I will spray you with the hose. November 20, 2009

I love Modern Family. The show is funny every week and is one of the most entertaining comedies on television. Jay was great in this week’s episode. Threatening to spray Manny with the hose because he’s obsessed with Haley, and later actually spraying him in the face with a squirt bottle — it reminded me of spraying a dog who barks too much. I loved the conflict over anniversary presents between Claire and Phil. It’s so typical for them that Phil would buy Claire a beautiful bracelet and she would get him cheesy coupons for free hugs because he ‘never wants anything.’ And forgetting their song on top of that.

Edward Norton. He was just awesome. His singing was priceless, and the fact that he wasn’t really the lead singer was great. He played his part phenomenally. Elizabeth Banks was hilarious. Obviously she was jealous that Cam and Mitchell have Lily, and she didn’t try to hide it. Telling the guys that is they bring Lily to Cabo, “I will throw her in the ocean” and trying to cover it up by saying she had to pee was laugh out loud funny. Calling Lily Yoko because she broke up their group was hysterical. They’re supposed to be the fun gay couple!

Overall it’s one of the best episodes this season. Possibly because of the guest stars — I mean how can an episode with Edward Norton be bad? While it was funny, I think the guest stars played more humorous roles than the regulars this week. The episode is worthy of a B+. It was great, but I think bringing in stars like Edward Norton and Elizabeth Banks took some of the humor out of the cast. I can only hope for next week to highlight the talents of the cast more.

Seat Save – Infinity. November 15, 2009

Michael Scott obviously deals with stress well. He thinks that playing a murder-mystery board game is the best way to deal with the possibility of Dunder Mifflin declaring bankruptcy. Kevin deciding to play his character as if he had been kicked in the head by a horse was just priceless — who else would think that was as cool as he did? And you could just see the heartbreak in Andy’s eyes when he found out he was playing Erin’s brother in the game. But, I think it’s only a matter of time before the two of them get together, if they can get over their communication issues. The key to the two of them actually going on a date would be for Erin to know that he’s asking her out on a date. I guess it just takes baby steps.

It’s not my fault, I was exposed to Harry Potter – a typical comment from Angela, but funny nonetheless. Her outburst when Kevin decides to give his opinion on the situation is hysterical. But, I think the funniest part was when Oscar was attempting a Savannah accent. As much as he hates to take part in Michael’s shenanigans, he played along, at least for a minute. I really thought that Jim was going to give Michael a piece of his mind, but it turns out that Michael has more control than Jim realizes.

Overall, I think it deserves a B. It wasn’t the funniest episode I’ve seen in a while, but it was entertaining all the same. The story line was unexpected, but what else can you expect from The Office? I’m ready for the Andy-Erin awkwardness to continue. Andy is much funnier when he’s dealing with woman issues.

Today is the hardest I have worked in a long, long time.

Chaos at Seattle Grace November 6, 2009

I finally caught up with Grey’s Anatomy after a couple of hectic weeks, and this season just keeps getting better, quite possibly the best so far. While this week’s episode wasn’t as exciting as the past two weeks have been, it was still good, worthy of a B+ in my opinion. Tension between characters just continues to build. Izzy still hasn’t come home, the Chief and Derek are still battling over Derek’s position in the hospital, the new doctors from Mercy West are still getting under everyone’s skin, and Cristina continues to test her boundaries with Owen.

Is the Chief on his way out? Derek told him to go home and think things over when he fired him for performing the operation on Isaac, even though it was a success. Everyone is convinced that the hospital isn’t running well because of him. There have been constant problems with the administration of the hospital all season. I’m thinking his job might belong to Derek by the end of the season.

I can’t wait for Meredith to return to the hospital, her laying in bed all day and wishing she was at the hospital is getting a little old. I’ve noticed that Cristina is starting to get buddy-buddy with Lexie since Meredith is home in bed and Izzie has mysteriously taken off. I mean the two of them walking down the hall to surgery in their diapers was, well interesting. Cristina performing that seriously dangerous procedure during the ’shroom girls’ surgery was a little risky not just for the patient but for her relationship with Owen (he made it clear that it was a bad move on her part).

