still somehow the best example of girl power and friendship and love and adolescence and so many other human qualities.  Her scenes usually hit me the hardest because she makes them so genuine. 

On a final note, they nominated Jennifer Love Hewitt in the Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Made-For-TV Movie.  She played a suburban prostitute.  Jennifer Love Hewitt.  The jokes make themselves, you guys. 

Can't We All Just Disagree?

I guess the Glee writers are capable of getting it right once in a while.  That is to say, they can work movie homages into the show with some degree of organic storytelling and it was nice to finally see evidence of that with "Sue The Grinch." 

"A Very Glee Christmas" is just how I like my Glee - full to the brim with music, plenty of fluff with a heartwarming finish and very little "story."  I liked the songs and I loved the shamelessly Christmasy, sappiness.  I could have done without the Finn and Rachel breakup boringness but that's a fairly minor thing I was able to ignore as soon as the singing started. 

Apparently a lot of the internet thought this was one of the weakest episodes of the show yet but the internet and I often don't see eye to eye on these things.  I'm ok with that.  I'm a sucker for special holiday episodes and I don't really care who knows it. 

One Tree Hill skipped the Christmas ep and went for one of their patented "people might probably almost totally die, but not really" mid-season finales, sending the residents of our favorite fictional North Carolina 'burb a late-November hurricane and also a psychotic murderer.  Merry Christmas! 

Jamie took a dive in his spelling bee so that his little girlfriend could win then was driven home with Chuck and the girlfriend by Miss Lauren.  But it was like The Perfect Storm out so Miss Lauren's car turned over on the bridge - the one the limo went off after Hailey and Nathan's second wedding.  Luckily, Brooke and Julian had just been having a big fight about something ridiculous and she was driving to clear her head when she came upon them.  Chuck had a head injury and was losing consciousness.  Jamie and his girlfriend were ok but he was stuck in his seat belt and Miss Lauren was knocked unconscious.  By the time Chuck passed out Brooke had freed Lauren so Lauren took Chuck and Girlfriend to the hospital while Brooke stayed behind to try and cut Jamie out of the seat belt.  They kept showing a downed power line all ominous like so we'd think they were totally going to be electrocuted but then Julian arrived on the bridge just in time for some reckless-driving dickhead to hit the overturned car and send it careening into the river below. 

Julian jumped in after to try and save Jamie and Brooke - whose leg was now trapped under the steering wheel.  That's naturally when the levee broke and began to drown them.  Long story short?  Julian gets Jame out, then comes back for Brooke but doesn't free her before she stops breathing.  There's CPR for, like, 20 minutes and then she's fine.  By my count, that's 4 people on this show who've died and then come back in that exact same location.  Tree Hill should consider closing that bridge. 

Elsewhere, Nathan and Haley get a flat tire and Quinn is one again harassed and nearly killed by Dead Ringer.  Seriously, why didn't Quinn and Clay move after the shooting?  Never mind that she someone tried to murder them in that house, but it's 95% windows and 5% stairs - it's a completely impractical place to live when there is a psycho stalking you.  In the end, Quinn shoots Dead Ringer and leaves her to bleed out on the bedroom floor.  Fair's fair.

We never did find out how Chuck and Miss Lauren are - I guess if you're not important enough to get your face in the credit sequence, we aren't supposed to care if you lived or died. 

The internet and the critics who are prone to loving Life Unexpected held this week's episode in the highest esteem but I didn't much enjoy it.  Everyone in the episode was really fantastic except that I hate how selfish Lux is and how the writers don't seem to think that her behavior is selfish at all.  I'm not sure I have the energy to go into a long diatribe with examples of how everything she did during the episode was selfish but when this show ends for the season (forever) I believe I'll do a recap of the whole shebang and examine the many, many, many choices she made to care about herself more than anyone or anything else. 

