The Walking Dead: Warning Signs (9x03)

I'm NOT cool with this, Maggie and Daryl. What the HECK.

Cons:

It seems weird to me that we've looped back around to Maggie and Daryl being mutineers like this. It was a stupid idea in the beginning, then they tempered it, now they've ramped it back up. I just... ugh. I know that Daryl has tried to talk to Rick about it a little bit, but I still feel like Daryl and Maggie would need to be really, really pushed to turn their backs on Rick like this, and I just don't know if I feel it.

These Savior characters are very one-note, and it makes it hard to sympathize with them. Obviously it's not cool to just execute people, no matter what they've done. I'm on Rick and Michonne's side. But it would work better for the story if we had some built up positive investment in some of the Saviors before they died.

Gabriel and Anne/Jadis. Still boring. Still dumb. I'm curious about what Jadis is up to, but I don't feel invested in that romance at ALL.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I Am Ashamed (4x02)

Another great episode. I am a broken record!

Cons:

Okay, so this isn't really like a big complaint or problem or anything, but I found it a bit odd that Rebecca had this cathartic moment in the graveyard at the end, and then after that moment, Patton Oswalt pops out of nowhere and a large group number about "shame" happens. It was a great song, but usually the musical numbers help us to understand a bit about why the characters are feeling the way they're feeling, and in this case, we had all of the emotional work, and then the song felt almost like an afterthought. I may be nitpicking just a little bit.

Pros:

Let's start with Darryl and White Josh's story. Last week I got really freaked out when I didn't see White Josh, so I was glad he made an appearance here. Darryl is scared that he won't be able to give his new daughter, Hebecca, all of the advantages she would have if she had a mother, too. He's especially worried about breast milk, and ends up going online to buy some. This leads him to driving all over town and leaving a reluctant WhiJo in charge of the baby. Josh comes over and the two Joshes dress the baby up in a cute Halloween costume and actually have an okay time. As the episode ends, Darryl's ex-wife, and his older daughter, both reassure Darryl that he's a great father and that the baby will be just fine in his care.

Supernatural: Gods and Monsters (14x02)

This episode was written by Buckleming. So.... eww. But it was directed by Richard Speight Jr. So... yay? Where does this episode fall?

Cons:

I actually thought this episode was really good, and did not fall victim to a lot of the flaws that most Buckleming episodes have. But there were still some Buckleming-ish problems. One of the things I always hate about their writing is that it's too plot-y. So much happens, all very important A-plot stuff, and it gets crammed in without a lot of time to let it breathe. Thankfully, this episode didn't follow that pattern, with the exception of the Sam, Mary, and Bobby story. Oddly, while the Michael and Dean situation is undeniably the show's main conflict at the moment, in the structure of this episode, the quest to find Michael took a backseat to the two other plots with Nick and Jack. We see Sam, Mary, and Bobby looking in to a bunch of dead people that were clearly dropped by Michael. We see them discover that these corpses are vampires, and learn that Michael is experimenting on them.

And then at the end of the episode, it's... Dean. Michael let him go. Obviously we're going to learn more about that going forward, but the fact of the matter is, this episode was all go-go-go for Sam and Mary so we didn't get any follow-up on the emotional beats from last week. Cas and Jack have some good talks about the morality of defeating Michael even if it costs Dean's life. We see the emotional toll of everything that has happened. But with Sam, the character whose inner life should be the bigger focus, we get exposition, exposition, corpses, and then Dean is back. Not very satisfying.

The Good Place: Jeremy Bearimy (3x05)

I'm in love with this show.

Cons:

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Pros:

This show never rests on its laurels. It never stops trying new things, expanding its world, going further. Just a few episodes ago, we set up a premise that our core cast of characters would be participating in a study and learning ethics. Now, in episode five, that entire premise is just out the window and we're on to something new. I was just saying how much I was looking forward to the whole group being united and on the same page, and now that Michael and Janet have told the four humans the truth, they can all go forward together without anymore secrets. And, hopefully, without anymore resets.

Also, straight up, this show is so good at teaching ethics. It makes things simple without being condescending. It shows useful examples, and makes those examples stick in your head. I loved watching Tahani, Jason, and Eleanor all try to do good things in the wake of the horrifying realization that there is a "Hell," and that now, because they know the truth about it, they have no chance of making it to the Good Place. Of course, Eleanor starts to backslide at first, and Chidi really backslides, arguably because he's the one with the best grasp on the ethical implications of this new information.

