Last Week in TV #35

Following the Game of Thrones finale last Sunday, we limp to the final "Last Week In TV" post for the 2011-2012 season. Which means, amongst other things, we won't get around to discussing the rest of Glee or the final Community episodes of the Dan Harmon era, because I am just that far behind in TV watching.

But "Last Week in TV" will be back sometime in September with the start of a new TV season, and, most likely, with a slightly different approach. But we'll get to that in due time. First, here's some final thoughts on a few finales.  

Game of Thrones: Valar Morghulis 

For better or worse (and in some cases, it was both) this episode was less a typical season finale and more a season epilogue that also did a lot of work to setup season three. Even before the horde of zombies arrived to give us our "here's what's coming" cliffhanger, we were given a very clear picture of where most of the characters are headed in the next season. Which is interesting only because that's the kind of work that's usually done in season premieres (and one of the reasons why season premieres are usually pretty boring). By doing the work of establishing the upcoming conflicts and character arcs at the end of the season (with last week's "Blackwater" serving as the climax of this season), Game of Thrones is able to tie the setup of next season to the epilogue of this one, making for a more satisfactory experience I'd like to see more shows try to emulate.

Last Week in TV #34

Game of Thrones: Blackwater

After several feints, cutaways and allusions, Game of Thrones gives us our first out-and-out battle, and suitably, it also gives us the first episode set entirely at one location. It was well worth the wait, giving us an intense, focused depiction of Stannis' attempted invasion of King's Landing. While the show's budget can't allow for it do too many episodes like this (even on an HBO budget) they at least they made the most of the opportunity.

Last Week in TV #33

 The Simpsons: Lisa Goes Gaga

By all accounts, an episode featuring Lady Gaga should have been pretty horrible. But this wasn't. While the satire wasn't as sharp (or as present) as it could (or perhaps should) have been, give the writers credit for engaging the guest star and having some fun with her - and for Lady Gaga, someone who I've always imagined doesn't have much of a sense of humor about herself, allowing the show to have some fun at her expense. Not that any of the jabs were particularly pointed - again, the satire was toned way down - but the escalating ridiculousness of her costumes (I loved the dress of live hummingbirds that became a dress of Grammys) and the general tongue-in-cheek-edness the episode seemed to display regarding her pseudo-philosophy were genuinely amusing. And for all the hubbub over Gaga's appearance, it was nice that the episode embraced her presence, working her significantly into the story, instead of just having the Simpsons attend a Lady Gaga concert in the opening act, or something like that.

Last Week in TV #32

Though most every show wrapped up its season this week (if it hadn't already), we're still mostly playing catch-up, so we'll have at least a few more "Last Week in TV" posts before my summer TV blogging hiatus sets in, to finish up the second season of Game of Thrones and continue with the late coverage of other shows. So I'll get to things like the HIMYM and Once Upon a Time finales (and Alcatraz, and Glee, and...) in the next few posts (I am also current on all the Fox animated shows; I just didn't have the time to write or much to say about Bob's Burgers (the best show of the night), Family Guy (the Tea Party episode was pretty funny) or American Dad (ol' reliable) this week. But feel free to sound off on them in the comments if you're so inclined).

The Simpsons: The Spy Who Learned Me

At this point, episodes where Homer is an ass than resolves to become a better person constitute a pretty large subsection of Simpsons episode, so whatever enjoyment there is to be had from them is going to depend on the execution. This one largely worked, thanks, for the most part, to Stradivarius Cain, voiced by Bryan Cranston, one of those great original Simpsons characters (like McBain) that parody a specific pop culture character. Cain's various pseudo-James Bondisms helped inject some fun into an otherwise basic plot, and I wouldn't mind having the character show up again in some capacity.

Last Week in TV...

...is taking this week off. What with traveling and all, I've barely had any time to watch TV, let alone write about it, so look for an extra large post next week (and expect posts later into the summer as we continue to keep up with Game of Thrones and catch-up with other stuff).

In the meantime, I'm going to try and respond to the backlog of comments...

Enjoy your weekend!

Last Week in TV #31

So in addition to what I write about below, I also watched some other stuff (like Glee, HIMYM, Community and Parks and Rec), but since I'm going to be out of town most of next week for work (and thus unable to watch much TV), I'm going to hold those to help flesh out next week's post. Anyways, here's thoughts on what I did watch and bother to write about. 

