I missed this feature last week, mostly because I had guests around on the Sunday and as such had less time to spend writing. That is in part why last week was rather update light, but ho hum we must press onward.

Community: "Debate 109"

If you're sick of my praising Community already then I'd skip onto the next entry in this, because this week's episode was another huge hit for me. It's been a long time since I've watched a sitcom which clicks so completely and feels like it's speaking to me. The last sitcom to make such an impression was Arrested Development, and while Community isn't at that level - it feels like it could get there.

I'm really enjoying the way the show is building on it's past episodes, keeping characters who could easily have been one off guest stars in the rotation. Including the awesome John Michael Higgins, who made a welcome return as Professor Whitman and the lovely Holland Roden as "girl" (second appearance for her).

The two main stories split up the usual pairings somewhat by having Pierce "hypnotise" Britta, Jeff team up with Annie in the debate competition (have I mentioned how awesome Alison Brie is? One to watch there) and the exceptionally amusing Shirley/Abed B Storyline which had her constantly accusing him of witchcraft and wizardry.

As for the end of the episode with Sandeep Parikh and Manley Henry (at least I believe it was them). Just brilliant.

The Office: "Murder"

In contrast The Office just wasn't on form this week, I can't put my finger on why. On the surface it should have been a fantastic episode, you've got everyone (apart from Oscar and Jim) taking part in a murder mystery game instated by Michael to try and distract attention from a possible company bancrupcy. This results in ridiculous accents, accompanied by pedantic correction of ridiculous accents and a chance for Dwight to get over enthusiastic about the entire thing.

But they are moving the Andy/Erin thing forward (haltingly), but they seem to be drifting back towards relying on the tired will they/won't they trope. Thinking about it, that might be the reason why the episode didn't do it for me. We spent ages waiting for the Pam/Jim story to resolve and I for one am not interested in walking into another version of that involving Andy and Erin. Still it's early days yet, they might move things forward with a more reasonable pace this time.

30 Rock: "The Problem Solvers"

I am disappointed with the direction this season has taken, and this episode was no exception. What happened to the 30 Rock I know and love? I do adore Jane Krakowski, that is all.

Parks and Recreation: "The Camel"

I picked up P&R last week and got up to speed with it this week, so I'm afraid I'll be skipping past all the episodes which have already aired in previous weeks and going ahead from this one. Which was by all accounts a great episode. I adore the ongoing series of 'inappropriate murals' which the show has and focusing around one - or the act of replacing it at least - was a lot of fun.

This was also the first episode to actually make Tom a likable character for me, while he is clearly a well written and amusing individual I find Aziz Ansari irritating to a high degree. This week though his obsession with the abstract painting he commissioned was endearing and funny.

Elsewhere it was the Ron and Andy storyline which did it for me, those two characters are brilliant and putting them together then creating such an awkward moment was hilarious. Especially afterwards where Andy's desperate attempts to avoid Ron just result in him spinning on the spot before having a faulting and slightly humiliating conversation. But the crown in the cap was Mark's suggestion for the winning mural, a completely inoffensive 'old man in park' which was delivered with such cynical intent that it was impossible not to love it.

Oh and bashing Jerry's frankly brilliant "murinal" because he mispronounced the word was hilarious, especially as he had a fantastic idea which would have certainly won.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: "Officer Krukpe"

Two episodes away from the "Seinfeld" episode and we had a pretty decent, but not overwhelming, episode of Curb. Myself I'm enjoying the Seinfeld moments more than the Curb ones now, which isn't a good thing for the show if I'm honest. It's reminding me just how great Seinfeld was - and the two auditions for the part of George's wife demonstrated to me how I prefer the pitch and pace of Seinfeld over Curb. Don't get me wrong, Curb is great, but it's no Seinfeld.

How I Met Your Mother: "The Rough Patch"

Not a great episode on the whole, it was entertaining, but it didn't feel like it brought much to the show beyond the ridiculously hilarious "fat Barney" (A nod to Friends and fat young Monica there?) Still that was a lot of funny and alongside Lily and Marshall's secret porn obsession it was pretty good.

The end of the episode was amazing.

Doctor Who will have it's own seperate post.

Other News:
I'm making a big push to finish watching the first season of Sons of Anarchy so I can deliver a verdict on it. I also received Moon last week and while I don't write about films that often I think it bares repeating to say that it's an excellent film with plenty to recommend.

I've also started to watch Legend of the Seeker, I've read the books since the first one was released over here - I'm not exactly a fan of the series, at times the writing is stunning but at others it's pretty flat and Terry Goodkind tends to rely on the same tropes over and over - so this means I'm actually pretty open to a re-envisioning of the story. Only seen two episodes at the time of writing this though, so I need to hang fire on judging it.

The last thing is a quick quesiton for those of you who care. I happen to already own the entire collection of The Shield on DVD, but I keep staring at the collected edition box set and being tempted to purchase it. Would it be overkill to own the series twice?
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The usual sitcom suspects are all present, Dexter was planned for watching this weekend but was bumped due to real life commitments. From what I've heard I'm definitely interested in catching up, I have some holiday time I need to spend before the end of the year, so I'll probably use that for doing so.

It's also been hard to get excited about Dexter because I'm watching and writing about the third season of The Wire for the third part of my Watching the Wire feature - it's my favourite season and as great as Dexter is, it does struggle when I'm watching at the same time as The Wire. I know I shouldn't compare them, but it does happen and Dexter always comes off unfavourably - which spoils my enjoyment of Dexter. I know this time last year I was watching the final season of The Shield and Dexter was positively awful in comparison. I know it was a weak season for Dexter, and comparing it to the strongest season of The Shield (and The Shield's swan song) is completely unfair. But it happened, and as such I'm trying to avoid that happening with the fourth season.

