TV Euphoria

Man, it almost seems surreal to have so much new television on the air right now. If there was any silver lining to the writer's strike, it's that it forced these shows to cram as much goodness as they could into the few shows they could still do for this year. Let me share some thoughts on everything from this glorious week and be prepared for a long post:

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother - The return of Robin Sparkles! Need I say more? Probably, since most people I know don't watch this show. So, Robin is one of the five main characters on this show and we learned last season that she used to be a teenage pop sensation in Canada under the name Robin Sparkles. She was just like any U.S. pop star of the 80s (Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, etc.) except that her fame happened in 1993 because Canada is so behind the times. To see what I mean, check out the hilariously awesome music videos the show created (here's the first from last season, and the new one from this past week's episode). Seeing another song from her was great, but wasn't as shocking as the closing moment when we saw Barney and Robin making out. Totally torn on this issue, as there is some good chemistry between the two characters, but I like Ted and we he learns this, it's gonna kill him. Mark out moment of the episode, besides Robin's video was Ted wearing a Chief Wahoo t-shirt!

Big Bang Theory - I decided to give this another chance after it changed timeslots. It definitely has it's moments, but is also a notch below most of my favorite sitcoms (i.e. My Name is Earl vs. The Office). I think I would like this better if they made Sheldon just a little bit more likeable. He typically has the best lines of the show, but I don't like that he's egotistical to everyone. I can understand him having a superiority complex against dumb people, but I'd like him to be more friendly with his fellow nerds. This week's episode involving a Physics Bowl was entertaining enough to keep me around, but this hasn't yet been cemented as Must-See TV for me.

RAW - I'll just briefly touch upon this, since it was a special 3 hour show. I would be really excited about the fact that they made William Regal the new King of the Ring if it weren't for the fact that I'm pretty sure that this will lead to nowhere. I would love to see him get a push and they easily have enough Brits to create a nice stable for him, but I doubt it will happen. So while it was a cool moment to watch this past week, my cynicism prevents me from enjoying it more. On an unrelated note, +10 points to the WWE from scoring taped interviews from all three presidential candidates, which came off, as it should, as a big deal, but -100 for then still going through with their fake Hilary vs. Obama fight. Thankfully the fake Bill Clinton and an Umaga run-in saved it from being a complete disaster.

Tuesday:
Reaper - The show actually seemed like it was trying to move forward this week, but at the end of things we're really not that much further along. The Tony and Steve story arc (gay demons banished from Heaven, but not hellbent on destroying the devil) certainly had possiblities, but like everything else just seemed to ultimately be another con by the Devil to keep Sam frustrated. It was nice to see Sam and Andi heat up their relationship, but you know that if this show is going to last, that it will be a long time before those two have any true happiness. It just seems so contrived in a Hollywood way that the Devil would allow Sam to have Sock and Ben in on his secret but prevent him from telling Andi. Wouldn't everything just be more awesome if Andi knew and helped the guys kicking escaped souls' asses every week?

Wednesday:
Back to You - Meh. What can I say, Wednesday is a slow night for TV.

Thursday:
My Name is Earl - The whole story arc with Earl in his coma finally ended this week. While it didn't provide a lot in the way of laughs, it did offer some solid emotional moments. And while that's not the greatest quality in a sitcom, having it hear does a nice job of offsetting the raunchy hilarity found in some of my other favorite comedies. One thing that's been nice about this coma storyline is that it's allowed Alyssa Milano to be on for multiple episodes, which in my book, can only be considered a good thing. Hopefully now with this storyline over, they can go back to some solid episode involving the list.

