Synopsis: The Dunphys head off to Cal Tech for Alex to have a college visit. While there, the duller members of the family get very confused and dramatic when they sign up as subjects for a scientific experiment. Meanwhile, Claire pushes Alex towards Cal Tech because she wants to keep her close to home. When Jay and Gloria celebrate their anniversary, Jay steps out of his comfort zone by giving Gloria a clay bunny he made in a ceramics class. When Mitch and Cam try to take a new family picture including Lily, they are upset to find that Lily has a hideous smile for pictures.
Review: This was a very solid, very typical episode of Modern Family, the kind that leaves me totally satisfied. As far as humor goes, Phil, Haley, and Luke Dunphy took the top spot with the research test they signed up for. In waiting a room with just the three of them and a red button labeled "do not push," they began to have violent debates over what they ought to do. Quite hilariously, the tension was wiped out when it was revealed that the room was just a waiting room for a survey they were taking, and the red button just started a faulty vent.
It was fun to watch Alex explain her desire to go to the east coast for college to get away from her family, only to be convinced otherwise when an equally nerdy and attractive boy expresses his plans to attend Cal Tech. Their awkward flirting was quite humorous.
On Jay and Gloria's anniversary, it was nice to see a softer side of Jay in his attempt to break away from the materialistic gifts that he and Gloria usually exchange like jewelry and watches. The fact that he made Gloria a ceramic bunny made it that much more adorable. This situation nicely addressed one of my general criticisms of the show that Jay and Gloria fight too much to be a happy couple, especially considering their age difference. Jay trying for Gloria in such a sweet way makes it make some sense that they're together.
Cam and Mitch got another lame story this week. They had a boring problem-solution plot where Lily's creepy smile was solved by them deciding to hang the picture up anyway. There was nothing creative about that one.
I've seen some amazing episodes of Modern Family, this one is just good.
My Grade: B
Reviewers Quotes: "'Do Not Push' is the type of episode Modern Family just can’t get away with anymore, at least without alienating its long-time viewers. The problem with the show’s stubborn policy of producing stand-alone episodes is that there’s never any sense of momentum or any consequence to anything we’re seeing." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)
Nielsen Rating: 3.7 (10.56 Million Viewers)
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Modern Family S6 E1 "The Long Honeymoon"
Synopsis: Mitch finds himself at odds with Cam's ludicrous level of romantic gesture as he tries to get back to his normal work schedule following their wedding. Meanwhile, the Dunphys are experiencing a blissful Summer with Alex out of the country on a mission trip. Upon her return all goes awry and her parents and siblings try to get her out of the house again, convinced Alex is a curse on the family. In Jay and Gloria's world, Gloria becomes so frustrated with Jay's lack of effort to look good for her that she goes to a business dinner with him with a lazy outfit, frizzy hair, and no make up.
Review: Nothing about this season premiere is very special. While the "Modern Family laugh a minute humor" is indeed totally present, the three story arcs in this episode are all issues that have become a bit stale due to overuse in previous episodes. These being the "Jay feels intimidated by Gloria's good looks because he's so old resolving with Gloria and Jay apologizing to each other," the "Alex, though being a child, is the most competent member of the Dunphy family and they realize that they need her around even if she does muck up the family chemistry," and finally (the most overused) "Cam gets a head full of steam to do something that he considers wonderful and Mitch becomes increasingly annoyed with it until he eventually can't take it anymore and he and Cam have a fight that leaves Mitch feeling bad and then he apologizes soon after." The specificity of these scenarios ought to speak to the fact that the Modern Family writers really need to figure out some new story-lines.
However, despite my gripes Modern Family was the best rated show among high income 18-49 year olds in its premiere week (even narrowly beating out The Big Bang Theory). This is probably because holds a uniqueness among other shows, and now in its sixth season, it has burrowed its way into the hearts of the American TV viewing audience, and man, that "mockumentary" humor is top notch.
My Grade: C+
Nielsen Ratings: 3.9 (with 11.38 million viewers) winning the night and helping out Blackish.
