(Originally appeared on 411mania.com)
Welcome everyone to DVR Weekly. This column is kind of like a Two Tivos To Paradise companion piece until Al Norton decides that I’ve totally ripped him off and has me shut down. Here is the premise:
I watch a lot of television. That’s what happens when you have a DVR and no life. So I’ve decided to quickly review all the television I watch in hopes of being quoted during one of the trailers for the show. Once that happens, I’ll stop writing this column. We could be here for a while.
Some shows I’ll continue to watch, while others I’ll give up on because I think they suck or the network thinks they suck.
Here’s what I watched for the week of September 21 – 27:
Sunday
Ray Donovan (Rodef) – One episode away from the season finale, this was basically a set up episode for everything that will be going down in the finale. I find myself most interested in the storyline involving Cookie. Ray and Abby are both trying to protect their daughter from him, but in different ways, and it seems like things will finally reach a climax next week. How Mick continues to stay out of jail is pretty amazing as well.
Ray Donovan (Rodef) – One episode away from the season finale, this was basically a set up episode for everything that will be going down in the finale. I find myself most interested in the storyline involving Cookie. Ray and Abby are both trying to protect their daughter from him, but in different ways, and it seems like things will finally reach a climax next week. How Mick continues to stay out of jail is pretty amazing as well.
Total Divas (Roadside Rumble) – Somehow, Summer Rae continues to be the heel on this show even though she acts like a normal person while everyone else treats her like crap. Ok, maybe she hit below the belt with the TJ comment towards Nattie, but come on, Nattie is a terrible person on this show and deserves anything bad that happens to her. My favorite part of this show is seeing Bryan and Cena act like real people while their Bella Bae’s come off as scripted and fake.
Monday
Gotham (Pilot) – A good debut episode that will keep anyone interested around. They didn’t go over the top and try to make a big impression right off the bat, which I appreciated, because people are going to watch this show based on name and premise alone so they didn’t have to make a huge first impression to keep people tuning in. My only concern is that Donal Logue is a main character and his shows have a history of getting canceled after one season, even if they are really good. If Gotham can’t break that streak, he may as well just retire.
Gotham (Pilot) – A good debut episode that will keep anyone interested around. They didn’t go over the top and try to make a big impression right off the bat, which I appreciated, because people are going to watch this show based on name and premise alone so they didn’t have to make a huge first impression to keep people tuning in. My only concern is that Donal Logue is a main character and his shows have a history of getting canceled after one season, even if they are really good. If Gotham can’t break that streak, he may as well just retire.
Big Bang Theory (The Locomotion Interruption) – Sheldon continues to be one of the best comedy characters on TV thanks to smart writing and Jim Parsons being awesome. Everything he does is annoyingly awesome and he shined in this episode, especially his episode ending comment about Penny’s new hair. I find myself caring very little about Raj at this point. A girlfriend should freshen up his character, but if the girlfriend is never around, his lines just become throwaway. Plus his relationship will never be able to compete with the already established relationships, which means this whole storyline seems doomed from the start.
Big Bang Theory (The Junior Professor Solution) – Both of the main stories on this episode were well done. The interactions between Sheldon and Howard and Amy trying to fit in with Penny and Bernadette were great. Raj continues to be lost while Leonard has actually been a background player in the first two episodes. I’m sure that’ll change soon, especially with Penny getting a new job.
The Blacklist (Lord Baltimore) – The season two premiere felt a little all over the place for my liking. Instead of picking up where they left off last season, they did that, and then some. They did everything well, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t too much. The Blacklist characters continue to be well thought out (even if a bit convoluted) and I have faith that the long term stories (Red vs. Berlin, Lizzie vs. Tom, Lizzie and Red relationship) will continue to roll along. This premiere should’ve been what Gotham was. Fans of the show are already hooked, we don’t need a million things happening to keep us interested. That said, the Krysten Ritter cameo was nice and the writers finally took the wig off Meagan Boone. Plus they put her in some bra and panties as well. Our patience was rewarded, fans.
Scorpion (Pilot) – I only gave this show a chance because I saw that Katherine McPhee was in it. CBS has their hit nerd comedy with Big Bang Theory and now they’re looking for their hit nerd drama with Scorpion. I thought the pilot was fun, even if it was a bit over the top and frustrating at times. You can see what they are trying to establish and they didn’t try to do a whole lot in terms of secondary stories. I hope that changes as the show progresses, but for the pilot I was fine with it.
Tuesday
New Girl (Dice) – If you’ve ever used Tinder (and if you’re reading this column, I know you have) then you probably loved and appreciated this episode. Schmidt and Jess interacting and playing off one another is never a bad thing as they are by far the two best characters on the show. I didn’t care about the secondary story of everyone else getting high while Winston tried to fit in with his cop buddies, but at least they gave Winston something to do.
New Girl (Dice) – If you’ve ever used Tinder (and if you’re reading this column, I know you have) then you probably loved and appreciated this episode. Schmidt and Jess interacting and playing off one another is never a bad thing as they are by far the two best characters on the show. I didn’t care about the secondary story of everyone else getting high while Winston tried to fit in with his cop buddies, but at least they gave Winston something to do.