The Office - A bit of a letdown after last week's spectacular episode, but solid nonetheless. I'm growing frustrated with so many episodes this season taking place outside of the actual Office. When the show began it did episodes that were hilarious takes on universal experiences of working in an office. Now there too focused on situations that are only specific to these characters; and depending on what those situations are the comedy has been more hit-or-miss. But despite this complaint about the direction of the show, let's point out the funny stuff from this episode. I can't say that I'm surprised by Ryan's coke addiction, as there have been signs of that since he took the job in NY. Dwight provided a number of great moments throughout this episode including his fascination with Ryan's hobbit friend/dealer (see the deleted scene for confirmation of that), his story about weevils, his refusal of a drink from a lady and then subsequent makeout with an 'Amazon' (member of the Jersey State basketball team), and then trying to help Ryan out once they were back at his place. As for the B-story, we once again saw Jim trying his best at taking charge and failing. One of the cool developments this season, has been seeing Jim unwittingly becoming more and more like Michael. A lot of his actions here after causing everyone to get locked in at the office seemed like stunts Michael would pull (not knowing the security guard's name, assuming the cleaning women only spoke Spanish, etc.). The other interesing moment involved Toby coping a feel on Pam. I'm not sure if he got caught up in the moment or decided to grow a pair. His subsequent announcement about going to Costa Rica was interesting as well. Was this just a throwaway line, or could he perhaps be the character that's leaving the show to start up the Office spinoff. Hands down the best part of this episode though was the staff meeting to talk about the failures of the company's website. It not only provided a number of laughs from the minor characters (Creed, Kelly, Phyllis) but it also made a great commentary on the typical corporate naivete when it comes to the implementation of technology.

30 Rock - We had some wonderful returning guest stars back in this one as Will Arnett and Rip Torn were back in the ongoing storyline with Jack trying to become the new head of GE. Thinking he has the job, Jack appoints Liz to his old position, which allows us to see her becoming a 'suit' which has some hilarious results. The other storyline involved Tracy trying to invent the first pornographic video game, which Frank claims can't be done (hilariously explained using a graph to show how the more realistic a computer generated charcter becomes, the more creepy he also gets ala Tom Hanks in The Polar Express). Somehow this storyline then turns into a very funny Amadeus spoof. But clearly, the best part of the episode and the mark-out moments for me was the return of Dr. Spaceman (that's pronounced Spa-Che-Mun). Chris Parnell as the clueless doctor is always excellent and he added to his awesomeness this week by now sporting a cape. Of course, at the end of the episode, Jack didn't get the job, which should mean trouble for him, and more laughs for us.

Survivor - What an oddly frustrating season this has been. Each episode thus far has been solidly entertaining and should make it one of the best seasons ever, except for the fact that who's been ousted and who still remains is the complete opposite of what I want. Given who's left, there are very few that I want to see win and there are a couple that I will be very angry if they become sole survivor. Namely, Cirie and Natalie. In this episode, we saw Parvati have to do damage control for her masterminding of Ozzy's elimination last week. During this we hear Amanda naively (a recurring trait of hers) comment on how Parv has Cirie wrapped around her finger; which couldn't be further from the truth. Cirie remains smug as ever about he gameplay, yet no one seems to realize that she's been pulling the strings since very early on in the game. I don't see how everyone can be so blind to this. Then there's Natalie, who couldn't have spoken more than two words the entire season before this week's episode, yet just had this look of bitch about her. Well that look became manifested into an actual personality this week as she took such glee over her plan coming together to get rid of Jason. You know, Jason has been so stupid and self-centered this entire season that his blindside should have been a great moment, but when the people conducting the blindside are so gleefully evil about it, the moment is ruined. As a side note, I absolutely loved Probst's verbal beatdown of Jason when he told him that maybe this time he would find a real idol when going to Exile Island. Ha! Anyway, this season is starting to shape up like Vanautu with a girl alliance intending to go all the way to the end. Let's hope this one ends like that season did and one of the remaining males can somehow breaks things up and pull out a victory.

Whew, that's a lot of TV and I still have a new CSI and Mythbusters to go. All this, plus trying to keep an eye on the Indians has been daunting. It's a good thing I got as much work done before the strike ended in order for me to enjoy this now. And now that I've gotten a chance to say my piece on all my favorite shows, I turn the floor over to all of you. I've talked for long enough, so now you can have a chance to spout off on all of your returning favorites, if you like.