Reviewer's Quotes: "It’s unlikely the episode will rank in the top tier of season 6—probably no Emmy tape in its future—but it performs solidly and none of its three plots is disastrous. It plays with some fun, mischievous story ideas, and it’s pretty funny throughout. Modern Family’s B-game is far from perfect, and probably shouldn't be breathing the same oxygen as Louie, but what it does, it still does well." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com).
Review: Nothing about this season premiere is very special. While the "Modern Family laugh a minute humor" is indeed totally present, the three story arcs in this episode are all issues that have become a bit stale due to overuse in previous episodes. These being the "Jay feels intimidated by Gloria's good looks because he's so old resolving with Gloria and Jay apologizing to each other," the "Alex, though being a child, is the most competent member of the Dunphy family and they realize that they need her around even if she does muck up the family chemistry," and finally (the most overused) "Cam gets a head full of steam to do something that he considers wonderful and Mitch becomes increasingly annoyed with it until he eventually can't take it anymore and he and Cam have a fight that leaves Mitch feeling bad and then he apologizes soon after." The specificity of these scenarios ought to speak to the fact that the Modern Family writers really need to figure out some new story-lines.
However, despite my gripes Modern Family was the best rated show among high income 18-49 year olds in its premiere week (even narrowly beating out The Big Bang Theory). This is probably because holds a uniqueness among other shows, and now in its sixth season, it has burrowed its way into the hearts of the American TV viewing audience, and man, that "mockumentary" humor is top notch.
My Grade: C+
Nielsen Ratings: 3.9 (with 11.38 million viewers) winning the night and helping out Blackish.
Reviewer's Quotes: "It’s unlikely the episode will rank in the top tier of season 6—probably no Emmy tape in its future—but it performs solidly and none of its three plots is disastrous. It plays with some fun, mischievous story ideas, and it’s pretty funny throughout. Modern Family’s B-game is far from perfect, and probably shouldn't be breathing the same oxygen as Louie, but what it does, it still does well." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com).
Saturday, September 27, 2014
How I Met Your Mother S6 E23 "Landmarks"
Synopsis: The "Zoey" story arc reaches a conclusion when Ted if finally forced to decide whether he wants to break ties with his girlfriend Zoey, or allow the destruction of the building she loves so dearly so that the building he designed may take its place. In short Ted chooses to knock down the building.
Review: This was a horrible yet necessary episode. The "Zoey and Ted" story arc was doomed from the very start and I see this episode as being the one that allowed it to finally come to a pathetic conclusion. Firstly, Zoey and Ted never appeared as though they were a reasonable couple: they spent their working hours in direct opposition of each others personal interests. Secondly, their conflict prompted a "side choosing" fiasco among the whole gang where Marshall awkwardly sided with Zoey even though he is an environmental lawyer (not an old building lawyer). This was a sad attempt at creating interesting tension in the group, but it was so uncomfortable that I would have to recommend that the group never engage in such a heated conflict where Ted, Barney, and Marshall's employment are at stake.
Besides the Zoey story arc that totally dominated the episode, the jokes in this episode seemed rather uninspired. The best example of that was when Robin lied and said she was playing chess in the park but then admitted she was playing Angry Birds at home. Lame!
All in all, this episode was the painful removal of the "How I Met Your Mother" wart that was Zoey. Even then though, writers (and creators of the show, no less) Carter Bays and Craig Thomas could not come up with anything as an attempt to polish this turd. The only redeeming quality of this episode is that we're finally done with Zoey.
Grade: D (Fs have to be saved for pure televised scum)
Reviewers quotes: "But Zoey's gone now, and I'm tempted to use Ted's parting line - "Sometimes, things have to fall apart to make way for better things" - as a cleanser and just try to hope that next week's finale is better, and that next season's big story arc is vastly better and not just more wheel-spinning to justify the two-year renewal." -Alan Sepinwall, HitFix.com
Review: This was a horrible yet necessary episode. The "Zoey and Ted" story arc was doomed from the very start and I see this episode as being the one that allowed it to finally come to a pathetic conclusion. Firstly, Zoey and Ted never appeared as though they were a reasonable couple: they spent their working hours in direct opposition of each others personal interests. Secondly, their conflict prompted a "side choosing" fiasco among the whole gang where Marshall awkwardly sided with Zoey even though he is an environmental lawyer (not an old building lawyer). This was a sad attempt at creating interesting tension in the group, but it was so uncomfortable that I would have to recommend that the group never engage in such a heated conflict where Ted, Barney, and Marshall's employment are at stake.
