An old series making a return, The Week That Was (aka TW²) is a brief look at the various shows I've watched last week. It's an easier way for me to condense all the fall shows and write a little about each one, especially when dealing with American sitcoms with their relatively short length and light nature.

As always when dealing with this type of thing spoilers will abound, so be aware!

Community:
There will be more on NBC's new sitcom Community later this week. Suffice to say here it's good enough that it warrants it's own post which will appear tomorrow.

The Office:
The returning season premiere was both exciting and a little flat, I'm always thrilled to see The Office back on the small screen but on the whole the first episode wasn't that great. It was a little light on laughs and had Michael going a little too far beyond the normal expected behaviour for him. Fine one of his staff members is having an affair, but it's a bit of a stretch to have Michael going that far over it.

On the other hand, the rumours he generated to create a smoke screen were pretty hilarious, but in essence the episode was just a vehicle for revealing Pam's pregnancy to the

The second episode on the other hand (The Meeting), was more on pitch. The opening joke (Michael asking Oscar for advice on what to do when having a colonoscopy) was hilarious. Likewise the episode itself had plenty of great moments, I did enjoy Michael pulling out Toby's performance review for Jim and reading it - a nice subtle reminder of Toby's dislike for Jim. The episode ended with an interesting development as well, should be a season to watch!


How I Met Your Mother:
Another great episode from the little engine that could. Ever since I stumbled apon HIMYM by accident about two years ago it's done nothing but delight me with the comedy and performances from the cast. This episode was no exception, throwing a fun curveball at the viewer before settling into more expected directions. The whip was inspired genius and even Ted was given a bit of a chance to be funny and entertaining, he's normally the show's straight man - being set up by the situations rather than just being oddball (like the rest of the cast).

I can't help but wonder how many more years are left in the story, they've teased things out well over the first four years, but I'm not sure how I'll feel if we get to the end of this season and haven't found out who the mother is. Will we get five seasons or seven seasons of HIMYM?

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
After the amazing season Curb had previously I was left wondering what direction it would take if it returned. Then I heard about the superb idea of the Seinfeld reunion show, but I was still unsure if it would be good.

Thankfully it is, it's absolutely awesome. The show continues to deliver awkward moments, comedy and heart (well, misguided heart) at the same standard it's always managed. The build up to the reunion arc has already started with Cheryl mentioning how much she preferred it when Larry was working (and that was what lead to their break up). I frankly can't wait to see the gang all back together on the screen, especially in Curb. While Julia and Jason have both appeared in the show before (and Jerry cameoed in the brilliant 'Producers arc') it's still going to be amazing to see them all together once more.

And has Jeff Garlin (Jeff Greene) lost some weight? Cause he's looking a lot more svelt now!

On the DVD front I continue to work my way through the second season of The Sopranos - more on that once I've completed it. But I really enjoyed the first disc and the direction the show's taken, and I'm finishing up watching the third season of 10 Items or Less (more on that soon). In addition I purchased seasons 1, 4 and 5 of Ally McBeal - they were available for such ridiculously low prices that I felt they were worth it - I'll watch them at some point in the future.