The Monday Roundup

Monday, it’s a packed night when it comes to TV for me. So let’s get started

Chuck

Another good episode, with a strong primary story line and a very entertaining sub-plot. I always like it when Buy More employees are integrated into the secret agent portion of the episode, and this time its Morgan’s turn. Morgan’s stalking has got him in some trouble, and its up to Chuck to save his life. Naturally, Chuck saves the day and everything goes back to normal, well, as normal as Chucks new life is at least.

I really enjoyed the “Jeffster” band auditions for Sarah and Awsome’s upcoming wedding. Their rendition of “Africa” by Toto was actually pretty good, and I hope they are able to cover another song at the wedding, assuming they scored the gig!

And once again, Sarah and Chucks relationship (or lack there of) is on full display. Either it be Sarah’s tears when she thought Chuck went the way of the Nerd Herd car (how many have those have been blown up anyway?) or the zoom in on them handing hands at the end of the episode, I think this issue will be addressed completely in the coming episodes.


Heroes

Looking into HRG’s past once again, I feel as though we’ve been there, done that, too many times already. Now I went into this episode expecting this, but I expected more. Matt looking into his mind revealed very little. Heroes is focusing on very few storylines per episode this volume, which is a good thing I guess. Too bad these days I am not getting excited when a new episode airs.

And for the ending, with Matt painting the future only to reveal a future with another huge explosion in a public place…..talk about reusing old storylines.

I know the show wanted to go back to the old days, but this is just getting ridiculous.

House

What can I say about House this week? The case was weak and the Foreman/Thirteen relationship is still not working for me. The really only redeeming factor for this episode was House’s problems. Its good to see him walking around without a cane.

I really don’t know what to say about this show, but at least it was better than Heroes.

Not the best Monday I’ve seen, but at least Chuck didn’t disappoint.

East Bound and Down - "Pilot" Review

A new show? On HBO? Come on I have to give it a chance!

East Bound and Down, a new comedy starring emerging star Danny McBride (re. Best part of the show, it being on premium television means that swears are more than welcome, and this show seems to take full advantage of this fact.

So, in the pilot episode of this show, Kenny Powers, our protagonist of many flaws, once lived the life of a pro athlete. Unfortunately after making it big, he goes on a downward spiral until he finally hits rock bottom.

The montage of his career in the big league was hilarious, and referring to New York as “Jew York” was a highlight for sure.

Moving in with his brother so far has set up for some hilarious moments. His interactions with his wife and the kids are already comedic gold (especially that night he came home after the bar).

When it comes to this show, so far, so good! I can't wait until next week.

It should be noted that Will Farrell is the executive producer of the show, and I can not wait until he guest stars.

A TV Week in Review

Here is a quick review of what transpired in all the shows I watch this past week

Monday Night- By far the busiest night in television, with Chuck, Heroes, House, and even Gossip Girl (yeah I know…) on the slate. That Monday marked the return of Chuck and Heroes after a month or two, and NBC said that this was the time to start watching Heroes again. Now I didn’t think this episode blew me away, but it could set up for a more interesting story minus any time travel. I find House to be not as good as it usually is season, and that trend continued this week, unfortunately. The Foreman and “13” relationship doesn’t feel right and Cuddy pulling pranks over House was the only redeeming factor in this weeks episode. Gossip Girl, I do not know why I like this show, but I do. Kind of like the reason why I liked The O.C., and this weeks episode proved to be full of drama, drama, drama.

Tuesday- This is the day I wish House was on, but alas, poor scheduling in my opinion. Fringe is the only show I tune into on Tuesdays, but I’m not too into it. Interesting episode, but ultimately not the greatest there has been.

Wednesday – Oh Lost, just a gem. Easily the best part of my Wednesday evening and this week was awesome. I really like the time travel component in this show compared to Heroes, as it sets up for some interesting encounters, including a young Danielle.

Thursday – 30 Rock and The Office, what more can I ask for? This week I found both shows to be strong, but 30 Rock was just so much better. All of the storylines were amazing and we even got a new guest star in Jon Hamm from Mad Men fame. Alec Baldwin was brilliant as Jack Donaghy and his Spanish counterpart. In The Office, it said “to be continued” and is it just me or is this a first for the series?

Weekly Awards
Best Episode – 30 Rock – too good of an episode
Best Line – Tracy from 30 Rock – “Have you ever tried Scotch? It’s terrible!” I really liked this line, almost to a fault.
And I can’t think of any more awards, maybe next week…..
All together, good week for TV.

