Shut It, Carol!

2 Broke Girls, S02E12

The girls were having trouble paying rent so Max was selling cupcakes to some potheads who needed snacks.  They upgraded into selling pot cupcakes and were surprised when they met Andy at their delivery site.

Of course, Caroline wouldn't be cool with Max selling cupcakes to people who are getting high, but if you think about it, when they sell cupcakes to anyone, they might be taking them home and enjoying them as a snack with their pot.  Caroline was being her usual annoying self, getting in the way of Max's profitable idea.  I mean, they didn't have much choice doing something a little shady when Caroline had too much pride to borrow money from Andy.  I was like, seriously?  You're going to be that proud when you're crawling on floors and jumping out of windows to avoid payment?

Anyway, one of my favorite parts was when Caroline was so proud that she had followed Max to find out that she was really following some guy with long, black hair.  I loved that not just because Caroline thought he was Max, but later when the guy was getting arrested, his girlfriend came out looking and sounding like Caroline.  They had somehow stumbled upon their meth doppelgangers.  Loved it.   Later, when Sophie came knocking at their door after they had finished making the pot cupcakes, Caroline shouted out just like Carol had when her boyfriend was being arrested.  I loved that Max responded to her the same way the guy had to Carol:

Shut it, Carol!  Shut it!

I was expecting that I would like Caroline being stoned since she said it made her personality change, but she was sort of worse than she was before.  I guess being overly positive is slightly better than all doom and gloom.  Then again, I guess it just depends how you do the latter.  Caroline wasn't being very funny about it--she was just sort of ruining their chance to get any money.  She also crushed that chance when she tossed out their cupcakes at Andy's arrival and hopped out to the fire escape.  The only thing I did like about her being high is that she had phone sex with Max.  It's funny because I'm not surprised she called her at all (especially with her admitting she'd marry Max if given three choices).

It was sweet that Andy gave Caroline money and said his success was pointless if he couldn't share it with her.  He's the best.  Caroline better never screw it up with him.  It was also sweet of the diner people to come and give money for the girls' rent.  I expected Caroline to turn down their money too, but luckily calling themselves family made her swallow her pride.  Wow.  I was sort of surprised that Han contributed because I kinda feel like he's a little pissed they're not working so hard at his business anymore.  Then again, he did succumb to Max's demands that he sit at their shop and eat eight cupcakes.  Either he is really afraid of her or he wants them to be successful on some level (maybe both).

I think I would have liked this episode even better if Caroline wasn't such a wet blanket about the pot.  Sure, it put their business into a gray area, but they gotta hustle if they want their business to stay afloat until they get a real customer base.  I hope by next time they have a better plan for getting the money so they don't have to hop out of windows to avoid their landlord.  If not, I hope they find something interesting like pot cupcakes again.  It's both an entertaining and cool idea.

Pit People; Saved the Best For Last

How I Met Your Mother, S08E11-E12

In this double episode,  the first half was about Ted's obsession with his old professor who said he would never be an architect.  His friends went with him to their old school so Ted could confront the man, and Lily and Marshall ran into an old friend who they believed was obsessed with them.  Barney was also jinxed and couldn't speak.  In the second half, Ted was torn about keeping his promise to Barney to not tell anyone about his plan to propose to Patrice.  Marshall and Lily also found it hard to have a night away from Marvin.

The first story was sort of funny.  I liked the idea of "pit guy."  They always make up some kind of term on this show, but lately I haven't loved any of them.  The idea that everyone has someone that they would throw into a pit because they hate them so much is interesting.  I felt bad, though, when Ted had to deal with his pit guy, Professor Vinick.  That guy was just awful.  Ted never got the satisfaction of showing the man he was wrong about Ted, and in fact, he got the last word in.  It's Ted's fault for not coming to the realization faster that he didn't need Vinick to validate his self-worth as a architect, but it still sucks for him.  The only thing I really liked about Ted's pit guy was Ted's fantasy about getting his revenge.  Ted threw a cigarette in front of him, setting ablaze a trail of fire that caused Vinick to burst into flames.  The professor quickly turned into ash.  That, plus Ted's maniacal laughter afterwards, was my favorite part of the story.

I didn't really like Robin's pit guy situation.  It was all kinds of wrong for her to try and fire Patrice for personal reasons.  I don't know if she could sue her for wrongful termination, but it was definitely going to make me hate Robin more if she didn't see the light in the end.  I did like her yelling at Patrice about the basket she bought for the lotions, but other than that I was just waiting to see if Robin would really be so petty to fire a sweet girl out of jealousy.

My second favorite thing about the first story was Daryl, played aptly by Seth Green.  Seth Green has always been a little creepy (also type of person that gets under your skin) to me, so he was really good playing someone who seemed to be unable to forget Lily and Marshall.  I loved when in the past Lily and Marshall tried to avoid him and he magically appeared in front of them.  And it was sort of funny that he later took the two to his suspicious and darkly-lit basement and Marshal and Lily thought they were going to die.  However, I knew early on that Daryl was most likely to give them a check.  I just hoped that he wouldn't tear it up.  That could have been money for Marvin's education.  What a shame.

I didn't think much of Barney's jinx til the very end where it became sort of relevant.  He got Ted to break the jinx by showing him a ring.  I actually believed that he was truly going to propose to Patrice.  I also knew that Ted wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Barney.  Telling Ted something about his friends that the others don't know is like tweeting it or putting it on Facebook.

In the second story, I was surprised that Marshall was trying to get Ted to give Robin another go.  I hope that was his real feelings and not because he was trying to win that bet he and Lily have.  However, as much as it looked like Ted was going to be selfish and go down the same old road again with Robin, I knew there was no way he could be that stupid.  I was really relieved when he told Robin the truth and took Robin to the building where the proposal would happen.  It's been a while since I've wanted to pat Ted on the back for a good job.  Robin and Ted is so eight years ago!  Haha.

No question about it, I was quite impressed with Barney.  I have really wondered why he has been so calm lately--it's been because he has been planning all this time to win Robin back!  And because it's Barney, who is the master of convoluted plans, you don't question how he was able to pull it off.  I absolutely loved that he named the last "play" of his book "The Robin," which detailed the steps he took to win Robin back after helping Robin break up with her last guy.  No man who didn't love her would go through so much trouble.  I mean, he pretended to be dating her worst enemy (who is really her biggest fan for playing the part for Barbin so well) and ignored all of her come-ons.  I loved this proposal more than the one for Quinn.  Hers was very magical, but Robin's was very heartfelt.   If Robin didn't say yes, then she might as well have fallen off that damn building.  Haha.  But seriously, it was very sweet and I feel like I need to watch it again.  I liked watching all of Barney's plan explained.

As for Marshall and Lily, they are new parents--nothing surprising about them missing Marvin.  I did think Lily's dad made it worse.  He was just too easy-going about them being gone that it made it seem like they weren't needed.  Of course, they would start to miss him and be unable to enjoy their night alone.

Good episodes.  The first story was definitely funnier because of all the "pit guy" business, but the second one was much more significant because Barbin became official with Barney's proposal.  I can't say that I'm going to miss that playbook of his.  I'm just very impressed that the last play was his very best one (and the only one I liked).  For that, it sort of makes his collection of sleazing on girls worthwhile.  Robin has to be pretty special to be deemed the last and only remaining page.

