[1st Season review here]

That's right! Its the all singing, all dancing special 102nd edition of DVDs in Review! Now I know you've been waiting with anticipation to see what boxed set would be the focus of this very special post and by now you'll have realised that it's the much requested second season of that wonderful comedy show - How I Met Your Mother.

I'm actually pretty astounded that it finally came out on DVD; it feels like I've been waiting for this release almost as long as I was stuck waiting for the third season of The Shield to be released in the UK (for the record that was 2 years, 10 months, 19 days of agony and surviving on downloaded episodes) - now it hasn't been that long, but it has been over a year, which is a little ridiculous considering that the show is on it's fifth season in America.

[Don't worry, I'm not going to rant about regions and slow releases creating an artificial market and encouraging piracy today!]

How I Met Your Mother is a cream of the current crop sitcom designed as a self billed "love story in reverse". Narrated by Ted it looks back on the journey he undertook seeking 'the one' - the mother of his children, a poor, long suffering boy and girl who have to endure his unending story of how he met their mother.

This show is of course no secret by this time, it's a massive hit and one of the two shows which catapulted the wonderful Neil Patrick Harris back into the limelight (I guess Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle helped a little as well) by reminding us just how awesome he is. It's quite a turnabout from my perspective at least, because I remember him from Doogie Howser, M.D. - which in all honesty was a show I couldn't stand and only tolerated the end of because The A-Team was on afterwards. Yes, I think it's fair to say I hated Doogie Howser as a child - but I can honestly say I've got nothing but positive things to say about NPH.

I've digressed, onto the boxed set itself. It contains the second season, which can be considered to be the 'Robin' season in Ted's story arc. The first season was spent somewhat chasing after Robin and resulted in more than a few failed relationships on Ted's part. But it's also the season where Lily and Marshall approach their wedding, complete with all the pitfalls and issues that entails.

So many comedy shows are pretty much afraid of approaching a young marriage, preferring either to dance about with lots of close and "nearly" moments in order to avoid the "Moonlighting curse" (something I hate). Or they establish the marriage before the show starts and then deal with the comedy of a married couple. HIMYM instead takes the somewhat fresh route of charting Lily & Marshall's growing relationship and the course into marriage. Managing it with expertise and making it something both touching and exceptionally funny.

Cast wise things remain much the same as the first season; with Barney Stinson fully emerging into his role as the breakout character with the best delivery of lines, Robin gradually strengthens as a character and becomes more quirky and poor Ted remains the most boring member of the bunch - most of the time playing the straight man to everyone else.

HIMYM has been called 'Friends for the noughties', but I feel that's somewhat unfair a comparison, because in many aspects HIMYM is the more accomplished and enjoyable show - it has Friends to look back on and as such can see what will work and what won't - and as such it's surpassed the umbrella waving beau of the nineties as my favourite new york 30 something sitcom.

If you've not already started watching HIMYM, now is a great time to catch up on the first two seasons.

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Languages: English, French
Rating: 12
Run Time: 7 Hours 38 mins
Region: 2
Subtitles: French, English, Swedish
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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 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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How I Met Your Mother (hereafter known as HIMYM) is the story of Ted Mosby, as told by the future Ted Mosby in retrospect to his children - providing the very first joke of the show (and one of my favourites) the looks on his son and daughter's faces as Ted bores them to death with his overly long winded tale of how he met their mother.

Fortunately for us, the viewers, the stories Ted tells are shown in full colour episodes and are far more entertaining than older Ted seems to be. HIMYM could be described as 'the new Friends' and while it seems to have more than a couple of parallels with the older show - most of these are actually superficial ones like the style (sitcom), the setting (New York) and the cast (mixed genders with strong, funny characters in both).