Suffice to say, in this episode Tasha went to court to determine whether she was guilty of aggravated assault on Trey and we found out that the thing Lux kept not telling everyone was that Trey had molested and attempted to rape her when she was a kid.  We pretty much all saw that coming and I won't belittle that as a tragic, traumatizing and emotional event but I will say that because of the serious nature of all the other things that were happening in this episode - including the first sonogram of Ryan and Cate's baby, Tasha's fate, Lux's past, and the very way that the characters on the show have finally become one family - I found the inclusion of schmoopy Tiny Teacher love unseemly and gross.  And when he told her he loved her I wanted to punch him in his tiny face. 

Despite how often I complain about it, I really do like this show very much - I wouldn't stick with it if I didn't - but I can totally understand why it didn't find a large enough audience even by CW's standards.  People aren't going to like your protagonist just because you tell them they're supposed to, you have to make the person LIKABLE!  And if you can't do that (Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill: The CMM Years) you can't rely on sap alone to win them over. 

Oh, Life Unexpected!  You had such potential but you just never could step far enough away to see your own flaws and pull it all together. 

The storm before the calm.

The Holiday hiatus is the hardest part of the TV season for me.  I don't much care about the litany of holiday "specials" that they foist on us, and while the summer is it's own mini-season now, the winter hiatus is a month of reruns and old cartoons.  Thank God that we seem to mostly be going out on a bang before everything is put into deep freeze until sometime in January. 

The Glee kids took another trip to sectionals and while the episode wasn't quite as fun as last week (no Sue and no Burt - boo!), it was better than most of the season that's preceded it.  The writing is still unforgivably uneven and most infuriating is the way they change the personalities of the kids to suit whatever story they want to tell each week.  Say what you will about how selfish and annoying Rachel is, at least she's the same every week (Kurt too).  The rest of the kids are all over the damn place.  One week they love and support each other, the next they hate and plot against each other.  It's 50/50 whether you'll get Puck the badass or Puck the helpful friend. 

Santana may want to punch Rachel every time she opens her mouth, but I'd like to punch Santana every time she's on camera - open mouth or not.  We spend all this energy on the Karofsky/Kurt bullying arc but it's ok for Santana to be a mean bitch to Rachel whenever the mood strikes?  Sorry, but no.  The songs were enjoyable again this week and I love every scene that Kurt and Rachel share together (when the glee club kids graduate from McKinley, I think the show should leave Ohio and follow Kurt and Rachel to New York and watch the two of them try to make it on Broadway).  Blaine and Sam have sure added a heaping helping of CUTE to the proceedings and that helps take my mind off of some of the things about the show that fill me with rage.  I didn't even mind the Finn/Rachel/Puck stuff once I stopped paying any attention at all to Santana's involvement in it.  But the ice under this show is getting thinner by the minute so I hope the back half sucks a whole lot less than the front half did or it's going to splash right into the dark, cold waters of a season pass cancellation. 

One Tree Hill on the other hand, has found a way to be ridiculous and over-the-top while also being completely and wonderfully entertaining.  Bringing Dan back and playing up his creepiest qualities and then having him be a "good guy" in the end was fun.  The silly redneck wedding was purely throwaway and cheesy but if you didn't enjoy watching the Tree Hill gang over-do "redneck" then you are cold and dead inside.  Everything about the episode was fun to watch up to and including the completely insane ending that had Dead Ringer singing aloud in the car to a stalker's anthem as she headed back to Tree Hill to finish what she started (who let that woman out of the nut house?).  I know this show gets a bad rap from critics and...most everyone else over 21 in the world but they can all suck it because this show is what Desperate Housewives has always wanted to be but never managed. 

Thanksgiving came late to Life Unexpected and when it got there, it carbo-loaded and dropped a big pile of sad on everyone.  We haven't officially confirmed that Emma spent her best years banging Papa Baze but, come on, we all saw the looks and his ridiculous over-reaction - we know what's up.  Cate is pregnant so naturally there's lying and subterfuge followed by fighting and childishness followed by making up because that's how those two roll.  I'm ok with it - it's what we're used to.  Emma's son (I know he has a name but for the life of me, I can not remember it - let's just call him Degrassi) is no Jones, but if he wants to blackmail Lux into kissing him and dumping Tiny Teach for him, I'm totally for it. 

