Never Alone, But Forever Crazy

Cougar Town, S0314-15

Jules was forced to deal with some issues she was having with Grayson's privacy and deceiving Laurie about her position as co-maid of honor when everyone re-enacted the premise of Groundhog Day for her.  Travis had to rekindle Bobby and Andy's passion for penny can.  Grayson proposed that he and Jules elope in Napa by themselves, but she brought the whole gang with her.

Sometimes I think that Grayson is the most reasonable person on the show and found his explosion of fury when Jules and company would not give him the tiniest bit of space in his new home to be overdue.  There's only so much one person can take before you just push them over the line and having people lotioning up and raiding your drawers and closet while you want to read is beyond what a normal person could tolerate.  That's why it was not just appropriate to see Grayson yell at the gang and punch the wall, but it was also funny.  Finally he stops just complaining in the background while everyone ignores him and puts a little force behind his rejections of their ways!  Truly, I identify with Grayson the most of all (especially because I would have been a neighbor like him was who intended to interact as little as possible with his fellow neighbors).

I wasn't too surprised that Grayson's request for the two of them to be eloped was denied.  But it frustrated me to see Jules not understand that just the two of us didn't mean the rest of the people who never leave her house (gathering at 6:30 in the morning?? I would shoot those people!).  In fact, I think my head would explode if Jules had taken Grayson to Napa with just the two of them.  But at least Grayson accepted his fate that he was marrying everyone (his proposal to them all was lame) and didn't drown himself in a full wine barrel.  There's not much he can do short of murdering Jules' entourage.

Besides Grayson's outburst, I liked that they recreated Groundhog Day to teach Jules a lesson.  It's one of my favorite movies, and I would love it if I could do that with a group of friends.  The fact that Jules didn't understand the concept of the movie and was annoyed that they kept saying the same thing for a few days was really funny.  I only wished that she had taken longer to figure out how to make things right with Laurie and Grayson.  I like when they sort of team up against her.  She deserves it.

Concerning penny can... I was so hopeful that Travis had done something great for once in his miserable life and brought an end to that game.  It has a certain charm for weirdo adults, but when you think about it, it's a really stupid game that loses its charm the more they play the game.  It was only slightly cute when Little Stan was asking to play and finally did play it at the end.  Other than that, I didn't pay too much attention to that story.

I also didn't pay too much attention to Travis trying to get Laurie again.  I was happy, however, to see Wade.  He is quite cuter in person than on an iPad!  But I know one day, especially now that Travis has drunkenly exposed himself to Laurie, Travis will get Laurie.  Am I sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for that day?  Hell no.  But I hope to enjoy more of cute Wade for a little while longer until that happens.

I was disappointed that they had their wedding on the beach while trying to avoid the cops because it happened without much mishap.  I wanted to see disaster after disaster before they said "I do."  It was sweet, but it didn't pull at any heart strings for me.  What was better than their wedding was Ellie flirting shamelessly with the guy at the hotel.  I mean, if Andy had dropped dead right in front of her, I think she would have hopped over his body and jumped Daniel's bones in a second.  I loved it. She just wouldn't stop, even when Daniel was arrested.  She kept texting him things that were certainly crossing over to cheating on Andy.  Somehow I really envy how she can do that with no guilt.  It's cruel in a hilarious way, and I sort of wish I could do that if I were married.  I gained a little more respect for Ellie.

This wasn't a bad season finale, and I could be happy if this were the series finale, frankly.  This show was a little too often off the mark for me in terms of jokes, so I'm not that eager to continue watching it on TBS, unless I hear some pretty good rumors about it.  I kept with this show hoping that it would grow on me and it has a tiny bit, but not so much that I think that I will be definitely watching it again in its fourth season. 

The Women Step Up (Or Step Down)

Mad Men, S05E11

Don worked on his presentation for Jaguar and learned that Megan's acting career may make her absent from the home.  Pete proposed that Joan exchange sexual favors with one of the men from Jaguar to secure their position with the account.  Peggy decided that she should take meetings with other advertising firms in order to keeping her career going.

Although it was nice to see Don connect with his work again, I found myself less excited about SCDP getting Jaguar the more that I saw Don and the others scrambling for a good pitch that involved a mistress.  I was prepared to see them get absolutely nowhere until Michael came along with a very good idea.  Before he brought the idea to Don, they exchanged some funny lines:

[Michael] I know I'm not a manager, but it's very hard to get things done with you in another room.
[Don] Well, I obviously have the opposite feeling.

Do I ever hate Michael, but I love how he gets under Don's skin.  So far, they don't seem to have changed much in their relationship, although Michael seems like a creature of habit, so I suppose it's asking too much of him to suddenly change his tune and turn immediately into the next "Pete Campbell."  But I did notice that Michael still holds a grudge against Megan, which was obvious when he remarked that she was free to come and go as she pleased in their office.  Granted, I thought Megan's visit was odd too (turns out it was for some "confidence-building" sex), but I was still annoyed that Michael was so focused on what she was doing (and I suppose what Don was doing).  I sort of wonder if Michael will ever get to directly address his problems about Megan (without pissing off Don in the process).

I have some problems with Megan.  I don't think she should be so quick to judge Don's level of support.  Ever since she started chasing her dream, she's been more and more unpleasant as a wife.  She is rightfully frustrated that her acting career isn't taking off, but I'd wish she'd stop taking it out on Don like he's trying to sabotage her.  They haven't been married that long and knowing that your wife would suddenly (she failed to mention the length and distance of her future acting commitment) be gone for work should make a husband unhappy.  True, Don often takes trips from time to time, but he couldn't be gone for more than a few days at most.  She's being ridiculous.  If she were more honest about what she was doing (I'm sure that Don would at least feign interest), they wouldn't have to fight about it.  I sort of want to see her fail because she's being a little bit like a brat, but on the other hand I'd like her to succeed a little so she can stop bitching and get off Don's back.  I'm really starting to get sick of her.

However, no one made me more sick and angry (although Peggy did come a close second) than fucking Pete Campbell in this episode.  He will literally do anything--anything to get a damn car dealership for their firm.  And maybe it was up to him to push for that (because the rest of the partners sure aren't working their asses off to bring in strong clients), but he had no right to pull Joan into it like she was just a piece of furniture at the office he could just pawn off like it was freaking Craigslist.  What the fuck!  I wanted to choke him when he brought up the idea of her sleeping with Herb to get them the Jaguar account, but he did it in such a passive way as if he was appalled at the idea.  He's such a piece of trash!  He tried to make it seem like her sacrifice would be noble or queen-like, when it was just an easy way for him to win without having to get his own hands dirty.  What if Herb had wanted a piece of Pete?  Would he have given up his body to get the account?  Fuck no!  To ask Joan is to say that he didn't value her very much at all.

To make it worse, Pete didn't give up when Joan clearly told him no.  When she told him he couldn't afford to pay her to do that, it didn't mean that he needed to bring all the partners together to discuss paying her a big sum to "take one for the team."  I was disappointed in all of them, except Don (who turned down the idea and left like a boss), for not turning a deaf ear to Pete's idea.  Well, I guess at heart they are all pigs.  Lane tried a bit to talk Joan out of it, but I wonder if he didn't just want her to decline so he wouldn't have to find more money that he didn't have?  I hate that Pete thought that Don's opinion didn't matter and just did what he wanted.  In my eyes he is an enemy of women.

Now, of course, Joan could have turned down the offer, and I hoped she would, but when Don came to tell her that they didn't need her to do that and he was against it, I had a feeling she still would.  After all, Joan had gone to Pete and asked for partnership in the firm if she did.  And fucking Pete was not going to have a chance to haggle her price--that was it.  Financially speaking, that was a brilliant thing to ask, especially when she deserves such a position and she's a single mother now.  However, I was disappointed that Joan did it.  I know she'll regret it (if she doesn't already).  Plus, I had no idea she had already done it when Don had come to see her.  He was just a little too late!  Fucking Pete!!  I wonder if Joan thought she might as well do it if all of the partners (even Roger and Don) were thinking it was a good things for her to do.  It makes me angrier that Don didn't have a chance to fight against Pete.  Joan is a partner (yay), but her promotion is bittersweet.  After that beautiful episode with she and Don last time, I wonder if they will have such a good relationship now?

Peggy, after seeing herself on the other side of the Jaguar account (where the men were rewarded with lobster lunches) and having money thrown in her face for wanting to go to Paris for an account she saved with her on-the-spot creativity, listened to Freddy's advice to find employment elsewhere.  I just wish she had picked a different time to do this!  I think Peggy probably does deserve better with her talents and the ambitions she holds, but after everything else that happened I don't know if she could have picked a worse time to stab Don if she had tried.  I was so prepared for Don to yell at her for moving on (especially when he had lost his wife at the firm not too long ago), but he wasn't a jerk about it at all.  I couldn't help but tear up when he grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go until Peggy pulled away.  It broke my heart to see him like that when he just got Jaguar on shady terms and then found out his most loyal copywriter was calling it quits on him.  Kudos for Peggy as a woman for wanting to rise higher, but fuck her for hurting Don.  I can't help but want her to be miserable at her new place of employment (couldn't she found another great place that wasn't SCDP's rival??).  Let her go reach for the sky, but I want her to have to suffer twice as hard now that she's not with Don anymore.  It was probably a matter of time until Peggy left, but I still can't help but hate her.  Maybe one day, when Don doesn't give a damn about her absence anymore, maybe then I'll forgive her.