Besides the Zoey story arc that totally dominated the episode, the jokes in this episode seemed rather uninspired. The best example of that was when Robin lied and said she was playing chess in the park but then admitted she was playing Angry Birds at home. Lame!
All in all, this episode was the painful removal of the "How I Met Your Mother" wart that was Zoey. Even then though, writers (and creators of the show, no less) Carter Bays and Craig Thomas could not come up with anything as an attempt to polish this turd. The only redeeming quality of this episode is that we're finally done with Zoey.
Grade: D (Fs have to be saved for pure televised scum)
Reviewers quotes: "But Zoey's gone now, and I'm tempted to use Ted's parting line - "Sometimes, things have to fall apart to make way for better things" - as a cleanser and just try to hope that next week's finale is better, and that next season's big story arc is vastly better and not just more wheel-spinning to justify the two-year renewal." -Alan Sepinwall, HitFix.com
Friday, September 19, 2014
How I Met Your Mother S6 E10 "Blitzgiving"
Synopsis: On the eve of Thanksgiving, the gang is visited by an old college friend who has "the Blitz," a condition that causes him to ditch outings with his friends and consistently miss an amazingly fun time. However when Ted leaves the bar early that night, "the Blitz" is passed onto him and he misses an awesome night of partying. The next day (Thanksgiving), "the Blitz" continues to be passed around and Ted manages to put aside a longtime conflict with Zoey (a woman who has been trying to put a stop to his architectural ambitions) in order to save the gang's Thanksgiving.
Review: I give a lot of credit to this episode's writer, Theresa Mulligan, because this episode had jokes more concentrated than a laugh a minute. My favorite was "Boom-a-Wang," the term given to the dirty picture message response to Marshall's own picture of his junk, that he sent to a complete stranger on a dare. Of course, the focus of the episode was the condition of "the Blitz," and it created many hilariously outrageous spectacles such as a skateboarding dog and a beautiful woman strolling into the room entirely naked (all of which were missed by whoever had "the Blitz" at the given time). "The Blitz" concept is right in line with the spirit of the show, as How I Met Your Mother has deemed countless other terms for otherwise unnamed social phenomena.
While Blitz carried the episode, a narrative where Ted is struggling to see eye to eye with Zoey lacked the same intrigue. This relationship with Zoey has spanned several episodes and it seems to me that Zoey should have either been written out of the show or she and Ted's relationship should have developed to something else by now. The writers are beating this conflict like a dead horse and I am eager to be done with it or have Zoey evolve somehow.
My Grade: B+ (Minus Zoey, this episode is an A+ for unrelenting hilarity)
Reviewer's Quotes: Robert Canning (IGN): "The writing has never fully made me believe or care about their conflict, so when Zoey shows up, it can be difficult to fully engage. But in "Blitzgiving," the curse and the fun flashbacks helped a bit. Seeing Zoey as more of a regular person than the extremes she had been portrayed as is helping to make the character more likeable. I still don't see her and Ted as a couple, but perhaps she can still work on an episode-to-episode basis, like in "Blitzgiving."
Review: I give a lot of credit to this episode's writer, Theresa Mulligan, because this episode had jokes more concentrated than a laugh a minute. My favorite was "Boom-a-Wang," the term given to the dirty picture message response to Marshall's own picture of his junk, that he sent to a complete stranger on a dare. Of course, the focus of the episode was the condition of "the Blitz," and it created many hilariously outrageous spectacles such as a skateboarding dog and a beautiful woman strolling into the room entirely naked (all of which were missed by whoever had "the Blitz" at the given time). "The Blitz" concept is right in line with the spirit of the show, as How I Met Your Mother has deemed countless other terms for otherwise unnamed social phenomena.