The show is narrated by none other than Bob Saget (as Older Ted) and stars Josh Radnor as Young Ted along with Jason Segel as his best friend Marshall Eriksen, Alyson Hannigan as Marshall's significant girlfriend Lily Aldrin, Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky and the amazing, incredible, hilarious and awesome Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson Ted's best friend. The cast are uniformly fantastic but it is Neil who genuinely steals most of the episodes and scenes with his portrayal of the womanising Barney.

The first season starts with Ted recounting the story of how he met Robin and going from there, following Ted's continuing search for his very own Miss Right - with his sights set firmly on Robin. It's a light-hearted and funny show which doesn't overstay it's welcome and also manages to provide an ongoing sense of continuity as well, many sitcoms fail to provide this - instead giving us episodes which could be watched in almost any order. But HIMYM not only has a tangible passage of time, it also plays with the retrospective narrative by giving us hints of future events.

HIMYM is one of my favourite currently running sitcoms and while unfortunately only the first season is available in the UK right now it's still something that I consider a must watch for those of you who enjoy light comedy entertainment.

Extras:
Audio commentary on selected episodes
Video Yearbook featurette
Happy Hour Blooper Reel

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Language: English
Rating: 12
Region: 2
Run time: 462 mins
Subtitles: Swedish, English HOH
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Television watching has been a little spartan this week, I was busy working on the Saturday and visited some friends who'd just moved into their new place on the Sunday. So the weekend, which I normally use to catch up on television, wasn't available. As such I'm behind with quite a few shows and there's not that much to report today.

How I Met Your Mother:
Episodes Two and Three

Forgive me if I gush a little, but I'm always constantly pleased with the way HIMYM manages to keep itself feeling fresh by spinning old situations into something new, and we had two episodes over the past two weeks which managed that. Episodes which had me laughing out loud while watching them, which is unusual because I'm a social laugher - I don't laugh when I'm watching shows alone normally, even laugh tracks or audience laughter aren't enough. But, both episodes of HIMYM managed to do this on more than one occasion.

While the first of the two episodes was pretty clever and had some good moments to boot (especially Stripper Lily and the obscenely funny Mustachio Marshall) it was the third episode 'Robin 101' which just shined, being simultaneously funny, entertaining, cynical and filled with character development for the cast. It was also a good opportunity for Cobie to show a range of amusing facial expressions.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
Episode Three

Seriously, I sat there with this stupid grin on my face all episode. I'm absolutely loving this story arc, it's one hundred percent, self assured quality level gold genius in a platinum bucket of awesomeness. Seeing all the Seinfeld gang together, Larry's constant faux pas, his transparent attempts to win back Cheryl and his almost petty railing at the head of NBC over a small slight were capped with the wonderful moment where Larry imagines two possibilities - winning his wife back with a Seinfeld reunion vs. going to the funeral of the head of NBC and then tosses a coin on it to decide. Just brilliant!

Community:
Episode Four - Social Psychology

There is no doubt about it, Community is my favourite new show of the fall season. I don't think it's possible to count all the ways I'm beginning to adore this show. While it could have easily fallen into a sitcom slump and just given us the same old story over and over it's instead opted to expand on every character in it's show, giving each of them a distinct voice and place in the show. Pierce still remains the most consistently entertaining - wandering around with a radar stuck to his ear was inspired, but Jeff's lack of honesty and inability to learn remains good and most of all Abed's oddities are beginning to really steal the show. It's just great stuff.

And the end of show credit jokes are just getting better and better.

I am at this point behind in watching Dexter, I'll catch up this weekend. Promise! Same with the one hour Office special Niagara (which I'm positive will be amazing). I'm also still chugging my way through season one of Sons of Anarchy - the quick report is this, fans of morally ambiguous action drama. Saddle up and get watching! Likewise you need to get up to scratch with Breaking Bad if you haven't already.