Mannequin Love

Bob's Burgers, S03E09

Bob was left a storage unit from a deceased relative and found a man named Chet living there.  The family took him in until Christmas and got a lot of business thanks to Chet's talent for making eye-catching window displays.  The family was forced to help find Chet's mannequin wife when Bob refused to believe's Chet's story about being a mannequin and the town was expecting a final Christmas Eve display.

First of all, I was really reminded in this story about how broke Bob is.  He couldn't even afford to give Tina a dry-erase board, the most financially feasible of his kids' Christmas requests.  I think sometimes I forget how poor they are until something like this makes it obvious.  In the end when the kids were happy to get things like exit signs and shoe sizers, you can really see how they are low on funds but imaginative enough to appreciate such meager gifts.  The family may be annoying, but at least they're not spoiled.  After all, they gave up their Christmas money so a crazy man could have his "wife" back.

Second, I'm glad that Bob at least didn't believe Chet's story.  It would be cool if he was an actual mannequin (and possibly explain why he is so good at creating displays), but people just tend to be insane in the town where Bob lives.  I sort of wished that there would have been some good evidence to prove that Chet was just crazy, so that Bob wouldn't look like a jerk.  I mean, why does he have to humor the guy?  Yes, he was helping their business tremendously, but surely that kind of behavior has to be destructive.  Bob was trying to help him, as Chet had helped Bob.

Third, I sort of liked Chet's displays for some reason.  I guess it was because the kids got involved and were forced to freeze-frame in a holiday-themed pictures.  My favorite was when they were elves.  I guess the kids just looked cute.  Then again, when Chet was depressed about Nadine and made this horrific scene of a disemboweled snowman and reindeer below an elf that had hung itself, I really loved it too.  I don't know if I could technically call it a display since they never used that one.  Still, as sick as it was, it was pretty good.  Especially the ketchup bottle squirting to make it look like blood coming out of the snowman's neck.  My least favorite was the nativity scene because it turned out to be a "love-triangle" fight and a make-out session with a head.  The latter was especially gross.  I don't mind if the guy wants to love an inanimate object, but no one should have to watch him actually kiss it.  I mean, it's a little funny he was doing that while dressed as Joseph and the mannequin dressed as Mary, but not more so than it was gross.

My favorite joke in this story was when Chet kept pointing out that Bob and Linda were loud whisperers.  They also needed to back up a bit if they were going to talk to someone because both times Chet mentioned this, they weren't that far from him.  I also thought it was sort of funny when Bob was yelling at the kids to stay when Linda tried to make them go so she could scold Bob for hurting Chet's feelings.  Linda won in the end, but the kids were at odds at which parent they should listen to for a while.  Plus, I just like H. Jon Benjamin yelling sometimes.

I would say I liked this episode, but I think I was mostly annoyed that Bob was treated as heartless because he wouldn't believe a ridiculous story.  Still, I liked the displays Chet made and the fact that the kids showed that they could be selfless to help someone.  If anything else, at least this episode was different.  You don't see many Christmas stories about mannequins, I guess.

Homer's Dog

The Simpsons, S24E08

Homer lost sight of Santa's Little Helper after spending the day playing an online  game.  When Bart found him and questioned why Homer wasn't happy to see the dog again, Grandpa revealed the story about how Homer's childhood dog was forced to find a new home.

If you've ever wondered why Homer neglects his dog, this would be the story for you.  I find it hard to think that any fan of this show was wondering this.  Usually, I like stories about Homer as a kid because it's sort of interesting to see how the boy became the man today, but this time I found it hard to care.  I guess it's because I didn't really question Homer's attitude toward Santa's Little Helper.  I mean, there are times when Homer loves the dog, and there are times when the dog might as well be a lamp because he doesn't pay it much attention.  Still, I would have assumed that Homer just doesn't like anything that doesn't have to do with food and beer in general.  It's not really a mystery.  I guess besides seeing a young Homer, it was nice to see a young Abe (and less cranky) and a young Mr. Burns (a little less frail).

As for the jokes my favorite would have to be when Homer was watching a video on his tablet and said:

Man, that keyboard-playing cat is so cute.

But when you looked at his screen, it was just this guy playing like jazz piano or something.  That wasn't hilarious, but I enjoyed it still.

Another thing I liked was when Mr. Burns came out from behind a lawn flamingo.  Only someone as slim as him could have pulled that off.  A little later, I almost had a laugh when Abe tossed Homer to the second floor room, nearly missing.  That reckless treatment of kids must be something passed down from generation to generation for the Simpsons.

Other than that, I sort of just liked how much trouble Abe went through to protect Homer.  You sometimes forget that Abe was more than a grumpy, old man yelling about all of Homer's faults.  He sometimes sacrificed things (like his own home to pay for Homer's new home) for the sake of his son.  It's not often something we see, so I could enjoy the story just for that simple fact.

I don't have really anything to say about Mr. Burns explaining the "fiscal cliff."  If they had to fill in a few more minutes, it's too bad they couldn't had done something a little funnier.  This week's story was a little more "aww" than it was "haha."

This was a take-it-or-leave-it episode.  It had few jokes that worked for me, but it sort of balanced that out by being a story in the past (which I usually like) and being on the sweet side.  However, it's not really one that I see myself wanting to watch again.  I don't feel like anything significant was revealed or accomplished by Homer's back story, so  I feel mostly like it was a bit of a waste.

"I'll Be Homeless For Christmas"

The Cleveland Show, S0E06

Cleveland pretended to be homeless in order to get free sandwiches and other things that were donated to the homeless during the Christmas season.  Roberta tried to encourage Kendra to become Santa, despite what the owner of Grundle's said.

Seeing Cleveland act like a homeless man just to get a ham sandwich doesn't really surprise me.  I'm more surprised that he didn't get found out sooner.  I didn't even think that Cleveland would learn anything from his misdeeds, especially when he tried to apologize and kept making his situation worse.  I guess overall, it turned out to be an okay story since Cleveland didn't just act like an ass and then smooth it over too easily.  Cleveland admitted that he was going to abandon his new friends at the shelter, but at least he got other people in town to perhaps think about giving to said ex-friends more often than a few days in December.

Nothing was really funny in the Cleveland story, but one moment almost got there.  This was when Tim saw Cleveland in line for food at the shelter and he thought he was looking at another black guy:

Come on, Tim the Bear, they don’t all look alike.  Don’t let Lester start rubbing one off on you.

Besides that, I could almost like the parody of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" that Cleveland did.  That song was a rare song in the whole Seth MacFarlane world that didn't make me cringe.  I'm not saying it was a great song, but it wasn't so bad that I wanted to mute the TV.  It was a good attempt to be funny, but just didn't get there for me.

In the Roberta story, I was excited to hear Nick Offerman as Mr.  Grundle.  He has the perfect voice for some kind of old-fashioned, sexist man.  I wish he had more lines because he almost made me laugh when he told Roberta:

I don’t hire boys to see their legs, and I don’t hire girls to hear them talk.