Community:
"Introduction to Statistics"

The episode was so great that it made it into my favourite Halloween episode list on Saturday. I shan't repeat myself too much here - I think it's enough to say that Community presses all my buttons comedy-wise. A great cast with fantastic stories and jokes. That is all.

The Office:
"Koi Pond"

For a show which has managed such amazing Halloween episodes in the past The Office didn't really try this year. It gave us a Halloween themed cold opening and then moved onto the main story, I guess the writers didn't really have much they wanted to involve Halloween in this year and as such they only included the opening skit to make it a Halloween episode.

For once I did think that everyone overreacted a little too far to Michael's costume of a hanged man, Halloween should be about scaring kids - within safe boundaries which do not put them in physical danger. I do think children are a little too protected these days and a good scare is not a bad thing for them. (Talking about suicide is a different matter though, even in the context of "it's wrong".) I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad that the present Michael had hanging over his crotch was not where the children were supposed to collect their candy from. Aborted joke maybe?

The rest of the episode was reasonable fair, I didn't really enjoy Pam and Andy out on sales calls, it felt exceptionally forced and unpleasant. Andy's a great character, but at times the writers take him a little too far along the scale and place him in overly creepy land. Considering what's happened to him it's not surprising he reacted the way he did, but ugh. It was not pleasant to watch.

On the other hand Michael falling into the Koi pond was pleasant to watch, as was the revelation about Jim's reaction at the time. This co-manager thing is really working well for The Office, I wasn't sure it would - but it's great.

Last of all, I did like the final pay off from the Pam/Andy storyline with Pam talking to Erin about Andy. Erin's just a lovely breath of fresh air in the show, she's nice, lovely and doesn't do the unpleasant things everyone else seems to get involved in. I could tolerate an Andy/Erin matching, but I'm pretty sure Andy would botch things in his usual indomitable fashion.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"The Bare Midriff"

An odd one for Curb, it travelled off into toilet humor - something I don't normally associate the show with. I'm not sure why to be honest, the shows first ever episode is titled "The Pant Tent" and is about erections. But I think it's the utterly slapstick way Larry's peeing is depicted, the amount of splash and the volume of the stream is ridiculous.

Still, the episode was frankly fantastic - if exceptionally Seinfeld in it's feel. Larry is falling into the role of George when Jerry's around on screen, this is not surprising as George is based on Larry, but it is giving the show a different feel. You could probably swap out the Curb theme and put in the Seinfeld music stings instead and you'd have an episode of Seinfeld. This, of course, is not a complaint - it's an observation.

30 Rock
"Stone Mountain"

An episode with some good moments, but on the whole it was pretty mediocre. As observed over at Cultural Learnings (a site I recommend you consider adding to your reading list) 30 Rock is very uneven in quality when you're dealing with their holiday specials. This one was not great.

The better moments included a few throwaway gags like Jack McBrayer appearing in the background as a "Female Kenneth" and a "Mustachioed Kenneth" and the always entertaining Tracy Jordan method of just setting him off in a direction riven with paranoia. But it didn't grip me too hard, Halloween felt like a barely present event. Now you don't have to do a Halloween featured episode in every sitcom, that's not a law
(though maybe it should be), but if you do include it either embrace the event or have a short segment on it and then move on. Don't have it sitting about like an elephant in the room all episode without handling it correctly.

30 Rock seems to have slipped a little in it's standard this year. But it's early days, so I'm hoping it'll pick up again.


In other news How I Met Your Mother wasn't on this week (so no return of the Slutty Pumpkin, which is something I hope for every year), and on the DVD front I've just been enjoying my way through the first three seasons of Futurama. Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad are still 'to be watched' and 'Parks and Recreation' has made it's way onto my to be watched list as light entertainment.

I was going to pick up the fourth season of Bones, but it was completely sold out everywhere I looked for it, there were piles and piles of Tru Blood and Lost season 5s around, but absolutely no Bones Season 4. I found this amusing for some reason.
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As it's Halloween and I have spent my time enjoying several Halloween specials today I thought I'd take a respective and look at some of my favourite ones. Without any further build up, here they are.



A complete newcomer to this list (relatively speaking). But, having just watched it for the first time before starting this list it's already become a firm favourite. In part because I adore the show and it's witty, intelligent form of comedy. But it's mostly because of one particular character in this episode. Abed's (Danny Pudi) fantastic performance as the Batman, which was close to pitch perfect vocally (Christian Bale Batman) and crackingly authentic in his movements as well. He pretty much lurked around for most of the episode on the sidelines, but the final three scenes were nothing short of hilarious.

The rest of the episode as is just superb both before the costume party and during it. Pierce arriving as 'The Beastmaster' and later freaking out on a trip had some fantastic moments and the main story surrounding Jeff was a great example of just how far his character has come in just a few episodes. He's still cynical, selfish and prone to discarding people when there's something he wants in his sights. But he's also now coming to care about the people who depend on him and is willing to bend for them, even to his own cost.

Still, it's "Batman's" closing monologue which propelled the episode from good into amazing.

This episode is the reason why I started watching How I Met Your Mother in the first place, I just caught it by happenstance when flicking through the channels a few years back and decided to start watching. It's from very early on in the shows run and it was one of the first times where the "is she the mother" angle was played up for great effect (outside of the pilot psych out).