So who will replace Peggy?  She is an impossible person to replace, I think.  After all, she was the supervisor in the copywriting department, and someone that Don trusted well enough to delegate important decisions to.  If another person like Michael is coming to the firm, I don't think I can take it.  I don't even know how Don can take it.  He's going to be overrun with Michael's incessant chatter with Peggy gone.  We'll probably be seeing him hanging himself soon enough.  I freaking would.

They are surely not holding back this season!  The drama keeps building up and and up until I just think that some of these characters are going to crumble underneath it all.  Of course, I'm mostly concerned with how this all affects Don more than anyone else.  If there is justice in this show Pete will get his for the lousy thing he has done in this episode.  I will never forget his scheming, even if he does something like save Don's life.  Right now he can freaking die and I wouldn't be bothered.  I hope that Joan at least makes herself more of an asset now that she's a partner and does her best to show she's worth much more than what she gave away for Jaguar.  Peggy, on the other hand, can suck it.  Maybe she'll soar now that she's free from Don's wing, and maybe she'll plummet to the ground.  Either way, as long as she's not smiling as much as she was when she got on that elevator to leave, I'll be happier she left.

Who Cares If He's Married--Dance With Him!!

Mad Men, S05E10

Lane struggled to get money he needed to pay off a tax problem back in England by extending the firm's credit but was unable to use Christmas bonuses as an excuse to give himself a piece of that money.  Craine had to find a way to help Paul, who had become a Hare Krishna and wanted to sell a script to NBC.  Joan got served divorce papers, and Don helped her blow off some steam.  Pete tried to energize the firm about a possible contract with Jaguar, but no one was giving him much attention.  There was some tension with Megan and Don that came to surface when she didn't know where he was for some hours.

This isn't the first time that Lane has been scrambling for some money, but this is the first time we've seen him on such a time crunch.  I couldn't believe that he was so easily able to get more more for the firm on credit with a simple talk from his buddy from the bank.  Especially since they don't have so many clients actually paying them for their work. That's worrying because he took out 50gs!  Will they be able to pay that back?

It was smart that Lane wisely found a way he could get a piece of that extra money by distributing it as bonuses, but thanks to Don wanting to put them off for a while, Lane wasn't able to get his hands on it immediately.  He was making me nervous in the way everything seemed to be working against him to get the money.  I thought for sure someone was going to wonder why he was pushing so hard for those bonuses.  But I guess they were too caught up in themselves to worry about any woes Lane might be going through.

The biggest surprise was seeing Lane forge Don's signature on a check to himself.  I can't believe how desperate his situation has gotten that he needs to steal from his own company!  He might have gotten away with it if Mohawk hadn't gone on strike; it would have just looked like he had gotten his bonus.  But since it didn't go that way, Lane is in a whole lot of shit!  I don't know how long he'll be able to cover it up since he's not entirely the only person who looks at the firm's books.  I'm a little afraid what's going to happen to him.

Another person who was in a shitty position was Paul, who wanted to start a new life with his new sweetheart in his Hare Krishna group, but needed money to do so.  I had forgotten that Paul even existed, much less how good of friends he and Craine were.  Because if they weren't such good friends, I couldn't see him putting up with the the truckloads of shit that came pouring in when he decided to meet Paul for "coffee."  It went from impromptu chanting to a discussion of his Star Trek script to being threatened by his girlfriend who willingly slept with him.  It was just one crazy thing after the next!  But the girl was definitely the craziest part of it.  She acts like a psycho slut, slaps Craine for calling her out on her less than chaste ways, and then threatens him to stay away from Paul--what the hell is her problem??  I sort of wish that Craine had a little more backbone like Don and would have slapped the bitch back.  He was only trying to help his damn oh-so-lost friend and his thanks for it is that.

I was touched that Craine didn't give up on Paul (which might have been the smart thing with that bitch on his trail) and gave him money to pursue his writing career in LA.  I'm sure that Craine doesn't seriously believe that he'll make it, but I'm also sure that anything would be better for him than having to stick around that psycho.  I just hope that this is the last time that Craine has to save Paul's ass.  I don't know if I can handle another weird series of events that follow from extending a hand to Paul.

The absolute best thing about this episode was Joan and later Don.  Joan is usually the one who has to come in and calm down others down when they lose they shit, but finally she was the one to do so (in the office, anyway).  I absolutely loved when she took out her anger about being served on that insipid, little receptionist.  She has no damn idea how to do her job!  And she had the audacity to tell Joan that she wasn't allowed to treat her as she did or yell at her.  Bitch was lucky that all she did was break a model of an airplane on her desk.  She should have been slapped!  I would have loved to see Joan slap the hell out of her.

Then Don swooped in like a knight in shining armor and took her out of the office for the day.  I loved watching them play as a couple at the dealership and how easy it was for Don to write a check and get them access to that car.  In comparison to Lane who was grasping at straws to get the money he needed, Don can write a check for 6gs like it's nothing.  That's messed up.  But it was also damn cool of Don to get them that car for the rest of the night.

Finally, Don and Joan were just chilling at the bar, basically flirting with each other and having a great time.  I had forgotten that they have a good amount of chemistry between them.  Their conversation was like magic.  It just felt so right and made me wish they didn't have to change scenes to other people in the show.  I was dying when Don had on the hat and was trying to get Joan to dance with him.  That would have been a golden scene, but she wisely refused him, worrying what it would look like.  I can't argue with her, but damnit, Don was looking good and offering you a dance!  The hell with appearances--I'd go for it.  I've been a supporter of Megan and Don, but after this scene, I really wonder if Megan is the one after all.  Joan and Don would make the most attractive couple ever!

Later, Don finally gave Joan flowers, after he admitted he had been too afraid to cross her when he first came to the firm.  He signed the card for it "Ali Khan" (someone he had thought she was dating in earlier years) and claimed her mother had done a good job with her (I'm assuming he was referring to being one who was admired by men).  That was so adorable!  Don has gotten so damn sweet lately.  Didn't think he could be more charming than he already was.

Pete was still his less than charming self, practically crying for someone to praise him for getting the firm another chance with Jaguar.  My favorite example of everyone ignoring him was when he asked Don to go check out Jaguar himself::

[Pete] Take Megan.  See how they deal with a couple.
[Don] We'll see.
[Pete] You know, if I told you last December that we'd be in the running for a car, you would have kissed me on the mouth.
[Don] Maybe you and I should go as a couple.

I was dying with laughter.  I don't know if Don could have expressed  less excitement about having to pitch to Jaguar if he took a nap on the couch in the middle of Pete talking.  This is now one of my top favorite lines from this show.

What I didn't care for much was after Don had this incredibly wonderful night with Joan, he had to come home to Megan shouting at him like he was up to his old tricks.  True, he should have given Megan an idea of where he was, but there was no need for her to be throwing plates and accusing him of misdeeds.  See, if she had kept her job she wouldn't have to second-guess him about his whereabouts at night.  I love how she is punishing for being on the outside of his world when she had a place before.  And maybe if she was putting more of her time into acting like she claimed she would be, she wouldn't have time to worry about what the hell Don was up to.  I'm really worried this is going to be her thing, eventually.  Wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't find some acting work soon.

Love this episode.  I definitely have to watch it again to listen to Don and Joan spend the longest lunch in history.  On an unhappier note, I don't know what's going to happen to Lane now that he's gotten into forgery.  He'll be lucky to stay out of jail, much less keep his job.  Hopefully, they will overlook his less than honorable actions and keep him on.  I also hope that Craine has seen the last of Paul and more importantly Paul's crazy girlfriend.  I don't know how they will be able to top this episode within this particular season, but I look forward to them trying.  Can't say enough good things about this one!

No Chicken Fights, Please

Family Guy, S10E23

Joe decided to have an affair after experiencing problems with Bonnie and being convinced from his friends that it was only fair since she cheated first.  At Kevin's birthday, Bonnie learned of his infedelity and Joe learned that Bonnie had never cheated.  They two seemed to be on the road to divorce until Peter helped Joe and Bonnie recreate they first meeting.

We had another long Peter and Chicken fight that we hadn't seen in a good while.  The absence of this long-running gag helped me not pull out my hair at the sight of it again, but it was hardly the best 5 minutes of the episode.  I did like that they had a part where Peter and Chicken went back to the Old West, via Stewie's time machine.  They were able to get back by hitching a ride on car being pushed by a train in a scene that looked just like Back to the Future.  Besides that, I found myself wanting to push a fast-forward button so that the fight would hurry up and end.  I'm not sure if this is the final fight between them since Chicken did open his eyes at the end, but he was burnt to a rotisserie crisp, so maybe we never have to suffer through another of their fights.  I'm begging for the latter.

