Community Review: "Advanced Gay" (3.6)
Community‘s ambition to make every episode an event of sorts frequently has its less-themed episodes struggling for an identity. With last week’s Halloween episode, for instance, there was a clear hook that resulted in a something memorable, but it’s when the show needs to come up with something more organic to the normal school dynamic that Community tends to fall into trouble. Unfortunately, the less wacky episodes are also where the show has to find its emotional resonance. “Advanced Gay,” however, succeeded at for once bridging the show’s wackiness with the seriousness of these characters lives. This was the first... read more
Modern Family Review: "Treehouse" (Episode 3.07)
Steven Levitan, co-creator of Modern Family, cracked us up at the Emmys in September during an acceptance speech. Thanking the audience after the show picked up the award for Best Comedy, he told a story about a gay couple who thanked him for making people more tolerant. Levitan quipped, “…there is absolutely nothing wrong with a loving, committed relationship between an old man and a hot young woman.” A beat: “And looking around this room tonight, I see many of you agree.” Levitan wrote this week’s episode, “Treehouse,” and it showed. There were dozens of quick jokes that kept the... read more
Up All Night Review: "Parents" (Episode 1.07)
This week’s episode of Up All Night featured another flagship plot all series must go through. Again, the NBC freshman hit sitcom seems to be pulling out these episodes a little early and having two back-to-back (last week’s “Birth” episode) is a little off kilter, but the show makes it work. read more
New Girl Review: “Naked” (1.04)
It’s been almost a month since the last episode of _New Girl_, and it returns with one of the most common sitcom staples: the “roommates seeing each other naked” episode. _New Girl_ has never been the most groundbreaking of comedies, always just a few steps away from being exactly what is expected. But with “Naked”, _New Girl_ takes an old formula and adds to it in several fun ways. read more
How I Met Your Mother Review: "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" (Episode 7.08)
There was a lot of build up for last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother. Not with promos dedicated to a fake out revelation of who the mother is actually going to be. Instead the writers decided to take us back to the first season’s Halloween episode where Ted longingly awaits a girl who dressed as a slutty pumpkin way back in 2001. read more
Boardwalk Empire: "The Age of Reason" (2.6)
One element that’s consistently set Boardwalk Empire apart from nearly every other crime show and serial drama on television is the seriousness of its treatment of faith and religion. Just because the show is willing to exploit its characters’ beliefs for other purposes—spectacle, for instance—doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s one of those aspects of Boardwalk Empire that makes it feel more like Martin Scorsese’s films than something by Francis Ford Coppola or David Chase. The “Age of Reason” means the dawning of a personal conscience and the ability to perceive right from wrong. It’s religious, certainly, but apart from... read more
The Walking Dead Review: "Save The Last One" (Episode 2.3)
We used to be barbarians. Whether you believe the first humans evolved from apes, inventing clubs to bash in rivals’ heads, or that one of Adam and Eve’s sons killed his own brother, our past is filled with brutality... read more
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Review: “Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games" (Episode 7.07)
It’s been a while since The Gang from _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ have truly been together as one group and also going head-to-head. While it’s sometimes fun to see them off on their adventures (see “The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore”), it’s always nice to have the five together in Paddy’s. read more
Community: "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps" (3.5)
The two-week break between last night’s episode of Community and the last one was a good thing, simply because for all of their mutual quality, they’re quite a bit similar. That “Remedial Chaos Theory” was originally episode three of the show rather than four makes sense because it’s hard to imagine that Community‘s creators wanted to have two episodes in a row about variant stories being told by slightly changing the character dynamics. Still, that doesn’t mean that this wasn’t a riveting Halloween episode; it’s just that a little bit of its punch was blunted compared with “Chaos Theory” or,... read more
Whitney Review: "The Wire" (Episode 1.05)