The Big Bang Theory: The Planetarium Collision (12x05)

This episode is a good example of how The Big Bang Theory can sometimes succeed in its emotional beats, and sometimes fail. We get both examples here.

Cons:

Raj and Howard have a plot thread that has an emotional resolution that was kind of sweet. Sure. But the setup of this plot thread did not earn its ending. Here's what I mean: Raj doesn't want to share the spotlight with Howard in his planetarium presentation, because he's worried that Howard being an astronaut will upstage him. That's the conflict. Raj's insecurity. When Howard talks to him about this, Raj decides to let Howard join him after all, because he doesn't want Howard to think he's insecure. Again, Raj's insecurity is the conflict here. When the presentation starts, both Howard and Raj try to out-compliment each other, each listing the other's accomplishments. Raj is trying to show that he's not jealous of Howard's success, while Howard is trying to be encouraging and not brag about himself too much. The emotional beat that ends the conflict is when Raj tells Howard that he's proud of him, and Howard indicates that Raj has never said that before. The two share a hug. So... again: the conflict is that Raj is insecure. And the resolution is Raj encouraging Howard and saying he's proud of him. Those two things don't match. It's sweet to see them hug, but it doesn't resolve the character beats leading up to it.

Modern Family: Torn Between Two Lovers (10x04)

Yeah, this was mostly an okay episode.

Cons:

Manny's girlfriend is super annoying. And I know that's part of the point, but sometimes when a character is meant to be annoying to other characters, the consequence is that they end up being annoying to the audience as well. The joke is basically that Jay and Gloria both want to be the good guy and make the other one kick her out, so they escalate her annoying improv comedy to get the other to crack first. It didn't go far enough to be truly absurd comedy, and it didn't feel grounded enough for me to get to know this person as a real potential love interest for Manny. So in the end, the whole thing was just kind of... meh.

Pros:

Mitchell and Cam's plot thread was also pretty much a throw-away, but it was decently amusing and even a little bit sweet. They go to a dinner party with one of Mitchell's attorney co-workers. They bring Lily and Cal along with, because they believe that this other gay couple also has two young kids. Turns out, predictably, it's actually two dogs. The dinner party turns to disaster when Cal breaks an expensive souvenir. We see Mitchell and Cam longing for the money, freedom to travel, and cleanliness that this other couple has, but by the end of the episode they know that all of the sacrifices are worth it for their kids. Sweet, simple, a few good laughs, all in all not bad. I especially liked how Cam and Mitchell discussed Mitchell's worrying plan to have Cam bite him on the leg and blame it on the dogs, and how Cam seemed bewildered at himself for just going along with it so quickly.

Doctor Who: The Ghost Monument (11x02)

I'm pretty happy so far!

Cons:

I'm still finding the companions, particularly Yaz, a little bit one-dimensional. It's not a huge distracting problem or anything, but I'm not instantly connected to them the way I remember being with Rose, with Martha, and with Donna. Of course, it's dangerous to try and recapture Russell T. Davies-era Doctor Who, so I'm trying not to use that as my yardstick. Still, hopefully an episode coming up can shine a spotlight on who Yaz is as a person. We learn she has a sister. Maybe we could explore some of her familial relationships a little bit more!

The two characters racing to win prosperity for themselves and their tribes were really interesting, but I found the ending where they tie to be a little unsatisfying. Not the end result - that makes perfect sense to me. But the path to get there. We see them argue with each other throughout the episode, but it seems kind of like good-natured ribbing. But as we learn more of the truth, you get the sense that these two really hate each other. It felt odd that it took almost no convincing to get them to split the prize. In fact, we don't even get to see the convincing - it happens off-screen. There was something a bit uneven with how these two interacted with each other throughout the episode.

The Walking Dead: The Bridge (9x02)

I found this episode to be an improvement over last week's premiere. Let's take a look!

Cons:

There's a subplot where Gabriel and Jadis (or whatever her real name is) begin a relationship. Am I supposed to give a crap about the two of them? Nice try. And speaking of couples I still don't really care about, Carol and Ezekiel had a couple of cute moments, I guess, but overall I'm still not invested in them as a couple.