 The fight between Bonnie and Joe wasn't that interesting except that we learned that she didn't cheat on Joe in France.  Maybe they told us this already, but I thought she had.  It made reconciliation for the couple look bleaker after what Joe had done.  I doubted that after their big blowout at Kevin's birthday party that they would even want to look at each other again.  But then we saw how Joe and Bonnie first met.  That was another surprise--didn't expect Bonnie to have been a stripper when they first met.  Makes me wonder if it was all a fairy tale from then on.  After all, when Peter succeeded in making them feel like it was their fateful first meeting again, they were swept away enough by their love to agree to work on their marriage.  It's been a long time since this show has done something that was even remotely sweet.  That was the last thing I thought I would see in their season finale.

Finally, I think I only liked one cutaway this time.  Stewie went into a door that said "This is not an exit" and found there was a gorilla on the other side to beat him up.  He complained the door should have been less vague about what awaited behind the door.  It's funny how such a rather simple joke works so well for me.

For the last episode in the season, there wasn't a lot of comedy, unless it amuses you to see Peter fight Chicken for the fifth or whatever number of times.  I will say it's probably the fight I hate the least of them all.  Also, it's nice to see that they haven't abandoned completely the idea of ending a story on a happier note rather than something bitter and mean-spirited.  It gives me a little hope for what the next season might bring.  There were probably as many episodes I liked this season as there were ones that I didn't.  But I don't think this show has quite peaked yet, so I'm definitely still firmly strapped in await for what things they will shock and amuse us with in the 11th season.

Better The First Time

Family Guy, S10E22

There were three different stories, supposedly based on some suggestions by fans.  The first was a British version of Family Guy where Peter wanted to prove that he was related to the Queen of England.  The second was about Peter having the ability to turn anyone (and eventually anything) to Robin Williams.  The third was a story that took place entirely from Stewie's point of view.

I was expecting something pretty good from the episode since I enjoyed the first version of viewer mail stories.  However, it's hard for me to say which one I liked the best because all of them weren't that good.  It felt like they didn't try very hard to think outside of the box (which might have been a problem of them using fans' ideas if that were true) and the stories weren't as bizarre as they could have been.  They might have been limited to what they could accomplish with a story that had to be a third of the time they usually had to work with, but I still think they could have done better.

I think maybe the British version of Peter and the others was the most interesting of them all.  I liked seeing them with ridiculously bad teeth and more distinguished noses.  Plus, Brian was a horse instead of a dog, and Stewie had an American country accent instead of his usual British one.  Another interesting twist was that British Peter's random bitter enemy was not a chicken, but a quail and their fight was much shorter and ended on a more polite note than any of the Quahog Peter's fights have.  Basically this story's appeal was the funny differences between America and England.  But Peter chasing after the Queen of England and killing her in the process to get some hair for a DNA test, seemed like a pretty lame adventure for him to get into.  But perhaps that was the point--showing that British Peter can't measure up to the American one?  I don't know, but it was pretty boring.

The second story was just awful.  There is a limit to how many Robin Williams jokes I can tolerate, and I think they exceeded that within the first few minutes.  This one was more like a horror story, but not horrifically funny.  It was more like if I had to see one more Robin Williams appear, I was going to go as crazy as Peter did.  The best part was the end, surprisingly (not simply because it was ending), but because it was so disturbing.  Peter had kept 5 of the Robins and dressed them like his family.  That was so freaky and sad!  Then to make things even more so, Peter had chopped off his hands.  It was like the end to something from the Twilight Zone, but not even a fraction as enjoyable to watch.

The last story wasn't too bad, but it was just amazing how everything through Stewie's eyes wasn't more interesting.  After all, he's a baby that acts like an adult most of the time.  There were two creepy moments that worked well in the story.  The first was Quagmire asking Stewie to come over so he could see if the smell of Lois' boobs were still on him.  Geez.  There is really no low he won't go when perving on Lois.  The second is when Stewie saw Herbert hanging underneath a school bus and Stewie warned him to stay away from his brother's butt.  That was probably my favorite joke in the whole episode.  The last thing in that story I thought was a little funny was the book Lois read Stewie to bed.  It was about the town from Footloose.  I liked how Stewie wondered who the intended reader of the book was and how one line from the book referenced "the church where you slap your daughter."  That was a pretty good joke.

I was pretty disappointed that they weren't able to top the first of this kind of episode.  This was one of the last episodes in the season, I so I expected something a little more flashy and memorable.  Instead, there were just a lot of stories that felt uninspired and boring.  Mostly this was the fault of a story about an invasion of Robin Williams, but the others had their faults as well.  If this had been the last episode of the season, I would have been incredibly dissatisfied.

Lisa Denounces Gaga

The Simpsons, S023E22

Lisa was feeling bad for herself after both receiving an award for being the least popular and being exposed as promoting herself on a school message board.  Lady Gaga, traveling on her outlandish train, felt the presence of Lisa's low self-esteem and stopped into Springfield to cheer her up and the rest of the town.  After many failures to cheer up Lisa, Gaga herself adopted an uncharacteristic defeated attitude when Lisa exploded all of her frustrations upon her.  However, it turned out that was just what Lisa needed to bring herself out a dark and sad place.

For the season finale, I suppose they couldn't have gone bigger with a guest star other than Lady Gaga.  I'm not much of a fan of hers, but I don't think this episode was too cheesy.  In fact, I liked the way they poked fun of all of her outrageous outfits and flashy performances.  I think my favorite Gaga outfit was the one she had made out of meat where Homer kept roasting and eating it right off her.  If she had let him keep eating, it probably would have ended up being the fastest time Homer ever undressed a woman.

Another thing I just liked about Gaga in this episode was that she kept trying to promote positivity.  Yes, she was pushy despite that Lisa wasn't interested in her help, but I liked her style.  She could have been very vain and all flash and no substance, but she really wanted to see Lisa smile again and was truly hurt when Lisa exploded on her like she was the worst thing to come to town since Mr. Burns.  So I was little happy to see Lisa and Gaga make up and sing a song together (even though I didn't like the song).  Although, when Gaga was sad she was crying little diamonds, which was funny and sort of random.  That was a nice touch to add to the idea of her extreme glamor.

There were a lot of other little things that I enjoyed.  One was when a piece of glitter from Gaga's first little show in town landed on Mr. Burns' head and made him fall off his feet.  Another was when Skinner told Lisa to go along with her mean-spirited award in order to make things easier for herself.  Instead, the kids laughed at her and Skinner admitted that he doesn't know much about children.  The irony in that joke was not lost upon me.  But my favorite joke was probably when Moe was chasing after Gaga's train when she was attempting to leave town, asking her to wait:

[Moe] Can you help me with my self esteem?

[Gaga] I'm not that good.

Poor Moe.  Even the magical-like Gaga can't turn him into something that could remotely resemble a human.  But I loved that she didn't even need a moment to think about it.  Even someone who hasn't know Moe for more than a second can tell he's a hopeless case.

Finally, I think it was interesting that Homer was singing his own version of "Poker Face."  It wasn't hilarious, but I did like him putting "dohs" into the song to replaces "ohs."  I'm glad they saved that until the end when most people had probably stopped paying attention.  It wasn't a strong enough song to be included in the actual episode, so that was a smart move.  But I would have liked to see Homer dancing or something to the song.  That might have been good.

Overall, I don't think this was a bad finale with such a huge guest star.  I doubt that it was good enough to draw in fans that have been lost over the last decade or so, but I'm sure it made some people interested in how Lady Gaga would fare in Simpsons world.  I think she didn't do a horrible job and obviously had fun with it.  It was definitely a lot more funnier than I anticipated, and I had very low anticipations about a story about Lisa and Gaga.  This season wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't a complete failure, much like this episode.  So I think this was a good episode to end with.  It reflects the general tone of the 21 others.

I Think I Just Ate A Slop Popper

The Cleveland Show, S03E22

Roberta gave Junior a makeover in the hopes it would boost his confidence and create a new image for him.  It was slightly successful in that Junior attracted the attention of a girl named Daisy who thought Junior was a lesbian, and he allowed her to believe that.  He didn't reveal his true self to her until he made a grand speech at Daisy's prom about having pride about who you are.  Cleveland also battled against another Slop Popper fan to see who was the "true Popper King."