I think that was a nearly good joke because no matter how right Roberta is about something, her voice is so annoying that I want her to be quiet regardless.

The combination of Kendra and Roberta was kind of interesting since you don't see them in stories together.  But I didn't really care too much whether Kendra got the role of Santa or not.  I did like, though, that when she failed to bring presents for the kids, she told them to just quietly and confidently steal one present from the store.  At least she's resourceful.

There obviously wasn't enough Rallo or Junior in this episode, but Rallo did have a line that was also almost a good joke when Roberta told him not to be nervous:

Nervous? I got on five pair of underwear.  He ain’t getting in there.

I just like how nonchalant he is about a Santa molesting him or something.

Well, for a Christmas story this could have been worse.  It was all right, especially for this show because it usually makes me irritated.  Cleveland sort of fit in too well with the homeless, even if he was taking things from the needy for his own selfish needs.  It was nice to see the writers try and team up two characters who don't usually interact with each other, but this wasn't much of a match made in comedy heaven.  I would have rather seen Rallo get revenge on Santa or something (much like Riley from The Boondocks) than these other stories.  Can't help but feel disappointed in every episode where Rallo and Junior are just pushed to the background.

Save Santa! ...Or Else!

Big Bang Theory, S06E11

The guys played a holiday-themed Dungeons and Dragons quest, excluding the girls.  Raj joined the girls to the bar after he had been too quick to get himself killed in the game.

The best part of the guys playing their role playing game was Sheldon's seemingly hatred of Christmas, yet signs that he might be fighting the holiday spirit for some reason.  Being a know-it-all, it wasn't too surprising he could sing a song no one else knew (in its entirety), but him talking of the details of snowmen and drinking eggnog made me really wonder if he wasn't just bitter about something.  We found out as Sheldon took the quest to a grim end for Santa that as a child Sheldon had asked Santa in the mall to bring back his Pop-Pop, but of course, Santa never did.  You sort of wanted to console him, knowing that Christmas had been ruined for him ever since the only person who encouraged his scientific endeavors had died, but at the same time he was pretending that he was leaving Santa for dead in an ogre cave.  It invoked a little less sympathy because Sheldon is well old enough to realize that he's only playing a game and not really getting revenge on Santa Claus.  I wanted to concentrate on the fondness he had for his grandpa, but it was hard to think of it with his psychotic actions.  However, it made a pretty interesting end to the game, even if he ruined it for the others.

I didn't expect anything else to come out of that game, but Sheldon's dream provided a bonus conclusion.  I loved that Santa came not to just apologize, but get his own revenge for Sheldon leaving him for dead with the ogres!  Woah!  And he brought a canon, of all things, to take care of him--nice!  Sheldon has the weirdest dreams, but they are usually pretty good ones.  I hope that dream made an impact on the grudge he's kept on old Kris Kringle.

 

The second funny thing about their game was Raj's short participation.  Before he got killed by his rash actions, Stuart kept calling him out on the suggestively gay things he was saying.  The first time, he was simply excited to start killing some enemies:

Oh, man, the first monster I see, I’m gonna sneak up behind him, whip out my wand, and shoot my magic all over his ass.

I think someone could have let that go if he didn't make a similarly bad comment about a rod a few minutes later:

Wait, d-doesn’t anyone have a… a rod of resurrection?  Because if you’ve got one, I need it bad.  Get in here with your rod and give it to me.

Poor Raj.  He has a natural talent for saying things people could misunderstand.  But at least he has colorful language and is cute.  He's not like dirty or anything intentionally.

I felt bad that he had gotten killed so easily until Penny allowed him to go out with the girls.  I was even happier with this turn of events when the girls decided to help Raj get a girl.  Yay!  However, he got shot down pretty quickly by a girl who gave him a fake email.  I was pretty disappointed that the focus soon shifted from trying again to find a girl who could just chat with Raj to how Raj didn't find Amy attractive like he had Bernadette and Penny.  I wanted to yell, "Who cares--what about hooking Raj up??" but it did make me notice that Amy and Raj had some similarities.  Still, Raj has similarities with a lot of his intellectual friends--they've all had problems attracting the opposite sex easily.   Once Raj had started to like Amy, they left the bar and there was no more talk of trying to help him.  Dang.  They got my hopes up.  I know Raj probably isn't going to find the girl of his dreams in a bar, but he could have gotten somewhere at least.  Come on, already with this.  Raj needs some love.  He's getting weirder by the second.  Haha.

This was a pretty good story.  I liked the quest about Santa being kidnapped by ogres.  That was an original Christmas story for TV.  And it was made even better by Santa getting revenge on Sheldon with a canon in his dream. I liked some of Raj's jokes, but I wish that he had been able to have a successful night out with the ladies.  It's getting too sad to see him just hanging around Stuart all day.

Don't Make Max A Fifth Wheel

Happy Endings, S03E06

Alex and Jane's father was celebrating his 20th anniversary of his mattress store with a party, and Jane wanted to entertain her father with the perfect joke.  Alex asked Dave not to come to the party, but he came after Penny's suggestion with no knowledge that Alex hadn't told her parents that they were back together.  Max began to feel lonely because of Penny's new relationship with Pete and tried to replace Penny with someone similar to her.

It's always funny to me to see someone who doesn't like Brad.  Jane's dad was particularly hard to reach, simply annoyed with Brad for saying "parties, right?"  It's not even a matter of them having little to talk about--it's just that Brad could probably say anything and his father-in-law would just stare at him, unamused.  I loved that.  I even loved when Brad, so desperate to end the unease between the two of them, stole Jane's painstakingly constructed joke for her father.  It sucked that he stole her work of art, but at least Brad had finally broken the wall between him and her dad.  I couldn't blame him for that.  He's probably been sweating for years.

And even though Jane had to go with plan B, she still managed to get her dad to laugh at her by knocking herself out.  It was a win-win.  Brad got to connect with his father-in-law, and Jane got her father to laugh.  For the two of them, they had a really successful evening.

I didn't care about Dave and Alex's problem until Alex's dad kept talking to Dave about how much money he put into the ceremony that didn't happen.  I mean, he was not trying to be very subtle about how the wedding had hurt him in the pocket.  That was sort of funny.  Still, if in the end Dave hadn't gotten in front of the whole party and announced that he and Alex were dating again I wouldn't have been upset.  It's very much an insignificant thing to me whether Alex tells her parents about her and Dave or not.  If the two of them are going to be doing more things like eating corn like a typewriter, I'm ready to see them split again.

I sort of expected that Penny and Pete wouldn't be split by the next episode, but I also didn't care if I was wrong about that.  I suppose I've gotten like Max and don't have much confidence that Penny will hold onto a guy, so what's the point in liking (or disliking) her flavor of the week?  It's just amazing that she had a really good thing going and she ruined it by writing down Pete's flaws, which she had previously said she wasn't going to do.  You would think that's something someone would do after you breakup, not when you're still in the honeymoon phase of your relationship.  Pete's wrong about Penny being "a little" crazy.  She's full-blown on.

