So I've experimented in the past with doing episode-by-episode reviews, and while I enjoy doing episodic reviews sometimes, the truth is that I don't always have a lot to say about every episode of every show. But I still feel like I should write a little something about where I stand with a bunch of the shows that aired in the past week. So here's a thing: each week I'll attempt to do a quick summary of some of the highlight episodes of the past week that I didn't get around to doing a full-length review for. Let's see what happens!
New Girl - New Girl's second episode was not as strong as its premiere, but it was still a pretty fun episode of television, with two storylines that found a good way to utilize everyone in the ensemble. One of the weaknesses of Season 3 was that the strong Jess/Nick focus often left other characters in the dust, so it's refreshing to see an episode where everyone in the main cast gets at least one moment to shine. And this episode also did well by mixing up the pairings a bit: Schmidt/Jess is a combo we haven't gotten in quite some time, and running CeCe loose with the guys rather than keeping her as Jess's sidekick was a good way to dig into her character a bit more deeply than the show typically does. New Girl may not be the world beater it once was, but it feels like it's on solid ground right now, so let's hope it stays that way.
The Middle - The Middle returned for another year in much the same way it has in previous years, which is not a bad thing. This is one of the most consistent shows on television, always delivering the right note in a way that's familiar but still continuously endearing. The show can get away with some of the "more of the same" feel in a way that say, Modern Family can't because it actually does take the effort to gradually change and mature its characters, and that was well on display in this week's premiere, where Sue simultaneously gets her braces off and seems a little bit more weary of the world and Axl begins to confront the fact that his dad is aging and he's not quite sure how to handle it. This is pretty heavy stuff for an 8:00 family sitcom, and that The Middle handles it with the warmth and strength that it does demonstrates why it's still the go-to family show on television.
Doctor Who - I'm actually two episodes behind on my Doctor Who reviews, but that's mostly because I didn't have all that much to say about last week's episode, which was a perfectly solid Doctor Who story that felt a bit inessential to the shows' central themes but still managed to be a good time overall. I have a lot more to say about the most recent episode, though, which was right up there with "Listen" as my favorite episode of this season so far. Sending the Doctor off into Muggle World is almost always a guaranteed good time, but this episode went even further than that and analyzed just what it means to be a companion of the Doctor. It also contained some surprisingly deep-rooted analysis of some of the Doctor's flaws and prejudices, including his apparent distaste for soldiers and his current hesitance to accept anyone that isn't Clara. We're about halfway through this Doctor Who season, and I have to say that I'm surprised at how successful it's been in terms of being an intricate analysis of just who the Doctor is - really is.
Saturday Night Live - SNL kicked off its 40th season in mostly uninspired fashion. There were some decent sketches - the Good Neighbor team continues to bring forth some of the most delightfully weird material SNL has ever seen, the show's skewers of the NFL were pretty damn solid overall, and new cast member Pete Davidson has some real skills that I'm ashamed to admit to because he's younger than me, but overall it was not the strongest of season openers, and it mostly wasted the extremely likable and game host it had in Chris Pratt. The new Weekend Update team in particular was a little bit painful - I'll give Michael Che some time to settle because he's had success on The Daily Show, but man, Colin Jost is just...not suited for this role, is he? Still, SNL premieres often feel like they're shaking off the cobwebs, so hope isn't nearly lost yet. Last season was a pretty rough one, but there's enough talent in this cast and writing staff that they should be able to pull it together.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Over the course of the year, I had sort of forgotten about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which ended its run seemingly ages ago. I really enjoyed the shows' first season, but it never quite wowed me in the way that some of the excellent cable comedies that premiered this year did almost immediately. And yet, this premiere reminded me of just what a solid, funny and overall incredibly entertaining show Brooklyn really is. The cast is truly a hit list of some of the finest actors working in comedy today, and the shows' go-for-broke attitude leads to some of the fastest and smartest comedy currently on network television. This wasn't a perfect episode - the main plot with the mobster sort of just petered out, and a lot of the romance stuff felt shoehorned in (although I'm actually a fan of the totally absurd Gina/Boyle pairing), but it felt fresh and funny enough that it gave me hope Brooklyn could go on to not just become the best comedy on network television (though it'll have to battle it out pretty hard with Bob's Burgers, which returns next week) but could hopefully duke it out with some of those cable comedies to become a contender for TV's funniest show. It's not there yet, but it's so close.
Oh, and there was also a Family Guy/Simpsons crossover. I won't comment on that, because that way, I can go on pretending like nothing happened at all. Trust me, the healing process will be better this way.
Showing posts with label Saturday Night Live. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saturday Night Live. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2014
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
"No hard feelings but I hate you, not joking" - Tuesday (and beyond!) TV Roundup 10/1/2013
Hi everyone! It's been a few days. Not that much has happened since I last checked in, except for the government collapsing and shutting down or whatever. But let's talk about television instead! Tonight featured some very good episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl that I'd like to get to. But then I thought - hey, why not talk about this weekends' new shows, too? Namely, Saturday Night Live and Bob's Burgers. No, not Breaking Bad. I haven't caught up with it yet, so everyone just shut the fuck up.