A person that chooses to watch Whitney week after week deserves a badge of courage. Not only has the show not improved in any way, shape or form, but it quite possibly has taken a step downwards as time progressed. Whitney Cummings and her not-so-merry gang simply just agitate anyone watching. Most of the fault lies with Cummings herself. read more
How I Met Your Mother Review: "Noretta" (Episode 7.07)
Some of the best How I Met Your Mother episodes are the ones that show us flashbacks from before 2005 (season one) or that explore the past of the characters’ lives. Think about the episode where Ted tells Blah-Blah how he met everyone else in the gang or the flashbacks from when Barney thought Bob Barker was his father. Of course the Robin Sparkles episodes are top of the line, but there are some that aren’t as instantaneously memorable, but when it comes on syndication you’ll instantly remember every joke. “Noretta” will be one of those episodes where it’s funny now and then will go in remission until one day you realize the genius behind it. read more
Boardwalk Empire Review: "Gimcrack & Bunkum" (2.5)
While Boardwalk Empire‘s first season was busy fleshing out Margaret, Nucky, Eli, Jimmy, and Van Alden, it also gave us two particularly fascinating characters who went for the most part unexplored: Chalky White and Richard Harrow. They were for the most part mysteries, major players in many of the events we’ve seen but their motivations never fully known. It would be an exaggeration to say that season two has been about delving into them, after all Nucky remains the show’s center with Jimmy becoming more and more his archenemy, but the best parts of the season so far have largely... read more
The Walking Dead Review: Season 2, Episode 2 ("Bloodletting")
It's hard to say which character has had it the worst in The Walking Dead. read more
The League Review: "The Au Pair" (Episode 3.03)
During this episode of The League, an advertisement for Buffalo Wild Wings aired, which fully emphasized the sports bar chain’s slogan: ‘Wings. Beer. Sports.’ Buffalo Wild Wings makes its demographic very clear in this advertisement, just as The League reinforces its demo in this episode. Dudes. Beer. Sports. And in a way, this episode is the TV equivalent of Buffalo Wild Wings. read more
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Review: “The Storm of the Century” (7.06)
With imminent danger on the way and a huge disaster looming over Philadelphia, “The Storm of the Century” seems like it would be the perfect environment for the antics of The Gang from _It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia_. But the sixth episode of the season feels like it should be the first part in a two part series, yet when the excitement really kicks up, the story ends, leaving what could have been to the imagination. read more
Modern Family Review: “Go Bullfrogs!” (Episode 3.6)
Phil Dunphy once again saves the day in this week’s middle-of-the-road Modern Family episode. read more
Up All Night Review: "Birth" (Episode 1.06)
It’s a little early in a series to have grand-scale flashbacks, but that’s exactly what Up All Night tackled with last night’s episode. It’s not a plot where Reagan, Chris and Ava are sitting around discussing how Amy was born. Not by any means; instead we jump right into the special time in the new (well, expecting in this timeline) parents lives. read more
How I Met Your Mother Review: "Mystery vs. History" (Episode 7.06)
Recently, a lot of shows have relied on meta-references. Some sitcoms’ entire premise revolves around it while others slide jabs at itself subtly. How I Met Your Mother has really stepped up the game with writing dialogue about itself. It’s in such a microscopic manner that viewers would most likely think it’s just an interesting plot and that there is nothing more than perfectly timed jokes being delivered. read more
The Walking Dead Review: Season 2 Premiere ("What Lies Ahead")
Rick Grimes just can’t win. The second season of The Walking Dead opens with the Georgia sheriff on the roof of an Atlanta sky rise, looking down on the ruins of a zombie apocalypse... read more
Snuff Box: The Complete Series DVD
The first episode of Snuff Box begins with a hanging, and this isn’t just a one-off event in the series. Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher star as a hangman and a hangman’s assistant, respectively, and much of the show centers around their profession and the gentlemen’s club where they go to while away time after work. Snuff Box may not be the darkest sketch comedy show ever made, but it’s certainly up there, and much of the show’s charm comes from its relaxed attitude towards death, sex, swearing and other taboos. Not only does the show take them lightly, it... read more
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