I didn't expect much from Roberta's makeover, considering that her idea to make herself stand out was to grow larger boobs (or buy them, possibly), but she managed to do worse for Junior's image than I could have imagined.  I couldn't see how anyone would think Junior was a girl, even a less than feminine one.  I doubt that anyone would be fooled just by the way he was dressed and a different hairstyle.  This strange turn of events wasn't welcomed by me because it seemed to have no meaning.  It only started to look like there was something to the story when Junior decided to go to Daisy's prom without her, deciding to make a stand against those who would ban same-sex couples to enjoy the event.  I thought that was a nice gesture, even though Junior wasn't a woman.  I was surprised that Roberta was on board too.  That gives her a little more credit in my eyes.  They didn't change everyone's minds, I think, but at least Junior seemed to have given Daisy a little more courage to be herself.  I think that's why she didn't get too angry at him for his deception (which was partially her fault for making assumptions based on appearances).

Cleveland's story was a little funnier, mainly because he was so concerned about this microwavable snack that resembled Hot Pockets, but seemed nastier.  Even the name of it suggested that eating said product would give you horrible diarrhea, a joke often used about HPs.  But that didn't seem to deter Cleveland, who was seen heating one up in his room.  It was really funny how he just randomly had a microwave and fridge right by the bed, but it was even funnier when Rallo came into the room with his hair all disheveled.  I had a good laugh at Rallo telling us that the fan from the back of the microwave was connected to his room and blowing on him.  Damn.  Waking up a child just so you can enjoy a fatty snack--how much of a sorry fatso can you be?

Despite that Cleveland's eating obsession interfered with his son's sleeping, Rallo was the one who set up a showdown for him and his Wikipedia rival.  I might have preferred that he kept obsessing over an "invisible" enemy that changed the information he wrote about the Poppers, than have this trivia contest about them where you buzz in by smashing the Poppers.  The room looked like someone had eaten a couple of the Poppers and failed to find a toilet so they used that room.  Was really disgusting to see all those brown stains everywhere.  I just wanted the match to hurry up and end.  And it did when the creator came around and condemned both Cleveland and the little boy he was fighting.  I really liked how he was horrified that someone could eat five of the Poppers in a day and still be alive.  That had me rolling.  I bet there are people like that who eat HPs just as often.  The story made me a little sick, but it brought some welcomed gross comedy against a lack of it in the main story.

Despite this was a story about Junior, thanks to Roberta's hand in his new image, things didn't develop into a situation that was very funny.  It was just slightly interesting that Junior was looked upon as a lesbian (though I found that hard to believe) and stood against those who wished to be intolerant and punish those who differ from themselves.  I think I mostly enjoyed that Rashida Jones voiced Daisy, more than I liked the story itself.  The side story was better, although it was about a nasty food that Cleveland enjoyed too much for his own good.  Perhaps if that had been expanded into the main story, the episode would have been more of a success.  For me, this episode was overall equal to what happens when you eat too many Hot Pockets in one sitting.

Not Too Keen On Gene

Bob's Burger, S02E09

Bob got a spot on a cooking segment on a talk show, but the real appeal of the show was not Bob's culinary skills but Gene's goofing off while he dawned a Sasquatch mask.  The two soon battled against each other, with Louise's help, for a larger piece of the fame.  Eventually Linda's inappropriate exposure brought an end to their fight before it escalated any further.  A boy named Nathan was also stalking the host of the show and dated Tina briefly to get closer to his target.

I don't think that Gene is too annoying usually, but when he was wearing a Sasquatch mask it really amped up his middle-child neediness for attention.  His latest attempt to get someone to notice him might have passed by like his other uninteresting stunts, but thanks to Chuck and Pam's show, Gene became a local celebrity and continued acting like a hamburger version of the damn Cookie Monster or something.  I wouldn't have minded Gene cutting up if it seemed like he was adding to his father's image instead of making him merely a subject for Gene to humiliate.  So for a while, I enjoyed that Bob was getting revenge by making Gene eating things like kitty litter and hair burgers, but Bob was getting his fair share of pranks in return, so it quickly became meaningless.  I usually don't say this but thank goodness for Linda who pulled out her boobs.  Their stupid brawl would have become a show within itself if she hadn't.  Gene and Bob are much better when they are fooling around in the kitchen rather than on some TV show.

The best thing about this story was also the creepiest.  From the moment Nathan started talking to Tina, I felt like I was seeing her male twin.  It was obvious that he was after Pam, but I didn't think he was the crazy, scheming type of stalker.  Which is why I didn't think he would ask Tina out, especially because she (even though she is so bizarre) was so creeped out by Nathan moaning like a weirdo.  It was funny to see that Tina is not desperate enough to date a boy like him long enough to be used.  This is one of the reasons I like Tina because she's aware of her value, even if others' can't see it.  However, the only thing that Nathan saw in her was that she was someone who had access to Pam, and when she wouldn't help him get close enough to "lick her hair," he decided he would dress up like Tina.  That was disgusting for some reason, even though he could easily pass for her (since I believe that most people don't watch Tina close enough to know exactly how she looks).  I liked that after Tina found out and took Nathan down, both she and Nathan were removed from the show's set by security.  Nathan was unbalanced, but at least he made the episode a tad bit funnier.

This episode didn't make me a fan of a Gene-centered story, but I'm willing to see another one before I write him off because perhaps he can be a little more entertaining when he's not acting like an animal.  I'm starting to think it will become a pattern that a Tina side story will strengthen many of the weaker main stories.  This time, it definitely did, and I'm sure that it will happen again.  I wonder if next time they might do a Louise-centered story.  Although I don't find her as interesting as Tina, I think that would be a much better story than what was shown this past Sunday.

Grimm's Future For Me Looking Grim

Grimm, S01E22

Nick and Hank were investigating the murder of a private investigator that Akira, a person involved in Nick's parents' murder, had hired.  They found pictures of Nick, Hank, Renard, and Monroe, and Akira began to turnout their houses looking for the gold coins.  Adalind brought her cat to Juliette and a scratch from it made her ill.  Before she was hospitalized, Nick tried to explain about being a Grimm and the Wesen, but Juliette failed to believe him.

It was a bit convenient that after Nick found out about Akira, he came to town looking for information about who might have had the coins he was looking for.  I suppose with the incident before it would make sense that he would get wind of the coins landing in Portland, especially when he had already encountered Farley without them, but I just figured that Nick might go looking for Akira, not the other way around.  I was surprised that Renard wasn't able to do much against Akira himself, even if he was ambushed.  I just expected that a reaper would be able to put up a better fight.  But Akira did seemed highly skilled and powerful, so I suppose I can see why he wouldn't be able to do anything.

The fight between Nick and Akira was a little impressive.  I never expect Nick to be able to do more than get by on the skin of his teeth, simply because I just don't buy that he should be that skilled.  But when fighting Akira, who seemed like a force to be reckoned with, he was kicking some ass.  Maybe it was because he was face to face with the killer of his parents, or maybe it was because he had been "training" in the more recent episodes.  It's going to take a while before I believe that he's that good at fighting Wesen he's never been up against before.  At least Nick wasn't that successful with the crossbow full of sleeping potion.  If he had gotten that shot, I would have been so calling bull crap, especially since Nick had only seen Akira for a second before attacking.

Nick never got to question Akira about anything because the mystery lady stabbed Akira to to death and then revealed herself to be Nick's mother.  I couldn't be that surprised or invested in that finale "bombshell."  It just seemed random and like a ploy to get viewers to keep watching next season (if there is one).  Yes, I would like to know how and why Nick's mother faked her death (and what became of Nick's father), but the execution of his background story was handled so poorly that it seems a little forced.  There's enough to handle on the Grimm mystery plate without this.  Of all the things that could have been made clearer, Nick's parents were not on the top of my list at all!  Maybe it has to do with those coins, which are obviously very important to the story overall somehow, but who cares at this stage??  For them to end the finale with that made me just groan.

Another thing that was left open was the matter of Adalind's cat attack upon Juliette.  Rosalie and Monroe had just begun to paralyze her cat to find out what might have been put inside of Juliette, but we have no idea.  All we know is that Juliette became conscious again, but seemed to be affected by the same dark influence that Adalind's cat was exposed to.  I thought we were going to see Juliette start attacking Nick or something, but that was as far as the Juliette and Adalind (who was nowhere to be found when Nick went looking for her) story went.  Seriously?  That's all we get?  But we got to see Nick's mother appear.  What a rip.  Couldn't Adalind's revenge story started another time??  It was just so annoying that barely anything had developed and it was over.

Then the "jewel" of the episode was when Nick was finally pushed to shove with hiding the truth.  Either he had to fess up or watch his girlfriend die, really.  But Nick's idea was to bring her to his crazy, late aunt's trailer and show her all of the Grimm stuff in one swoop.  But Nick didn't try to ease her into his world at all--he just rambled on about different Wesen and weapons in such a scatterbrained way that anyone would have thought that Nick was just suffering from psychosis, not saying any facts.  What the hell??  He totally blew it!  He's had time to prepare what he would say and use past strange occurrences to back up his stories.  Instead he just sited those random moments and pointed to drawings in old Grimm books and expected Juliette to just believe him.  I wanted to shake him.  So disappointed at how he carried himself.  At last, he made a desperate attempt to have Monroe show his wolf side to her, but by then it was just too late she was out.  Freaking ridiculous.

