TV Trailer: Game of Thrones: Season 2

TV Review: Whitney - "Up All Night"

Season 1 - Episode 9

NBC (US)

This show is really starting to suck.

I mean, it started off pretty bad, but it always had something that kept me interested in watching. Whatever that thing was though, appears to be gone. Chris D'Elia as Alex is trying his best to keep things interesting, but with the material Whitney Cummings and her "writers" are giving him, even he's starting to struggle.

Basically, Lily has asked Whitney to be her maid of honour. This has caused her to sleepwalk and go see a therapist. Played by Chelsea Handler. Yup, that's where they've gone with it. And you know what? They managed to waste Chelsea Handler. They have succeeded in possibly one of the hardest things in the world. They have ruined one of the worst comedians in the world. The jist of the episode is that maybe Whitney would be more receptive to getting married and having kids than she thought, as long as it's with Alex. Aww cute. But still shit.

I'm not even going to talk about the rest of the characters this week. MArk is made to look like more of an idiot than usual and Lily and Neal are just sort of there. I've been saying for weeks that this show needs to improve. There's one episode left before the Christmas break (and Jane Kaczmarek shows up, which should at least mean there's 2 talented people on screen) and if it's not a good one, Whitney may go bye bye from the rotation.

**

TV Review: New Girl - "Bells"

Season 1 - Episode 7

Fox (US)

New Girl has been a sweet, warm sort of sitcom since the start of the season. It's had ups and downs, but has been generally entertaining. This episode was highly disappointing, and I can only hope it's a blip, and not indicitive of the way the rest of the season goes.

The main plot of the episode was Winston joining Jess' detention student handbell team after showing a surprising talent for the "instrument". He immediately takes over - changing the song they're rehearsing to "Eye of the Tiger" - and manages to isolate and upset Jess. I think it was supposed to show Winston, a former professional basketball player, as having a competitive streak, but all it accomplished was making him look like a control freak and a selfish twat. Of course, he had relented by the end of the episode, but this wasn't character development, if anything it was regression.

The B-plot of the episode saw Nick and Schmidt get into an argument over money. I'll be honest, I've already forgotten most of the B-plot. It was nothing.

Zooey Deschanel is cute and charming as ever, but the rest of the characters took a step back in "Bells". Easily the worst episode of the run so far.

**

TV Review - How I Met Your Mother - "Symphony of Illusion"

Season 7 - Episode 12

CBS (US)

Wow.

Just when they've been churning out passable, but underwhelming episodes, How I Met Your Mother finishes up for the mid-season with the most hard hitting, heart-breaking episode they've ever done. When a show puts out episodes like "Bad News" when Marshall finds out his father had died, the last few minutes of "Tick Tick Tick" from a few weeks back, and even "Come On" way back in season one, to say that this is the most emotional this show has ever been is saying a lot.

But it truly is. The episode begins with future Robin narrating to her children about the time she found out she was pregnant. At first glance it looked like this was the reveal of Robin and Barney getting together, but this episode took a completely different turn. From Robin and Barney celebrating (rather hilariously with Doctor Sonya) when they find out that she isn't actually carrying his child to the hilarious scene of her drinking, smoking and eating sushi, things took a brutal 180. Robin finds out that she is uncapable of having a baby. Feeling unable to speak to her friends about it, she floats through the next days in a trance. The reveal at the end of the episode when it's shown that Robin's "children" are purely a figment of his imagination was stunning, and the very end of the episode where she breaks down in Ted's arms is absolutely devastating. Remember, this is a sitcom. Most drama's can't do emotion that well.

Elsewhere, there's a silly plot involving Marshall stuck on a roof (for purely comic relief I can only imagine), while Ted, Lily and Barney try to figure out what's wrong with Robin (and while they don't find out, Ted's Christmas light display set to AC/DC was spectacular). But everything else faded into insignificance with Robin's plot. This is exactly what How I Met Your Mother is capable of. Absolutely outstanding.

*****

TV Review: 2 Broke Girls - "And the Reality Check"

Season 1 - Episode 11

CBS (US)

There's snowfall and the girls need to find a warm place for Chesnut to stay over the winter. Sadly, this means that the magnificent horse may no longer be part of the show, but it also showed Max and Caroline care are weren't going to leave him out in the cold all winter.

