Posted Nov 25th 2009 8:46AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, V
(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that
V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.
More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.
Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.
Continue reading Review: V - It's Only the Beginning
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:35AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance
(
S06E17) This week determines the top ten of
So You Think You Can Dance. We welcome the top twelve dancers and judging by the audience, Legacy and Jakob are the most loved. With
Dancing with the Stars ending this week, I'm happy that I can devote more time to this show because the dancing is a higher caliber and it isn't just a celebrity popularity contest.
Tonight we got to see the first Can Can and the return of the Lindy Hop. I am happy that the show continues to break the boundaries of dance and shine a light on new choreographers.
Continue reading Review: So You Think You Can Dance - Top 12 Perform
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:20AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Biggest Loser, Episode Reviews
(S08E11) It was a big week, as the remaining five contestants settled in for their final week on the
Biggest Loser campus. With Amanda as a clear outcast in the group, she was feeling the pressure even more to stay above that yellow line. And big weeks aren't something Amanda is known for, despite a valiant nine-pound loss last week. She's never seen double digits and spent most of the season hovering around six pounds a week.
However, as one of the smallest contestants in the game, those numbers can make a difference when it comes to her percentages. Liz, Allen, Rudy and Danny have all developed a tight bond over the past ten weeks, and you just know their dream was for Amanda to slip below so they could send her home and preserve their foursome into the Semi-Finals.
I have this odd tendency to root for an underdog, so even though Amanda has been less-than-impressive throughout this season, I suddenly found myself hoping she would pull it out and upset the apple cart, as it were.
Continue reading Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Eleven
Posted Nov 25th 2009 2:00AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(
S09E21)
Dancing with the Stars is down to three finalists, two hours, and one winner. We re-welcome the thirteen eliminated celebrities. Donny & Kym, Mya & Dmitry, and Kelly & Louis emerge from the other side of the stage and run past the eliminated contestants. Louis got a lot of butt slaps; he giggles and continues walking.
We get a recap of last night, ad in the middle of the recap we have the back of Miss Piggy's head. Was that the spaghetti cat of
DWTS? The recap played again right after a commercial break.
The best part of the night wasn't the results, it was Miss Piggy laying the smackdown on Samantha Harris.
Continue reading Review: Dancing with the Stars - Performance 10 Results (season finale)
Posted Nov 25th 2009 1:48AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, NCIS, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S07E09) If you want to show the soft side of Jethro Gibbs, involve a kid. That would seem to be the logic behind this episode which was a bit of a reach, what with cornfields, a think tank for gifted children, government secrets, a tenuous link to gang activity, a dead Marine, and pink cupcakes ... but still interesting.
There was also the whole connection to Thanksgiving at Ducky's. Would our favorite NCIS team make it to dinner together or would they be setting out on separate paths? Would Abby master the cranberry sauce? Read more after the jump.
Continue reading Review: NCIS - Child's Play
Posted Nov 24th 2009 2:31PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Lie to Me
(
S02E08)
"You believe in Santa Claus?" - Lightman
Ho Ho Ho... you're going to Afghanistan. Not exactly a Christmas present to be happy about. Having said that, Cal must surely be happy about what he accomplished in last night's episode of
Lie to Me.
Sent to a US Marines outpost in the middle of the desert near Kabul, Cal was tasked with uncovering the truth about a deep-cover US operative who got left for dead and had to join to Taliban to survive. Cal was able to get plenty of info from his subject about two missing Marines but we ended up learning far more about Dr. Lightman as a result of his methods.
Continue reading Review: Lie to Me - Secret Santa
Posted Nov 24th 2009 1:30PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Castle
(S02E10) ""A wife and a fiance catfight ... please can we stop for popcorn on the way?" - Castle
Molly C. Quinn is such a cutie. I loved the storyline this week where she volunteers to categorize evidence, and in doing so, uses her skills to help return someone's precious "brag book" to them. She takes after her dad in the "big heart" department.
Castle is good about that. They could have made Richard Castle as a roguish playboy who chases women and loves a good time, and while he's got some of that in him (see above quote), he's also a dedicated family man. The writers are good about the characters that way. Beckett is a hard-nosed detective, but she's also good with people, excelling at giving them bad news in such a way as to soften the blow.
Continue reading Review: Castle - One Man's Treasure
Posted Nov 24th 2009 9:29AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S03E09) As soon as I read the episode info and saw that Kripke was going to be making an appearance, I lost all hope of this episode coming anywhere close to matching the
brilliance of last week's. I was not wrong. I don't like Kripke. I don't find a speech impediment to be funny, and with him, it's completely extraneous. Sheldon could just have an enemy (I don't doubt he had many, in fact). You don't need to give the character this extra identifying mark.
So not only was I dismayed by Kripke's appearance, his practical joke was just mean-spirited and again, not something that I found funny. I don't like watching people getting humiliated. Sheldon dressed up for a
radio interview. That's adorable, and then to not only be embarrassed for absolutely no reason in front of a national audience, but to have his friends laughing at him as well, just made me sad. Luckily, Wolowitz's uh, love triangle with Bernadette and
Katee Sackhoff saved the episode for me.