I think there were many other episodes that had more force than this one, yet this was supposed to be the season finale.  I still don't feel any deep attachment to the relationship between Juliette and Nick, so I'm not entirely worried about her fate.  To tell the truth, I'm not too worried about anything that they left hanging in this episode nor the others.  After sticking with this show for the entire season, I don't think that I will be tuning in for much longer.  If there is a second season, I might look at the premiere, but I doubt I would continue to watch after that.  And if there isn't a second season, I wouldn't be broken about it either.  This show has been like trudging through a muddy river in search of a tiny earring.  I think I'm about ready to abandon ship with this one.

I Thought The Season Ended

Happy Endings, S02E22

Alex got the others to join a kickball team sponsored by her store, Xela.  Jane had joined a different team and defeated them at the semi-final match, but she later joined her sister's team and got Team Xela into the finals.  Dave failed to get over his yips in the game, so they replaced him.  However, at the last minute, they needed Dave to fill in for another player and he finally kicked the ball (into Penny's head).  They lost the game, but celebrated anyway.

I thought the season finale was the one about the wedding where Alex and Dave seemed to have gotten back together, but in this episode, I didn't sense they were together at all.  I heard there was a "lost episode" for this season, but I'm not sure if it's meant to be this one or not.  At any rate, I think this kickball story was weak and could have been removed.

There was barely anything I even could smile about while watching, but it wasn't a complete disaster.  Max's defeated-before-trying attitude while coaching wasn't too bad.  He was almost funny in the way that he kept setting the bar lower and lower for the team's performance, but he just didn't quite get me to laugh.  Also, not entirely bad was Brad trying to coin the nickname "Bunt Cake" for himself throughout.   His persistence nearly made that joke work.

Nothing more to say about this episode, except that it makes me wonder if I want to continue to watch this show.  It seems to have lost its humor for me the more it goes on, but I don't want to miss any good Max moments either.  We'll see what kind of "adventures" they get into next season before I decide whether I'm holding onto a former favorite that has possibly past its prime already.

Friendship Will Always Prevail

Community, S03E22

Jeff began to focus on completing the phony degree he used to lawyer with, but his friends were too concerned about Troy's absence or their problems to care about passing biology.  However, Jeff decided to represent Shirley when Pierce got his own lawyer to battle her for the right of ownership of the sandwich shop they had finally been granted in the cafeteria.  Troy was miserable at the AC school, but after the vice-dean passed mysteriously, Troy saw there was a need for him to be there.  He defeated the man who had setup the vice-dean's death and claimed the position as the "True Repairman."  Thanks to him taking on that role, he was able to return to the main campus with his friends freely.  Abed also struggled to keep Evil Abed out of power with Troy gone and only Jeff's closing remarks about helping others helped "regular" Abed return.

For a season finale, I felt like this episode wasn't as moving as the other two, but it was still good.  Abed definitely stole the show again with his descent into madness with Evil Abed resurfacing.  I became more convinced that he wasn't going to be all right when Britta revealed that she was going to counsel him now that Troy was gone.  She couldn't counsel the rain to fall if it was already raining.  So it was a delight to see Evil Abed already in place, whittling down at Britta's sanity and turning her dark.  I like that he kept referring to the darkest timeline from one of my favorite episodes and was determined to change things into that timeline.  Still, I didn't think that he was so unbalanced that he would get a bone saw and go after Jeff!  I was so scared he was going to cut him!  Thankfully his cord was too short.  I was laughing when he tried to get Jeff to approach him, and Jeff just kinda ignored him.

Another part that was good was seeing how unhappy Troy was at the AC school.  He just didn't seem to belong, even with everyone in identical uniforms at the school.  But I thought that when the vice-dean suddenly died after telling Troy that he was destined to be the "True Repairman," it was just a ploy to get Troy to accept his fate.  Instead, it seemed that the man who replaced the vice-dean had just arranged an accident to bump him off.  Wow.  And they would have never known if Troy hadn't challenged the murderer in the Sun Chamber.  I liked how Troy just stood in there with his arms folded and then fixed the broken AC unit in a second.  Damn, he has skills.  And despite that he's not the strongest guy around, he does have common sense and can wield leadership when it's necessary.  This was shown when the ACs guys wanted to lock the murderer in some another weird chamber of their own:

When Troy finally came back to the group, I absolutely loved when he went straight to hug Abed, even though Britta was right in front of him.  He totally ignored her for like a good couple of minutes until she had to wrestle away his attention.  He did hug her, but I felt more love between Troy and Abed again than with Britta and Troy.  She's definitely going to have to try a little harder than that if she ever wants to capture his heart.

I'm not sure why at the very end we saw them taking down the Dreamatorium (but Abed still had a cardboard box with the grid lines inside).  Did they want to get rid of it to prevent another Evil Abed incident?  And besides Britta, who else knew about it?  But maybe she told the rest of them about it.  It was also interesting that Chang was seen lurking in the air vents of the dean of City College (who seemed to be plotting something against Greendale again).  So perhaps he'll be gaining a position of power there in the next season.

Well, the finale wasn't as great as I wish I was, but it wasn't too bad.  There was some good jokes and, of course, we got to see a different side of Abed that was disturbing and funny.  Even though the season ended a lot quicker than I expected, I'm happy that it will be around for at least one more year (here's hoping for more!).  I'm nowhere near ready for it go off the air!

The Fall Of Chang, The End Of Trobed

Community, S03E21

Jeff and the study group implemented a plan to save the dean from Chang.  After getting information about the extent of the Chang's army around the school, they were able to remove the dean from the basement Chang was holding him, but Chang stopped them before they could escape and locked all of them up.  Troy got them free by agreeing to be part of the AC school, and they stopped Chang from blowing up the school with fireworks.  Just when Jeff and Chang looked like they were going to go head-to-head with tasers, the school board came and informed Chang the jig was up.  Chang ran away before he could be prosecuted and the dean was reinstated.  Troy had to leave his apartment for the AC school housing and said goodbye to his friends.

I liked how Chang was looked upon as a savior of Greendale, and there was some kind of video at the beginning of the episode about how enrollment was up and tuition was more affordable.   I expected that Greendale would have turned into some kind of hellhole where order had been totally cast aside.  In truth, Chang was running everything into the ground (most apparent from his excessive spending to cover his birthday party), but at his party the board was treating him like a hero.  Chang was aptly dressed as Napoleon, the clothes making him look both hungry for power and off-balance.  I'm a little sad that he had the appearance of a king (with an elaborate throne in his office), but in reality he didn't seem to have heavily established his power.  In fact, I felt like he was just using his power to fund his random whims and get himself pampered.  I sort of wanted to see him hanging a blanket of doom over the students.  I think only the security detail outside that looked more like a militarized border control and his black suited mini-guards patrolling the halls were the only example of that.  But maybe Chang didn't have enough time to "chang" things.  Then again, if he had any more time as the leader of Greendale without opposition, he would blown it up.

As far as the gang's heist, I think it was clever that they pretended to fail so that they could get the jump on Chang, but I wished they had made their escape with the real dean a little faster.  They were strolling out of the school like they were in freaking Oceans Eleven.  I groaned when Chang caught up with them.  Chang would have been an idiot not to.  But at least thanks to Troy he got them out.

Speaking of Troy, it's looking like they truly are going in the direction of Britta and Troy.  Not exactly the biggest fan, but I'll see how that pans out.  The return of the dean wasn't that emotional for me, but it was when Troy had to say goodbye to his friends.  I liked that Pierce said something random about condoms, and Jeff followed it by saying that Troy should never listen to Pierce.  I might have gotten a little in favor of Troy and Britta when Britta gave him a lock of her hair and his response was:

Aww, creepy.

 But I'm probably more in favor of Troy and Abed as a duo because I was tearing up when they had to say goodbye.  Troy leaned into Abed's ear and whispered something and then they did their special handshake.  Annie later asked Abed what Troy had said:

He said, "I know you hate it when people do this in movies." ...Sorry for getting so emotional.

It just broke my heart to see Troy and Abed have to be separated!  If I had to wait a whole week to see what happened next, I would have died with anticipation.  How can they do their talk show without the other one or all of the other amazing things they do??  It's just not right for them to be apart.

I liked this episode, but obviously not as much as I loved the previous one.  I'm disappointed that Chang didn't take his leadership as far as he could, but I'm glad we got to see him enjoying himself as a self-proclaimed king for a little while.  I nearly cried watching Troy leave the gang, but I know that they can't possibly leave him out of the circle for long.  There just wouldn't be a Community without Troy and Abed together.  And if there was permanently, I wouldn't want to watch that for very long.