This show is at its weakest when it starts moralizing. When one character monologues about the meaning of life and how we can all make things better... yadda yadda. This episode has Rick talking to a mysterious, unseen figure, discussing the progress of the various communities. It's meant to be a surprise who he's talking to, but frankly that's a little insulting to the audience's intelligence. It's Negan. Duh. The only other option would be Carl's grave or something, but that's clearly not what they were setting up. Rick talks on and on, and then Negan leans into the light at the end of the episode and basically says that this is all for nothing, that things are going to turn to crap again before long. The dialogue is too campy, and Rick's entire argument is difficult to sympathize with... because Negan's probably right. We're already seeing the cracks in the foundation, and every other time these people have found a measure of peace, something has come along to mess it up. Why should we believe this time will be different?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I Want to Be Here (4x01)

It's back! This show is a life-changing, beautiful, incredible journey and I'm so happy that we get to see the story play out as the creators intended, even though I'm bummed this will be the final season. Let's hop to!

Cons:

The only thing I ever have to complain about with this show is that I want more of some of the side characters. So while everything in this episode was golden, we didn't spend any time with Valencia and her girlfriend, we didn't see White Josh going about his life journey, etc. etc. But that's not really a problem of bad writing or anything. It's just that when I watch this show I'm so enamored with every little moment that we get, that I find myself constantly craving more. Not a bad problem to have!

Pros:

I want to talk about the technical proficiency of this show for a second. The songs are just so excellently produced. "No One Else is Singing My Song" is a song that relies in part on tight vocal harmonies not just to make the song sound pretty, but to carry the punchline to a multi-layered joke. And if these talented vocalists, the sound mixers and editors, etc. didn't do a good job of creating these harmonies, the joke would fall flat. In "What's Your Story?" we see how the use of light can make or break a song, and there's an excellent moment towards the end when Rebecca flinches away from a spotlight and breaks the fourth wall, adding another layer to the title of the song itself - this is a story about someone telling their story, and she's not doing it right.

Supernatural: Stranger in a Strange Land (14x01)

And we're back. Let's just dive right in.

Cons:

This was a perfectly serviceable episode, but it didn't have some of the high energy and epic moments and intense emotion that I'm used to from a Supernatural premiere. It's possible I wasn't in the right head space. I think part of the problem is that this show is really at its best when Sam and Dean are onscreen together, or rather when Jensen and Jared are onscreen together. As a necessary part of the story, we don't get that here.

I have been really forgiving of Samantha Smith's performance as Mary Winchester, but I've got to be brutally honest and say that she gives kind of a flat read, and she's often a bit unconvincing. Sam is so clearly devastated by what's happened to Dean, and Mary is supposed to be, too. It's just... not totally gripping me.

I don't ordinarily comment on the direction and editing, but the fight scene between Sam, Mary, Bobby, Jack, and the random girl whose name I haven't learned on one side, and random demons on the other was... badly edited. The pacing was weird, there was odd zooms ans slow-motion... it looked ridiculous. Bad fight choreography and editing and directing. Or at least one of those things.

The Good Place: The Snowplow (3x04)

Oh no! The group might be splitting up!

Cons:

I have something that I want to complain about that I also acknowledge is probably a good thing. This episode skips through months. We don't get to spend a lot of time with the characters getting to know each other again. The "Brainy Bunch" has jumped straight through the period of getting to know each other, and we're now hanging out with them as a group of fully-formed friends. This makes sense in a show like this, that jumps from one high-concept to another. They don't settle, they don't take their time, they shake things up continuously. And we've already seen these people get to know each other in other iterations, so it makes a certain kind of sense that we don't need to watch it happen again. That said, I feel like I'm missing the "comfort" factor. This show is always brilliant, but it's not gentle, if that makes any sense. I maybe need to spend a little more time watching Tahani and Chidi talk to one another, or Eleanor and Jason making jokes. I need to see them just existing in a space together for a while, so I can understand the appeal of the group dynamic as the characters understand it.

Pros:

But like I said, this choice to zip through a bunch of time very quickly makes perfect sense when you look at the narrative as a whole. We're not going to settle into one pattern, we're going to keep pushing, keep exploring, and that is the number one coolest thing about this show to begin with. I'm excited to see what happens if Michael and Janet really can stop with their interference and let the humans do their thing. Of course, now that they've accidentally seen some magical glowing energy stuff, maybe that plan is completely out of the window.

Grey's Anatomy: Momma Knows Best (15x04)

Aw man, I was rooting for Meredith and Ted. I mean... John. Whatever.

Cons:

I'm not going to watch Station 19, Shonda. Sorry. I've got too much going on. Luckily this crossover still mostly focused on our core group of characters, but I found myself profoundly not caring whenever the Station 19 characters were having scenes together. I'll have to read about what happened in the Station 19 half of this story, because... eh. I don't care.