There's some problems with this show, namely there are no supporting characters worth a jot. Earl gets some funny lines from time to time, Hahn is a tired stereotype, and Oleg, while very very funny when he gets disgusting, is extremely one dimensional. The only other character we see on a regular basis now that Johnny is gone is Max's other boss, Peach. Now Peach is very, VERY stupid. And also very one dimensional. Which makes her appearence at the forefront of the episode a strange sight. It gives Max a glimpse of Caroline's life before she became broke, and gave them a feasible place for Chesnut to stay, but when she was on screen, the show was worse off. The episode ends on a lovely note though, as Max gains some real depth. Her character is deeper than she likes to show, and Kat Dennings plays her really well.

The lack off support for Dennings and Beth Behrs means that they are the focal point of entire episodes, with B-plots only emerging when the two girls go off on different stories - something that's happening less and less frequently as they become better friends. It's working for now, but it can't go on like this forever, and the introduction of a new recurring character at midseason may not be the worst thing in the world. However, all that said, this is probably the best episode of the show's run so far, mainly due the emotion shown. I really hope it continues to impress.

****

TV Review: Community - "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism"

Season 3 - Episode 9

NBC (US)

"Foosball..." took a long hard look at one of Community's most neglected relationships, that of Jeff and Shirley, and brought them closer together than ever before. Elsewhere, Abed got silly, aided by Troy and Annie, while Britta and Pierce are given very little to do. But you can't focus on everyone every week in an ensemble show like this, can you?

The main plot of the episode sees Jeff being annoyed by a bunch of rowdy foosball players (led by The League's Nick Kroll in a fantastic guest spot - complete with comedy exaggerated German accent) and accepting a challenge to play them. Shirley, a childhood fosball expert - offers to train him, and in doing so reveals that she was the girl who bullied Jeff as a child and caused him to pee his pants. Joel McHale's facial expressions during this scene are absolutely fantastic - the man's comedic timing is absolutely spot on! The story ends with the two having a heated match with each other (which descends into an absolutely remarkable anime parody sequence animated by Metalocalypse's Titmouse Inc) and becoming closer friends than they had ever been before. It's a nice resolution and adds some much needed depth to Shirley's character, as well as giving Jeff another layer to his already complex character.

The b-plot sees Annie accidentally break Abed's super duper special edition DVD (wouldn't a nerd like Abed be on Blu-Ray by now though?) of "The Dark Knight". She tries to cover it up (much to the chagrin of Troy) by staging a break-in, which leads to Abed dressing as Batman, and raidng the apartment of their landlord. It's a delightfully silly storyline that shows Annie as the type who would do anything to avoid disappointing her friends (and also do anything to avoid getting into trouble it would seem) and gived Danny Pudi the chance to do his physical comedy. Also, Allison Brie does a fantastic little Christian Bale as Batman impression. She is literally perfect.

"Foosball..." isn't a classic episode of Community, but is funny and has some nice storyline progression. Unfortunately, the next episode is the last before NBC's extended hiatus of the show. We do know the back order of (I believe) 12 episodes will all be shown, but the show's future is seriously in doubt. I really hope next week's Christmas themed Glee parody is as amazing as it sounds on paper. Because Community isn't a show I'm prepared to lose just yet.

Six seasons and a movie!

****

TV Review: Mega Review

I have fallen majorly behind on the TV reviews over the last few weeks due to a number of more pressing concerns. So instead of trying to play catchup and review things I watched weeks ago, here's the ratings associated with what's been watched. And normal service will resume this week!

2 Broke Girls

A passable episode, but more akin to what they were producing at the start of the season rather than the stronger recent episodes

"And the Very Christmas Thanksgiving" ***

American Dad

2 very solid and very funny episodes, with some good guest voices, and Klaus and Hayley getting some much needed (if still brief) screen time.

"Virtual In-Stanity" ****

"The Scarlett Getter" ****

Awkward.

The two part season finale. Started pretty black, became impressively upbeat and finished with a brilliantly written, heartbreaking revelation. As close to perfect as could have been. Season 2 can't come quick enough.

"I Am Jenna Hamilton" ****

"Fateful" *****

Beavis and Butt-head

Gloriously stupid as ever. The two shorts format works better than the extended episode format, but still hella funny. Although saying that, "Holy Cornholio", one of the extended episodes was the best of the bunch.

"Drones" *** 1/2

"Holy Cornholio" **** 1/2

"Supersize Me" ****

"Bathroom Break" ****

Bored to Death

Consistently one of the best shows currently on air. Two fantastic episodes, the latter with a huge revelation right at the end, leading nicely into this weeks season (and hopefully not series) finale. Superb.

