TV reviews of the season premiere of 2 Broke Girls, the mid-season finale of Total Divas, the latest episode of The Affair, and more.
(Also at 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 awhile.
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 October 26 - November 1
Sunday (10/26)
Homeland (About a Boy) - So Carrie has turned into a crazy whore. Her relationship with Aayan feels a lot like her relationship with Brody in that she thinks she’s just trying to get information but in the end she falls in love with him. The big differences here are that Carrie/Aayan don’t have the same chemistry as Carrie/Brody, we’ve seen this story before, and Aayan is like 12. Now Saul is captured and Carrie has to try and not screw up (or anyone) in getting him back. Good luck with that.
Total Divas (The Divas Are Taking Over) - So the big cliffhanger is that John Cena might break-up with Nikki. If you read this column, you’ll know that they are still together. Sorry, I spoiled that worse than John Cena calling spots. Also on this episode, Eva got married, which is good for her while Nattie and TJ continue to have problems. I’ve completely lost the plot on Nattie/TJ and don’t even know what they’re fighting about or how they haven’t resolved things yet. The good news is that Paige will be joining the show soon.
The Affair (3) - THIS SHOW! I’m in love with it. I want to have an affair with it. Seeing the two different sides to the same story is fascinating to me. Then you throw in the interrogation and murder mystery and you have one of the best shows on television today. Allison is such a deep and fascinating character with all of her secrets and issues. I’m enjoying her side more than Noah’s although Noah’s struggle is much different with his family. I can’t wait until next week.
Revenge (Repercussions) - Alright, Revenge, I’m back in the game. Maybe David isn’t as stupid as he appeared to be. He finally went to go see Jack and Nolan and is now seeking revenge for his fake daughter, which will likely lead him to his real daughter. Again, I feel like this could all be solved if Emily just says, “let’s take a blood test” but I guess there isn’t much drama in that. My only hope is that they don’t drag this thing out. David vs. Victoria and his quest to avenge his daughter feels like their last big bullet. Shoot it and don’t reload with a bunch of strays.
Monday (10/27)
2 Broke Girls (And The Reality Problem) - I’m glad Beth Behrs’ legs and Kat Dennings’ boobs are back on my television. Few shows do sexual innuendos better than this one, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s sexual innuendos. I could’ve lived without the Kardashian storyline though. Even though I’m not a fan of that family, the jokes are tired and old at this point. I’m glad this show is back, but how about remembering that it’s 2014.
Gotham (Spirit of the Goat) - So. This show. Most disappointing show of the year? They actually made a “therapist or the rapist” “joke” on this episode. If The Penguin isn’t in the scene, I find myself not caring at all. The show still can’t figure out if it wants to be dark and serious or light and funny. I have a feeling that until they figure that part out, we’re going to continue to have a show that isn’t very good but people, myself included, keep watching until they do figure that out and the show starts to live up to its potential.
The Millers (Reunited And It Feels So Bad) - A little more Ray made this episode better than the pilot. I’m still not sold on Kip and I’m not looking forward to the eventual “Nathan gets jealous of Kip for spending so much time with his mom” story that we all know is coming. However, when shows re-enact game shows, I tend to like the episode.
Jane The Virgin (Chapter Three) - The title Jane The Virgin doesn’t really work if Jane is no longer a virgin. Even if she already is pregnant. So despite the teases in this episode, you kinda knew that Jane wasn’t going to sleep with Michael. But they are moving up the wedding and she did say that she would sleep with him once they were married, which makes me think that this wedding will never happen. At least not yet. This show continues to be very charming with Jane playing the straight good girl and everyone else around her playing a liar trying to protect her.
Are You The One? (Loose Lips Sink Ships) - THEY GOT ONE! Granted they could’ve gotten the Paris/Pratt match in the first week, but we’re not dealing with geniuses here. In fact, Paris kissed John the day before finding out her perfect match was Pratt. So yeah. These people aren’t very bright. Further proof that they aren’t very bright: they got no matches besides Pratt/Paris.
The Blacklist (The Mombasa Cartel) - So, as most people predicted, it was Tom behind the door. That and Ressler’s pill addiction kind of overshadowed everything else in this episode. Honestly, I thought the big reveal of Tom was pretty weak. I don’t mind that it was predictable, but it just feels unnecessary, uncharacteristic for Lizzie, and just kinda flat. I would’ve much rather Tom been on the run with Lizzie and Red chasing him. Instead he’s just captured and that’s that. Hopefully the follow-up is good.