Greendale Gang Goes Gaming

Community, S03E20

Just when I thought this show couldn't amaze and blow me away, they had an episode where the gang was turned into video bit versions of themselves and had to complete a mission in a classic RPG fashion.  I absolutely love classic bit designed games (sometimes I feel like the excessive realness of games is distracting) and RPGs, so this was an absolute pleasure to watch.  Pierce's father had designed the game so that the person who defeated him would get his inheritance, but they had no idea that Gilbert, the late Hawthorne's secretary, would fight against them as an incredibly skilled opponent.  They were angry at Gilbert for using such underhanded techniques to keep Pierce from his inheiritence until they learned that he was Hawthorne's secret child whose father had wanted to keep under the rug even after his death.  Pierce and the rest decided to just let Gilbert win, and Pierce embraced having a brother.

Who knew that a story revolving around Pierce (my least favorite character) would be so good?  As soon as they all morphed into their game characters of themselves (with a cool bit version of the theme), I was overjoyed.  I basically liked the episode throughout, even with Gilbert kicking their butts, but I'll try to focus on my three favorite aspects.  It's hard to pick when even Pierce was hilarious in his old man-esq lack of skill where he was stuck in corners and unintentionally digging himself underground.  You put these character who already funny in human form into game form, and you pretty much double their hilarity.

One of the best things was the racial and intolerant tones of the games, which was reflected in almost all areas of the game.  It was no more apparent than the names of most of the towns in the game world.  These included "Village of Laziness," "Gay Island," and "Black Cave."  These were all meant to portray stereotypes about Latinos, homosexuals, and blacks.  We didn't get to see what was in the first two towns, but in the last there were afro-headed "jive turkeys" attacking the gang.  It was so ridiculous, you had to laugh.  The late Hawthorne really did just hate just about everyone, despite that he had an affair with a non-white woman.  It's funny how people can spend so much energy on prejudice (and screwing over their own children) to the point that it just comes off as too comical to be taken seriously.  Each time he took a stab at hippies or the disabled ("Free Ride Ferry"--really?), it just made me wonder with amusement how else he could make himself look like a foolish old man with his intolerance.

Another of the great moments was when Annie and Shirley went to the weapons shops.  I know none of them (except Abed who is that kind of genius) had no real idea how to play the game (it seemed like it had a lot more player capabilities than your usual RPGs), but I never expected that Annie would set the blacksmith on fire, beat him to death, and try to hide his body!  It was so funny!  Usually in the games you can't grab torches and throw them at townspeople.  I loved it!  Then to add to that great scene, Shirley burned the blacksmith's wife and beat her to death too, claiming they would have no witnesses to their crimes.  Never would have guessed those two would be acting like murderers.  Plus, thy burned down the house just to be sure!  Wow!  If only you could do that in some games.  That would be so awesome!  It was so great the sort of things they could get away with in the game.  One of my main annoyances about role-playing is that you are limited to certain things, but not in their game.  It was simply wonderful.

The absolute best thing about the Hawthorne game was Abed's romance with Hilda and the ease in which he began to change the game to suit his own purposes.  I loved how taken he was with Hilda once he found out she had all kinds of information he could learn about.  Some of my favorite topics were:

• cinnamon island
• raccoon clothes
• unstable bath
• unkillable bears
• island of annoying voices
• collect all blue coins
• boring regular old fire
• fun murder quests

Hilda had an incredible list of topics that I'm sure that Abed listened to in their entirety.  I was amazed that he decided to stay by her side when her parents died and stayed in the village with her.  Wow.  He was really in love.  He continued to amaze me with the transformation he did in the city, with a huge, golden building where a mold of his head sat at the top.  I thought it might end there, but then Hilda suddenly made a baby for him!  A little Abed baby saying "cool, cool, cool."  But even better was that was the conversation Abed and Troy had during then:

[Abed] She can make me babies.

[Troy] Oh, and I can't? ...I can't.

How I love the bond between Troy and Abed.  Only with those two would that conversation not raise an eyebrow, but just make you laugh.  He was jealous of basically a computer program.  But with Abed's peculiarity, something electronic or digital is more likely to steal Abed's attention away from Troy than any flesh woman is.

But I felt a little uneasy that even within the fantasy of a game that Abed was using his children as slaves, mostly in those mines (it was funnier when the babies were used as ammo).  He made so much progress (in a conquering way) that I wouldn't have been surprised with more time left to himself that he would have been able to replace the old man as the end boss (and changed all the racist lands into Abed-themed towns).  It's interesting that Abed has these dictator qualities that he sometimes gives off.  I'm really glad that he does have Troy by his side.  As seen in a later episode Abed stands on edge when it comes to dancing on the dark side.  But luckily he has friends who give him a better purpose, like using his new establishment in the game to provide the gang with weapons to weaken Hawthorne.  Good thing Abed is part of the gang and not working for Gilbert.

Can't praise this episode enough.  If I could make one complaint it would be that it didn't encompass the whole 3 blocks of Community time we had this Thursday.  Not to say the others were crap, but this one was so good, it should have been much longer.  But I guess that the non-geeks of this show would get too bored with that.  Well, whether long or short, this still ranks as one of my favorite episodes of not just this show, but also one of the best of all TV I seen.

A Mother Of A Season Finale

Suburgatory, S01E22

Mother's Day in Chatswin meant there was an excessive amount of fanfare for local mothers, including a very competitive 5k run for them.  Dallas thought she could get over Dalia spending Mother's Day with her father by putting her full effort into the run, but when she injured her leg, she realized what a big mistake it was to be separated from her daughter.  George and Eden had some disagreements about whether Tessa was honest about her feelings about her mother, and George couldn't bring himself to have sex with her yet.  After seeing the baby's room at the Warners' baby shower, Eden went into false labor.  Tessa didn't get her internship and started to think about her mother after seeing so many displays of motherly love around her.  Lisa refused to believe the results of her DNA test that proved she was born a Shay, but she found out that Ryan's blood type showed he couldn't be his parents' biological son.

I shouldn't have been surprised that residents of Chatswin go all out for Mother's Day, but even if I had anticipated that, I would have never thought of Shelia riding in a carriage dressed like she was Disney's Cinderella.  I think that someone should have started throwing rocks at her or something.  That's just way too much.  I'm sure that Shelia is a mother that does an incredible amount for her kids, but I'm also aware that she's so smothering that she shouldn't get award for all her excessive parenting.  However, I did think that Ryan was cute sitting next to her in a prince outfit.  It's amazing that he, just like other kids in the neighborhood, do not think that it's embarrassing to be treating their mothers like that.  As much as I love my mother, I don't think I could have put a full newspaper page in color with our picture on it (but that kind of stunt certainly suits Mr. Wolfe).  Only in Chatswin would no one blink an eye and would, rather, try to outdo that.

The only person who didn't seem to care much about the day (besides Tessa) was Dalia who didn't think twice about preserving the tradition of going to Israel for Mother's Day without her actual mother.  Usually Dalia's self-centered actions just make me love her, but the disappointment Dallas obviously had when she heard Dalia would be gone was a little heartbreaking.  For such a difficult child like Dalia, Dallas is a wonderful mother.  I would hope that Dalia would show at least the smallest speck of appreciation.  But no.  I really wanted to see what Dalia might have done that would have been sweet only for a spoiled brat like her.  That was one letdown.

Another letdown was seeing Dallas put up a really good race only to fall and hurt her leg.  She could have won and knocked down Shelia a peg.  But I liked that she was tempted to call George for her emergency contact when the paramedic confirmed that her hair looked great.  George definitely would have come if there wasn't the matter of Eden.  In fact, the way that George was standing in the middle of the hospital when he heard about Dallas and heard that Eden was calling for him, it seemed he was at a crossroads at just who was more important to him then.  I think that if there was a burning building (and Eden was no longer pregnant), he probably would pull Dallas out first if he had to choose between the two.  We'll have to wait until the next season to see if George and/or Dallas finally see the light.

I felt for Tessa when she finally saw the light about how it sucked to have a mother out there that apparently didn't make any effort to contact her practically.  I liked how it was seeing her substitute mother, Dallas, want the company of her real daughter over Tessa's that made her stop fooling herself about her feelings.  I can relate to that feeling, having grown up most of my life without a mother.  Tessa probably was so used to brushing off the subject of her mother (in order to not have anyone pity her and protect herself) that she forgot her real abandonment issues and longing for a mother in her life (even a largely imperfect one).  I didn't expect that her grandmother would be waiting for her when Tessa got home, but it made me hopeful that we would see Tessa's mother one day.  I really want to know what her life was like that George was able to get full custody of Tessa.  But the finale wasn't going to give us any clues about that just yet.

As far as Lisa's story, I was none too surprised that Lisa was a real Shay, but I was little shocked that Ryan wasn't.  It makes a little more sense that he's apparently treated better than Lisa--they probably had to fight hard to get him and treasure his existence.  I wonder how Ryan will take the news (I doubt Lisa will just keep it to herself).  He's an easy-going guy, but he's also sensitive and might get upset about being lied to.  I think that parents should tell their adopted children early on that they aren't theirs because one day it'll get out and they will feel betrayed (unless you're Lisa and you would be thrilled).  Another story for another season.