I think things are going to get even more interesting this season because there has been some tension between some of the doctors: Dr. Avery approaching and putting the moves on Cristina at Arizona’s birthday party, and Reed sitting with Alex while he was caring for the premature infant and trying to talk to him about what happened with Izzie.

Izzie’s scheduled to return next week, so things should get interesting with Alex. She took off and didn’t tell him where she was, she missed a chemo treatment, and she left him with her $200,000 medical bills, so I’m sensing a serious fight might break out. Meredith will be back and the whole crew will be waiting to find out what’s going on with Izzie. Bring on the drama.

Finally, Another Good Comedy. October 28, 2009

Last Wednesday, sitting in my room finishing up some last minute reading for Dr. Jay’s British Colonial Literature class, I heard my roommate in the next room giggling hysterically. Not really thinking anything about it, I went to class. When I got home later, she said she was sure that I thought she was crazy, but she said she was watching Modern Family online. She told me that I had to watch it, so that night I watched the new episode. All I can say is, it was fantastic. It’s definitely worth it to watch.

Other than The Office it is the funniest comedy currently on the air. With a comedy /documen- tary style similar to The Office, Modern Family lets you in on the characters thoughts. ABC has created a brilliant show about family life. It’s fast paced, well written, has an amazing cast, and is actually funny. The cast works well together and even the child actors are humorous and can act well, which is oh so rare.

This modern family is definitely what you might call a modern family. Dad, Jay, has two grown children Claire, a stay-at-home mom with three kids and a husband who just wants to be one of the kids, and Mitchell, a new dad who has just adopted daughter Lily with his partner Cameron. Jay remarried a young latina with a young son after his divorce.

This not too typical family is hysterical. Tonight the cast delivered some A material comedy. In tonight’s episode Claire and Phil’s oldest daughter Haley has her learner’s permit, and the driving lessons seem a little too familiar. Phil tries to give Haley all of his driving tips, some of which are not so helpful (telling her not to pull over because he never paid a parking ticket!). School is back in session and Claire finally has the house to herself, but Phil decides to stay home too, and wants to challenge Claire to a race when she tells him that she just wants to run. His reasoning? “Women will tell you what they want by telling you the opposite of what they want.” Sound like Michael Scott to anyone?

Then there’s Cameron dressing up Lily as famous pop stars. Madonna, Stevie Wonder, and later one I’m assuming was Diana Ross. Mitchell says that Lily has had “more costume changes than Cher.” And then there’s Mitchell dancing with Lily and hitting her head on the ceiling. The funniest part of this segment of the episode is the trip to the doctor’s office where Mitchell is asked to demonstrate the head bump, not once, but twice. (Only to find that Lily really will be okay.)

I know what I’ll be doing next Wednesday at 9. I recommend that you do the same. Let’s just hope the writers keep the laughs coming.

Never tell Pam. October 22, 2009

So, I know I wrote about Dexter last week, but I can’t resist mentioning it tonight. What an excellent episode on Sunday! The Trinity killer and Lundy running into each other (literally), Dexter and the cop (finally, he’s his usual self again), and Deb and Lundy getting shot! I can’t wait for Sunday night!

Anyway, I finally caught up on The Office. Jim and Pam’s wedding, the moment I’ve been waiting for for 5 long years finally happened!

Jim and Pam are back from their honeymoon and Michael has quite the surprise for everyone. Michael is dating Pam’s mom?! Pam’s reaction to the news really stressed out Michael, but not to worry, Dwight comes to the rescue with grade school games (crack an egg on your head and the yolk rolls down… hilarious!). Things heat up when Michael calls an office meeting and Pam bursts out in anger about the situation– I don’t think she’s ever been mad (or at least this mad)! It’s war between Pam and Michael, and almost everyone else. Naturally Pam is upset, but it becomes humorous when no one else agrees that Michael is doing something wrong. Even Phyllis wants Michael to be happy!