I felt bad for Max, who literally kept getting pushed to the side by all of his friends in couples.  I was sort of proud of him for no winning Penny back by getting between her and Pete.  That seemed like the first thing he would try.  Instead, he got a Penny-like girl named Nicole (or "Nickel" as he tried to call her) to befriend.  It's too bad Penny was too wrapped up in being a "love guru" that she didn't even notice he was trying to make her jealous at all.  In fact, Nicole ended up getting hooked up with Pete's brother right away!  I would have thought Nicole's appearance was a waste then, but at the very end of the episode there was this great scene where Nicole surprises Max in his apartment and he had no idea she was right behind him the whole time.  Although she was acting like a psycho and Max had screamed at the sight of her, I loved his response afterward:

Oh, my God.  You're insane.  And I love it and I want to party with you forever!

I loved how he hugged that crazy girl!  But is Nicole going to stick around?  Or was that just for an extra laugh (much needed one)?  After all, Max did get Pete and Penny back together (nice of him even if I wasn't desperate for Pete and Penny to stay together), so he doesn't have his best bud around to hang with.  Nicole seems nuts, but I'm open to her joining the crew if she can multiple the craziness of Max.  He's been pretty tame lately and I want him to get back to crazy schemes like that ghetto stove he made.  That was genius.

I guess I didn't hate this episode.  I didn't think it was very funny, but the party for Alex and Jane's dad was sort of interesting.  I might start to become interested in Penny's life again now that she has a stable boyfriend.  I'm so used to her being a single mess that perhaps her bad traits might be toned down with a good man at her side.  Or maybe Pete will turn out to be a bit of a weirdo, thus making their relationship a little more meant to be.  I just wish that Max would find someone soon.  Even if it's entertaining for him to seek replacements, I'm sure it's dangerous for him to go around and find any more Nicoles around town.

The Christmas Mistress

The Mindy Project, S01E09

Mindy hosted the office Christmas party at her apartment with Josh.  Things turned ugly when Mindy found a message from Josh's girlfriend on his phone and when said girlfriend later showed up to ruin the party.

What is up with this whole Josh thing?  It's like when he takes one inch forward, he takes ten feet back by acting a like an asshole.  He has the great ability of being somehow a good boyfriend and a bad one at the same time, so that made me unable to decide if I liked him around Mindy.  Well, this story definitely made me not want to see him again unless he was one his knees begging Mindy for forgiveness.

First of all, Josh had arranged for them to have their own little private skating rink for an hour, but he had actually paid a random person with no control over the hockey team that promptly arrived after they got there.  I could have overlooked him just tossing money around to make things happen, but he really sucked at protecting her from the swarm of players that filled the rink.  It totally reminded me of when he nearly burned down her house and was so useless just standing around.  For me, it's a deal breaker if I feel like a guy couldn't provide me with at least more protection than I could give myself.  I could see Mindy having to save his ass than the other way around.  Ugh.  I was already annoyed with him at that point.

However, I started to like him better when everyone at the party was mesmerized by him.  It was a real compliment to Mindy that everyone seemed to love him.  I was happy to see that after Danny and Jeremy had made Josh sound like he was about as real as Santa Claus.  Mindy is not so pathetic that she would be boasting for months that she was dating an imaginary man.

The second thing, of course, that made me fall over the fence into hating Josh was when Mindy found that message.  It's not the first time that Mindy has suspected that he was looking at other women while she wasn't around.  Now she had proof.  Proof that bothered her so much she was listening to it outside barefoot while pacing.

Third, Mindy turned out not be cheated on, but the person Josh was cheating with.  I can't believe that he was stringing along some woman because of a sick dog and never told Mindy about it.  I don't know if Mindy would have been cool with that situation, but at least she wouldn't have had to deal with a psycho woman crashing her party and wrecking her house.

Heather, the psycho girlfriend, not only trespassed, but assaulted Mindy with a pillow, broke her microwave (oh, hell no!), and crushed the beautiful gingerbread house that Danny had built.  That was nuts!  Good thing Shauna was dating a police officer.  Also, it was sucky that Josh had given Heather and Mindy the same necklace, but Mindy's had less bling.  That can count as a fourth thing.  I'm tempted to say Heather calling her chubby can count as a fifth thing because Heather showing up is Josh's fault after all.

Last, Josh's ass ran out of the apartment just as Mindy was being hit over and over again with that pillow.  I doubt things would have been better if he hadn't ran, but just seeing him run off like Heather acting crazy was none of his business pissed me off.  He shouldn't have left until he had made sure that crazy lady had stopped wrecking the party!  Heather could have injured Mindy--didn't he care??  Josh sure as hell better not get back into Mindy's good graces without some serious compensation.  Because he hurt her and embarrassed her.  He needed to be beaten like that gingerbread house.

Speaking of that house again, I was real surprised that Danny constructed it so meticulously.  I mean, he used inspirations from Hansel and Gretel.  I think that he secretly loves Christmas more than he wants to let on.  I loved how he was trying to talk about the details of it to the party guests, but everyone was focused on Josh, so they paid him no attention.

Also, it was sweet how Danny forgot about his date and looked after Mindy that night.  Aww, he really does like her!  Danny was being pretty reasonable about suggesting that Mindy let the Josh thing go and deal with it after the party, but Mindy just wasn't listening.  He was being a great friend when he took over the speech Mindy was giving because it was too hard for her to say all the nice things about Josh she had written.  And thanks to helping her he ended up getting called a "philandering gay florist."  One of the best things he's been called yet.

Jeremy also surprised me with the way he rallied everyone to help salvage Mindy's party.  It's not like I think he hates Mindy or anything, but he often seems selfish, so I didn't expect him to be the one to stop everyone from leaving. He even repaired Danny's gingerbread house the best he could.  I really appreciated him after that.

This was one of my favorite episodes so far.  I mean, there were a lot more reasons to hate Josh and Mindy got her heart broken like her microwave, but it was an exciting and interesting party.  Plus, Mindy's friends came through for her again during one of her difficult times and made me like them all a little more.  I feel like I can almost forget that Josh is a bit of dirt bag and Mindy might be depressed because I know that she'll get over it with the great support system she has in her friends.

Love Is As Real As Black Santa

New Girl, S02E11

Jess got the others to hang out with her at multiple parties, the last night they would be all together before the holidays started.  She unexpectedly ran into Sam at the first party and tried to avoid him while he tried to convince her to take him back.  Nick had a hard time adjusting to Angie's wild and fearless style.  Schmidt and Cece argued about how they had ended things after Schmidt had told her he loved her.  Winston had trouble hearing after he got a cranberry in his ear.

I was just as surprised as Jess to see Sam at the first party the group went to.  I just never thought we'd see him again.  I was a little hopeful for the two because while Sam isn't Nick, he and Jess did make a cute couple.  Also, I felt bad for Jess who put her heart out on the line and got shot down.  It was nice to see Sam pursuing her to the point it almost seemed like stalking her.

My favorite thing about the drama between Sam and Jess was when Jess pretended to be unavailable by using Winston as her new lover:

[Jess] I'm in love.  

[Sam] What?

[Jess] With Winston.

[Sam] What?

[Jess] We've lain together.

[Winston] No, yeah--I mean, I dunno how it happened.  It just got stuck up there so far so quickly.