Every year on Halloween there's a party on the apartment roof and Ted heads up there to try and meet the 'slutty pumpkin' again. A woman who was present one year wearing a pumpkin outfit with inappropriately placed holes. He got her number and then promptly lost it, so each year he heads back up there wearing the same (now completely out of context) costume in the hopes of finding her.

It's a great episode, showing a rather pathetic and romantic side to Ted. But it also plays well with Barney, his constant attempts to lift Ted away from this needy act and instead get him to head to a decent party become more and more entertaining. As do his costumes, especially the Top Gun one and of course the Penguin.


Because of the Wonder Woman twirl. Oh yes. I really have nothing more to say here except that it was a really unexpected episode for the show to pull, and it worked.



Say what you like about the various Treehouse of Horror episodes, I enjoy them a lot. But my personal favourite is the triple bill from the third season with the cursed Krusty doll, King Kong homage and Dial Z for Zombies - which is just about my favourite Simpsons moment of all time. Homer running down the corridor with a shotgun shooting various famous zombies who have no reason for reanimating in Springfield at all is just delicious.

I still do prefer Futurama's Anthologies of Interest on the whole, but Treehouse III will always remain my favourite animated Halloween episode - sorry Charlie Brown!



This episode wasn't exactly the Halloween episode for Supernatural, but it was released in October and is one of several episodes which shows just how special Supernatural really is. They often mix things up and homage the genre the show is built upon with great love and respect. Episodes like Ghostfacers, the Groundhog Episode "Mystery Spot" and the Evil Dead homage "Hollywood Babylon" simultaneously lampoon and affectionately pay tribute to the mediums of film and horror.

But it's Monster Movie which tops the shop, filmed entirely in black and white with a huge range of references to the old classic black and white horror b-movies it's an episode which is both Supernatural down to the core and something entirely different as well. The Winchester lads arrive in a small town which is being menaced by not just one, not two but three classic movie villains. It's ripping fun.



It's almost obligatory that this one makes it onto the list, but I'm not putting it on here because of that. It's a genuine and classic episode of a show which pretty much ran like a Halloween special every week. "Fear Itself" is another contender often mentioned in these kind of lists but I personally give Halloween the nod, in part because of the fantastic fun we have when each character takes on a new persona thanks to the outfits they're wearing. But it's mostly because this is the episode where we get to first see the steel and iron which hides behind the tweedish impertinence which makes up our initial perception of Giles. When his mask slips and we get to see the Ripper it's a great moment for his character and a great moment for the show.


This episode came in just the second season of the show, but it proved that The Office's American counterpart was capable of some stunning and subtle comedic insights of it's own. From the shrewd nod at the laziness women display when they turn up dressed as a cat, through Jim's rather amusing costume and all the way to Michael's second head berating Dwight and the attempted mind tricks - it's nothing short of classic Halloween and classic "Office". It's just a shame that this year's episode doesn't follow in that tradition.

Oh and Dwight's costume is one of the best, only beaten by last year's Joker look.


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I'm getting towards watching Dexter honest! But I have sidelined watching it for another week, in fact I'm now considering watching the show as a marathon after Christmas, but we'll see.

As for the rest, I've been keeping up to date with everything pretty well.

Community:
"Football, feminism and you"

Just to continue to beat that drum, if you're not watching Community you should be. This week's episode was another close to pitch perfect piece with Jeff playing a bit more of a defensive role than normal after the Dean blackmails him in order to take advantage of Jeff's influence over Troy. Either Jeff convinces Troy to join the College football team (named The Human Beings) or pictures of him attending the college are mailed out to various professional firms (including law firms). Revealing that Jeff's been forced to attend what is a pretty crappy college and tanking his future.

On the other hand Annie doesn't want Troy to start playing football again, she crushed after him all through high school and is just now getting to know him. This kicks off a tug of war between Jeff and Annie over Troy, both of whom have selfish reasons for wanting to dictate what Troy does.

Mix in two entertaining side plots, one with Britta learning how to connect with other women in the bathroom and the other having Pierce and Dean Pelton trying to come up with a racially sensitive human being mascot - and things are just great. As for Abed? His "Aspergers" plays up to the point that he decides he's been too prolific in last week's episode (his words) and he will lay low for this episode. Enjoyable fourth wall shaking from what is a pretty entertaining character - and sure enough, he's hardly seen in the episode.

Seriously, why on Earth are you not watching this show?

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"Denise Handicap"

I don't know about this week's Curb - Curb has two settings for me, immensely enjoyable or frustrating with occasional funny. While last week's episode was in the enjoyable category, humiliating without being overly filled with irritants (just enough to keep it fun), this week's was. Well. Eh.

It just felt rather predictable, while often you can see where Curb is going to take you, and I enjoy that because it makes Larry's inevitable fall more amusing, this one really felt like it was just rehashing old ground with new paint. It had a few good moments, Rosie O'Donnell and Larry fighting in public over which of them gets to pay the cheque (they both wanted to) was a lot of fun, as was the beach moment with the Blackberry. But the main plot with Anita Barone? It just lacked, well everything.

30 Rock:
"Into the Crevasse"

Last week's season opener was a little uneven and not exactly inspiring, this weeks was a lot better but still not up to the standard of the 30 Rock we know and love. The big part of the funny was brought by the fantastic Will Arnett who plays Devon Banks with such aplomb that it's impossible not to enjoy the moments where he and Jack rant at each other.