Excellent episode! It definitely deserves an A. Pam and Michael’s arguments are hysterical — “I hope you are prepared to die in this office!” Dwight giving Jim the bugged mallard, Ryan’s hat and silence all episode, Kevin just being Kevin, Creed’s reaction to the classical music that drowns out Jim and Andy’s meeting, “I will just date her harder”, and so much more. One of the funniest shows on TV.

The ER effect? Let’s hope not. October 17, 2009

Midterms are over and Thursday for me means Grey’s Anatomy. Things are getting pretty intense this season. The merger with Mercy West is making the doctors at Seattle Grace a little crazy. New doctors are coming in and it seems like everyone’s favorite doctors are starting to drop from the hospital staff like flies. Sounds like what happened to ER a few years ago. But I think there are still enough of the important characters left to keep it going strong. I guess we’ll see who is left after the merger and the staff cuts.

I think the story line is more predictable this season than it has been in the past. But Shonda Rhimes is throwing in some good twists all the same. This week I wasn’t shocked to hear that Izzie was fired. But the note she left for Alex was quite surprising (I don’t think she’s really leaving him after all this time). And I don’t think the mistake she made this week means that she’s still too weak from her cancer treatments to be a good doctor. She’s always been emotional and gotten attached to her patients which leads to mistakes (Denny Duquette?!).

Cristina’s breakdown was so unpredictable for her character that I actually started to laugh. I can’t believe she mentioned missing Dr. Burke! Talk about a blast from the past. He hasn’t even been mentioned since the premiere of season 4. I have a feeling she might be ready to leave the hospital and find Burke. She did get into it with Owen this week, and he pretty much just walked away.

I have to give this week’s episode an A-. Despite the predictable firing of Izzie, things stayed pretty interesting. Callie’s father showed up with a priest to “pray away the gay” in his daughter — that was rather comical. Cristina’s on the verge of a serious breakdown which will keep things interesting for a while. Lexie is proving she’s willing to fight for her job. She got pretty vicious with the Mercy Westers. It should be a good season.

Oh, Sundays! October 12, 2009

Fall has returned and with it the last fleeting minutes of my weekends are filled with homework, football, and of course, Dexter. I’ll be honest, I haven’t exactly been a fan of Dexter from the beginning, but since a friend introduced me to the show last year, it’s become one of my favorites. Michael C. Hall perfectly balances his role as loving father and disturbed killer.

After watching this season’s third episode on Sunday night, I realized that my favorite serial killer isn’t exactly living up to his role as Darkly Dreaming Dexter this season. The beloved Dexter has only tracked down one deserving victim since the season premiere. (I guess Rita and the kids really are posing a problem to Dexter’s dark identity.)

While I found the premiere episode predictable, I think the writers have redeemed themselves and things can only get more interesting. Although Dexter is attempting to live up to Harry’s “code” and show the neighbors that he’s just your average American dad, the primary target of the Miami Metro PD, the Trinity killer, and his methods fascinate Dexter and make him anxious for his next kill. And, I can’t wait for it!

Dexter is as awkward as ever (I love it!); Deb and her foul mouth are again dealing with relationship issues; Masuka is, well, Masuka and weirder than I imagined possible (his truck, seriously?); Angel and Laguerta are busy sneaking around (not exactly a surprising match-up); and the pressure of the family is getting to Rita — based on Sunday’s closing scene, I’m sure she’ll blame Dex for for all the vandalizing that’s going on in the neighborhood. Only a few more days until Dexter is at it again!

I give this week’s episode a B rating. The story line moved slowly and Dexter and the Miami Metro crew have yet to make much progress with the Trinity killer, or the Vacation Murderer. Not to mention, the excitement of Dexter making a kill was painfully absent. The episode did however generate conflict between Dexter and Rita, and the Trinity killer is continuing his cycle of murders with Deb, Special Agent Lundy, and the rest of the crew closing in on  his murder method. Let’s hope next week will bring more excitement to the table.

Now, how to occupy the rest of my week? I guess midterms will take care of that.