You know what though?  Who cares about all of this because the important thing that happened this week, is what's going to happen next week (yeah, technically that makes no sense but that doesn't make it any less true).  The police showed up at the loft looking for Cate and Ryan because they're arresting Tasha for how she almost killed the scary foster dad (and, you know, Cate and Ryan are Tasha's legal guardians) so next week we go to trial where we confirm that Scary Foster Dad molested (raped even?) Lux and beat her and all kinds of stuff.  But here's the thing you guys, Tasha really did hit the dude with a shovel and Degrassi really did witness it so even if we find out for sure that SFD was an SOB (heh), Tasha could still go to juvie.  Save Tasha!

I don't think I've said much about Terriers here but I have given it quite a bit of love on Twitter and the fact of the matter is that it is a perfect show.  Unfortunately it's a perfectly IGNORED show by most people so it's ratings have been, in a word, abysmal which is a crying shame because if it gets cancelled after how amazing that season finale was, I will cry real and heartfelt tears.  I'm reluctant to talk about what happened because if you haven't watched the show, you need to stop reading this right now and go watch every single episode of it either on the internet or download it from iTunes.  I guess I'll just say that Hank wrapped up the Ocean Beach Airport case with the help of Britt, Mark, and Laura but, wrapping up that case opened another can of worms that is exactly the kind of worm can we'd enjoy watching them sort through in season 2.  Britt dealt with his legal and relationship problems like the man that we've always known him to be.  Then, in the end, our boys sat at a crossroads contemplating their futures.  I hope they pick the future that's straight ahead because that's the future I want to find them in when (WHEN!) the show is renewed for a second, perfect season. 

You know what else is perfect?  Friday Night Lights.  When the kids on this show play a football game, I stand up and scream for touchdowns, passes, sacks, interceptions, fumbles - you name it, I scream for it like it was a live game with an undetermined outcome.  The Loins Lions won their game this week against the Racist Dickheads but that was really the least of the story.  The thing is though, I can't really tell you what the most of the story was because it's not necessarily the plot points with this show.  It's the moments.  The true-to-life little things that they just get so right - like when Coach had a heart-to-hear with Vince while he cooked bacon in his office (which...wha?), or when he sat on the patio silently listening to Vince, Luke, Tinker and Hastings talk as boys do, or when the boys shared some drunken reverie and then needed to be patched up by Jess.  How 'bout when Coach called home to tell Tami that they'd won and had a half-drunk flirty phone conversation with his half-drunk wife?  Even when Julie came crawling home after being humiliated at school by her boyfriend's wife.  That's just a partial list of the moments that the episode contained.  What will we do without this show? 

Moving back into the realm of the not-critically-acclaimed-but-still-completely-awesome, let's talk about Hellcats, shall we?  The entire episode can be summed up in three words: Marti ruins everything!  Dan is leaving town because she threw herself at him a little and then when he told her he had feelings for her and he wanted to do something about that she blew him off.  Lewis found out about Marti's indiscretion at the same time the rest of the Hellcats did because that's how Marti chose to come clean to Savannah - by telling her she was "with" Dan "physically" in front of everyone.  Gross, Marti.  Really gross.  Do I think that Savannah maybe should have cut Marti the tiniest break considering that the confession took place MOMENTS after Marti had saved her from being date-raped?  Yes.  Does that completely negate the shittiness of what Marti did?  No.  I'm not completely heartless, it was kind of sad to see Marti so distraught at the end, but I don't have too much sympathy because she brought that on herself.  She ruins everything, you guys.  EVERYTHING.