Have to say that I agreed with Eden about the baby room.  Noah and Jill are beyond disgusting.  I feel like that room should be evidence to get them arrested.  They have all that money and they want to spend it on helping endangered species have a greater chance of becoming extinct.  Eden is a little dramatic sometimes with her beliefs (like telling Tessa her doughnut would stay in her colon for decades), but I think her reaction to that room of death was appropriate.  I hope that she doesn't reconsider giving Noah and Jill a child.  They obviously aren't the nurturing type.  They are monsters, like she said, but Eden also doesn't have any rights to their baby, either.  Just call the child inside her "Monster Junior."

Lastly, I just gotta ask what the hell was Whoopi Goldberg doing voicing Yakult in Dallas's drug-induced (I'm assuming) vision?  That was so random to me, and also unnecessary.  I feel like Dallas could have come to conclusion that she needed Dalia without that.  Plus, it just creeped me out to see that dog talking all of sudden, even if it wasn't real.  Of all things to do in a finale.

I'm really glad that Suburgatory has been picked up for another season!  They left a lot of things unanswered (on purpose) that I'd like to get more information about.  I suppose the topic I'm most interested in knowing more about is Tessa's mother.  I hope that with her grandmother making another appearance, we'll get to learn a significant amount about the mystery woman.  And, of course, in doing so we'll learn more about Tessa.  Ryan's introduction into the Shay family is also a story I'm eagerly awaiting to see told on this show.  It might even make me like that busybody Shelia a bit more, and I'm sure it'll make me like Ryan even more.  This was really good first season, and I'm confident that they will be able to pull off another great one in 2013.  Since this new show is easily one of my favorites now, I'm counting down the days until I can watch another episode.

Little Stan's Cute To Me

Cougar Town, S03E13

Jules decided to hold Thanksgiving out of season since they didn't get to celebrate it last year together.  Ellie wanted Jules to use Little Stan as her ring bearer and had to face the truth that her son is somewhat of a nightmare.  Jules asked to hear Grayson's vows and he asked of her the same.  However, Jules struggled to express her feelings for him and got Travis to do it for her, and he got Laurie and Bobby to help him.  Andy had trouble preparing for the pizza toss event, his first major publicity event for his mayoral campaign.

It's funny that the gang celebrating Thanksgiving in the spring referred to the fact that this show had a huge break before it was picked up again.  They also made a lot of comments that referred to that fact that they were getting moved from ABC (to TBS next season).  I like that they joke about this in a not so subtle way.  But I can understand why ABC might have been reluctant to bring back CT, and it doesn't shock me that a different network picked it up.  The opening credits also made a comment about the uncertain future of this show with a line: "Are we still on TV?"  For now they are.  But I don't see why TBS would cancel them prematurely.  Hopefully the move will help this show rather than hinder it.

What I liked better than the commentary on CT's unstable broadcasting status was the story about Little Stan and Ellie.  I forget how old he is, but that kid is incredibly mischievous for such a little boy.  Grayson got really upset that Stan tagged his garage, especially when he asked Ellie why she would buy paint for her son at all (even if it was washable).  Throughout the episode, you continued to see Stan's tags on random things in town.  Apparently, he can get around on a bus already.  Damn.  What is that kid going to be capable of once he starts getting his education?  I really thought that Ellie just thought he was funny and that was why she dismissed him, but it was nice to see that she's not that nonchalant about her son's misdeeds and just wanted him to be adorable like a normal child.

I happen to think that Stan is already adorable.  I loved when Jules made a little obstacle course out of cushions and such to see if Stan could make it through without getting distracted by things like hammers and markers.  Ellie was cheering him on like a show dog at the finish line, while Jules was trying to stop him by throwing uncooked rice at his head.  They are so nuts!  But that was really cute.   I think that was cuter than him bringing in the turkey at the end.  Sure that was sweet, but he did that because Jules paid him in spray paint.

 I also liked that Stan destroyed Big Carl.  Not that I had anything against her having an over-sized glass (and I knew he'd be replaced in no time), but having a little boy destroy something Jules loved (probably more than Grayson) was a good way to see her explode with anger.  Otherwise, I think she would have stayed in denial about Ellie's parenting until the bitter end.  

It's a good thing that Grayson is a bit of a moron because it should have been obvious that the vows Jules read for him were about inanimate object and not him (especially since Travis and crew didn't bother to edit her Big Carl speech that much).  I think it would have been helpful for him to know that his future wife values wine drinking more than she does her husband.  But then again, Grayson has to know that already with the way that she is constantly making "pounding grape" a priority.

The most interesting thing about Andy's story was the way that Grayson felt it necessary to cheer him on (unlike anyone else was really).  He seems to be smart enough to know that if he doesn't get an ally to help him against his wife and her best friend, he is going to be subjected to a lot worse things than a Fakesgiving.  Still, I don't know what Grayson thinks he and Andy can achieve together that no one else hasn't tried.  If Jules has Ellie backing her up, no one is going to oppose them.  Point in case, no one was brave enough to say no to Ellie when she decided they were all going to join Jules for Thanksgiving after all.  Maybe their union is pointless, but at least Grayson prevented Andy from giving up.  I'd like to see him become mayor soon (and be more useful than Bobby's personal ass kisser).

This episode was definitely better than the other one.  I think their jokes about the show being on the air were really good, even if I'm not entirely overjoyed that CT will leave ABC and go to TBS (This show is just really something to watch on Tuesday).  I'm glad that they had another Little Stan story because I think that he's my favorite character (which says a lot about the other ones).  Who else but a "devil baby" like him could destroy Big Carl and live to see the day?  I'm looking forward to how he really does behave as the ring bearer.  It would be great if he could cause one of the many problems I foresee occurring that day.

Travis Gets Too Much Information

Cougar Town, S03E12

The battle for who's sexier revealed some harsh truths about Laurie and Ellie's own sexuality, which Travis unwillingly had to console them about.  Grayson was living at Jules' house while his house was being repaired for hurricane damage, and he and Jules began to project past problems with their ex-spouses on each other.     Bobby and Jules also had a contest to see who could keep their white shirt stain-free the longest.

The only thing I liked about Ellie and Laurie's story was that they were so open about their sexual activities with Travis.  It was funny watching him suffer through his crush talk about how she got her freak on and his mom's best friend talk about the degree in which she got naked during intercourse.  And Ellie just wouldn't stop telling Travis, even when she promised to after he agreed to help her make Andy more sexually satisfied.  It's just really sad that Travis is the best person they could find to help them with sex problems when he isn't exactly an expert himself.

The issues that Grayson and Jules were going through were a little interesting, but the only thing I really liked about their situation was that their therapist warned them they would treat each other like their exes, but neither of them listened to her.  Then in the end, they denied that she ever said it and questioned her credentials.  When the therapist broke a vase in frustration, it made me wish she had thrown it at them.  She seems a little unbalanced herself (though I'm not sure it's not just from dealing with Jules all the time), so perhaps the next time "Julson" wastes her advice, she'll get a little revenge on them.  I think they may need therapy beaten into them because talking seems to do nothing.

I think that the white T-shirt challenge was one of the better contests they've had on this show, but it still wasn't that amusing.  Nor was it surprising when Grayson ended the challenge by tripping and spilling wine onto Jules' shirt.  Just when she finally gave him permission to drink wine on the couch, he blew it by making her lose and staining the couch.  But when you look at the random messes Bobby has made around the house (foremost the mustard on the ceiling), I think I would cut him some slack.

There were two episodes shown this week, but this one was the weaker of the two for me.  There wasn't much to laugh about, but there was a lot to criticize concerning the characters.  It was nice to see that it isn't impossible for Jules and Grayson to live together and see Travis wanting to blow his brains out from all the juicy details he was getting from Laurie and Ellie.  If only they had stepped up that latter part more would this have probably been a funnier episode for me.

Tedtoria--Not So Much. Barbin--Knew It All Along

How I Met Your Mother, S07E23-24

Barney and Marshall struggled to get back to New York for the birth, while Ted and Robin tried to keep Lily calm with stories.  Marshall just managed to get there in time to see his son, Marvin be born. A week later, Ted decided to contact Victoria and found out she wanted to run away with him on her wedding day.  Robin continued to fail to take a decent family picture for Lily and Marsh to use for their announcement cards.  Barney got held up in the airport security when he refused to reveal the trick inside of a magic box.

Since the finale was an hour long, it had a lot more opportunities for funny moments.  I think it was really funny how Ted had a huge picture of himself in the labor announcement email that he sent against Lily's wishes.  It should be more pathetic that he's living his life through Lily and Marshall, but it just reminds me of how ridiculously close Ted is to his friends.  It's really hard for him to see themselves as separate people.

My favorite story that Ted and Robin told Lily about was the one about Marshall's cursed pants.  He found a note in the pocket written in Chinese that sent him to some interesting shop in Chinatown.  Despite that the owner went into the back where it was glowing bright green as if there was magic afoot, it was only a ticket for dry cleaning.  Of course, it would be.  This is pretty much how my second favorite story, the mysterious door, ended.  I would love to do that to one of my friends, but you would have to trust that they would be so cautious they wouldn't go into the broom closet until the very last second. 