[Jess] The relationship.

[Winston] You know, sometimes when we're hanging out it can get a little rough.

[Jess] Oh, boy does it.

[Winston] Yeah.

[Sam] Oh, well, I didn't know that, so...

[Winston] What's going on?  I feel like I'm missing something.

 I liked that Sam actually bought that story and confessed to Winston that he thought Winston was his biggest competition with Jess living with three guys.  Apparently "Metrosexual Jones" and "Sweatshirt Guy" didn't intimidate him in the least.  I love how he not only counted out Schmidt and Nick, but gave them those funny nicknames.  Jess might have gotten away with fooling Sam if Winston hadn't realized what was going and did the least convincing breakup speech ever.  He was way too dramatic, as if he was in some kind of ghetto soap opera, and even called her a honkey.  Really, Winston?  But I knew that if Sam had any kind of brains, Winston's little show would definitely tell him that he and Jess were only pretending.

I have no idea why, but when Jess almost got pulled over and was pouring her guts out to this kindly-looking, bearded old man, it was touching when he said that he believed her.  He just told her that sometimes people tell the truth and let her go off.  That guy wasn't Santa Claus, but he was super nice and made Jess believe again.  I think Jess needed some kindness to restore her faith.

The part when the whole gang went to the hospital was sort of dumb, even with them all singing badly so that they could pretend to be a choir.  However, I did like when Angie showed her boobs and Nick had to pull away Schmidt from looking.  Then Winston casually came back for a look and that really made it funny.

I don't know how much I love Nick and Angie together.  I do agree with Jess that she could be good for him, though, because he is a chicken and Angie's bravery might rub off on him.  I did like when he confessed a lot of his flaws to her like being poor, having written a terrible zombie novel, and being obsessed with karate.  His lap dance after that was just embarrassing!  It was like he was about to take a dump on her or something, the way he was pushing out his butt.  But that scene was made better when Schmidt came over to show Angie how it was done and Nick started slapping Schmidt's dumb ass.  I really think that Schmidt would be a dancer if he ever got fired from his job.

Also, when Nick and Angie got exposed making out in the sleigh, Nick shouted out, "This is my nightmare" for the second time.  The last time was when he was being attacked by all the monsters and ghouls in the haunted house.  He has a lot of holiday-related nightmares.

There was a really good line, too, from Nick in this episode after he had insulted Angie about being a stripper and she had stormed off:

Nick Miller, turning lemonade into lemons since 1981.

I am totally going to steal that phrase as my own.  I just have to change the year because I wasn't even born yet.  Haha.

For all the bickering and cold attitude between Cece and Schmidt, I think that they were a lot more civil than they could have been.  Schmidt was really grumpy and a big Scrooge (which that part probably had nothing to do with Cece, though), but Cece was trying her best to be friendly.  She could have been really angry that he seemed to be unreliable when it was most important for her to know that he was serious.  Still, with all of her good will attempts, I think it's weird she would give him a present to thank him for telling her he loved her.  I don't know.  I just don't think that a gift, no matter how thoughtful, will easily mend Schmidt's heart.  But he accepted it because obviously his love for her is true.  I mean, he wouldn't be so hurt about how things had turned out if he didn't.  I'm glad they ended up getting on friendlier terms again, but I'm dying to know what's going to happen with Cece and her arranged partner.  That hasn't been addressed yet, and I hope that it will when the show returns next month.

With all this other drama going on with the couples, it's interesting to me that Winston was the one who was the funniest to me.  As soon as he got that cranberry in his ear and kept talking so damn loud, he had me laughing every time he opened his mouth.  He really started to sound like some old man who had gone deaf in an ear, especially when he had rolled up a piece of paper or something and put it to his ear to hear better.  Winston is usually kind of quiet, so when he raises his voice, it's hilarious.  Also, he kept ruining things for Jess.  First, he basically screamed out her location when she was trying to hide behind Cece and Schmidt, and then he spoke so loud in the closet (or bathroom?) Jess and he were hiding in and revealed her location again.  I really loved that, especially when he was too deaf to realize that Jess was using him as a fake boyfriend.

This was a great episode, especially for a Christmas story.  They managed to fit in Santa without it being corny or unfunny.  It was really cute how they all believed in Santa at that moment and how it helped bring Jess to her senses about giving Sam another chance.  I think that Sam is a decent stand-in for Nick until Jess or Nick realize they're meant for each other.  I'm anxious to see who Cece is going to date (or marry, I guess) in place of accepting Schmidt's love.  I know it will be funny if Schmidt can come between that arrangement somehow.  Nick will probably become a little less chicken if Angie sticks around, but I'm still not over the moon about him being with her.  Winston, as usual, unexpectedly brought me the most laughs.  That cranberry in his ear is one of the best things that could have happened to him.

Love Is Saying It On A Toilet

2 Broke Girls, S02E11

Caroline and Max worried that they weren't going to be able to start making profits because their sales were so low.  Since Sophie had invested in their business, Max offered Sophie to be a silent partner after her dream of owing a lake house in Poland had been ruined by shady contractors.  However, Sophie's changes in their business were unwelcome, and Max was unable to tell her to stop interfering so much.  Max also gave Andy advice about how to tell Caroline he loved her.

Two things that I liked were Max and Caroline insulting people who passed by their shop and Andy's journey to confess his love to Caroline.  The first thing was especially funny when an old woman asked about the price of their cupcakes and said no to the price before leaving right away.  I loved how both Caroline and Max called the lady a whore.  They were so mean, but I can understand their desperation to get customers flowing in.  After all, they have to sell 70 cupcakes a day to stay afloat. 

I thought it was cute that Andy wanted to tell Caroline he loved her, after they haven't been dating that long.  He must really love Caroline (or respect Max's opinion) to not just do things his own way and instead do research via romantic comedies before he told Caroline.  I didn't think that telling her in the diner was a bad idea until Earl had said:

Why, was the dump closed?

When he put it that way, it did make it seem like a pretty gross place to declare your love for someone.  I mean, this is the place that Oleg stands around talking about nasty things that I wish he would only keep in his dirty mind.

Speaking of Earl, I loved how excited Andy was that Earl gave him a personalized greeting when he came to the diner.  Being called "Prince Charming" wasn't that special to me, but it was cute how Andy felt like he had been accepted because of that, even though Max cautioned him that Earl sometimes calls groups of people by the same name, regardless of who it is.

In the end, Andy ended up telling Caroline he loved her on a toilet with his pants down and a tablet in hand while Caroline was in a cupcake costume and stuck in the door.  If anything else, that was definitely a memorable moment that neither of them will ever forget.  I liked that it ended up being like that because it meant that all of Andy's planning and research were for nothing.  It's not the place that matters, but the feeling behind the words.  Haha.

As for Sophie, well, I knew that making her silent about anything wasn't about to happen.  I still didn't expect hoagies and big chandeliers, though.  She outdid herself.  I'm just hoping that by the next episode she'll decide to step back since she felt like she was doing all the work and Caroline and Max weren't doing anything.  I'm just glad Max didn't get a chance to tell Sophie to tone it down because I think that would have exploded into a lot more drama than they needed.