For years I've laughed at how little the kids in this show seem to matter. Meredith being a mom is so not even a going concern, so it was a little funny to have that be this big problem in her random date. Also, as much as I've snickered at how the kids seem to disappear from this show most of the time, the one story that's actually about kids has ended up being pretty insufferable. I just don't care about Amelia and Owen's new family and all the drama therein. It feels like everything we're seeing is a total waste of time. At some point, Teddy will show up, Amelia and Owen will learn about the baby, there will be drama, and then we'll get some sort of result on the other side. I don't know what the result is going to be, but I'm guessing I won't care about it any more then, than I care about it now.

The Big Bang Theory: The Tam Turbulence (12x04)

I've never seen a single episode of Young Sheldon, so I don't know if Tam is a character from that show or what. I'm too lazy to Google it.

Cons:

There's a point at which Bernadette and Penny being unenthusiastic about their husbands stops being funny, and becomes just... sad. The cliche in sitcoms about beautiful wives settling for nerd husbands is... well, it's boring and predictable.

Pros:

I guess the plot thread with Tam was kind of okay. Sheldon is holding a grudge against his former best friend from Texas. Why? Well, the group eventually finds out that it's because Tam didn't move out to California with Sheldon. His grudge is unreasonable, obviously, but it's based on real emotions that make sense for anyone. He felt betrayed and abandoned, and it was scary to move away from home all alone. The Big Bang Theory is only ever successful when it manages to tap in to something genuine. Of course, it's never enough to make me emotionally invested... but still.

Modern Family: A Sketchy Area (10x03)

I saw a rumor that Modern Family might end up continuing after this season, but after being completely bored and annoyed by this episode, I really do hope Season Ten is the end. I saw in the AV club's review something about how this show sucks at long-form storytelling, and... yep. I agree completely.

Cons:

Phil wants to be a teacher at Luke's community college. Luke doesn't want him invading his space, Phil is disappointed, then Luke changes his mind and Phil enthusiastically jumps in to campus life and all that this entails. There are two big problems here: one, we've seen this story dozens of times between Phil and Luke. Phil wants to be involved in Luke's life in some way, Luke is resistant, Luke learns the value of his father in his life, and there's a change of heart. It's an old, tired, standard. The other problem is: since when does Phil randomly want to be a professor? Does he not still work as a realtor anymore? I'm confused. Didn't he open a magic shop? Wasn't there a parking lot he owns with Jay? How many weird random careers does this dude have at this point, and what are the chances that we'll actually get some follow-through and see how this career affects Phil moving forward? I'd say pretty low.

Claire and Jay's plot thread did have a few laughs, I guess, but mostly it was another retreading of familiar ground. Claire makes a fool of herself at work. The end. The new partners are "new wave" corporate employers, doing things the Google and Facebook way with ping pong tables and giant hamster balls in the work place. Jay lays down the law, restores order, and it turns out he's right. I just don't get anything out of this. At least Claire does get a lot of episodes that focus on her career, and at least that career remains consistent. But there really wasn't much of interest to grab onto here.

The Walking Dead: A New Beginning (9x01)

I don't care anymore? Sorry? But I'll try to review this episode fairly, despite my personal flagging interest in events.

Cons:

Carol and Ezekiel could not be less interesting to me. There's a moment early on where Ezekiel is in peril, and Carol, in her relief once he's safe, gives him a big kiss. But later in the episode, when Ezekiel proposes to Carol, she shuts him down. The two are a couple, but Carol's body language and behavior do not indicate real interest. It's awkward and forced. Obviously I have some ulterior motives because of how much I love Carol and Daryl, but their scene together had way more chemistry and a much stronger connection than anything we've seen with Carol and the King.

There was some random young guy from the Hilltop who died in this episode, and it was treated like a super big deal, with a funeral and a song and weeping and all that, which made me roll my eyes a little bit. I didn't even know this guy. Had we ever met him before? I don't think so!

At the end of last season, we saw Maggie, Daryl, and Jesus conspiring to take down Rick. I thought it was annoying and stupid, so on the one hand I'm glad we've pulled away from that nonsense in this premiere. But on the other hand, it's weird to move backwards like this. Now we've just got some low-level resentment instead of an actual plot to take anybody down.

Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth (11x01)

New Doctor! New show-runner! Something to get excited about!

Cons:

One of the new companions, Ryan, starts off the episode making a video blog about the most amazing woman he's ever met. He starts the story with how his grandmother was helping him ride a bike, and then tells the whole adventure with the Doctor and aliens and all that. In the end, his grandmother Grace ends up dying trying to help save the day. Turns out, the video diary was about Grace, not about the Doctor, as we are led to assume at first. Only, it's such an obvious subversion of expectations that it came across juuuust a little bit cheesy. I felt emotional when Grace died, but something about Ryan's words pushed it too far into campy territory for me.