"Two Large Pearls and a Bar of Gold" **** 1/2

"Forget the Herring" *****

Community

Another inexplicably low rating show. A Dean Pelton heavy episode, with some brilliance from all the characters. A superbly written half hour of television.

"Documentary Filming: Redux" **** 1/2

Family Guy

A pile of crap episode followed up by a passably funny one. Still as hit-and-miss as ever.

"Thanksgiving" **

"Amish Guy" *** 1/2

Fresh Meat

A slow starting season finale that grew in stature as it went on. Served to strengthen some relationships, while seemingly ruining others. Good character driven drama in an episode light on the comedy, but heavy on quality.

"Rock On" ****

Happy Endings

The one I found myself the furthest behind on. Three good episodes, the latter very good indeed, with one held over from early in the run that stank. Easy to see why it wasn't shown earlier, as it could have ruined renewal chances.

"The Girl With the David Tattoo" *** 1/2

"You've Got Male" ****

"Bo Fight" **

"The Shershaw Redemption" **** 1/2

How I Met Your Mother

A huge disappointment. A plot that made very little sense (although was well executed) and characters not reacting how they should. Messy but still enjoyable.

"The Rebound Girl" ***

Modern Family

A show that has stalled slightly. Still producing good episodes, but running out of ideas a little. Not as solid as it once was, and I hope it can rebound.

"After the Fire" ***

"Punkin Chunkin" ***

New Girl

Justin Long stops by as the male version of Jess. This will be great in small doses. Furthered the Jess/Nick endgame idea, which I hope they don't trigger too soon. All in all, a good episode.

"Thanksgiving" ****

Raising Hope

I like episodes that give Burt some depth. He's a great character. The slow burn on Jimmy and Sabrina continues, and Maw Maw gets some great lines in. Good work.

"Burt's Parents" ****

South Park

A season finale with a better concept than execution. Some funny moments, but fell flat in places.

"The Poor Kid" *** 1/2

The Big Bang Theory

An episode so forgettable, I actually had to look up what the entire plot was. Long story short, Sheldon and Amy are now a couple, but nothing has changed about their relationship. What could have been a classic, was only average. Which is unfortunate.

"The Flaming Spitoon Acquisition" ***

The League

Jeff Goldblum shows up as Ruxin's dad. The delightful Sarah Silverman shows up as Andre's slutty sister, and Jenny accidentally cooks a guinea pig and feeds it to the gang. Fantastic episode.

"Thanksgiving" **** 1/2

The Middle

Vying with Modern Family to be the best family sitcom on TV, The Middle is just about pulling ahead. The Thanksgiving episode was weak compared to the previous week's effort, but still two solid episodes, even though character progression has slowed.

"The Play" ****

"Thanksgiving III" *** 1/2

The Office

I'm not sure how much life this show has left in it. After a brief upturn in quality, it has hit the pits again. I hope a return to form is imminent, but I'm just not sure it's going to happen.

"Pam's Replacement" ***

"Gettysburg" **

The Simpsons

A fairly solid couple of episodes, with an unexpected classic in the middle. "The Book Job", an elaborate "Oceans 11" - and heist movie in general - parody was the best episode of The Simpsons in years. With Neil Gaiman lampooning himself brilliantly in a starring role, and a dig at Twilight included, this shows that The Simpsons can still do it.

"The Food Wife" *** 1/2

"The Book Job" *****

"The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" *** 1/2

Two and a Half Men

A dream sequence episode from an increasingly delusional Alan works nicely, as he imagines his worst nightmares coming true. It's followed by the best episode of the season so far, as we see some insight into Walden and Jake finds his calling as a lackey. It's really been pretty good.

"Frodo's Headshots" *** 1/2

"A Fishbowl of Glass Eyes" ****

Up All Night

The trio of Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph are the absolute beating heart of this show. Their characters are so believable and you can't help but fall in love with them. Jason Lee's recurring Kevin looks like a great addition as well (although he is ageing rapidly!). Good trio of episodes.

"First Night Away" ****

"Hiring and Firing" *** 1/2

"Week Off" ****

Whitney

The bane of my existence. It's juvenile, the jokes are really obvious and there's only one really likeable character (Alex, who is awesome). But I can't help enjoying it and watching every week. This is a stupid episode, but it's funny. But that said, it's criminal that this gets moved to anchor a full night on NBC while Community gets benched.

"Clarence" ****