Too Good Tuesday

I was all set to start ripping Glee apart for more of their weak storytelling nonsense, but you know what?  Sue took a fairly believable anti-bullying stance and did it while still being kind of a bully herself and then Finn called Kurt his brother and danced with him at their parents wedding, and Burt was in the episode and...well shit, I can't be mad at that. 

I could not have cared less about Sue's wedding to herself or any part of that C plot.  Carol Burnett is awesome and all, but the entire wedding plot was a not-at-all-veiled excuse to shove her into an episode and it was boring.  What wasn't boring was the wedding of Burt and Carole.  Also the way the Glee kids all stuck up for Kurt in his bullying situation and were all so sad when he left school to avoid further run-ins with Karofsky. 

It wasn't a perfect episode but it was mostly fun and the story mostly hung together (annoying though, when Burt gave Finn a bit of the business for not defending Kurt against Karofsky sooner even as Finn was visibly shocked at the revelation Kurt had just made about the death threat).  For the first time in quite a while, the plots weren't something that was just whipped up and flung at a long list of songs they were going to do anyway and that was a very pleasant change of pace.  And like it wasn't enough that I totally cried at the brothering bonding moment at the reception, and again (just a little) when Kurt told everyone he was changing schools, I just watched this clip from next week's trip to Sectionals, and when Rachel cheers Kurt on and prods him to smile from the audience?  More tears!  What's happening to me? 

(Side note: could Darren Criss be any cuter?) 

Meanwhile, The Good Wife is like a grown-up version of The Vampire Diaries (not that "grown-ups" shouldn't be watching The Vampire Diaries - EVERYONE should be watching The Vampire Diaries!) because so much happens in an episode that you scarcely know where to look or how to process it all. 

"On Tap" might just be the best episode of the series so far as all the stories fit together so seamlessly and every last bit of it was riveting.  It goes without saying that Julianna Margulies is a brilliant actress but I've never seen anyone be so evocative in scene after scene while acting opposite a tape recorder and a broken desk chair. 

Some of the things that are blowing my mind:

• Blake trying to subtly frame Kalinda for beating that psychiatrist.  Blake is starting to be really and truly scary.  I didn't expect him to be such a formidable foe Kalinda and the more frightening he gets, the more I dislike how chummy he is with Will.
• Becca is pure evil.  My working theory is that she's actually in cahoots with Glenn Junior - tricking Zach into making a video about Junior so that they can then turn around and do much worse to the Floricks.  Whatever her game, she is obviously working Zach over and nothing good will come of it.  
• Diane can not start her own firm with that creepy, bald weasel!  On a related note, Will can not be involved in a plot with Derrick to push Diane out of the current firm.  We need for Lockhart and Gardner to exist as Lockhart and Gardner because, as we can see from Carey's diminished screen time this season, it's harder to keep our peeps in the story if they leave the firm.  And both Will and Diane are so my peeps! 
• Carey, while suffering from the aforementioned diminished role, is still ridiculously awesome.
• Alicia found out, via a wire-tapped conversation, that Will left her a second voice mail that she never got and while she doesn't know that the voice mail in question told her he loves her, she knows that the sentiment in the second message was the opposite of his original "we should not be together" message so she knows enough to know that she should have already dumped Peter and been having lots of sex with Will.  But when she went to tell him all of that, she was confronted with his new girlfriend who is having all of the sex with him now!  Please tell me Alicia didn't miss her chance with Will!   

 

 

Half A Week In Reviews

Lots to catch up on. 

Glee - Ugh!  It's getting harder and harder to enjoy the show as a whole.  The producers and writers have turned it into After School Special: The Bizarro Musical.  They're shoe-horning in heavy-handed ones to grow on right and left and turning the few genuinely likable characters they have into annoying, inconsistent pains in the ass in the process. 