The other funny parts include Frank breaking down over his inability to evenly microwave a burrito and his ranting at Liz over her "deal breaker novel" ruining his chances with a woman once she saw his action figures. In fact most of the men in the office were taking out their frustrations on Liz after their significant others had read the book and become aware of their failings. Tracy's reaction was (as always) priceless.

On the other hand I'm already a little tired with the two 'stars' Tracy and Jenna both acting up over the decision to add another actor to the show, Josh has already walked out so I don't see why we need both Tracy and Jenna acting in bizarre fashions (well more so than usual). Jane Krakowski is fantastic, 30 Rock needs to make better use of her. Having said that, the Iceland filming/night/werewolf fiasco was a funny concept.

The Office:
"The Lover"

The Office continues to develop, building on that wonderful Niagara episode with a stronger offering than last week's episode of 'Mafia'. This one has Jim and Pam returning to the office to find out that Michael has a new woman in his life - Jim finds out first that it's Pam's mother.

Pam's reaction when she finds out is just priceless and it sparks off a host of fantastic moments, including Michael being kind to Toby in order to try and get Pam to stop haranguing him (Toby's talking head moment on this is priceless, poor guy)

There's also a fantastic callback to the previous episode - with Ryan spending the entire episode wearing a flash gangster-esk hat without comment all the way through it and then refusing to let Kevin know where the hat came from because 'he can't say'.

The Office is living evidence that the will they/won't they trope can always be resolved and still keep the show entertaining. So Bones, you've got no excuse now - resolve the Booth/Bones thing this season, we're tired of it, K?

How I Met Your Mother:
"Duel Citizenship"

I'm not really sure what to say about the latest HIMYM, it was pretty much a solid affair but nothing special. There were a few good moments, mostly involving the caffeine laced soft drink 'Tantrum' but it was the first episode this season which felt like filler. Nothing overly funny, nothing particularly bad - it was just there and then done.

In other television related things I'm continuing to work on the third season of Watching The Wire, which starts this Sunday - this does mean that I'll be down to three posts during most weeks, but there will also be the Wire update on Sundays to make up for that. I'm also still (slowly) watching Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad - but due to a friend forcing me, I'm now also watching Ally McBeal (and I wouldn't admit it to her, but it's a fun show because I like David E. Kelley's dialog). And I have been keeping up with Family Guy/American Dad, but the episodes aren't worth commenting on, they just occupy time and space with mild entertainment.
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I'm afraid I'm still being lax where Dexter is concerned. I'm now three episodes behind with my viewing, I can't put my finger exactly on why I'm behind with watching it - I think it's a combination of my disappointment over the third season and the sheer amount of television I'm behind on already.

I have queued up to watch the following:
The Sopranos Season 3, 4, 5 and 6
Sons of Anarchy (Halfway through season one)
Breaking Bad - Season 2

And I'm back watching the third season of The Wire ready to start writing about it.

Mix this in with the ridiculous amount of time I spend commuting each day and I dunno, Dexter's just sort of languished and been left unwatched. I guess I'm saying "convince me to watch Dexter guys!"

Onto the television I have been watching:

How I Met Your Mother:
"The Sexless Innkeeper"
Another frankly fantastic episode from the HIMYM crowd, for once it wasn't the Robin/Barney or Lily/Marshall storyline which got the biggest laughs from me. It was actually Ted's 'Sexless Innkeeper' story. Especially the "It's a poem" justification as to why the tales of the sexless innkeeper were being told as if it was Dickens.

I'm absolutely miffed that this show hasn't released more Region 2 seasons on DVD. Get your butts out to the shops and pick up the first season guys. Convince them to hurry up and release the next three seasons. If not for the enjoyment and hours of excellent comedy you'll get from it, then for me!

Community:
"Advanced Criminal Law"
The little comedy engine that could continues to pick up speed and pile on the steam, this weeks episode was nothing short of superb. I just love the way the show took the core concept from the pilot episode and expanded on that - creating this growing, living universe filled with bitter, cynical comedy that also feels uplifting and upbeat.

When Senor Chang threatens to give everyone a zero unless whomever it was who cheated on the test with a crib sheet, Britta stands up and takes the fall. Then Jeff offers to give her legal counsel on the entire thing - which results in this wonderful flip-flopping of events that bring the brilliant Jim Rash (who played Fenton in That 70s Show - one of my favourite recurring characters) back as Dean "I go both ways" Pelton, Senor Chang and Professor Duncan together as the tribunal on Britta's case.

You've also got Abed learning about how 'friends mess with each other' and then taking it to a new level in an attempt to get back at Troy, while Annie and Pierce (Chevy Chase who's on amazing form) sort of bond together over the creation of a song for the college.

The episode ends with a classic and somewhat beautiful Pierce moment, which was quite moving and beautiful. But still laced with that cynicism which I'm beginning to love about Community.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
"The Hot Towel"
This episode was a step back from the breakneck joy of the Seinfeld reunion storyline, giving us classic Curb - but with a subtle and brilliant Seinfeld reference built into it. After Larry hurts his hand with a hot towel he's unable to undo a bra because his 'undoing left hand' is out of action. The resulting scene homages a conversation from Seinfeld (George of course being based on Larry David.)

JERRY: Don't be so sure. Look at George - he's on his ninth date with Betsy, he still hasn't gotten anywhere with her.
ELAINE: What's his problem?
JERRY: Well, every time he tries to make a move, something screws up. Like on their last date, they were on the couch, but she was sitting on his wrong side.
ELAINE: Wrong side?
JERRY: Yeah, she was on his right side. He can't make a move with his left hand. Can't go left.
ELAINE: He can't go left.
JERRY: No! I'm lefty, can't go right. What about women? Do they go left or right?
ELAINE: Nah, we just play defense.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the return to classic Curb as it mixed things up. I also loved Christian Slater's part in the show.