This was a good bonus episode for the week.  It gives you a pretty good sense that the girls won't have people crowding their doors any time soon unless they get some big advertisement.  Sophie may or may not be the one to help them with that, as long as she stops trying to make their upscale shop into a place with pickled eggs on the counter.  Andy looks like he is going to be around for the long run (or at least the season?), the way things are moving.  Hopefully he or Caroline won't do anything to screw things up in the future.

Johnny And Max Never Meant To Be

2 Broke Girls, S02E10

Caroline and Max threw a party, celebrating the opening of their cupcake shop.  Max invited several of her ex-boyfriends to tell them to "suck it," including Johnny who she started seeing again to Caroline's dismay.

Wow, they have got the store ready really quickly!  I thought we might see a little more in-progress stories before we saw the cupcake shop actually set up for people to walk through there.  But it's not bad that things are moving faster than I expected.  I'm just glad that the party they threw was a success and it was mostly Max's choice to see Johnny again that brought the most trouble.

One of my favorite things in the episode was Max's "suck it" face.  I absolutely loved that face she made.  It was the perfection expression to really stick it to anyone that had crossed her in the past.  It's just too bad she didn't really get to use it in the right way on either of her exes.  In fact, Johnny found it to be a turn on.  I can't say that I'm surprised about that.  It was more of a confident, sexy look than a bitchy, ugly look.

It was also funny that Caroline and Max kept ignoring Han, who couldn't get into the party.  The best part of Han's struggles was when the doorman said they were at capacity, and then Robbie got into the party without more than saying who he was.  When Han complained about that, the doorman told him that he was only allowed to let in hot guys who looked like trouble.  When Earl got let in after that, I was rolling.  Not only because Earl fit into that category, but because Han was so angry about it.

Speaking of Earl, there was another funny moment when Caroline played Max's game of "Marry, Sleep With, Or Kill."  Caroline mistakenly thought she was supposed to consider Max and Earl and said she would sleep with Earl and marry Max.  I liked Earl's response to that:

I feel uncomfortable, Caroline.  Like I don't know how to look at you anymore.

Concerning Max and Johnny, I felt better knowing that she saw that they didn't belong together.  They do make a cute-looking couple, but their history together makes me hesitant about them being together in general.  I sort of let a sigh of relief to see her end things before she got hurt again.  They have some chemistry (that scene with them making out as gumballs rained down on them was nice), but I couldn't see Johnny sticking around or the fire between them lasting without Max knowing that she couldn't have him or vice-versa.  It's too bad, but I guess Max will have to stay single for a little while longer.

It's cool that Max's Cupcakes is open for business already, even if their party didn't make their goods fly off the shelves as they had probably expected.  I'm happy to see something hold them back a little bit because I'm not ready for them to be too successful yet (it wouldn't be any fun).  But I'm most happy that Max is smart enough to know when she has something real with someone and when she doesn't.  I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Johnny, but at least we probably don't have to expect that Max would ever to fool herself into thinking they should ever be together.

Property Of Ted Mosby

How I Met Your Mother, S08E10

Robin became obsessed with destroying Barney and Patrice's relationship, believing it was a sham, and snuck into Barney's house to find his playbook to prove to Patrice he wasn't who she thought he was.  Lily gave her mother-in-law advice on how to date again, and Marshall was freaked out when he found his mother and his father-in-law making out.  Ted was tired of his friends borrowing things and never returning them.

I like how Barney has seemed to calm down recently.  It's like ever since he's cut off his desire for Robin, he's become such a better person.  I could never imagine him dating someone like Patrice before, but the current Barney does seem like a genuinely nice guy who could be a good match for her.  I'm really enjoying how much it bothers Robin that Barney is dating Patrice, a woman that Robin can't speak to without screaming at her (the screaming makes me laugh).  However, she was getting really desperate and not listening to reason.  I'm sort of glad that she went to the trouble of finding Barney's playbook because Barney was able to show his resolve by burning it!  Wow.  He must be really ready to turn over a new leaf (or he has another copy somewhere or something).

My favorite thing about Robin's story was the end when all her friends cornered her with an intervention.  Yay!  I love when the gang does an intervention.  It feels like it's been a while because I had even forgotten about them until now.  Robin was getting out of hand, and I was happy to see them give her a damn wake up call.  Barbin's not gonna happen right now.

I didn't really care too much about Marshall's mom.  It was a little gross to think of anyone hooking up with Lily's dad, but it could be worse, I guess.  I'm sure that they will get tired of the "family with benefits" situation and move along.

Usually, I don't pay Ted's story any attention, but my favorite thing in this episode was Ted discovering (and the audience seeing) how much stuff everyone was borrowing from Ted without his knowledge.  Robin had taken his drill, Lily had his mini cooler, Barney had his Christmas decorations and trashcan, and Lily's dad had his campaign sweatshirt (eww--and was wearing nothing else).  I thought Ted was just complaining about something that didn't exist, as he tends to do, but he was so right about everyone just taking his stuff as if he's running a free store.  Oh, and I loved when Robin found the red boots that Ted had wrongly accused Stuart of never returning.  The crazy bitch was putting Ted's pocket knife to them and texted him a picture to threaten him to help her!  Another reason that Robin needed help and Ted needed to keep a tighter rope on his things.  I just spent the episode waiting for the next thing with Ted's label on it to appear (even his label maker was at Barney's--awesome).

This is definitely one of the better episodes I've watched within the last two seasons.  I say that because I'd actually want to watch it again.  I'm pretty satisfied with Barney dating Patrice, and I hope that Robin will finally learn to let go.  Barbin can wait a little while because we all know that it's going to happen one day down the road.  It was really funny to see how all of Ted's friends take advantage of him.  It's nice to be reminded that I used to like Ted and his seemingly crazy complaints.

Steve's Wild Night

American Dad, S08E06

Stan and Francine's regular babysitter got injured and they decided to let Hayley watch Steve so that they could go to the horse show they were looking forward to.  Steve wanted to prove that he was wild, so he snuck out of the house to a party and Hayley spent the night trying to get him back before their parents figured out how irresponsible she was.  Stan and Francine hired Roger to drive them in a horse and carriage to the horse show, but his reckless driving on the highway made them miss the show when he wrecked the car.

There isn't much that I liked or disliked about this episode.  In general, I liked that Stan and Francine didn't trust Hayley to watch over Steve at all.  I sometimes forget that they don't find her to be really reliable.  It must be because she tends to be the one most concerned with what's morally right that it makes me overlook the fact that she is sort of a flake and a wildcard.  However, she would have had an easy time watching Steve if she hadn't pushed his buttons in the first place.

It was nice to see Steve have a pretty successful night.  He managed to run away from Hayley (which was easy because she wasn't prepared to chase after Steve in the first place), get alcohol to ensure his ticket to a party, get a cute girl's number, and spend a few seconds at a cool party.  For him, that was about as good as it gets, even with a methhead threatening him with a gun because he didn't give him a receipt and said addict getting his head shot off in the room of the girl he just met.