I dug the musical numbers, as usual, but further insistence that Puck is a bad-ass was unbearable and the bullying message was even worse.  The entire season last year dealt with bullying as a matter of course and I can understand if they want to step it up a bit in the wake of the recent gay-targeted bullying incidents, but the seriousness of the topic is all the more reason why it should be addressed with subtlety and not the way that the preachy, ham-fisted writers of this show chose.  It did a disservice to the topic, to Kurt, to the cute new boy and to the closeted meat-head bully.  Worst of all, it was less than entertaining.  Next week, I think I'll fast forward through the "story" and just watch the singing. 

One Tree Hill - To be honest with you, the stories this season are pretty boring but James Lafferty is getting a considerable amount of screen time and in case you haven't gathered from the other million times I mentioned it: I am in love with his shoulders.  Sweet Jesus, you put those things in a suit and the angles sing.  True story! 

Life Unexpected - Well, last week, about an hour after the show aired in my time zone, The CW announced that it would not order additional episodes for this season which means that the 13 episodes already purchased will very likely be the last produced.  It is a shame because on the whole I like the show but I also understand why others have found it difficult to enjoy because Lux is awful.  She's selfish, whiny, immature, petulant and a truly terrible friend.  She continues to "date" Tiny Teacher, even though the two of them agree that they need to never see each other again at least once every episode, and this week she really treated Tasha like shit. 

First, Lux uses Tasha's apartment to hook up with Tiny Teacher, thereby using her best friend and displacing her from her home to do something she knows that Tasha disapproves of and putting Tasha in the very difficult position of having to lie about it to everyone they know.  Then, Tiny Teacher takes Lux out of town on a date where he loses his wallet and misses the ferry home so the two of them have to get a hotel room which he can't pay for so Lux basically orders Tasha to pay for with the credit card Cate gave her for emergencies.  The credit card that is LINKED to Cate's account.  Lux says that when they get home Tiny Teacher will move the charge on to his account which nearly made my head explode because that's not how credit card charges work and if HE doesn't know that, then he's too stupid to teach!  Anyway, Cate naturally finds out and then Tasha takes the blame all on herself and Lux barely even says thank you!  As if she hadn't already proven herself to be the worst friend in the history of the world, she then uses Tasha's apartment to hook up with Teeny Teach AGAIN!  I hate that girl, I really do. 

In news of things that don't suck about the show - the marital problems between Cate and Ryan persist and their therapist recommends a they separate to give each other space while they work on it.  Ryan moves in with Baze which is effing awesome since I'm actually advocating for an entirely new show where Cate and Lux move away and Baze and Ryan become Tasha's foster parents.  And obviously Jones would stick around as her boyfriend.  It'd be like a My Two Dads reboot, but way better.  Also, Emma has a son who was raised by a boarding school and then a rehab facility until his dad dropped the teenager off on her doorstep this week.  Oh, and she and Baze mentioned that they are "falling" for each other. 

The Good Wife - Michael J. Fox is awesome and I always forget until I see him, how much I miss seeing him on my TV.  But what's really important to talk about is that we're being given just the smallest crumbs of information each week about how shady Blake (formerly known as Jason Street) is.  It's pretty clear that he beat up that therapist and is purposely trying to "out" Kalinda, though I don't know who would care about that.  What's really worrying me is his connection to Will.  I really don't want Will to be shady...or mixed up in something shady...basically I don't want there to be any reason for me to stop loving Will.  Other important things of note, Lilly Taylor is amazing and I adore Carey.  More screen time for Carey, please! 

Friday Night Lights - Oh my God, you guys.  Julie slept with her married TA who should have a) known better and b) really NOT.  At first glance she seems to be handling that bad idea ok but I sense a complete emotional breakdown coming.  Tami is trying to teach that red-headed Rally Ho why it is not cool to drink yourself unconscious and let boys do whatever the hell they want with you.  Essentially, Tami is trying to change Rally Ho's destiny from "prostitute" to "person with an ounce of sense."  It is an up-hill battle, let me tell you!  In her spare time, Tami gets Jess a job as the Lions' new equipment manager despite her husband's misgivings about having a girl in the locker room (about which I do not disagree with him). 