The Office:
"Niagara" & "Mafia"
Seriously, how good was Niagara? It was pretty much the best episode of The Office I've seen in a long time and well deserving of the hour long episode. It also could have served as a fantastic season ender - or even a wonderful note to end the show on. So in some ways I'm a little surprised they've 'spent' it so early on, but I assume they've got some great comedy direction for Jim and Pam now they're married.

Who'd have thought it all those years ago eh? Unlike their British counterparts J&P have actually ended up together. It was a wonderful and sweet episode that is amongst the best I've seen in a long time, not so sold on the morning sickness joke, it was clever - but also exceptionally lowbrow, a little too lowbrow for The Office I think.

Mafia was back to a more standard form, I did enjoy Oscar explaining that the balance of reason in the office was out of kilter with Jim and Pam away on holiday. I also enjoyed watching Kevin single handedly ruin their honeymoon without even meaning too. But the main plot, Michael worrying about an Italian American selling him insurance turning out to be a member of the mob, was a little too late. A few years earlier, with The Sopranos still on the air, and it would have worked.

30 Rock
"Season 4"
I'm not sure about the season opener for 30 Rock. It had it's share of funny moments, many of them revolving around Tracy Jordan, but it was also a little uneven at times. The dynamic between Kenneth and Jack was fun, with Kenneth proving to be an almost unassailable wall of incorruptible virtue - until he got his own way and then realised that he'd have to lie to cover up what actually happened. I also appreciated seeing more of Scott Adsit who often feels woefully underused, he's a funny guy, exceptionally funny, and he needs more screen time and more story lines.

Solid, but it didn't blow me away.
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This week's television remains mostly Situation Comedies, but Dexter's season premiere has now joined the list, likewise Family Guy and American Dad. Now, due to the difficulties I have in watching television during the week I'll probably remain a week behind everyone else as far as Dexter is concerned.

American Dad:
Episode One: In the Country... Club

One of my favourite genres in the world of film is the war movie, or more specifically the America sub-genre of 'Vietnam Movies' "In the Country... Club" grabbed these and gave us a wholesale feast of them. With Platoon, Apocalypse Now and Rambo all being homaged and parodied on the field of 'Vietnam re-enactment paintballing' this episode was nothing short of amazing.

As an aside, where's the British "Falklands War" movie genre? Gap in the market there! Quick, get writing about trench foot!

Community:
Episode Three - Introduction to Film

Community continues to be my favourite new show this season, after spending the first two episodes going "**** me, it's Chevy Chase" I spent the third one going "**** me, it's John Michael Higgins". John is one of those people who's been in so many shows I adore, including (but not limited to) Arrested Development,
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Seinfeld and Boston Legal.

He was fantastic as the offbeat 'seize the day' Professor Whitman, a role which looks like it was a one off - but I'm hoping might have the potential to become recurring. Either way it was great to watch him shimmy up lamp posts, tear up menus and just have immense fun on screen.

The rest of the cast continue to grow, at this moment things are still very centered around Jeff, but we are getting to know the others. The episode wasn't as strong as last weeks, but it was still clever, funny and warming to watch.

Cougar Town: Episodes One and Two
Kevin Biegel and Bill Lawrence's new "older promiscuous woman" related show has made it onto my viewing list thanks to the interesting cast (especially Christa Miller who's one of my all time favourite women on TV) and Bill's own involvement. More on this show later this week, but if you want a short version - it's something I feel guilty about liking.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
Episode Two: Vehicular Fellatio

I wondered how long Curb was going to take to resolve the majority of it's "Meet the Blacks" plot and clear space for the Seinfeld reunion arc to move in. It looks like that plate is now clear, and while I am going to miss Vivica A. Fox a lot at least J.B. Smoove is around for a while longer.

The opening (and closing) joke in particular was something very special, I've never understood those products which are so heavily vacuum sealed that it's impossible to open them without application of force, a knife or often both - and it's also a situation I've been in more than once myself. So Larry's cries of frustration and anger were hilarious.

Dexter:
Episode One:

I've held off from watching Dexter's first episode despite it being leaked online, this has of course frustrated a few of my friends who've already seen it and know better than spoilering it for me. If I'm honest I've approached this season with a real sense of trepidation, mostly because the third season was a huge let down.

After watching it I'm still undecided. As I've said many times before, Michael C. Hall is great, but Dexter's last season started well before degenerating into a mess. We'll see how things turn out.

Family Guy:
Episode One: Road to the Multiverse

I don't know how long I'm going to be writing about Family Guy on here, probably just when there's the odd exceptional episode. This was one of them, but then I've always enjoyed the Brian/Stewie heavy "Road to ____" episodes as they often shake things up. This one was no exception, giving us a 'Sliders' (now there's a show which should have ended when the cast started to leave) style trip through alternate realities. Some of which were very funny, the Disney reality in particular was amazing.


Seriously how awesome are those? Just look how amazing Peter looks.

But unfortunately the other dimensions on the whole were kind of "eh" and a lot of the other really cool alternate realities only made an appearance in the title sequence. I especially liked these two:



I am tired of the constant 'Meg is ugly', let's treat Meg like crap jokes though - that's one ship which has gotten old.


