I'm kinda scrambling to put together this edition of the TV Report Card, so please pardon the mess:
Monday
Being Human: "Partial Eclipse of the Heart"
What Worked: Pretty much everything. While, I won't say that this was the best episode of Being Human ever, it did have enough good things going for it like all of the down endings. I'm glad that Josh was finally able to tell Julia the truth, but it was too bad that he was still too late. Watching Sally come to terms with what she did to Nick and how it affected Zoe was also heartbreaking, especially when Nick lied to Zoe about limbo. Pretty gut-wrenching stuff.
What Didn't Work: I'm being nit-picky now because for the most part Aidan's sub-plot was fine, it sucked how Suren gave it and returned to Mother, but it didn't have as much gravitas as the other stories. Plus, Henry's really starting to irk me, and I'm wondering what his role is, but like I said ... nit-picking.
GRADE: B+
Smash: "Hell on Earth"
What Worked: Honestly, I cannot remember what, if anything, worked during this episode. I'll go out on a limb and say that I didn't hate everything that Derek did, but that's probably not true.
What Didn't Work: I've realized that Smash is the show that I love to hate because while I think it's trash, I have to watch it week after week because knocking it gives me some inane pleasure. It's a dick move, I know. Let me just list the stuff that I remember not liking: Ellis, Ivy in her angel costume, Karen in her Ivy's sunglasses, Ivy and Karen singing in Times Square, everything Julia said and did, Frank punching Michael, the son, etc. I'm sure there was more, but I can't waste any more time trying to think of stuff.
GRADE: D-
Castle: "The Limey"
What Worked: Not a damn thing.
What Didn't Work: Everything, including: more Caskett wheel-spinning, an Aussie trying to play a Brit, said Brit getting in between Kate and Rick for no apparent reason, Lanie pushing Kate to no avail, Rickhead, stupid flight attendants who ended up helping on a stupid case, shoe-horning in Rwanda, not enough Ryan and Esposito, not enough Martha and Alexis. Oh, and did I mention to totally frustrating wheel-spinning. Honestly, the fact that Andrew Marlowe continues to muck around with the hook of his show is beyond maddening at this point. Get on with it already!
GRADE: D-
Tuesday
New Girl: "Secrets"
What Worked: A lot. I'm glad that Cece and Schmidt are finally out in the open because having them sneak around would have gotten old fast. At least now, their "relationship" can give the rest of the characters some joke fodder which is always good. Strong episode for Winston and Nick as well, and I like watching the boys just hang out and rag one each other.
What Didn't Work: Jess and Cece's fight didn't make a ton of sense, and I felt that the resolution came out of nowhere. The fact that it also came off as very by-the-books didn't help either, but I did appreciate how it elaborated a bit on their friendship as a whole, so I can't be too upset by it all.
GRADE: B+
Justified: "Coalition"
What Worked: It looks like we're finally done with Dickie Bennett and his mother's money, and good riddance. For the most part, I liked the fact that some of the most outlandish characters were toned down without making them boring, and the twists and turns made for a pretty wild ride. It's also fun watching low-lives trying to outsmart one another.
What Didn't Work: Boyd made some pretty colossal screw-ups which didn't match up with his reputation as a criminal mastermind, which in turn made it obvious meant that character was sacrificed for plot and the stitches were revealed. I also couldn't care less about Arlo's heath issues because they're so tacked on at this point.
GRADE: B
Wednesday
Happy Endings: "Four Weddings and a Funeral (Minus Three Weddings and One Funeral)"
What Worked: Derrick's become one of this show's most annoying supporting characters to one of its best, so everything about his wedding was golden, especially Mandonna. Seriously, watching Max perform in an all-male Madonna cover band is worth a few grade points. Also, I don't hate the possible love triangle between Penny, Dave and Alex, so I generally enjoyed those moments.
What Didn't Work: Having Brad lose his job gave this episode some oddly serious undertones that didn't mesh as well with the zany antics as I would've liked. I'm not opposed to giving these characters some real-world problems, but when the episodes rely so heavily on non-stop jokes, taking time out to worry about Brad and Jane's financial situation brought things down a notch for me.
GRADE: B
Thursday
Community: "Pillows and Blankets"
What Worked: Pretty much everything. I loved how Community was ballsy enough to keep the right between Troy and Abed going since they're clearly the heart of the show. Riffing on Ken Burns The Civil War was also a brilliant move that I felt worked within the context of this show and this episode in particular. I also appreciated how Jeff grew a little bit but not drastically.
What Didn't Work: Once again, if I have to nit-pick, I'd have to say that the resolution between Troy and Abed came by awfully quickly, but I'm sure we're not done with this arc, and I still hope that the show takes a risk by fundamentally changing their friendship.
GRADE: A-
30 Rock: "Nothing Left to Lose"
What Worked: I guess Pete and Jack's sub-plot was okay but nothing memorable.