Coach, meanwhile, is working extra hard at his job of turning boys into men.  After the video of Rally Ho's drunken exploits at a party attended by several Lions whose faces clearly appear on said video, Coach lays down some rules.  It's jackets and ties on game days and regular community outreach as well as a lecture about standards of behavior and striving to be better than everyone else.  He even has to kick two particularly stupid boys of the team.  Unfortunately this all goes down the same week that Vince's father is paroled from prison and moves back in with his family, trying to act like the dad he never was.  Vince ain't having it and it's causing him to act out in some other ways as well.  That leads to a particularly powerful scene between Coach and Vince where Vince breaks down in anger about how his father failed to teach him how to be a man and Coach does exactly that with few words said with respect and love. 

Buddy has opened a Buddy's Bar & Grill which is in East Dillon and is the new headquarters for all the rallies and victory parties and general football pride that keeps Buddy's heart pumping.  But in the midst of that that joy over his involvement in the sport he loves, he finds out from Pam that Buddy Jr. is acting out and smoking pot and being a general discipline problem.  So he gets Pam to send the boy back home to Dillon to get some fatherly influences back in his life.  It might sound crazy but I think that's a good call - Buddy might be a bit of a dip shit, but he's capable of being a good man when it counts. 

And, if that's what you're in it for, you might like to know that the Lions won their second game of the season.  Sweet Pete on a platter I'm going to miss this show when it's gone. 

Hellcats - I sort of love this show but they are doing their level best to make me change my mind by forcing this Dan/Marti relationship that is interfering with the awesomeness of Dan.  It's not just because I love Savannah, though I do LOVE Savannah, it's mostly because I think Dan has always been a level-headed, stand-up guy who goes out of his way not to fuck with people's feelings and now all of a sudden he's making out with someone who isn't his girlfriend and implying that he's totally willing to dump his girlfriend if Marti wants to start something up but then going back to his girlfriend like nothing ever happened and acting weird around them both.  Dan was well on his way to being the Pacey Witter of 2010 but after last night, he seems more like Charlie Todd (I'm almost a little ashamed I was able to pull that character name out of my ass.  Almost) and I just won't stand for a transformation like that! 

Rocky Horrible Gleepisode

In the past, I've been of the opinion that even a bad episode of Glee is still pretty entertaining, but after last night, I know that a truly bad episode of Glee is not entertaining and really, really unpleasant to watch. 

Either the writers want to make a show that is about being campy and ridiculous and musical and fun with absolutely no regard for plotting and storytelling, or they want to make a show about something that happens to be campy and musical, but they can't have it both ways.  It was obvious to me that the powers that be (and write) decided they wanted to pay homage to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and which musical numbers they'd perform and who would perform them and then just shoe-horned a "story" in around these pieces.  Even worse than the completely nonsensical "plot" was the decision to revolve the episode around Mr. Schuester being creepy. 

Look, I get it, Matthew Morrison looks good with his shirt off.  I can support their efforts to work his nudity into the show if they do it in such a way that doesn't make me feel gross.  And the more time that passes on this show, the more likely it is that every single thing they do with the Schue character will seem gross because they've turned his character into the creepiest, most annoyingly self-involved, humorless moron I've ever had the misfortune to meet on television.  It's hard to believe there was a time I hoped he and Emma would get together.  Now I hope that the show fires Morrison (through no fault of his own) and replaces him permanently with John Stamos. 

Envelope pushing, I know.  Yet, I hope I never see two adults singing about orgasms to each other while "teenagers" watch and snicker ever again.  They reworked lyrics and toned down costumes and did only musical numbers (almost no dialogue from the movie) in the service of making Rocky conform to network television's standards and practices yet somehow managed to make it a million times more inappropriate for human consumption than just showing an un-edited version of the movie could have ever been. 