The Simpsons: A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again

Maybe it's just because I could relate to Bart's angst regarding his vacation, but I really enjoyed this episode. I more or less spent a good chunk of every vacation doing my best to not think about how many days are left before I have to go back to real life, so Bart's realization that the super awesome cruise he was on would probably be the highlight of his life struck home. Along the way, there were plenty of laughs as well, first from the insane activities on the cruise and then in watching society on the cruise break down. The ending even did a nice job of resolving Bart's fears without belittling them (he wasn't wrong, but older Bart had simply learned to treasure the variety of good memories that occurred along with the drudgery of real life), and was touching without being overly sappy.

Last Week in TV #30

A short one this week, with many shows gear up for May sweeps starting next week and the Fox Sunday night animation block skipped in favor of the network's 25th anniversary special (which I did watch but didn't write about, because there wasn't much to write about, so if you too watched and want to comment on it, have at it).

Game of Thrones: Garden of Bones

So apparently Melisandre's womb is dark and full of terrors, amiright? That was a pretty crazy ending, so let's start there.

Last Week in TV #28

This week we get to travel back in time to Valentines Day AND St. Patrick's Day as I play a little catch-up. But don't worry, I'm still behind on plenty...

Game of Thrones: The Night Lands

More like Game of Incest and Baby Killing, amiright? This episode taught us all an important lesson: if you're going to stick your hand down a random woman's pants, make damned sure she's not your sister first.

Seriously though, this episode continued the slow build from the premiere, catching us up with a few players missed in last week's episode while introducing a few more. Moving forward with these reviews, I'm going to steal a page from David Sims' book over at the AV Club and discuss things location by location.

Last Week in TV #27

I didn't get a chance to watch last night's Community yet, so that'll have to wait til next week, unfortunately. But here's what I did find time to watch.  

Bob's Burgers: Burgerboss

A marvelous episode, one of the show's best, which gave everyone something to do and highlighted the show's strengths. From Bob's "peeing race" with Jimmy Pesto to his wrist braces ("Please tell me they shoot webs!") to a fantastic guest appearance by Aziz Ansari as DRL to Linda's random obsession with sailing which dovetailed perfectly into the episode's climax and finally the great 8-bit style closing credits, this episode was pretty much a laugh a minute, and perfectly showcased the show's whacky, crazy, hilarious world.

Louise: He had sex then we happened. Deal with it!

Last Week in TV #26

Bob's Burgers: Synchronized Swimming

Bob's Burgers leaves behind the film parodies for what might possible be called the show's first Linda-centric episode, though a lot of the laughs still came from the kids themselves (so far this season, the kids have pretty much always been on screen together, and while I don't think that would work forever, their interactions have yielded some pretty good gags). This was pretty much just the show being its weird self, with no homage or parody to anchor it, and it worked pretty well, with Louise elegantly but shortsightedly working the system before the entire family is nearly brought down by authoritative bureaucracy (represented in this episode by the kids' guidance counselor ). The pregnant yoga gag from the beginning even paid off at the end, and Louise's various schemes to shut down the pool were great.

Last Week in TV #25

Just a quick note on the Walking Dead episodes: I made a point to watch them separately and write about the first before watching the second, so my reactions wouldn't be colored by the finale.

The Simpsons: Them, Robot

An episode featuring killer robots voiced by Mr. Data doesn't have to work very hard to win me over, so not surprisingly, this episode was a lot of fun.They was some satire about the current state of the economy built into it as well, but it was largely toothless. As the episode seemed to focus mainly on the robots, so too will I, and the result was decent and entertaining episode.

Last Week in TV #24

So because I am apparently incapable of watching The Walking Dead without hiccups, it appears that the recording I had set for Sunday night never actually recorded, something I didn't notice until Mrs. Teebore and I sat down to finally watch the episode last night. Thankfully, like most cable networks, AMC is not dumb and re-airs episodes a lot, so we'll be able to watch it tonight, but that unfortunately means we'll have to wait until next week to discuss it alongside the finale (and while I haven't been spoiled on it yet, I do know that apparently there is much to discuss, adding to my disappointment over missing it).

