Month: March 2011

March 26, 2011

Chuck Versus the Muuurder

Chuck
Aired 03/21/11

Whodunnit? (NBC)

Much has happened since the last time I wrote about Team Bartowski. Volkoff’s daughter discovered what her father actually did for a living and decided (rather unconvincingly) to carry on the family business, and Casey, feeling like the third wheel next to Charah (his own hilarious term), found a new team to headline thanks to Director Bentley’s (Robin Givens) new Intersect initiative. Needless to say, it doesn’t work out. Some of the ‘fixes’ Bentley made to the Intersect end up doing more harm than good and one of her new agents (Stacy Keibler as a former Greta) accidentally shoots a terrorist with a dead man’s switch hooked to a nuclear device. Chuck saves the day using his Intersect and a juice box. The incident leads to Chuck being handed the reins of the new Intersect project, but Bentley, not content with taking orders, sneakily enlists an unaware Ellie into helping her crack the secret to Orion’s computer. Continue Reading

March 22, 2011

Legendaddy

Former alien/serial killer John Lithgow tries to reconnect with long lost son NPH (CBS)

How I Met Your Mother
Aired 03/21/11

The actor who would end up playing Barney’s father (the eponymous ‘Legendaddy’) would, of course, have to be someone worthy. The legendary John Lithgow, no stranger to sitcoms, would seem to be a perfect choice, depending on what type of man Barney’s dad would be revealed as. So did Lithgow’s Jerry end up being a disappointment, or was he the kind of dad Barney always hoped he would be?

In true HIMYM fashion, we actually see both options play out. As Barney tells it, Jerry is the coolest dad ever, a tour manager for some big musical acts and a natural with the ladies. He sounds like the perfect role model for Barney, but the rest of the gang is less excited. They think he’s too good to be true, and it turns out they’re right. But it wasn’t Jerry who was putting on a show, it was Barney. It turns out the long overdue reunion wasn’t as awesome as Barney said it was. Jerry used to be a roadie, but has long since settled down, now employed as a driving instructor and with a family of his own. Continue Reading

March 17, 2011

Original Song

Glee
Aired 03/15/11

New Directions rocks it at Regionals (FOX)

Regionals are here, and I’m pleased to say New Directions (and the show itself) performed much better here than they did at Sectionals with an episode that contained some big moments for Rachel and Kurt, musically and emotionally. Glee club’s win here was pretty much expected, but their sweetly-played victory was abruptly and horribly cut short by one of the dumbest and most logic-defying things I’ve seen anyone do on the show (and there have been a lot of those). Continue Reading

March 9, 2011

Sexy

Glee
Aired 03/08/11

Don't let this photo fool you, the best parts of this episode don't involve Will or Gwyneth (FOX)

Gwyneth Paltrow returned as the free-spirited but emotionally damaged (for some reason) substitute teacher Holly Holliday on last night’s Glee, a very busy hour that managed to successfully juggle several significant subplots. Thankfully, the after-school special vibe that the show previously gave off when dealing with issues like disabilities and religion was largely absent, as the episode’s theme of sexual education was merely used as a clothesline on which to pin some strong character development. While any Will story seems to be a weak link in any episode these days, this week’s subplots involving Kurt and Santana were very strong, with one tying into the physical nature of sex while the other dealt with the emotional side. Continue Reading

March 1, 2011

A Change of Heart

How I Met Your Mother
Episode 6.18
Aired 02/28/11

Now that we know Ted and Zoey are 100% destined to fail, and a sufficient amount of time has passed since Marshall’s dad passed (I’m glad that he’s still on everyone’s minds though), the focus has shifted to Barney and the new woman in his life. Despite the variance in quality of individual episodes, this season has been much more cohesive in terms of story. Bits and pieces of individual character arcs have been (for the most part) carefully layered in throughout the season, making the eventual payoffs more satisfying than they otherwise would have been. Depending on how this story plays out, it could mean very big things for the Barnacle. Continue Reading