I'm sure this will come with time, but thus far I'm not getting much of a read on Yasmin, or "Yas", as a character. This story really was about Ryan, Grace, and Graham, and their family dynamics, which is totally fine and lovely. So Yas, who will round out the trio with Ryan and Graham, felt a bit one-dimensional to me in this particular episode. All we know about her is that she's a new cop who wants more excitement. Maybe we don't need to know more than that right away, and it is of course a little unfair to make a judgment based only on the first episode. I'm sure I'll learn all about her in time!

Grey's Anatomy: Gut Feeling (15x03)

I don't care about several of these story threads, unfortunately. Still, there are some intriguing things to explore...

Cons:

Jackson ran off to reevaluate is life? Or whatever? That's just kind of stupid, and it adds unnecessary drama to an already uninteresting relationship between Jackson and Maggie. I was excited to see Jackson explore this newfound faith, but why does that exploration have to cause stupid problems for the sake of quick drama?

Amelia/Owen/Teddy... snore. I kind of like the dilemma that poor Maggie is in right now, trying to protect Amelia from future pain even though she can't say anything about Teddy's pregnancy. But the relationship stuff is just boring to me at this point. Amelia and Owen being all happy and raising these two invisible children together is just unrealistic. I'd be maybe slightly more interested if the Teddy dilemma didn't exist, because then when we watched Amelia and Owen implode, it would be because they're unsuited for each other, not because of an unavoidable external bombshell.

The Big Bang Theory: The Procreation Calculation (12x03)

Usually The Big Bang Theory pisses me off for being just kind of dumb, or it's so dull that I can't muster up a single interesting emotion. This week, I actually have some FEELINGS to explore.

Cons:

So... I hope that Bernadette and Amy apologize to Penny for being total jerks to her about not wanting to have kids. I have some things to say about this plot thread that go in the "pros" section too, but I've just got to say, Bernadette and Amy were incredibly condescending, demanding, and rude. Not every woman wants kids. This show, very surprisingly, did a good job of showing that. But Amy and Bernadette were horrible to their friend, and I hope that the show actually addresses that at some point. I have no faith that it will, though.

The Good Place: The Brainy Bunch (3x03)

I love Trevor. I mean I hate him, but I love him. Adam Scott is hilarious and the character he's playing is so different from Ben Wyatt that it's extra amusing to see him play that role. Let's dive in.

Cons:

Uhhh. I think I'm going to be struggling to think of things to complain about with this show. It's freakin' on point, all the time. One thing I'll say I'm on the watch for is the character of the Judge. She's really, really funny, but what she isn't is threatening. I like the fact that Shawn adds comedic effect, but I'm also afraid of him and what he can do. With the Judge, I don't get a sense for the scope of her influence and power, even though I know on paper she could really fuck up our heroes' lives. I'm excited to see how her character develops.

Also, and this isn't a serious complaint, but these episodes are so dang short! I always want more, and I'm surprised when the episode is already over!

Modern Family: Kiss and Tell (10x02)

This episode felt off to me, and I'm not sure if I can quite articulate why. It felt like a lot of characters were acting just slightly out of character? Maybe? I don't know.

Cons:

Let's start with Haley. She feels guilty about kissing Dylan, she tells Arvin about it, then goes to tell Dylan that the kiss was a mistake... only to fall right back into his arms when he tells her he loves her and is trying to become a better person for her. This isn't out of character for Haley, in a sense, but it is a little frustrating that this is the last season of this show, and we're retreading old ground in this way. I like Arvin, even if he and Haley are a little awkward together. I like Dylan, too. I just don't want to watch Haley screw people over like this. It's not fun or interesting.

Manny comes back from his road trip with a Canadian girlfriend, and his family thinks he's making her up... because he's actually gay? In the end Manny proves that the girl is real, but for the majority of this episode we see Gloria going out of her way to prove to her son that she'd be okay if he were gay. I'm not sure what they were going for here, but they made it look like Gloria was overcompensating for how uncomfortable she was with the idea of Manny being gay. In the first place, if he was gay, it's his business when and how he tells people. And in the second place, Gloria was acting out of character by getting all worked up about it. I think this might have been part of the larger plot thread of Gloria not wanting Manny to grow distant from her, but it came across really weird.