Tuesday (10/28)
The Flash (Going Rouge) - MICHAEL SCOFIELD! It’s good to see Wentworth Miller back on TV and based on the final scene of the episode, it looks like he’ll be a regular, which is awesome. It was also good to see Felicity Smoak from Arrow join the show for some crossover appeal. This was the first episode where I really felt like they accomplished something and broke away from predictable pattern. A story is finally developing and I look forward to seeing it progress.
Marry Me (Scary Me) - Alright, I have the same complaint about this show that I have every week: Annie and Jake are great. The rest of the cast, not so much. Not even Annie and Jake could save this episode though as they were already discussing kids even though last week they were struggling with moving in together and aren’t married yet. The blurred nudity adding nothing to the episode either. Basically this just felt like a forced Halloween episode.
About A Boy (About A Will-O-Ween) - This was a good Halloween episode. They played off the Will/Sam story with Will trying to get over her by throwing an epic party and the Will/Marcus story with the two not quite back on the level that they were prior to Will moving. By the end of the episode though, the Will/Marcus tandem was back and Will realized that it might take a little time to get over Sam.
Awkward (The New Sex Deal) - A Valentine’s episode the week of Halloween. Now that’s awkward. That said, they pulled it off pretty well. Jenna and Tamara are back on the same page, which is always for the best, while Matty and Jenna continue to have friendship problems that Jenna just can’t seem to move past.The absence of Owen was very strange and hopefully he’s back next week as he’s become a pretty important person in the story and shouldn’t be forgotten.
Sons of Anarchy (The Separation of Crows) - And Jax has officially lost it. He killed a charter president like it was nothing and showed almost no remorse for it. He’s gone off the deep end this season, which I guess is just what happens to anyone at the head of the SAMCRO table. Besides Jax shooting Jury, this episode was pretty bland. I’m just waiting for things to really hit the fan with Gemma.
Faking It (The Ecstasy and the Agony) - So Liam and Karma are officially back together, but Liam is struggling because she still doesn’t know that he slept with Amy. Meanwhile, Amy appears to be moving on from the whole situation, which can only come back to haunt her when Karma eventually finds out about their hook-up. Until then I guess we’ll just enjoy Liam being weird around both of them.
Happyland (Repeated Infractions) - I don’t get why it was such a big deal for Lucy to tell Harper that Ian is her brother. Well, I get why it was a big deal, but I don’t know why she struggled in doing it. Also, now Lucy seems happy with Noah while Harper is free to date Ian. Everyone seems pretty happy except for the mom in a midlife crisis. Blah.
Benched (Pilot) - So this is the solo half-hour version of Franklin & Bash. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, it has some funny moments, and Eliza Coupe is awesome, but it’s just nothing that I haven’t seen before. That said, I’ll probably keep watching because I’ll support anything Eliza does.
Wednesday (10/29)
The Goldbergs (Family Takes Care Of Beverly) - BIG TASTY RAP! Barry continues to be the best character on the show and one of the best characters on TV. Whether he was trying to use Bushido code to his advantage or throwing down a rhyme, he was fantastic this episode. It was nice that Murray actually showed up this week, but he’s still been very underused this season. It was nice to see a show use Halloween as an afterthought this week.
Modern Family (Halloween 3: AwesomeLand) - The Dunphy’s new neighbors have definitely spiced things up through one episode, but the rest of this show feels very flat. Cam/Mitchell are just getting tiresome and I’m not even sure Gloria/Jay were in this week’s episode.
Blackish (The Prank King) - Halloween prank episodes are usually predictable and this one was no exception. Everyone tries to prank to prank king, they they think succeed, but in the end the prank king gets the last laugh. I’ve seen it too many times to care. That said, I am glad that Charlie is back and looks to be sticking around.
Nashville (Nobody Said It Was Going To Be Easy) - This felt like a filler episode. A bunch of stuff happened and it was cool but nothing really captured me. They’ve also gone away from the music this season in order to ramp up the drama, which is really hurting the show. I feel like they’ve not only lost the plot but they’ve also lost what made this show so popular in the first place.
South Park (The Magic Bush) - It’s tough to go wrong when you pair up Cartman and Butters and even though this was not on the level of previous episodes this season, it was still a good outing. The Fappening has died down so this wasn’t as timely as most South Park episodes, but the drone stuff seems to scare everyone and the police drones were pretty funny.