The Office:
Episode Three: The Promotion

I don't have that much to say about this week's Office, apart from a few moments it seemed to be lacking in funny. I'm not sure how this Jim/Scott co-Manager thing is going to work out, it feels like it's going to be milked for a while (and it's not that funny) before everything returns to normal. I'd be a lot happier if the writers could come up with a solution which results in some growth and change in the office without losing any of the characters. But we'll see, as next weeks episode "Niagra" looks to be a great one.

On DVD I've just finished the second season of The Sopranos, more on that tomorrow. I'm also gearing up to watch Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, I just can't find the time right now.
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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.
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Well, I'm still behind the world of television, thanks mostly to moving house at possibly the worst time I could have managed and then being denied any sort of external television viewing - apart from the freeview channels - until all the various problems were sorted out.

But now I'm taking advantage of the summer lull to catch up with the various shows I was watching and I thought I'd share a few thoughts and the like on them. First up it's The Office's fifth season and How I Met Your Mother's fourth.

The Office:
Naturally after such a gap I had a little trouble recalling where things were when resuming viewing, but fortunately The Office is a pretty slow moving show where major developments are concerned. So it wasn't long before I was back up to speed and enjoying events. I'm still somewhat amazed that The Office has managed five seasons without a major dip in quality, it still provides entertaining and hilarious moments by the truck load. A particularly inspired piece of casting was the arrival of Idris Elba (The Wire, Obsessed, RockNRolla) as Charles Miner, Michael's new supervisor (a role previously filled by Ryan and Jan). Michael takes an instant dislike to him, then quits and forms his own paper company in a "where are they going with this story?" moment. Pam in one of her impulsive moments quits along side him, opening up a slot in reception - which is filled by Kelly Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper) or "Erin" as she's refferred to in order to avoid confusion.

Of course, by the end of the season Michael and Pam are back working for Dunder Mifflin, but the events do have some lasting reverberations. Ryan is back with the company (despite defrauding them before) and ends up temping again, but Pam is now a sales person - which means Erin is staying (for the moment at least). Frankly I do hope she stays permanently; she's funny and the way she reacts around Michael is quite entertaining as well (especially as Michael isn't inappropriate to her the way he is with Pam). So I'm hoping she stays and adds a new dynamic to the show.

Idris was of course, fantastic. But all things considered it's hard to say how much more he will be involved with the show. Likewise the fantastic Amy Ryan (The Wire) returned as Holly Flax, and it seems that any story she has with Michael will be a long burn and I'm fine with that.

How I Met Your Mother:
Ah HIMYM, how you managed to move me and then dash my hopes and anger me. The single biggest moment I got from watching the back end of the season comes from the episode 'Right Place, Right Time'. There's an absolutely wonderful and life affirming speech which is given and the episode feels ripe for a huge moment. Then it drags out the whole episode in a rather funny manner, skipping the story back and forth before gradually building up to a reveal as to who he met in this right place and time. Is it the mother? Oh, no. It's Stella... bleah! Now no offense to Sarah Chalke, she's a fantastic actress, but Stella is just. I really don't have the words to explain how disappointed I was when I saw her there. Fortunately, we find out over the next few episodes Stella is just there to give Ted direction in his life. While I'd like to hope she's gone for good, it's clear she's due to return at least once more, but she's not the mother. Thank goodness.

Two other things impress me about HIMYM, the first is of course Neil Patrick Harris's portrayal of Barney; he remains the highlight of the show, and the number one reason I watch. But I've also come to really enjoy watching Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel as Marshall and Lily. It's rare a show, especially a comedy show, which manages to keep a pair of characters together and also make them entertaining. Normally you'd expect the married couple to be the boring straight characters, but while they are the voices of reason in the group - at times those voices get a little... deranged... but that's what makes them so much fun.

We end the season with Robin and Barney sort of, maybe, together, but they have expressed their feelings for each other ('bout time!) and Ted in a new job as a professor of architecture, and apparently the mother took this class. So we're maybe a year or two away from finding out, perhaps three. But to be honest, HIMYM continues to be entertaining and funny, so I don't mind. As long as they never provide such a moving speech just to rip the rug out from under the viewer's feet again, that was a cruel trick!
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Steve Carell as Michael Scott
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesley
B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard
Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin
Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
Paul Lieberstein as Toby
Creed Bratton as Creed
Oscar Nuñez as Oscar Martinez
Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson
Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
David Denman as Roy Anderson
Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli
and Craig Robinson as Daryl Philbin


Just about everyone who's watched any amount of television should be familiar with at least one of the two versions of "The Office", so I'll assume this is the case here and I'll try to be brief. The Office: An American Workplace - alternatively known as The Office (USA) - is the American remake of the two season BBC Comedy "The Office". For the duration of this I shall be referring to the American version as "The Office" and the UK one as "The Office (UK)".

"The Office" is a mockumentry style show that follows the members of the Scranton branch of 'Dunder Mifflin'. The team is headed by one Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and follows the action in and around the office, spiced up with talking head interviews placed around and sometimes in the middle of scenes. The members of the office are very aware of the cameras, often looking directly into them or acknowledging their presence, sometimes with annoyance. Jim in particular is prone to looking into the camera when someone else has done something he feels is rather 'interesting'.

