Best of the Week: 18th-24th Oct
A weekly post with the purpose of highlighting the shows I watched during the week and how I ranked them. It’s not intended as a list of all shows on the air, only those that I actually watched during the week. Watching something on Monday that aired on Friday won’t make the cut.
Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.
I know I’m a little late with this post but I had a supremely lazy weekend of sleeping, playing video games and watching movies. I finally saw Moon and also watched The Taking of Pelham 123, Surrogates, and GI Joe, as well as a bunch of other flicks I’ve seen before. All in all an enjoyable weekend. As for TV this past week, I think it was a very solid week of shows. Vastly better than the week before. I guess the only downers this week was the very average South Park and that no episode of Fringe was aired.
1. Dollhouse – “Belonging” (2×04) It’s a shame that there aren’t many viewers of Dollhouse because it truly is a great show. They seem to be getting further and further away from the standalone episodes each week, adding in more mythology and showing some of the master plan. Unfortunately I don’t think Joss Whedon’s ultimate vision is going to be realised thanks to the assholes at Fox. Already limited by a commitment to the initial 13 episodes with no mention of a back 9, Fox has now confirmed that the show is being pulled from the schedule for November sweeps. It won’t be long until Dollhouse is added to the long list of Buffy/Angel alum run shows on Fox that have been cancelled too soon.
As for this weeks episode it was a showcase for Dichen Lachman with Eliza Dushku taking a backseat to allow us to see the story of Sierra/Priya and how she ended up in the Dollhouse. Fran Kranz and Olivia Williams once again delivered superb performances and their interactions hinted at the development of their relationship for the future we saw in “Epitaph One”. I really think the thing I’ll miss most about Dollhouse when it’s cancelled is the work of Fran Kranz. He’s simply amazing as Topher. Who’d have thought that Topher would become one of the emotional centers of the show. No Ballard this week but Boyd stepped up in his absence and helped Topher and Priya dispose of their little problem. It was nice to see Miss DeWitt impliedly approve of the situation. It showed that she’s in line with their thinking and does indeed have a heart. Her interactions and concern for Topher were once again very touching and I’m really hoping that their relationship will develop before the show ends. 8/10
2. 30 Rock – “Into the Crevasse” (4×02) A definite improvement on last weeks season premiere. Some absolute knockout lines, I especially liked Liz saying that the kid she mentored in college taught her how to use a tampon. Tracy shooting a porno of Liz’s life was also excellent but I’d have preferred it if that was a more significant part of the episode. Then again I love porn and Tina Fey so I’m probably a little biased. It was fantastic to see Will Arnett back as Devin Banks too. God I love that guy. He does such great work opposite Alec Baldwin. Why oh why can’t he be added to the cast. 8/10
3. How I Met Your Mother – “Duel Citizenship” (5×05) I’m not sure why it’s “duel” and not “dual”, I can’t recall any kind of battle taking place other than the subtle one for Marshall’s loyalty but Lily wasn’t aware that there was even a competition between her and Ted over Marshall. Weird title for the episode. It was a nice return to form for the show after last weeks terrible ep. Great to see Barney be his old un-neutered self and not be forced into changing just because he’s in a relationship. The best HIMYM episodes are the ones where each character is given something equally funny to do, and this episode achieved it. And as someone who bases his desire to travel to the US at least 50% for the food, I can totally understand Marshall and Ted’s desire to go to Chicago for pizza. 7.5/10
4. Bored to Death – “The Case of the Lonely White Dove” (1×05) Much better than the previous episode as there was a distinct case and out of that came some nice comedy. This episode was certainly more noirish than recent ones which is my main attraction to the show. I loved that George was experimenting with being gay as a way to increase female readers for his magazine. It was cool to see Romany Malco too. I loved him in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Zach Galifianakis continues to rule. 7/10
5. Parks & Recreation – “Kaboom” (2×06) I hold this show to high standards and compared to the previous episode featuring Fred Armisen this was a step down. It may rate the same as Bored to Death this week but whilst Parks was a step down from last week, Bored to Death was a definite improvement. That’s why they are ranked in this order. I guess the biggest thing this episode did was fill in the pit so that isn’t saying much. Another negative was the distinct lack of screen time for Aubrey Plaza. I’d grown used to her increased presence so far this season and it was a bit of a bummer that she didn’t do much this week. 7/10
6. Survivor – “This is the Man Test” (19×06) This was advertised as a shocking episode and it was apparent from the ads that someone got hurt pretty bad. I’m glad it was black Russell and not white Russell ‘cos white Russell is the best contestant since Tom and Steph. I really thought the injury was gonna be violent and bloody so I was a little disappointed that it took the form of passing out. It was kinda cool to see him almost dead on his feet though. Kinda like when a boxer takes a massive hit and is knocked out before he even hits the ground. None of what I just wrote should be interpreted as racism by the way. I’d have been equally happy if it was Shambo. 6/10
7. Community – “Football, Feminism and You” (1×06) I’m a bigger fan of Annie than Britta so it was nice that she got some increased screen time this week. A stronger storyline for Troy was also a welcome surprise. It’s nice that they’re not just focusing on Jeff and Britta. To be honest, if there has to be romantic element to the show I hope it’s between Annie and Troy, not Jeff and Britta. Hell, even Pierce and Abed would be more interesting. Speaking of Abed, Danny Pudi did another stellar job this week. Damn that guy’s funny. 6/10
8. Dexter – “Dex Takes a Holiday” (4×04) Not much in the way of Lithgow creepiness this week. In fact it wasn’t that great of an episode. What saved it was the shooting of Lundy and Deb. I figured that Lundy was gonna die sometime this season, but I though it would be a little later in the season at the hand of Trinity (especially with Trinity’s third victim being a male beaten to death). In all likelihood it was Trinity who shot him, but that’s not how I expected Lundy to go out. As I’m writing this I’ve yet to see the latest episode which will probably shed more light on the circumstances of the shooting. On a side note, when is Dexter gonna realise that married life isn’t for him and ditch Rita and those damn kids? What happened to the guy we met in the 1st season who had no emotions whatsoever? I miss him. 6/10
9. South Park – “W.T.F.” (13×10) You know what, this episode was so damn average that I can’t think of anything to say other than it disappointed me to no end. 5/10
