Going to change things up a little this week in terms of the format. Instead of writing these out in alphabetical order based on the show name, I’d like to write them out in rating order, putting the best at the top and the worst at the very end. That said, it was a better week for TV than the last and I was more engaged with the shows in general. I hope the coming weeks can see the same or better.
Terriers: S1 x 07 – Missing Persons ★★★★☆
This is A GREAT episode. The writing is superb and the character work between Hank and Steph is both moving and tragic. Can’t really gush too much without spoiling, but this is easily the best episode of the bunch this week.
Community: S2 x 05 – Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples ★★★★☆
It’s not a billion laughs a minute, but it’s interesting character work. Shirley gets to step into her own and deal with her place amongst the godless youth at Greendale. Pierce gets an interesting sub-plot with Jeff and Brita. There’s only one complaint that I have for this episode and it’s a joke that doesn’t make sense for Shirley’s character. Other than that, another great episode from a crew that seems to get my sense of humor.
Boardwalk Empire: S1 x 05 – Nights in Ballygran ★★★★☆
I was wondering if we’d get an Eli-centric episode. She’s an interesting character and I was hoping we’d be able to get back to her point of view in the story. After all, she’s fighting the good fight against alcohol and the only challenge that she faces is the very man (Nucky) who helped her out. Quite an interesting twist at the end. I’m curious to see how this complicates matters. Highlight of the episode: Nucky’s brother in a kilt, bombing a speech completely. I hope we get an episode with him down the road.
Weeds: S6 x 09 – To Moscow, And Quickly ★★★★☆
Nancy is going through change. She’s coming to grips with being a failure as a mom and by the end of this episode things get rather clear for her. Interestingly enough, we get another look at who might care that the Botwin family did some bad business in the previous season. The humor was subdued some in this episode, but the character work was good and it was nice to see the Botwin brothers together after the aforementioned bad business. A bunch of likable assholes these people are.
No Ordinary Family S1 x 04 – No Ordinary Vigilante ★★★★☆
A strong episode for a show that’s starting to find it’s feet. It’s not without it’s cheese and far-fetched plot this time through, but I bought the events as they played out and thought the character development was strong. Chiklis and Benz are great in this and a treat to watch. While it might not be the pinnacle of subtle writing, this episode is a worthy contender with everything else this week. Except maybe…
Not!Fringe: Episode Whatever ☆☆☆☆☆
A poorly constructed non-episode from a rather uninspired non-crew. You’ll remember that these assholes were the ones in charge of that Non-Doctor Who episode where the Non-Statues didn’t do a damn thing. Yeah, folks. It was THAT bad. I’m going to go punch myself in the face to try and clear my mind of this non-monstrosity. J.J. Abraham, you should be ashamed of yourself.