What Didn't Work: The rest of the episode. I couldn't muster any emotion over Jenna being duped by the writers, especially because we got way too much Lutz who's one of my least favorite characters on this show. The fact that the Tracy/Liz plot was lifted from The Simpsons hurt it in my opinion (which in turn was a riff on Flowers for Algernon), not because it was a spoof but because it tried too hard to be its own joke, and yet it didn't really bring anything new to the bit.
GRADE: C-
Friday
Grimm: "The Thing with Feathers"
What Worked: This had to be the show's creepiest episode to date, the cat-like creature force feeding a bird-like one so it can take a golden growth from its neck was the most bizarre thing this show has ever tried, which made it work in an odd way. Plus, we got some lighter and sweet moments thanks to Monroe and Rosalie.
What Didn't Work: I'm getting bored with the Hank/Adalind arc, so I found myself tuning out whenever we switched to them, and I hate (actually, I don't) to say it but Juliette has to go. I can see her being killed off during the season finale just as Nick's about to tell her the truth, and he'll use it as motivation next year because if she doesn't then I have no idea why they kept her around for so long.
GRADE: C+
So, there you have it. Another TV Report Card is in the books, and next week's is probably going to be packed since a lot of shows we be new, so make sure you come back to check it out.
Monday
Being Human: "Partial Eclipse of the Heart"
What Didn't Work: I'm being nit-picky now because for the most part Aidan's sub-plot was fine, it sucked how Suren gave it and returned to Mother, but it didn't have as much gravitas as the other stories. Plus, Henry's really starting to irk me, and I'm wondering what his role is, but like I said ... nit-picking.
GRADE: B+
Smash: "Hell on Earth"
What Didn't Work: I've realized that Smash is the show that I love to hate because while I think it's trash, I have to watch it week after week because knocking it gives me some inane pleasure. It's a dick move, I know. Let me just list the stuff that I remember not liking: Ellis, Ivy in her angel costume, Karen in her Ivy's sunglasses, Ivy and Karen singing in Times Square, everything Julia said and did, Frank punching Michael, the son, etc. I'm sure there was more, but I can't waste any more time trying to think of stuff.
GRADE: D-
Castle: "The Limey"
What Didn't Work: Everything, including: more Caskett wheel-spinning, an Aussie trying to play a Brit, said Brit getting in between Kate and Rick for no apparent reason, Lanie pushing Kate to no avail, Rickhead, stupid flight attendants who ended up helping on a stupid case, shoe-horning in Rwanda, not enough Ryan and Esposito, not enough Martha and Alexis. Oh, and did I mention to totally frustrating wheel-spinning. Honestly, the fact that Andrew Marlowe continues to muck around with the hook of his show is beyond maddening at this point. Get on with it already!
GRADE: D-
Tuesday
New Girl: "Secrets"
What Didn't Work: Jess and Cece's fight didn't make a ton of sense, and I felt that the resolution came out of nowhere. The fact that it also came off as very by-the-books didn't help either, but I did appreciate how it elaborated a bit on their friendship as a whole, so I can't be too upset by it all.
GRADE: B+
Justified: "Coalition"
What Didn't Work: Boyd made some pretty colossal screw-ups which didn't match up with his reputation as a criminal mastermind, which in turn made it obvious meant that character was sacrificed for plot and the stitches were revealed. I also couldn't care less about Arlo's heath issues because they're so tacked on at this point.
GRADE: B
Wednesday
Happy Endings: "Four Weddings and a Funeral (Minus Three Weddings and One Funeral)"
What Didn't Work: Having Brad lose his job gave this episode some oddly serious undertones that didn't mesh as well with the zany antics as I would've liked. I'm not opposed to giving these characters some real-world problems, but when the episodes rely so heavily on non-stop jokes, taking time out to worry about Brad and Jane's financial situation brought things down a notch for me.
GRADE: B
Thursday
Community: "Pillows and Blankets"
What Didn't Work: Once again, if I have to nit-pick, I'd have to say that the resolution between Troy and Abed came by awfully quickly, but I'm sure we're not done with this arc, and I still hope that the show takes a risk by fundamentally changing their friendship.
GRADE: A-
30 Rock: "Nothing Left to Lose"
What Didn't Work: The rest of the episode. I couldn't muster any emotion over Jenna being duped by the writers, especially because we got way too much Lutz who's one of my least favorite characters on this show. The fact that the Tracy/Liz plot was lifted from The Simpsons hurt it in my opinion (which in turn was a riff on Flowers for Algernon), not because it was a spoof but because it tried too hard to be its own joke, and yet it didn't really bring anything new to the bit.
GRADE: C-
Friday
Grimm: "The Thing with Feathers"
What Didn't Work: I'm getting bored with the Hank/Adalind arc, so I found myself tuning out whenever we switched to them, and I hate (actually, I don't) to say it but Juliette has to go. I can see her being killed off during the season finale just as Nick's about to tell her the truth, and he'll use it as motivation next year because if she doesn't then I have no idea why they kept her around for so long.
GRADE: C+
So, there you have it. Another TV Report Card is in the books, and next week's is probably going to be packed since a lot of shows we be new, so make sure you come back to check it out.
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