If I had to pick something I liked, it might be that Snot kept telling people "you're doing great," when they were being questioned by a police officer in Jeff's van.  Everyone was certainly not doing great, but Snot is so damn positive.  I'm still enjoying him from the previous episode and just thinking that he's such an upbeat guy that he has no clue that they were gonna get so arrested.

After seeing the grim end to the former babysitter, Lindsay, it was sort of nice that her ghost ended up helping Hayley and Steve move Francine's car back to the house in time.  I don't know why she chose to help them, but it was only slightly random, so I could go along with it.  Her good deed as a ghost sort of made her death seem a little less sad and unnecessary.

As far as Stan and Francine's story, I didn't care for the way they were so horny about horses.  It was almost too gross, but not quite there.  I'm just surprised that with Roger taking the carriage on the highway that no one got hurt.  I never expected them to get to their show with Roger handling their transportation, but they did get to see some kind of horse show.  However, I feel like their story didn't really add much of anything.  And Roger's role was minimum so it was lacking comedy for me.

This was an okay episode.  I certainly didn't have much to complain about.  It was nice to see things go pretty well for Steve and see Hayley and Steve sort of get along.  I don't know how I feel about Lindsay dying for the sake to help Steve and Hayley (it seemed), but at least it was something different to see.  However, I didn't see the point in Stan and Francine's story at all.  It could have been filled with more of Steve enjoying the night being "wild" for once.

Meg Can't Let Go Of The Fantasy

Family Guy, S11E07

Meg finally went out with the boy she's been fantasizing about, Kent, to find out that he was gay and liked Chris.  Wanting to live through Chris, Meg schemed to roofie Chris so that Kent could have sex with him and Meg could hear the details later.

Well, for an episode about Meg, this one wasn't too bad.  I think that's mainly because even though she still couldn't catch a break, the one who made things worse for her was Meg herself instead of someone victimizing her.  Yeah, it sucked that Kent ended up being gay after she finally asked him out, but her refusal to accept reality was really pathetic.  She could have easily been Kent's friend, at least--that was better than him hating her like he did at the end.  Meg was also pretty selfish, wanting to disregard Chris's feelings just to fulfill her fantasy.  I don't know.  Meg should really take the small victories when she can.  She wanted the gold prize (a real relationship with Kent), when she could have been really content with bronze (friendship).

Also, Meg was really rude when she kept denying that Kent was gay because he didn't act like a stereotypical gay man.  I would think that she would be smarter to know that you can't cook-cut people like that.  But maybe she was too blinded by her desire for Kent to use her brain.  Just one more reason that Meg looked like a horrible person who sort of deserved to be bullied upon like she always is.

Anyway, there were a few moments that I liked.  My second favorite was when Meg was squealing with joy about successfully asking out Kent.  Stewie came to the door and before closing it said:

I’m gonna go ahead and shut this for you.

Stewie's irritation at her loud voice just made me laugh.  It's like he was doing something so important that Meg was interrupting or something.

My favorite part, though, was when Meg told Kent that Chris had a dark side.  I wasn't sure if she was making it up (because she was lying about Chris being gay in the first place), but that cutaway was so creepy!  Chris was sitting in their room in the dark, sitting in a rocking chair or something.  Then he got up started to gently stroke Peter's face while Peter was trembling in the bed.  I don't know what the hell was going on, but it was so uncomfortable that it was hilarious.

I also thought it was kind of funny that one of Meg's teachers informed her and her friends that he would be in the park later, which was one of his technically not illegal invitations.  That teacher is like intentionally being the bare minimum sleaze-bag that he's allowed.

There were some disturbing things as well in this episode.  The number one thing was the plant that kept raping things.  First it raped a roofied plant, and then it raped a roofied Stewie.  Eww!  It was almost funny because you wouldn't expect a plant to do that, but instead it was just a frightening thought to imagine a plant attacking a person like that.

Another thing was when Meg went to get roofies from Quagmire.  That wasn't too weird because it was Quagmire, but his comment after she left was a bit unsettling:

That’s what it’s all about, Glenn.  Don’t rape it back, rape it forward.

Yeah, let's not rape it forward or back or at all.  I can see why Quagmire would be willing to be Meg's contact if she got arrested for those roofies because he has no business having them nor giving them to unbalanced teenagers.

There was this moment when Peter was on the slip-n-slide and a giant spider was pulling him away wrapped in a web.  That wasn't disturbing, but more like what the hell was going on??  I almost wish that it had come back later in the episode to sort of answer that question because it was so random (but not unwelcome).

Finally, the last thing I wanted to comment on was how I was a little annoyed with that cutaway about how women and men differ in friendships.  I don't think that the difference is as simple as women use half-insult compliments to their friends, while men are straightforward.  I guess what bothers me the most is that whenever there are gender-difference jokes, it's always to paint women in a worse light than men.  I can't think of time when it was the other way around.  Just gets a little tiring to see that constantly.

I liked this episode, even though Meg was being an obsessive jackass. It's not the first time she's let her fantasies run wild, nor will it be the last.  For someone who is so desperate like her, these sort of stories are kind of a given.  She doesn't get affection or positive attention, so if she has a chance for it, she's definitely going to use unorthodox methods to get it and not give up easily.  Luckily, there were quite a few jokes to distract you from Meg trying to help someone unknowingly date rape her brother.  I can't imagine how horrible it would have been if there wasn't some good comedy to shift the focus away from that.

Even Gene Could Do Better

Bob's Burgers, S03E08

Gene ended up dating a girl that he didn't particularly like because he didn't know how to reject her.  When Gene finally had enough of dating her, he lost his resolve to breakup with her when he found out her father owned a bunch of audio equipment he allowed Gene to use at his leisure.  Linda also went on a strict diet that made her super-hungry all the time.

Sometimes it's good to be reminded that Gene and the others aren't the most annoying kids in this show.  They did a great job with Courtney's character because I couldn't stand her ass.  Her voice, her snorting, and especially that disgusting habit of sucking on her necklace--she was repugnant.  Even someone like Gene who is kind of disgusting and irritating couldn't hold a candle to Courtney.  She was the girlfriend from hell.  She was also really freaking clingy--I can't stand that.  It was pretty funny that even Bob agreed to drive Gene away because he hated her.  I felt as mad as Louise that Gene was letting his love of gear get in the way of a really sensible decision to cut her off.

I don't know if wanting unlimited access to Courtney's father's stuff was worth hanging out with her for even another second.  Sure, it was heaven for Gene, but he also had to endure hell with Courtney.  I don't think it was a fair trade off.  Luckily, he didn't take too long to find that out for himself.

It's kind of wrong of me to say, but I sort of wished Courtney had died in that hospital for real.  Yeah, Gene was being a jerk for leading her on and embarrassing her at her own birthday party, but that bitch was over the top annoying!  And she literally cornered him into going out with her.  There was no way he could have said no without looking like an asshole.  And in the end he still looked like one, so I guess it's one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't situations.

It was messed up how Courtney's father stole Gene's song six months later.  Really?  It's not like he broke Courtney's heart (that bitch already had the next boyfriend in mind once Gene dumped her)--that wasn't right.  But I guess it does teach Gene to not so carelessly give away his "genius" works for anyone to just steal.