Alright, well, what's there to say about Saturday Night Live? This is probably going to be a very transitional season for the show, which is probably good, because the show's been getting a little stale these past few seasons. As much as I'll miss Bill and Jason and Fred, SNL thrives on change - it's what keeps the show interesting. So even though this season may be a rough transition, I'm sure it'll ultimately prove to be a good thing in the end. Besides, the season premiere was actually a pretty solid outing, led by Tina Fey, who can do no wrong (except Admission, let's just all pretend that didn't happen). There was a lot of really great sketches, my favorite being the Girls parody, but with "E-Meth" and the always charming Drunk Uncle not being too far behind. I'm also excited to see what Cecily Strong can do with Update - I liked her last season, though I was a bit taken back by her sudden promotion to Update anchor. Her first night at the desk was pretty smooth. Her jokes were a bit broad, but her delivery was solid and her segment with Tina was really great.
So I guess this is the part where I address the shows' obvious diversity problem. I find it very disappointing, especially considering two of the shows' only non-white cast members (Jay and Nasim) were sidelined for most of the show last night. That said, I don't think Lorne Michaels actively hates everyone who's not white or anything. I just think that there's such a bulit-in homogeneity to the show that's holding it back from being as diverse as it could be. It's a bit of a bummer, and hopefully the backlash will let the show get it sorted out sooner than later.
Now let's move on to Bob's Burgers, which started its 4th season on Sunday, even though technically the episodes we'll be seeing between now and February or so are going to be from the Season 3 production line, thanks to Fox only airing 9 episodes of the show back in 2011-12 after ordering a full season. That means there's no need to panic about the shows' quality until then, internet, since the episodes airing now are in the same production line as the ones that aired in the spring. That's a relief, since the premiere was actually one of the shows' weakest episodes in recent memory. It wasn't a terrible episode of television or anything - there were still plenty of great lines, I laughed a ton, there was a fun song and any time with the Belchers is quality time, in my mind. But I thought the choice to kick off the season with an episode set in the woods was a bit of an odd choice. I missed the restaurant. I missed the great world of characters the show slowly built over the course of the first 3 seasons. I wanted to catch up with them in this episode, not be transported into the woods for a funny but overly wacky story that didn't let the truly unique personas of the Belcher family shine through completely. All in all, it wasn't a bad episode, but it was kind of a bad premiere. That's fine, because this is still Bob's Burgers. It's still one of my favorite shows on TV, and it's still great, even when it's not at its best.
And now onto actual Tuesday TV! I was very impressed by this weeks' Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which might be my choice for the funniest episode of the television season so far. The show already has such a tight grasp on its characters, and those characters are already just so much fun to hang out with. The plots still aren't terribly original - it's yet another episode centered around Captain Holt teaching Jake a lesson - but, geez, the jokes are. Chelsea Peretti has already established herself as a primetime sitcom treasure, and her interpretive dance to Christina Aguileria was one of the most beautiful moments on TV so far this season. The show is so close to greatness right now that I can't wait to see what it looks like when it gains a bit more confidence and starts taking some risks with its plots, which I feel probably isn't far off at all.
And now onto New Girl, which aired what was probably my favorite episode of its season so far tonight. Granted, we're only 3 episodes in, so that's not life-changing or anything, but I really loved a lot of things about this episode. The most important is Nick Miller, who just fucking knocks it out of the park every week, but his dancing and his reaction when Schmidt told him about his dilemma and his yelling about the valet and his helmet and just...his everything, was fucking perfect this week. And this episode also beautifully captured everything I love about Nick and Jess, particularly that last scene. Their awkward, weird, stupid, possibly lethal but kind of irresistible energy is so fun to watch, and the show is playing it perfectly so far. I also loved Winston's storyline - yeah, it sucks he's always getting sent off to his own plotlines away from the main cast, but I thought it was played perfectly this week. In fact, the writers kind of seemed to know that they have the tendency to do that to the character, and they sort of turned it into an emotional plotpoint. I have a feeling that we're building to something here - possibly something that intersects with the Coach arc, which should provide plenty of interesting fodder for Winston.
And that brings up Schmidt. There's been a lot of divisive reactions to his storyline around the internet - but honestly? I don't have a huge problem with it. Yes, he's being a total douche right now, but I thought he got what he deserved this week. Did that turn him into an ever bigger douche? Well...yes, but I sort of see this playing out similarly to the Pierce arc in Season 2 of Community. I think the show realizing what they're doing here, and I think they're doing it to send Schmidt on the same kind of path, where he really questions his own self, his actions and what he brings to this group. It's a bit of a darker tone for this show, so I understand what makes it jarring. And maybe I'm totally wrong and they're not building to anything. But this show has gained my trust, and it's given me no reason to believe I shouldn't trust it'll make something of all of this.
Last thing! I reviewed Super Fun Night for Sitcoms Online. I didn't like it very much. Read why!
http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2013/10/abc-fall-pilot-review-super-fun-night.html
Alright, that's enough for tonight. Happy television! Or something! I don't even know anymore.