What didn't completely suck?  Becky.  And two new installments of "How Sue Sees It" which were not as memorable as past installments have been but I had missed hearing Jane Lynch say "Thanks, Ron."  The costumes were pretty terrific and, as usual, the final group number was a lot of fun.  I appreciated the inclusion of a story about boys dealing with body image issues though, again, it felt a bit forced. 

Puck gets out of juvie two weeks from now, lets hope he brings a better script and a whole lot less screen time for Schue with him when he returns! 

Tuesdays are exhausting.

For the first time this season, I really and truly LOVED last night's Glee.  It was ridiculous and funny and insane in all of the ways the show is when it's at its very best.  Of course I cringed when Finn and Rachel sang "With You I'm Born Again" dressed like a minxy little nun-in-training and a priest, but that's what made it so hilarious.  In the end, I think it's a damn good thing that the Rachel/Kurt duet wasn't in the running for the Breadstix gift certificate because that shit would have won in a landslide!  It was about 50 kinds of awesome and I've already re-watched it 6 times today on Hulu (and the original Barbra Streisand/Judy Garland version 3 times). 

One Tree Hill got back to some of it's fun basics when it left the drama cranked up to 11 but also brought back some of the wackiness that makes me love it.  Jamie isn't wrong, Nathan does avoid things, but so long as he keeps owning shoulders that beautiful, he can do any damn thing he wants and I won't argue with it.  I'm glad that Clay is out of the hospital and I'm hoping that part of his healing process involves some time in the sun because that man needs a tan in the worst way.  And I say that as the palest person you've probably ever met.  Brooke was mostly mopey this week but I'm cutting her slack because liquidating your company and divesting yourself of all of your money and possessions is tough enough but being called stupid by the mother who got you into the mess in the first place is likely to make anyone pout.  On the plus side, she shared several scenes with her FRIENDS which sometimes this show forgets to have and also, her hair looked AMAZING at her press conference. 

Speaking of press conferences, kudos to Nate for finding a way to make his "I quit" press conference benefit Mouth.  Our former teenage asshole has turned into quite the classy fellow. 

And finally, in news I suspect no one cares about, Alex is leaving town for a movie and Chase is peeved because she didn't tell him so he broke up with her.  Before that happened, though, Haley booked a concert gig for Mia in Portland to get her out of town and away from her creepy Alex/Chase obsession. 

Oh hey, speaking of a concert in Portland, it just so happens that the radio station that Cate and Ryan work at over on Life Unexpected is hosting a concert - in Portland!  For the first time since those two kids tied the knot, this is an excuse for all of the characters to be in the same place at the same time and they make the most of it. 

The show was firing on all cylinders last night and was a joy to watch.  Cate lied to Ryan about trying to get pregnant.  Baze and Lux both found out that Cate and Ryan were trying (but not really) to get pregnant and both kind of flipped.  Cate and her mom got into a big fight about Cate lying and about being bad mothers and stuff.  Then Ryan found out Cate was lying and they got into a big fight. 

Cate bonded with Haley over

teen pregnancy and baby daddies named Nate.  And then Haley sang something. 

Tasha continued her now two week trend of being likable when she good-naturedly teased Baze about being unable to date anyone who isn't Cate-adjacent because he's still hung up on her and also ribbed Lux about her love life thinking it was about Bug because she doesn't know Lux is hot for her tiny teacher.  The three of them make a pact to all bring a date to the concert.  Baze asks out a file clerk from the office (desperate much?) but then Emma orders him to bring her so she can hard-sell Haley.  Lux asks Tiny Teacher but he's already got a date and also HE'S A TEACHER so instead of bringing a date she has Paige slut her up so she can run into Tiny Teacher and make him jealous.  Good plan except Tiny Teacher's date is Paige who totally looks more comfortable in her sluttiness and is also an actual slut so Lux is SOL.   