While Blitz carried the episode, a narrative where Ted is struggling to see eye to eye with Zoey lacked the same intrigue. This relationship with Zoey has spanned several episodes and it seems to me that Zoey should have either been written out of the show or she and Ted's relationship should have developed to something else by now. The writers are beating this conflict like a dead horse and I am eager to be done with it or have Zoey evolve somehow.
My Grade: B+ (Minus Zoey, this episode is an A+ for unrelenting hilarity)
Reviewer's Quotes: Robert Canning (IGN): "The writing has never fully made me believe or care about their conflict, so when Zoey shows up, it can be difficult to fully engage. But in "Blitzgiving," the curse and the fun flashbacks helped a bit. Seeing Zoey as more of a regular person than the extremes she had been portrayed as is helping to make the character more likeable. I still don't see her and Ted as a couple, but perhaps she can still work on an episode-to-episode basis, like in "Blitzgiving."
Sunday, September 14, 2014
How I Met Your Mother S5 E23 "The Wedding Bride"
Synopsis: A recently released Romantic Comedy movie titled "The Wedding Bride" presents a story eerily similar to Ted's relationship with an ex who left him at the alter for her own ex. The film, written by the husband of the woman Ted almost married, makes Ted out to be horrible and selfish marriage destroyer and Ted struggles to deal with the praise given to the film by his friends and current girlfriend.
Review: A significant amount of this episode's content was the movie within the episode, "The Wedding Bride." Footage of the fictional movie were actually produced for the episode with its own cast and it gave the writers a plethora of opportunities to poke fun at some stereotypical elements of romantic comedies, i.e. the love triangle where one clearly horrible man and one gallant, altogether righteous man fight over the love of an indecisive "wedding bride." The shear fact that there was actual "Wedding Bride" movie excerpts in this episode was the ideal way to hit the point home that this movie made Ted look like a horrible person and it made his situation that much more comical. It was also hilarious to have Ted's friends constantly raving about "The Wedding Bride" despite his expression that it made him very upset.
This episode also dealt with the idea of figurative baggage as it exists in a romantic relationship. The writers employed a visual device of actual pieces of luggage appearing on-screen with phrases written on them such as: "still in love with my ex" or "huge credit card debt." The film within the TV episode as well as this visual gag used throughout the episode set this one among the very best "How I Met Your Mother" episodes.
My Grade: A
Reviewer's Quotes:
Amanda Sloane Murray (IGN): "Some top-notch stunt casting, including several working romantic comedy actors, and an excellent job from the regular cast, rounded out this episode into one we'll be looking back to as one of How I Met Your Mother's best."
Review: A significant amount of this episode's content was the movie within the episode, "The Wedding Bride." Footage of the fictional movie were actually produced for the episode with its own cast and it gave the writers a plethora of opportunities to poke fun at some stereotypical elements of romantic comedies, i.e. the love triangle where one clearly horrible man and one gallant, altogether righteous man fight over the love of an indecisive "wedding bride." The shear fact that there was actual "Wedding Bride" movie excerpts in this episode was the ideal way to hit the point home that this movie made Ted look like a horrible person and it made his situation that much more comical. It was also hilarious to have Ted's friends constantly raving about "The Wedding Bride" despite his expression that it made him very upset.
This episode also dealt with the idea of figurative baggage as it exists in a romantic relationship. The writers employed a visual device of actual pieces of luggage appearing on-screen with phrases written on them such as: "still in love with my ex" or "huge credit card debt." The film within the TV episode as well as this visual gag used throughout the episode set this one among the very best "How I Met Your Mother" episodes.
My Grade: A
Reviewer's Quotes:
Amanda Sloane Murray (IGN): "Some top-notch stunt casting, including several working romantic comedy actors, and an excellent job from the regular cast, rounded out this episode into one we'll be looking back to as one of How I Met Your Mother's best."
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