The show mostly revolves around Michael Scott's attempts to relate with his staff members during various issues, problems and sometimes even crisis that occur and affect the branch. Michael is the American equivalent of David Brent, in that he's very poor at dealing with people and often makes a situation worse. He's awkward, socially unaware, often inappropriate and pretty much the worst boss you could ever hope for. But, there's a side to him that is caring. He genuinely thinks he's personable and likable. He wants to do what's right for his staff as he cares deeply about all of them (except for Toby, who he inexplicably hates). Steve Carrell chose to play Michael Scott without watching Ricky Gervais's performance as David Brent. And it shows in the character; as while David Brent comes across as a worthless wretch of a human being, Michael Scott is intensely sympathetic. Which makes it a lot easier to like him, he really cannot help the way he is - but he is always trying to do what's best for the people who work under him.

The other main links between the UK and American versions of the show are the Jim, Roy and Pam love triangle (Tim, Lee and Dawn in UK), the arrival of a new temp, Ryan (Ricky in UK), Jim and Pam's constant pranking of Dwight (Gareth in UK) and Michael's interactions with his direct boss Jan (the lovely Melora). But with 66 Episodes over 4 seasons so far the show develops story lines for most of its characters and gives us insight into the lives of everyone in the office.

While the show is scripted, the cast are often given opportunities to improvise; this is in part because the cast has many members who are known for their improv work and many of these moments make it into the final cut. Additionally the material that gets cut during editing is still considered to be 'cannon' and as such it can get referred to at a later date even if it hasn't been seen. This gives the show a feeling of realism and spontaneity to it that makes it a joy to watch.


Season one was picked up and ran in March 2004 to a somewhat lukewarm reception, it ran for only 6 episodes and wasn't well liked by most critics. Watching it you can see why, as the first few episodes directly life story lines and events from the UK episodes. Which makes it very easy to just say "Oh it's another bad American remake of something British", but if you look beyond this you find that the show has an unexpected depth to it. Even with similar scripts and situations it's very clear from the start that the characters are quite different to their UK counterparts (especially Michael Scott as I noted earlier).

During the first season the members of the Scranton branch deal with the arrival of the documentary crew, downsizing, the new temp, Jim's pranks on Dwight, racial diversity, new health plans, a game of basketball between the warehouse and office, an attractive purse saleswoman and a $1,000 top sales man competition.

Season one is a rocky start to the show, but it quickly finds it's footing. The main issues I have with the DVD set is it's really not worth the price. It's only 6 episodes plus deleted material and as such it should either be combined with the second season (as was done with Homicide Series 1) or dropped to about £5 in price. You want to get in with the show at this season, but it's not the best introduction you could have. As such it can make it hard for fans of the UK series to get past those recycled story lines and arrive at the gold that is season 2+.

Extras: Deleted material
Price: £10
Runtime: 2h 15mins (not including deleted material)
Price per minute: 7.5p

: 3.5


The Office Season 1 @ Rotten Tomatoes


The second season started in September of 2005 and was the first full 22 episode season of the show. This is the season where "The Office" moves away from it's progenitor and begins to walk on two feet.

During this season several romantic relationships develop or continue. Michael sleeps with his boss Jan in a moment of (her) weakness, Dwight and Angela begin a secret relationship and Jim continues to see Katy (the hot purse sales woman). Meanwhile we discover that Oscar is gay when Dwight sees him with his partner - but Dwight himself does not realise what this means.

Speaking of Dwight, he continues to be tormented by Jim and in one episode is forced to resign his position of 'volunteer reserve deputy sheriff' and in another is given lines from speeches by Adolf and Mossolini to use in a conference - which surprisingly turns out quite well for Dwight. The entire team is given sexual harassment training, Ryan starts a fire, Michael burns his foot on a George Foreman grill, Michael also stars dating a woman named Carol instead of Jan and Jim reveals his feelings to Pam and once rejected he decides to transfer away from the branch.

The problem with the UK release of the second season is pretty simple. It's a horrifying monstrosity to look at, something I've talked about before here in some detail so I won't repeat myself. Needless to say it would not hurt the producers of the first two seasons if they went back, repackaged them together and released them in a new slimline foldout book form with entirely new box art.

Apart from this the season is sheer brilliance; filled with awkward moments, funny pauses, it's the reward you get for sitting through the not quite as good first season and it is well worth watching as the performances and scripting are a work of televisual art. The extras included on the complete season DVD are also worth watching, as I mentioned before they are considered cannon and also included is the entire run of "The Accounting" webisodes and fake PSAs. All of this material is worth watching and adds a couple of hours to your viewing pleasure easily.

Extras: Deleted material, Blooper Reel, Episode Commentaries, "The Accounting" Webisodes, Fake PSAs, Steve on Steve.
Price: £22.99
Runtime: 7h 59m
Price per minute: 3p

: 4


Season 2 @ Rotten Tomatos



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I'm gearing up to do a WYSW on Homicide, I just want to watch the last DVD from the first season of The Dead Zone as it's when Greg Stillson and the apocalpyse first turn up it's so brilliant. Why, oh why was it cancelled before it finished?

Anyway, I managed to get the region 2 versions of series 4 and 5 for £15 a piece in HMV, which is an absolute bargain as they were £40 each a week ago. But I'm not entirely thrilled with the direction the DVD manufacturers have gone in.

I'll show you why with a snapshot of the relevant part on my DVD shelf.



The first three seasons are in boxes that just ooze quality out of the wazoo. They're snug, tidy and have very stylish imagery on them with the white, black and coloured evidence bags/murder weapons. Now the 4th and 5th have managed to keep the colour scheme, which I must admit I love. But they've moved to the plastic transparent multi cases. Which are not only lower quality but are also shorter and smaller. So the whole set doesn't sit right when put together and also the images on the back of the 4th series are clearly stills from the first two series as they include characters who left. It's very dissappointing that the manufactuers felt the need to lower the quality of their product without dropping the price to match. Poor show.