I also liked how younger Lily made it seem like her dad was a stranger and got security to get rid of him.  Then in the present as he was freaking her out, she simply called for security and they dragged him out of the room in seconds.  Man, I would like to go to a hospital where I could just remove people like that (or any place, really).

It was cute how they all dressed as John Bender because they didn't coordinate well for their group Breakfast Club costumes.  The idea of each of them dressing as one of the characters is interesting.  They have exactly enough people and all the right genders.  Lily could be Claire, Robin could be Allison, Marshall could be Andrew, Ted could be Brian, and Barney could be Bender (although, I think Neil Patrick Harris resembles Brian more).  I'd just love to see that.

What I didn't love was Robin coaching Ted on who he should have ended up with.  She was quite right that he kept betting on the wrong horses for love (thus, why I'm fed up with him after these years), but I can't believe that she thought the best thing for him to do was re-explore Victoria, a woman who was supposed to be engaged.  I really liked Victoria and I thought she and Ted made a good couple, but it just didn't feel right for her to suddenly come back and want to run away with Ted.  To me it sounded like she just wanted a quick out and was scared.  If she really wanted to be with Ted, why not just tell her fiance her feelings in person instead of telling him with an empty altar.  I was really happy that Ted was going to take her back to the church until he started remembering all the good times.  I wanted to choke him when he passed the church.  Really?  You're going to go for Tedtoria??  That was the last thing I expected!  I can't help but to think that the start of the next season will show Ted's actions blowing up in his face.

What I did expect was that Barney's mystery box was somehow a proposal ploy.  I don't know why I knew, but he was being overly secretive about it and purposely ruining their getaway.  Any man that can hug his girlfriend upon seeing that she had remodeled his bachelor lair into "Tinkerbell's vagina" has to love a girl deeply enough that he wouldn't actually try to ditch her for some magician's convention instead.  I know it's TV, but Barney would have definitely gotten shot before he had one chance to explain himself in the airport.  But I'm glad it was dragged out so we could see his elaborate trick where a ring appeared on top of a growing flower.  That was amazing!  It was a really wonderful proposal.

But I knew Barney was meant for Robin, the second he mentioned this was their last chance to go off together.  That connection between them has always made me think the woman he was marrying in those random previews of the future was Robin.  I never doubted it for a second, even when both of them started dating others.  I just knew they would find a way.  I still think Robin is a jerk for abandoning Barney for Kevin and then tossing him away too, though.  After breaking his heart like that, I really wonder what Robin did to win Barney back (especially when he already had Quinn).

This was a pretty good ending to this season and had one surprise that I didn't see coming.  I just really can't be happy that Ted is simply recycling his relationships (that's how he got in trouble with Robin), but maybe Victoria will finally lead him to the girl he's supposed to be with.  I know the series is supposed to be about the events that led up to Ted meeting the girl of his dreams, but I can't imagine being less enthused about who his true love is if I were his daughter and son listening to the story in the future.  It's a shame that Barney made such an inventive proposal on a girl that he won't end up with in the long-run, but I feel a little proud that Barney is transforming into a man who can at least commit enough to want to be engaged to someone.  Robin is going  need some transforming of her own and that will be something I look forward to in the next season.  Not looking forward to Ted wasting his time with Victoria.  Or Marvin (Waitforit--are you kidding me with that middle name?) turning Marshall and Lily into boring parents.  Hopefully, they won't do any of those things next season and I'll have a reason to want it to come back in the fall.

Betty vs Megan, Don vs Michael

Mad Men, S05E09

Don started to see that Michael (not Max as I've been miscalling him) was starting to look like the most significant person in their creative department and pushed one of Michael's ideas aside for his own during a meeting with a client.  Betty began to compare her life to Megan's and tried to stir up trouble in her and Don's marriage out of jealousy.  Roger took his ex-wife to dinner in order to win over a client and ruined their amicable relationship by having sex with her in the new apartment he bought for her.

Truly, I expected Peggy would be the first one to butt heads with Michael in terms of who has the best ideas, but I guess things are going so well for her now that she can't be bothered to look at what he's doing.  However, Don hasn't had as much time to spend with Michael as Peggy has and probably hasn't noticed how another "Pete Campbell" has slipped into their company when he wasn't looking.  I'll admit that Michael does great work, but he's surely no Don when it comes to personality.  Michael's not just long-winded but he also seems to have this sense of entitlement and assurance that is puzzling at times.  He seems to think that his talent precedes his position.  Sure Don slighted him by not letting the client see his idea, but Don is unquestionably his boss and that means he gets the final say.  I am disappointed that Don didn't let his work speak for itself (perhaps the client would have been keener to his devil ad no matter what), but I didn't care for the way Michael starting stomping his foot like a spoiled child because his boss didn't use his work.

The scene where Don and Michael were in the elevator together was really great.  I think that Max should have the right to question Don as to why he didn't use his ad, but that wasn't what Michael did.  He was basically telling Don that he knew without a doubt that his ad would have won against his.  Really, Michael is so brazen.  He hasn't even been working there that long and he already thinks he's the shit.  Please.  I didn't buy that Don thought he would look weak (unless you mean his own talent) by going into a meeting with two ideas, but it was a reasonable excuse.  Still, Michael should have just been quiet and stopped bragging about himself.  I laughed when Don told him that it was a good thing he worked for him.  Emphasis on "worked for."  Whether Michael shines or withers is really up to Don, so he ought to not try to put Don down or find himself another damn job.  It was also funny when Don said that he didn't think of Michael at all when Michael said he felt sorry for him.  That little punk.  If Don was a pettier man, Michael's ass would be so fired!  What I like best about their conversation is that it suggests that Michael will no longer treat Don like he's his best friend.  It'll be interesting to see how he acts around the office knowing that Don isn't going to have his back.

Betty, like Don, was also seeing her life in contrast to a younger person.  Megan has a great apartment, a great body, and a great husband.  Her children also like her (not to say they don't love their own mother).  Why shouldn't Betty feel a little envious?  But I don't know why Betty dislikes her life so much when she has a nice house, a good husband, and a support system at Weight Watchers.  She's not living in the streets and is 400 pounds!  I think it was that really sweet note that she found from Don to Megan that sent her over the edge.  I bet he never left her such notes when they were married.  She shouldn't be that surprised--their marriage was based on lies and the superficial.  I wish that Betty could stop being so damn vicious when it comes to Don.  He did her wrong, but let bygones be bygones.

It was almost too easy for Betty to make Sally, who was pretty good friends with Megan, turn on her stepmother.  I was really disappointed in how she blamed Megan and threatened her after how well Megan has treated her.  Sally was acting like a brat, but I think that Megan did an excellent job of telling her about Anna when she was put in a difficult position about whether she was overstepping her boundaries or not.  I did blame Don for not telling Sally sooner and putting Megan on the spot like that, even though Betty was the one who brought up the topic.  Megan did even better when she realized that Betty was just trying to cause problems and prevented Don from calling Betty when he found out what happened.  I was pretty happy when he finally spoke to Sally and made her apologize to Megan.  Don shouldn't have kept Sally in the dark about it, but she didn't need to treat Megan like that.

The best thing was when Betty tried to find out if her little plan had worked and Sally made it seem like the topic of Anna was no big thing.  Sometimes Sally seems like more of an adult than Betty does!  I'm glad that Betty got angry and that she failed miserably to make Don and Megan fight and turn Sally against Megan.  Stick to your own damn life, Betty.  Maybe if you spent more time figuring out a way to make yourself happy, you wouldn't have to try to bring others down to join you in your own misery.

I was impressed with the way Roger and Jane were getting along until it was obvious that he was jealous of another man getting her attention.  Then he ruined her new apartment by creating memories of them together when they slept together.  It was wrong of him to open up that part of their relationship again, but Jane didn't try very hard to resist him!  She had a chance, but then she didn't say anything. Why did she blame him completely?  I honestly don't think that Roger meant any harm to her, but the way Jane was acting, it was like Roger planned the whole night to screw her over.  When Roger said that he felt terrible about what he had done, I believed him.  He's not a bad person, he just sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him.  It just bothered me that Jane made him into some kind of villain when he's being more a decent guy as a ex-husband than a lot of guys would be.

I love all the emotions that I can experience when I watch this show.  I want to yell at characters, I want to laugh, and most often I just feel bad for the way things turn out for just about everyone.  I'm eager to see what Michael will be like now that he isn't going to be the golden child in his mind anymore, and how Don better competes with Michael in terms of talent.  Don hasn't peaked yet, so there's no need for him to stomp on Michael when he could just outshine him.  Betty needs to get a life as always and keep her "fat nose" (as Don so eloquently put it) out of others' lives.  However, I'd like to see her try again to take a stab at them, just so I could see Megan and Don's love continue to triumph in the end.