Chuck - “Chuck versus the Third Dimension” Review

Charlie Pace! I mean…Dominic Monaghan guest stars on the special 3D episode of Chuck. Fresh from Lost fame, he comes into the world of Chuck as a rock star (sigh!). Seems like poor Charlie is being typecast, but at least he didn’t come to Chuck as a hobbit.

So onto the main attraction of the episode, the third dimension part of the show. Unfortunately I can not review this part of the episode, since not everyone got these special glasses. It was not unbearable to watch the episode without the glasses, but it did take some getting used to.

The storyline for this episode was decent, but I really preferred the Buy More portion. Jerome Bettis guest starred as the new employee / friend of Big Mike. That’s the second retired NFL player to make an appearance on an episode of Chuck this season (the other being Michael Strahan). Funny thing is I wouldn’t know Bettis was a football player if he were not on the Super Bowl pre-game panel yesterday. The challenges to see who Morgan would take to the concert were fantastic, especially the use of “The Final Countdown” during the Subway eating contest.

The plot of most Chuck episodes are always packed with entertainment with the promise of laughs along the way, and it’s good to see that the team behind this show continue to do a great job.

So which is the better band, the Tyler Martin band or Drive Shaft? (Sorry if you don’t get the reference, just watch Lost!)

The Office - "Stress Relief" Review

Why can’t I be a critic at the caliber of Jim and Pam?

The lead-out show for the Super Bowl, not bad at all. Does this mean that “The Office” is NBC’s flagship program? If I were a betting man (which I am), I’d say yes. And to those who are wondering, I went with the Arizona Cardinals, BOOO!

Well, here we go with the review of The Office episode “Stress Relief.” It’s a good episode, but I always think it is hard to justify an hour long episode unless it is a finale. NBC marketed the episode with the aid of the guest stars Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman. My thoughts are that this was to appeal to the mainstream audience, and in the end, it just didn’t fit in with the show…at all.

Dwight’s antics obviously went a bit too far, and it was good to see that corporate actually knows what goes on at this branch. Poor Stanley though, although I do hope this health condition doesn’t impact the character too much in the future.

This was all a lead in to the roast of Michael Scott. I thought this could have been brilliant, but only two characters speeches stick out to me, Pam and Andy. Pam’s shot at the size of Michaels “thing” with the aid of the various iPod sizes was perfect. Andy, portrayed by the musically talented Ed Helms had two good numbers in this episode, but his original at the roast was a gem.

It’s too bad every hour long episode seems to be filled with, well, filler. In the end though, this was a decent episode.

On a side note, did anyone see the new Amy Poehler TV show commercial? It’s created by Greg Daniels, who co-created the US version of The Office. Parks and Recreation, I’ll tune in I guess.

On another side note, where can I find some of those fancy 3-D glasses I need to fully appreciate tomorrows Chuck episode?

The Office - "Prince Family Pape

Looks like Michael Scott finally became his alter ego…agent Michael Scorn! He goes undercover at a local Mom and Pop paper store in order to undermine them. Oddly enough, he succeeds, but it seems at a price. Personally, I did not want Michael to give Wallace that client list. Too bad Dwight’s running speed is somewhere between a snake and a mongoose.

An ethics bomb was dropped on Michael this episode, and he had to decide on whether to follow his heart or not. It’s a shame he did not make the choice himself, would have been an emotional scene.

As for the subplot...weak! The debate did not really develop and offered few laughs. Considering everyone but Michael and Dwight were involved, this was a huge disappointment. This part of the episode came across as pointless.

Luckily the main plot line was strong enough comically and plot-wise to keep this episode interesting and in my good books.

The Office - "The Duel" Review

Tried, tested, and true, the cold openings on The Office rarely disappoint. Whether it be the classic Jim dressing up as Dwight scene or even yesterdays speed competition, these scenes always seem to have lasting value even though they are not usually part of the plot line.
“The Duel” continued where the last episode left off, where everyone but Andy finds out about Dwight and Angela’s secret relationship. As the title suggests, Andy eventually does find out and it comes to an old-fashioned brouhaha.
The fight thankfully delivered the laughs and a good plot twist. The silent Prius joke was classic and the verbal blows were just as good as real punches. In the end, it seems there was no victor in this love triangle as it looks everyone will go their separate ways. Poor ol’ Angela ends up with no one. Hopefully this sets up for an interesting upcoming plot.
Surprisingly, Michael Scott was not present during most of this ordeal, and his storyline was kind of weak in comparison to the rest of the episode. And the end where he was addressing the camera in front of a building, you could tell he was in front of a green screen. This is odd because it seems like usually they make the trip to New York to film scenes there.
Overall this episode was golden! Hopefully the upcoming episodes continue with this same quality.