Anyways, here's thoughts on the stuff I managed to NOT screw up the recording of. 

The Simpsons: How I Wet Your Mother

I think it says something about my expectations for The Simpsons at this point that when it became clear this episode was an extended Inception parody, my first thought was a sarcastic "once again, we're hitting these things at the height of their popularity". Yet later in the night American Dad riffed on The Hurt Locker, and no such sarcasm bubbled forth. Maybe I hold The Simpsons to a higher standard (which would be odd, since American Dad, at least these days, is consistently more funny) or maybe in this day and age of internet bitterness towards latter day Simpsons, I'm more inclined to find the negatives in the show (even though I don't necessarily agree with all that bitterness).

Last Week in TV #23

I'm running way behind on this post, so things will be a bit more bullet point-y than usual. 

The Simpsons: Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart

I get that this was a parody of Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, and maybe if I was more familiar with that film I'd appreciate this episode more, but the whole thing seemed odd and kind of toothless. There were some good moments sprinkled throughout (most of the Marge birthday stuff at the beginning, the Swapper Joe's bits ("grass fed lettuce"), Drederick Tatum lining his pigeon cage with Kindles, the sincere hats/ironic hats lines) but for the most part, I'm not quite sure what this episode was trying to do.

Last Week in TV #22

February sweeps ended this week, and I'm not gonna lie: I'm looking forward to most shows taking a month off, just to get caught back up on stuff (Glee is taking about six weeks off, so I'll use that time to catch up on it next week, and I still haven't watched this week's Top Chef finale). Anyways, here's what I've got this week.

The Walking Dead: Triggerfinger

I actually did watch this two week's ago, but as we learned from last week's post, I just plum forgot about it. Which is odd, because it was a very solid episode, and it was good to have an episode that improved on the premiere instead of being a step back. Thankfully, the bar siege began and ended within the episode and didn't drag on too long, and the closing scene, in which Lori finally lays it all on the table for Rick regarding Shane, was fantastic, especially as it's been about about six episodes coming (though if Lori really wanted to rile Rick up, she should have mentioned the attempted rape; I'm not quite sure why she didn't). Speaking of Shane, for once I didn't disagree with one of his dickish moves, as lying to get Lori back to the farm was the smart play, since she had no business being out there in the first place. All in all, the energy level barely dipped from the previous episode, and that's a good sign for the rest of the season.

Last Week in TV #21

Still playing catch-up. I did watch last week's 30 Rock and Parks and Rec (the Batman pastiche where Jack was mugged and the one where Louis C.K's Dave returned to Pawnee), but haven't had a chance to write about them, so feel free to sound off in the comments (and I'll get to Glee eventually, I swear). 

The Simpsons: At Long Last Leave

500 episodes is one heck of a milestone, but at the same time, how can this show celebrate it? It's not like the writers can try to make it extra good; for all the talk of declining quality, I have no doubt the various writers, directors, cast, etc. of each episode believe they are always turning out the best possible product. And for a show like The Simpsons, which rarely allows for long term changes in the characters or the status quo of the series, it's not like the 500th episode can feature some radical new direction or the introduction of a significant new character. And so we're left mainly with a brilliant couch gag that celebrates the history preceding it, and an episode that, like every before it, does the best it can.

Last Week in TV #20

The week got away from me fast, with Mrs. Teebore watching the Grammys on Sunday, a couple nights away from the TV and the arrival of a new puppy. I know, excuses, excuses.  Here's what I did find time to watch.

Once Upon A Time: Skin Deep

A solid episode, which tweaks the Beauty and the Beast story and uses Rumpelstiltskin as the Beast and Emilie de Ravin from Lost as Belle. References to the Disney version of the story, from Belle's dresses to Gaston and even Chip the insufferable teacup kid, abound, but the real charm of the story comes from watching Rumpelstiltskin grapple with his growing feelings for Belle and his desire for power. Per usual, the events in Storybrooke are overshadowed by FTL, though this episode did present a more-unhinged than usual Mr. Gold as he attempted to retrieve the memento of his time with Belle. Which led to one of the show's biggest reveals: like Regina, Mr. Gold remembers FTL. This, in turn, led to an episode-ending cliffhanger that Belle, believed dead by both Rumpelstiltskin and Mr. Gold, is actually alive in Storybrooke, albeit imprisoned in some kind of secret asylum below the hospital run by Regina. That Belle was still around was mildly shocking, only because I assumed her presumed death was a way to not need Emilie de Ravin to come back to reprise the role, but ultimately, Regina's secret prison will probably turn out to be the bigger surprise.