Continue reading Review: The Big Bang Theory - The Vengence Formulation
Posted Nov 24th 2009 8:03AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, House, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S06E09)
"There's no point in putting a band together if we're not going to play any gigs." - House
I'm torn over the best way to tackle this review of "Ignorance is Bliss." I have far more bad things to say about the episode than I do good things, yet I loved it. The outcome I (and presumably most other fans) want to see (House and Cuddy together) is hopefully going to be achieved. This just isn't my ideal path to get there.
Continue reading Review: House - Ignorance is Bliss
Posted Nov 24th 2009 4:18AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Heroes, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E11) I am thankful that we are finally getting to the meat of this volume. I am thankful that we are inching closer to the inevitable conclusion of this battle between Sylar and Nathan over who will retain control of the body. And I am thankful that Angela Petrelli, the always incomparable Cristine Rose, was back this week.
Also making a return appearance for the Bennett family Thanksgiving dinner was Sandra, along with her new beau Doug. And, of course, Mr. Muggles. It's sweet that Muggs fell in love with Doug's dog, but that doesn't excuse Sandra for dating such a total tool. It's a little awkward to think of going to your ex's holiday, but it's not unheard of. Particularly since she probably already knew Claire was going to be there.
Not to be outdone, Samuel had a Thanksgiving dinner of his own back at the Carnival, but Hiro certainly wasn't thankful to be there.
Continue reading Review: Heroes - Thanksgiving
Posted Nov 24th 2009 12:52AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S07E09) How far are the writers going to take the Charlie and Chelsea relationship? Do you think they're actually going to get married? I ask because tonight's show was a glimpse of what married Charlie might be like. Funny, yes, but is a domesticated Charlie really what I want to watch? Gin rummy and snoring? Charlie being sensitive and in touch with a woman's feelings? Where has my Charlie gone?
Alan, fortunately, is in exactly the same spot where he's always been. The crapper. Remember that Emmy that Jon Cryer won for
Two and a Half Men in September? He may have earned a bookend with this season's work. More on his hair care products and dating services after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Two and a Half Men - Captain Terry's Spray-On Hair
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 11:19PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E09) Let me start off by stating that any
HIMYM episode involving the famous slap bet between Marshall and Barney is going to be funny. Just the act of Jason Segel's exaggerated slapping and Neil Patrick Harris' equally exaggerated pratfall in reaction is enough to get me rolling. I just wish the slaps weren't telegraphed so much in advance.
You have to remember that tonight is a sequel to
the original Slapsgiving from two years ago. As sequels go, it's not bad; not as good as the original but satisfying nevertheless. But you knew at some point, Marshall was going to say "That's four!" and Barney was going to rub his face. So we have to examine the journey to get there. That journey started off well, but got a little predictable. Still didn't make the slap itself any less funny.
Continue reading Review: How I Met Your Mother - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 4:01PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S03E09) "I had a plan, I did, but it just didn't work out the way I thought it would."/"What? You thought he'd (Hank) do a good job of being in charge?" - Karen to Becca
Remember watching
Friends and feeling that great sense of heavy letdown when you realized that week's diversion of reality would be a "Joey-heavy episode"?
That describes this week's
Californication to a tee, except the great sense of heavy letdown doesn't quite sit on top of your soul with the girth and grim sadism of an evil sumo wrestler.
Continue reading Review: Californication - Mr. Bad Example
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 2:14PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
The "All Seth, All the Time" block of animation on FOX is getting stronger every week. I think this may have been the most wholly satisfying episode of
The Cleveland Show we've had yet. The show finally knows what it is, the characters are settled in and established, and it even knows where it's going to derive its humor.
There's a sweetness to
The Cleveland Show that is more reminiscent of
King of the Hill than either of MacFarlane's established shows, and I'm glad to see it. My biggest fear was that Cleveland's star vehicle would be nothing more than
Family Guy-lite, but after a very rough start, I'm able to see and appreciate it for what it is.
Family Guy may have found their replacement for Cleveland in this week's episode. I hope the boys do find a new "fourth," and I don't think I'd mind if it's the guy they find themselves hanging out with this week. On
American Dad, Stan discovers rock music, and he'll do anything to hang out with his new favorite band: My Morning Jacket.
Continue reading Sundays with Seth: Auntie Momma, Jerome and My Morning Jacket
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 1:46PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Adult Swim, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E06) This episode was a rare star-studded treat for
Venture Bros. Really honing in on the idea of adult aftermath in the lives of boy adventurer types, Jackson Publick introduced a robot boy, boy detective brothers (Seth Green and John Hodgman), former Wonder Boy (Patton Oswalt) and the return of Action Johnny (Brendon Small). Never before have so many guest voices (okay, four) been crammed into an installment, bringing the entire audience to an immediate nerdgasm.
Continue reading Review: The Venture Bros. - Self-Medication
Next Page »
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