Alright, well, what's there to say about Saturday Night Live? This is probably going to be a very transitional season for the show, which is probably good, because the show's been getting a little stale these past few seasons. As much as I'll miss Bill and Jason and Fred, SNL thrives on change - it's what keeps the show interesting. So even though this season may be a rough transition, I'm sure it'll ultimately prove to be a good thing in the end. Besides, the season premiere was actually a pretty solid outing, led by Tina Fey, who can do no wrong (except Admission, let's just all pretend that didn't happen). There was a lot of really great sketches, my favorite being the Girls parody, but with "E-Meth" and the always charming Drunk Uncle not being too far behind. I'm also excited to see what Cecily Strong can do with Update - I liked her last season, though I was a bit taken back by her sudden promotion to Update anchor. Her first night at the desk was pretty smooth. Her jokes were a bit broad, but her delivery was solid and her segment with Tina was really great.
So I guess this is the part where I address the shows' obvious diversity problem. I find it very disappointing, especially considering two of the shows' only non-white cast members (Jay and Nasim) were sidelined for most of the show last night. That said, I don't think Lorne Michaels actively hates everyone who's not white or anything. I just think that there's such a bulit-in homogeneity to the show that's holding it back from being as diverse as it could be. It's a bit of a bummer, and hopefully the backlash will let the show get it sorted out sooner than later.
Now let's move on to Bob's Burgers, which started its 4th season on Sunday, even though technically the episodes we'll be seeing between now and February or so are going to be from the Season 3 production line, thanks to Fox only airing 9 episodes of the show back in 2011-12 after ordering a full season. That means there's no need to panic about the shows' quality until then, internet, since the episodes airing now are in the same production line as the ones that aired in the spring. That's a relief, since the premiere was actually one of the shows' weakest episodes in recent memory. It wasn't a terrible episode of television or anything - there were still plenty of great lines, I laughed a ton, there was a fun song and any time with the Belchers is quality time, in my mind. But I thought the choice to kick off the season with an episode set in the woods was a bit of an odd choice. I missed the restaurant. I missed the great world of characters the show slowly built over the course of the first 3 seasons. I wanted to catch up with them in this episode, not be transported into the woods for a funny but overly wacky story that didn't let the truly unique personas of the Belcher family shine through completely. All in all, it wasn't a bad episode, but it was kind of a bad premiere. That's fine, because this is still Bob's Burgers. It's still one of my favorite shows on TV, and it's still great, even when it's not at its best.
And now onto actual Tuesday TV! I was very impressed by this weeks' Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which might be my choice for the funniest episode of the television season so far. The show already has such a tight grasp on its characters, and those characters are already just so much fun to hang out with. The plots still aren't terribly original - it's yet another episode centered around Captain Holt teaching Jake a lesson - but, geez, the jokes are. Chelsea Peretti has already established herself as a primetime sitcom treasure, and her interpretive dance to Christina Aguileria was one of the most beautiful moments on TV so far this season. The show is so close to greatness right now that I can't wait to see what it looks like when it gains a bit more confidence and starts taking some risks with its plots, which I feel probably isn't far off at all.
And now onto New Girl, which aired what was probably my favorite episode of its season so far tonight. Granted, we're only 3 episodes in, so that's not life-changing or anything, but I really loved a lot of things about this episode. The most important is Nick Miller, who just fucking knocks it out of the park every week, but his dancing and his reaction when Schmidt told him about his dilemma and his yelling about the valet and his helmet and just...his everything, was fucking perfect this week. And this episode also beautifully captured everything I love about Nick and Jess, particularly that last scene. Their awkward, weird, stupid, possibly lethal but kind of irresistible energy is so fun to watch, and the show is playing it perfectly so far. I also loved Winston's storyline - yeah, it sucks he's always getting sent off to his own plotlines away from the main cast, but I thought it was played perfectly this week. In fact, the writers kind of seemed to know that they have the tendency to do that to the character, and they sort of turned it into an emotional plotpoint. I have a feeling that we're building to something here - possibly something that intersects with the Coach arc, which should provide plenty of interesting fodder for Winston.
And that brings up Schmidt. There's been a lot of divisive reactions to his storyline around the internet - but honestly? I don't have a huge problem with it. Yes, he's being a total douche right now, but I thought he got what he deserved this week. Did that turn him into an ever bigger douche? Well...yes, but I sort of see this playing out similarly to the Pierce arc in Season 2 of Community. I think the show realizing what they're doing here, and I think they're doing it to send Schmidt on the same kind of path, where he really questions his own self, his actions and what he brings to this group. It's a bit of a darker tone for this show, so I understand what makes it jarring. And maybe I'm totally wrong and they're not building to anything. But this show has gained my trust, and it's given me no reason to believe I shouldn't trust it'll make something of all of this.
Last thing! I reviewed Super Fun Night for Sitcoms Online. I didn't like it very much. Read why!
http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2013/10/abc-fall-pilot-review-super-fun-night.html
Alright, that's enough for tonight. Happy television! Or something! I don't even know anymore.
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