In other news Watching the Wire: Part 3 is full steam ahead, the posts are beginning to take shape and will start in November, I'm keen to get the third and fourth seasons done because I'm so fond of the stories they seek to tell.
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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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Starring:
Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby
Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen
Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson
Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin
and Bob Saget as The Narrator/Old Ted


If I was to sum up "How I Met Your Mother" in a single sentence it would be "It's Friends for the new millennium, but funnier --". HIMYM is a light hearted sit-com build around a simple principle, it's a story told in retrospect by Father Ted Ted -- father -- to his son and daughter about how he met their mother. Unlike most people who've told a similar story about how they met their partner Ted likes to start from the beginning, or at least a beginning. As a consequence his children have been sat in their chairs listening to him drone on for about three and a half years now, needless to say they often look bored and unimpressed. But you certainly won't be either while watching this comedy offering.

The first season begins with Ted's initial decision to go out and discover Mrs Right-for-him, a decision which was brought about by two of his best friends Marshall and Lily got engaged. Despite his other best friend Barney's attempts to dissuade him from this path Ted meets the beautiful Robin and he decides to take a risk with her. But fate has a different path in mind for him.

HIMYM describes itself as "A love story in reverse" and while that is certainly the core concept behind the show it's not taken too far. The flashback nature of the show is used well, often teasing information about the potential identity of the mother to the viewers or hinting at events due to arrive later in the show. As a consequence this show has a solid chronology and a genuine sense of passing time, this is unusual as many sit-coms feel 'timeless' and frozen in their era.

Neil Patrick Harris is the stand out performance of the cast, he's consistently funny as the permanent bachelor and rampant womanizer Barney Stillson, he also provides the vast majority of the catchphrases and amusing side stories/stunts and performs them with Neil is an accomplished actor but he's not the only stellar member of the cast. Both Jason Segal and Alyson Hannigan are superb as the newly betrothed Marshall and Lily, Marshall is essentially a large boy in a man's situation -- clinging to his childhood while trying to confront the pressures and demands of modern life -- while Lily is normally the voice of sanity and observation in the group, normally.

Cobie Smulders is fantastic as the Canadian love interest/friend Robin, showing a genuine talent for comic timing and a willingness to make a fool of herself. As such it's only Josh Radnor as Ted who suffers in the show, he's often stuck with the straight man/sensible/boring role around which the more serious situations rotate. He's not bad in it, but he's just stuck with a semi boring role (much like Ross in Friends).

HIMYM is a great modern comedy with a lot to like, it's light-hearted fast paced and highly enjoyable. The first season is filled with great episodes and hilarious moments which will have you shouting "Suit Up!" at any suitable moment. The only annoying thing for those of us in region 2 is the lack of any later seasons being released on DVD so far.


The Packaging:
The first season set is a wide plastic DVD case which holds all three discs, this case is contained in a cardboard dust cover which has an exact duplication of the case cover on it. This is a little redundant, but as I'm a fan of cardboard I shouldn't complain too loudly.

The front and back covers themselves are rather simple in design. They do the job and I'm rather fond of the clever lips sofa used on the front and the beer mat on the back. Nice reminders of two major facets of the show -- drinking and "relations".

The Extras:
There are just a few smatterings of extras provided in this set, there is audio commentary on a few of the episodes -- I can confirm that this commentary is excellent and entertaining. A Video Yearbook featurette, a Happy Hour Blooper Reel and two selected montages of scenes. Nothing amazing, but they're still worth a look, especially the commentaries and bloopers.

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (cropped from original Widescreen format)
Rating: 12
Region: 2 PAL
Runtime: 462 mins
Sound: English 5.1
Subtitles: English, Swedish

The Price:
As always I am surprised and pleased to be able to say that it's actually HMV who has the lowest price out of the normal sites I check. They have it at £13.99 which is a respectable 3 ppm.


Neil Patrick Harris... I mean, Neil Patrick Harris... COME ON! It's Legendary! Seriously, suit up, go out and get yourself a copy.

And in case you're not convinced, here's a "Best of season one video", naturally spoilers abound!


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