Stalker (The Haunting) - It looks like Beth has secrets as well. Not only is she being stalked, but she’s also a former stalker victim who had to change her identity. Her secret is out though as Perry continues to be extremely creepy. I think he played his hand a bit too early and now we’ll see the next move for both. I like that Jack actually got to get close to his son this week, giving him a hand with some bullies. Even the case was good as they alluded to a haunted house, when it was really just a man living in the walls. This show continues to impress me.
Key &Peele (Scariest Movie Ever) - The “Drug” sketch that turned into a PSA telling you not to do drugs was absolutely hilarious. Key and Peele do Halloween episodes really well, pointing out the absurdness of the horror genre. This episode wasn’t on the level of previous Halloween specials, but it was still good for plenty of laughs.
The League (Taco Standard Time) - Garbage time is well known in sports and fantasy leagues. Seeing garbage time applied to real life made for a fun little episode that didn’t mean a whole lot. It’s amazing that they were able to make a timely Percy Harvin joke but were months behind on a Ray Rice elevator joke. As usual, Taco was awesome with his “Taco Standard Time” bit.
Thursday (10/30)
The Big Bang Theory (The Misinterpretation Agitation) - Billy Bob Thornton is always a welcome sight, but this episode felt like filler. He’s obviously not going to be sticking around for any period of time (although I hope I’m wrong) and we’re long past the point of making fun of Penny/Sheldon relationship being funny. The lack of Sheldon also hurt things this week.
Mom (Hepatitis and Lemon Zest) - Mom is off to a start. I’m not sure if it’s a good start, but it’s a start. I guess Christy is now a gambling addict even though I don’t remember that ever being mentioned last season. And with Violet no longer pregnant, they need a season long story and it looks like them moving into a hotel is that story.
Gracepoint (Episode 5) - Really slow episode this week, but a lot of revealed. Including the name of the trailer park lady, who I’m not so sure is the #1 suspect anymore, but her having Danny’s skateboard is still a pretty big red flag. Priest Paul is starting to become a pretty big suspect in my eyes. No alibi and a creepy relationship with Beth doesn’t look good for him. Speaking of Beth, she continues to be the star of the show with how she’s dealing with the loss of her son.
A to Z (E is for Ectoplasm) - This episode presented the obvious question of, “what happens to the best friend when your other half gets in a serious relationship?” I’ve been there. And it’s not fun, especially if your best friends significant other doesn’t have a best friend for you. Andrew and Zelda continue to shine, and while the focus should’ve allowed Stu and Stephie to have some shine as well, they just aren’t very good and are too alike.
The McCarthys (Pilot) - I’m giving this show a chance just because a gay guy coaching basketball might be funny for an episode or two. The pilot wasn’t great and I don’t exactly have high hope for the show, but any show with a sports angle will keep me around for a couple of weeks. If nothing else, the pilot established the characters and the central story of the show even if there weren’t many laughs.
How To Get Away With Murder (Freakin Whack-A-Mole) - I’m just waiting for Wes and Annalise to hook up. You know it’s coming. I really liked Asher this week. He’s been lost in the shuffle so far but he stepped up and delivered the goods in this episode. This week Annalise finally found out that Sam is dead as well. So we’ve finally reached the middle of things it seems. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out.
Friday (10/31)
Nothing on DVR
Saturday (11/1)
Nothing on DVR
Binge Watch
How I Met Your Mother (S01E10 - S02E04)
I really enjoyed the first season of this show, especially the season finale with Ted and Robin finally getting together and Lilly and Marshall having problems and eventually breaking up. Barney continues to be awesome as well and it’s just funny to watch Neil Patrick Harris play a lady slayer. I mean, he’s freakin’ “Doogie” Howser and now he’s a sexual beast. Also, we know he's gay, so it's a testament to his acting that he's able to pull off the role of Barney so well.
Broken Skull Challenge (S01E01 - S01E10)
I decided to power through the first season of this show after hearing Steve Austin talk about it on his podcast. I have to say, as a single show competition, it’s really good. The challenges are cool and the Skull Buster seems tough as hell. Some of the trash talking comes off pretty fake, but it’s also funny watching some muscle heads get humbled in the challenges. The best part is Austin berating and motivating everyone throughout the show.
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