Tasha asked Jones to come but it was only because she thought Lux liked him and would never ask herself.  Sweet right?  Well, apparently Jones didn't think I loved

him enough already so, instead of merely being adorable, he is now deeply awesome as well.  He takes being ignored by Lux in stride and spends all his time enjoying Tasha's company then he tells her that she's fun and pretty and he agreed to come with her because he wanted to come WITH HER and then they kiss and Ben Lee sings three songs.  Yay! 

I expected to be really upset by that but since Lux totally doesn't deserve him and Tasha is suddenly likable, I'm in favor of this development.  You know who isn't though?  Lux.  She sees them kissing and flips her lid.  The two of them have a fight during which Tasha tells Lux that she can quit her whiny complaining about Cate, Baze, Ryan and Jones any fucking second because they're all awesome and Tasha loves them and Lux can take her selfish ass to HELL!  Well, I may have paraphrased but that was the upshot. 

Cate and her mom make up.  Cate and Lux make up.  Cate and Ryan make up.  Baze and Emma develop sparks (right after she totally hinted that she spent four or more years of her life having an affair with his dad!).  Cate and Baze make up.  Lux and Tasha make up.  Everyone is happy. 

Next week we finally see the skeleton in Ryan's closet (because he needed so bad to be a little less perfect) and find out who the hell Julia is.  

Fall TV - Tuesday: I'm way behind already

I haven't had a chance yet to watch either iteration of NCIS or Detroit 1-8-7.  I probably should have gotten more accomplished TV-wise last night but I spent too much time on the phone chatting.  I'm going to television-addict hell. 

The new season of Glee kicked off on a pretty great note last night.  The musical numbers were great, Sue was mean, Schue was annoying, Mike Chang took his shirt off and the newbies seem pretty interesting.  I'm sad that we got one quick line about Matt transferring and then moved on like no one will mis Dijon Tilton.  He deserved better.  But Mike Chang finally gets some long-overdue attention and Sue finally has a worthy adversary in Coach Beiste.  Plus, someone finally asked Schue to stop rapping! 

Sunshine came and went - having blown the clubbers away after being hazed by a jealous Rachel, Vocal Adrenaline's new coach convinced her to transfer. 

Now we know that our new addition to the glee club will have to be Sam (played by the brilliantly named Chord Overstreet), the talented, probably gay, new kid who was made QB by Beiste after she kicked Finn off the team for daring to help Artie try out.  Poor, stupid Finn. 

Next week: Brittany is Britney, and Britney is Madonna. 

One Tree Hill did its very best to make me cancel my season pass by making me think that Clay was going to die while Quinn lived.  Let me be clear, I love Nathan and Julian, and even Mouth, but this show is chick heavy as it is so if they kill off Clay, I'm out. 

I'm not going to talk about the plot because I'm still kind of angry that they tricked me into crying, but I will say that I loved Jamie giving Mia and Chase the brush-off and then hanging with Julian for the rest of the day.  Austin Nichols is so cute and he has terrific chemistry with Jackson Brundage. 

One final note - James Lafferty's broad shoulders are a gift from God.  Where are THOSE pictures, CW internet photo helper-monkeys?  

I rather enjoyed this episode of Life Unexpected and have very few over-critical complaints about it.  I mean, except for how much I don't really like the arc that involves Lux trying to date her teacher. 

I'm glad they've finally given Math some people skills and stopped making every second he's on screen a study in cringing.  I wish they'd had Cate take the 2am-6am show rather than the producing job on Ryan's show, but I suppose it'd be fairly tough to write scenes with Lux, Cate and Ryan together if the only hours the three of them are awake and home are 5pm-9pm. 

I'm TOTALLY digging Emma Caufield's return to my television screen.  Words can't express how much I loved her as Anya on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and I already really like her as Baze's new hard-ass boss, Emma.  And it's kind of great that Baze has gone and gotten himself a "real" job.  It should be interesting to see him not be a total fuck up for a change.  We've seen hints all along that he is a perfectly smart guy, so I'm anxious to see him BE smart and succeed at something. 

Next week: golf, accidental sister screwing and Jones!  Yay!