Last Week in TV #19

How I Met Your Mother: The Burning Beekeeper

This was clearly an episode meant to play with structure and tell a simply story in a structurally complex and interesting way. And in that regard, it succeeded. I'm a sucker for these kinds of episodes, and HIMYM has a history of doing them, and doing them well. The only problem is that this episode wasn't very funny. It elicited a few laughs, but I'm an easy mark. For the most part, any reactions I had to the episode were to the reveals created to the unique structure ("oh, that's why Ted was so eager to fight Martin Short", "that's why Lily stomped the Gouda") instead of to any of the jokes. And while HIMYM has certainly had episodes intentionally light on the laughs before, in most of those cases the laughs were replaced with significant character development; here, we didn't get much of that aside from Lily's realization about being a parent, and even that seemed less important that the structural wackiness. Like I said, I like these kinds of episodes that manipulate the traditional time/space elements within a show, but it only works if that manipulation is done in service of big laughs, good character moments, or both. Here, it did neither, and we're left with nothing more than an episode with a unique structure.

Last Week in TV #18

Busy week, and I'm already posting late. Let's get right to it!

The Simpsons: Moe Goes From Rags to Riches

 
The idea of an episode built around Moe's sentient bar rag, voiced by Jeremy Irons, is the kind of thing that could be ridiculously fun or just awful. In the end, it turned out to be neither, which is pretty much the most disappointing outcome.

The episode started out strong, as I'm enough of a history nerd to enjoy some of the historical jokes (like Medieval Homer fighting in Flanders), but lost focus as it became apparent that the bar rag's tale would have to jump huge swathes of time (I could have used less of the 1001 Nights segment) before ending up in Moe's hands in the most random way possible (he's the son of a Mt. Everest Yeti). Then, the episode suddenly shifted into Moe searching for the rag after it was stolen, and because the episode was almost over, it turned out to be Marge who stole it, and the whole thing could have been avoided if she'd just left a note. The episode ends with the Simpsons affirming their friendship for Moe, and it could have been a sweet moment, except for the fact he'll go back to being an unliked troll the next time the plot or a joke demands it. With a high concept like this, you hope for something clever and fear something awful. What we got was, unfortunately, neither.

Last Week in TV #17

A quiet week and a short post, as most shows are in reruns in anticpation of February sweeps. I wasn't able to catch the Thursday night shows yet, so they'll be covered in next week's post.  

Once Upon a Time: 7:15 AM

Thanks to this show taking a little mid-winter break and a couple weekend catch-up sessions, I've managed to get current. Like Lost before it, it's become a show where I tend to enjoy one-half of the episode more than the other. Unlike Lost, here, it's the flashbacks that are most compelling (dicey CG and anachronist dialogue aside), while watching Regina be a bitch in the present day can get a little one note (and like Lost, the best episodes are the ones where both halves are compelling, like the episode where we learned the origin of Rumpelstiltskin and Emma ran for Sheriff).

Last Week in TV #16

In addition to everything below, I did watch the first episode of Alcatraz, but not the second, so I declined to write about it. But if you watched it, feel free to sound off in the comments (in brief, for the first episode at least, I was intrigued by all the mystery stuff and surprised by the downplayed case-of-the-week stuff. We'll see if that holds up in later episodes, or if it just becomes another Person of Interest).

The Simpsons: The D'Oh-cial Network

If last week was The Simpsons at its latter day satirical best, this episode seemed to be phoning it in (pun intended). The satire here, in a loose parody of The Social Network, was much more toothless than last week's, and by the end the whole thing got a bit muddied as the episode seemed to suddenly switched gears from lampooning Facebook to lampooning modern cell phone usage. Nothing here was bad, and the episode was plenty funny, but especially after last week, the whole thing seemed rather tame. There's plenty to mock about both Facebook and modern internet culture; this episode tried to mock both but didn't go nearly far enough.