Below Deck (She’d Better Not Be Staying) – This episode brought back an old enemy and made some new ones. Honestly, this was one of the best episodes of the series with Adrienne returning to piss off Kat, Kat and Kate teaming up against Amy, and the whole Kelley/Jennice relationship advancing. One thing I didn’t get was why Kat/Kate were so pissed off with Amy based on what Adrienne said. I actually felt bad for Amy since she didn’t do anything wrong. Kat is just a bitch.
Sons of Anarchy (Playing With Monsters) – I’m one of those who believe that Sons has overstayed it’s welcome by a season. That said, it’s still a very good show that is heading for a bloody good finale. I find myself caring about nothing except Jax and his master plans and the Juice/Gemma cover-up. Juice finally meeting with a club member this week was nice progress while Jax continues to pit everyone against each other, which definitely won’t end well.
The Mindy Project (Annette Castellano Is My Nemesis) – Mindy continues to be one of the most loveably awesome characters on TV. “Meeting a lovers mother” is a cliche in the TV world, but Mindy pulled it off pretty much the way you would expect her to. She wanted to impress the mom, but in the end she stood by her man. On the flip side, I don’t care about the Morgan/Tamara relationship, no matter how much they try to insert Peter into things *phrasing*
Awkward (Finals) – My favorite MTV comedy is back and they kicked off the new season in a big way. Possibly too big. Instead of letting the Eva lying story play out a little further, they immediately ended things in order to have Matty and Jenna single for senior year. We’ll see how that goes. Definitely a splash for the season premiere, but I could’ve done with less people jumping into the pool.
Faking It (The Morning After) – Faking It made a big splash last year with their lesbian couple. They decided to make a big splash once again by introducing an inter gender character. And it felt very forced. I’ve always liked Lauren and her bitchiness, why put it out there that she also used to be a male? It felt like a shocking moment for the sake of a shocking moment. Hopefully it actually goes somewhere. Obviously the big story this season will be if/when Karma finds out about Amy hooking up with Liam. They teased things nicely in the premiere and hopefully they let it simmer before pulling the trigger on the big drama.
Wednesday
Red Band Society (Sole Searching) – I’m very close to being out on this show after just two weeks. It’s like The Breakfast Club meets The Fault In Our Stars, but not as good as either. Charlie’s “witty” comments feel forced, which isn’t good considering that he is the narrator of the show. It also doesn’t help that I watch this show with my girlfriend, who has spent plenty of time in hospitals, and likes to point out all the inconsistencies of the show. I’ll give it another week or two, but I have a feeling that I won’t be sticking around long.
Red Band Society (Sole Searching) – I’m very close to being out on this show after just two weeks. It’s like The Breakfast Club meets The Fault In Our Stars, but not as good as either. Charlie’s “witty” comments feel forced, which isn’t good considering that he is the narrator of the show. It also doesn’t help that I watch this show with my girlfriend, who has spent plenty of time in hospitals, and likes to point out all the inconsistencies of the show. I’ll give it another week or two, but I have a feeling that I won’t be sticking around long.
South Park (Go Fund Yourself) – Absolutely amazing. I’m sure NFL fans appreciated this one more than most, but it was fantastic either way. When South Park tackles pop culture, they almost always score a touchdown and this was no exception. Not only did they skewer the NFL, but they went after Kickstarter as well, which as been a long time coming.
Franklin & Bash (Honor Thy Mother) – A fantastic episode. They incorporated the diner into one of their cases, Jared finally slept with Peter’s mother, and the great Pindar returned. Even in a limited role, Damien had some good one-liners as well. This episode was everything I love about the show and then some.
Nashville (That’s Me Without You) – A lot happened on last season’s finale and the season premiere picked right back up where we left off. Rayna made her decision (for now), Deacon continues to fight for her, Will’s secret is out, and Juliette is pregnant. It’s always interesting to see how writers work in real-life pregnancies with a show and in this case the writers just decided to make Hayden Panettiere’s character pregnant instead of hiding her true baby bump behind a guitar all season. I love Scarlett, but didn’t care about her leaving Nashville since she’s obviously going to stick around. The music was lacking a bit on this episode, but the closer by Deacon was perfect.
The Goldbergs (Love is a Mixtape) – The mixtape is the ultimate love letter and The Goldberg’s nailed it this week. This was actually a change of pace from the usual as Bev and Murray bailed out Adam and Barry, showing that each parent can do the right thing every now and again. Barry’s quest for coolness continues to be my favorite long-term storyline on the show.
Modern Family (The Long Honeymoon) – Modern Family is back in their comfortable groove. Now we know that Gloria isn’t actually perfect in the looks department (something any gossip fan would already know if they’ve seen pictures of Sofia Vergara without make-up) and the Dunphy house doesn’t actually run all that smoothly without all five members. Lily is the star of the Cam/Mitch household and keeps their tired story entertaining. We get it, they are gay but they are extremely different. They’ve done this same story a million times but with different traits. It’s getting old. Cam/Mitch are pretty much useless unless they are involved with other characters.