Enjoy playing spot the show on the shelves there. Big bonus points if you can name them all. The final three in particular should be very difficult.


While I'm complaining about this kind of stuff I thought I'd share something else in the packaging front. This one is less of an oversight and more of a WTF?

It's from the cover of The Office (USA) season 2.

Unfortunately this small image doesn't quite show the true WTFery of the photoshopping on this. So I'll have to describe it a little as well. Trust me though, you want to pick up this when you're in a shop and look at it....



What this picture doesn't show you is how badly digitised the box art is. The resolution used for the actors is so low you can see individual blocky pixels with the naked eye. This is made even more confusing because the resolution used for the blinds, the text and the back of the box is exceptionally high quality. It's like this was made with some kind of bizzare in joke in mind.

As if that wasn't bad enough the actual images chosen are crimes against the people they're of. Jenna Fischer looks like she has some kind of fatal illness - perhaps the black plague - and is about to die. Steve Carrell looks like he didn't have time to pose for the photo, so they raided Madame Tussauds and used a wax-work version of him with someone elses hands opening the blinds. I say someone elses hands because the angle the top arm goes at is close to anatomatically impossible, at the very least it would be incredibly uncomfortable for him.
John Krasinski is almost unrecognisable, he's been given a new chin that looks like it was borrowed from Johnny Bravo or Brock Sampson and the photoshopped backwards in age until he appears to be twelve. Perhaps it is a photo from his high school book. I don't know.
As for poor Rainn Wilson, he's been wedged in the gap between Steve's shoulder and his not-arm at a level that makes him look like he's either 5'0" tall or Zardo the floating head. But he's better off than B.J. Novak, who appears in the image here but on the box art has been moved and can't be even seen on the front the picture. Instead he's been wrapped round and placed on the spine of the dust jacket along with the remainder of Jenna's head.

It's simply awful to the highest degree and really not what I expected to see from a show that is so exceptionally well made and produced.

The horror... The horror...
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I've kind of held back from reviewing several shows that i'm watching (House M.D., Prison Break and Heroes) partly because I'm interested in seeing where they're going before I start typing about it and partly because I keep forgetting to watch Heroes.

I know! Sacrilegious and scandalous! But I've not even watched the second episode yet. Tuesday I found myself thinking "I know there's a show I watch on Mondays. But I already watched Prison Break so what was it?"
And it's only today that I realised I missed Heroes. I shan't be able to catch up on it till tomorrow evening. Tut, tut.

Anyhow, onto last nights offerings.

[This post may contain spoilers]

30 Rock - Seinfeld Vision
I picked up watching 30 Rock when I realised that Studio 60 wasn't going to make the distance *cry*. While the two shows have a very different tone, there are some parallels. Enough that I was willing to give 30 Rock a chance to grow on me. The previous season was good, but not amazing. It felt like it was missing that final bit of pazzaz to push it over the top. Last night it got it, Seinfeld Vision had that little something extra.

Problem is, I think that this extra is because Jerry Seinfeld was on the show. The various clips of him being digitally inserted into other shows was hilarious. Every moment with Jerry on screen was fantastic, there was a moment where I found myself wishing it would turn out he'd join the cast permanently. But it's maybe for the best that didn't happen as they'd need to re-write the dynamics of the show too much.

Alec Baldwin was on blistering form as Jack, the gusto with which he reeled of his 'summer hits' was so superb that I just couldn't stop laughing at 'Milf Island'. I still don't really like Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan), he's just so far out there and crazy that I find it difficult to tolerate him on screen. I guess maybe he's supposed to be like Chris Tucker, who makes a living out of being crazy and loud. But I just don't find it funny. That said, the scenes between Kenneth and Tracy - with Kenneth acting as his 'office wife' were very good. So I don't know, the jury's out on him I guess.

Very solid start to the season, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.

Oh, it also helps that I think Tina Fey is hot.

9/10

The Office - 402 - Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Speaking of characters I find attactive, we're onto 'The Office' and, you should have guessed it. Pam. The relationship between Jim and Pam is growing and I find it very sweet and endearing. There's something about the show I find really lovely. While many of the characters are an ass one way or the other I still like them. Flaws and all.
Jim is still my firm favourite, he's very 'everyman' and also seems to take on the position of the viewer in many situations. I find his looks punctuate situations and really add to the comedy. Out of all the characters, he's the one most likely to look directly at the camera outside of interviews.

Anyway, while the relationship between Pam and Jim strengthens (I'm going to be so bummed out when they break up - and you know the writers will do it at some point...) the relationship between Dwight and Angela shatters after Angela can't forgive Dwight for freezing Sprinkles the cat to death. To be honest, I can't really blame her - it's probably the worst thing he's done by a long stretch. Dwight's poor handling of the situation taints his attempts to assist Michael in winning back some companies who stopped ordering.
Michael and Jan's relationship doesn't look solid either. While it's never been solid, it's Michael's complete inability to notice any potential problems that's going to hurt him most of all. In truth I'm not sure what Jan is doing, both with him and in general. She seems to just be going through a bout of depression. Something Michael would of course miss and then make a mess of helping her through it.

The episode was another 40min episode, which is interesting. I guess they've moved to a 40 min format this year. Which is both a bold move and a clever one, it could have gone horribly wrong if they got the pacing wrong or didn't have enough material. But instead I think they've hit a great balance that works. I hardly noticed the time passing. 40 mins suits 'The Office'.

8.5/10

I also think a 40 min format might suit 30 Rock.
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