Blackish (Pilot) – I didn’t want to watch this show. The premise looked tired, I’m not a big fan of Anthony Anderson, and I figured it wouldn’t last. But it got good critical reviews so I gave it a chance. And I’ll continue to give it a chance. It’s a smarter than most black comedies and the pilot episode, while flawed, was a nice start. Laurence Fishburne as Pops, a man who does nothing but sit around and make smart comments, and Marcus Scribner as Andre Jr. will be the clear stars of the show.
Key & Peele (Alien Imposters) – If you’re not watching the best sketch comedy show that Comedy Central has come out with since Chappelle’s Show, what is wrong with you? I didn’t think the season four premiere was a home run, but it was a solid double. While not exactly groundbreaking, the Obama Handshake and Gay Wedding sketches were the two best this week. I expect things to pick up as the season moves along.
Thursday
Snack Off (Sugar High & Marshmellows) – Matt might be my favorite cook that has come across the show. I’m not a fan of Jason, who takes this show way too serious, and Matt really got to him this week. He was also stoned, which I feel like this show should have one stone contestant each week. I wasn’t really impressed with his final dish, which was just chicken with a marshmallow dipping sauce, but he definitely deserved the win. Chrissy and Yassir continue to make this show watchable.
Snack Off (Sugar High & Marshmellows) – Matt might be my favorite cook that has come across the show. I’m not a fan of Jason, who takes this show way too serious, and Matt really got to him this week. He was also stoned, which I feel like this show should have one stone contestant each week. I wasn’t really impressed with his final dish, which was just chicken with a marshmallow dipping sauce, but he definitely deserved the win. Chrissy and Yassir continue to make this show watchable.
How To Get Away With Murder (Pilot) – I don’t watch Scandal, but I imagine that this show is a lot like it. It takes a simple premise and throws in a ton of twists, turns, and soap opera moments. Without Viola Davis, I’m not sure if this show works (just like I’m not sure Scandal would work without Kerry Washington), but luckily this show has Viola Davis and she absolutely kills it. The pilot episode was a little too busy for my liking, but I rarely judge large ensemble shows on just the pilot, just because of all the character introductions they have to do. I expect this show to really find a groove in the middle of the season.
Friday
Girl Meets World (Girl Meets Crazy Hat) – Like anyone who watched the Pilot, I’m sure you recognized Jackee Harry playing a completely different character this week than she did in the Pilot. Is it that hard to find someone else to play a cameo role? The Auggie/Topanga relationship and Farkle continue to be the highlight of the show. I wasn’t that impressed with the main storyline of Maya and Riley being part of a school job product. Did Corey and Shawn ever have a job that lasted more than one episode? I don’t think so. So I have a hard time believing that Riley and Maya need any kind of job training when they’re in middle school since I have no faith that they’ll ever have long-term jobs as the show moves forward.
Girl Meets World (Girl Meets Crazy Hat) – Like anyone who watched the Pilot, I’m sure you recognized Jackee Harry playing a completely different character this week than she did in the Pilot. Is it that hard to find someone else to play a cameo role? The Auggie/Topanga relationship and Farkle continue to be the highlight of the show. I wasn’t that impressed with the main storyline of Maya and Riley being part of a school job product. Did Corey and Shawn ever have a job that lasted more than one episode? I don’t think so. So I have a hard time believing that Riley and Maya need any kind of job training when they’re in middle school since I have no faith that they’ll ever have long-term jobs as the show moves forward.
Saturday
Hell on Wheels (Two Trains) – This was a nice set up to the eventual big showdown between Snow and Bohannon. The train battle had little to no consequences as no one of importance was lost, but Snow escaping and now knowing that he’s dealing with “rebel Bohannon” instead of “family man Bohannon” will certainly make him change his game plan moving forward. One thing I didn’t care about what Ellison hooking up with Campbell. Their chemistry sucks (maybe that’s the point) and it’s clearly not going to last. Hopefully it pays off in the end, but it’ll have to be something big to get me to care.
Hell on Wheels (Two Trains) – This was a nice set up to the eventual big showdown between Snow and Bohannon. The train battle had little to no consequences as no one of importance was lost, but Snow escaping and now knowing that he’s dealing with “rebel Bohannon” instead of “family man Bohannon” will certainly make him change his game plan moving forward. One thing I didn’t care about what Ellison hooking up with Campbell. Their chemistry sucks (maybe that’s the point) and it’s clearly not going to last. Hopefully it pays off in the end, but it’ll have to be something big to get me to care.
Binge Watch
The League (Started: S01E01. Current: S2E12)
The premise for this show is right up my alley. I love fantasy football and all that it entails, so I was immediately hooked. The first season was a bit of a let down though. I think the fact that they only had a six episode run had a lot to do with that. The second season has been better but still not on the level that I think it could be. Maybe the finale will take it to a higher level. Jenny reminds me a lot of my girlfriend (she’s super competitive and obsessed with fantasy football, I’ve yet to determine if this is a good thing) while Taco is by far the best character on the show. Any time he comes up with a song, it’s always awesome.
Follow me on Twitter @jeremylambert88
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