Linda's diet was ridiculous.  It made a good point about those crazy fad diets where you can only eat a certain thing.  I don't know why anyone would do one of those when they make the person unsatisfied and have little success of working.  Even if they do work, you'd gain that weight back the second you stopped eating skins or whatever the flavor of the month food was.  I'm glad that Linda sort of came to her senses.  She had to have a horny old man tell her she looked good (because Bob's opinions never matter) before she allowed herself to chase after mashed potatoes again.  Her story in general was just like a fly buzzing around your ear and not very interesting.

This wasn't one of my favorites, just because I've had enough of Courtney.  I just wouldn't want to watch her again sucking on her damn necklace or opening her big mouth.  The story did give me some perspective on how I see Gene, though.  He's not that bad when I think about Courtney.  Linda, as usual, fails to bring a good story that's mainly about her acting crazy.  I doubt I'll see the day when one of her stories is entertaining.

Hipster Homer

The Simpsons, S24E07

Homer's problem to becoming a cool dad was answered when he befriended a father from Portland who taught him how to live a more exciting and stylish life.  However, when Bart fought with their son and Marge clashed with the breast-feeding mothers, Homer's new friends brought their trendy friends to Springfield to take over the town.

This isn't the first time that Homer's felt old or uncool and sought to change himself.  Who would have thought the answer would have started with donuts? Donuts, which Homer didn't fully get to enjoy (he got a beer keg one, and that seemed to be it).

There were a lot of things I liked about this episode, besides Homer dressing like a hipster little by little.  At the beginning, I liked when Homer was shouting at the ducks:

Beat it, ducks!  I’m not old enough to have food for you!  I’m sexy! Young and sexy!

I guess I think it's funny to shout at something that can't understand you.  And Homer was yelling, making himself sound crazy (not unlike a confused old man would), so it contributed to that joke.

Later, Homer wanted to "man-hug" Terence, but was fumbling around with it.   It was like he was drowning and didn't have a clue how to swim.  I enjoy when Homer does something "new" and fails to do it, when he certainly knows how to do it (if he just removed the prefix of "man," he'd be fine).

Marge had her funny moments too.  Of course, I liked her resisting to join the breast-feeding "cult," but I really liked when she was mad about how the kids were acting after Homer had brought them from a number of interesting outings:

The kids are a mess!  You brought them home exhausted and pretentious!

She also commented on his new style of dressing, the funniest of which were his scarves.  It was so wonderfully gross when he tossed the scarf around his neck, allowing a bunch of sweat to splash on the wall.  That really emphasized the ridiculousness of Homer, in particular, wearing it out of season.  Nasty, but good.

One more thing concerning Homer's hipster look was his goatee.  It wouldn't even grown in right--he looked horrible with it.  I really liked how hard he was trying to fit in.  I'm sure if he had been able to stay friends with Terence longer, his new best friend could have talked him into some more unflattering-for-Homer fashion choices.

Lastly, I liked Homer's comment when he found out that his new best friend and family weren't the nicest people after all:

Whoever thought a cool person could be a jerk?

If you're ever seen a 80s movie, you should know that's quite possible (not to say that's the only example).  Or just met enough people, you could find lots of jerks who are supposed to be "cool."  I like when Homer makes ironic statements like that.

I liked this episode a lot.  I think I enjoy the stories when Homer tries to fit into some new fad or profession and sort of changes his style.  It's just interesting to see Homer dress or act differently from what he usually does, because we've seen that routine for twenty-plus years now.  I don't think that hipster Homer is my favorite of his attempts to change, but it's definitely one of the better ones he's done in the latter seasons of this show.

Lots Of Love All Around

Parks and Recreation, S05E09

Ron brought Diane and Leslie to an award event where he would be honored for a chair he built.  Leslie was worried that Debbie showing up would cause the couple problems, but Diane was most worried about Leslie's involvement in Ron's life.  Ann refused to let the others in the office attend Jerry's Christmas party because they had intended to spend the night celebrating how much they laughed at Jerry over the past year.  Ben also looked after Chris at the party, making sure that he didn't fall apart emotionally.

I really loved how excited Ron was to attend the woodwork event.  He was giggling at the sight of someone he said was famous, who Leslie and Diane had no idea about.  I actually wasn't too worried about Debbie showing up because I noticed early on that Diane seemed worried about how well Leslie knew Ron.  It doesn't seem odd that she would because no one knows Ron like Leslie does, except maybe his ex-wives?  But it was sweet that Leslie would take on Debbie by herself just so that Diane and Ron could spend the rest of the night alone.  She's such a great friend!  Cuz that Debbie bitch is crazy (but at the end when she was in cuffs, I would have killed to see Lucy Lawless kick her ass like she suggested).

Ron obviously loves Diane because he revealed one of his biggest secrets to her--that he is Duke Silver!  Wow!  I was really impressed that he did that!  It was also funny that one of Ron's fan said she was going to kill Diane!  Damn.  Didn't know he had such dedicated fans!  Great scene.

I didn't expect that Ann would condemn the mean party that the others were having concerning Jerry, but I'm glad she did.  After all, they should be a little nicer to the guy after he had a brush with death.  It was nice that Donna had a change of heart and wanted to include Jerry in the dinner instead of just using it as a time to make fun of him behind his back because they all got to see that Jerry was throwing a big ol' Christmas celebration.  I freaking loved seeing them peeping into the window, dying to get in there.  It was kind of like Scrooge peeking into his nephew's house and seeing how much of an ass he had been to his only family member.  It was nice that they took all the money that they had collected to remember Jerry's fumbling at work to instead donate to his medical bills.  And they learned that Jerry always sent them nice emails congratulating them on their achievements and birthdays.  He's such a sweetheart and it was great they had a moment to remember that behind his Charlie Brown-esq personality, there is a heart of gold.  Way to get into the Christmas spirit.

I was also impressed with Chris's progress.  I didn't think that his 15 times a week with his therapist were really helping, but they were.  He could drink non-fat egg nog, let someone point out his gray hair, and speak to his ex-girlfriend and her fiance without spiraling into his usual dark place (although I think it's hilarious when he gets so negative).  I also loved that Ben was doing his best to support him and make sure that he kept it together.  I sort of forgot until they had this overly long hug that they are such good friends.  I love their bromance, especially on Chris's end because he needs all the love he can get.

I just got this warm, happy feeling from this episode--it was great.  This is one of those stories about Christmas that didn't make me hate the overall spirit of this holiday.  We got to see Leslie be there for Ron and Diane, Diane and Ron become closer, Tom and the rest give Jerry a break, and Ben and Chris reconnect as friends.  I have nothing bad to say about it.

Sheldon Smacked That Ass!

Big Bang Theory, S06E10

Howard had to go fishing with his father-in-law, so he went to Penny to get advice on how to fish and gut the catch.  Amy was sick and Sheldon honored their agreement by taking care of her, and Amy enjoyed the process so much, she faked being sick.

I liked seeing Howard squirm while he had to sit with his less than chatty father-in-law.  It was funny how Howard couldn't get more than a few words from him, no matter what he said.  I know that the two have very little in common, but damn--what an uncomfortable situation!  I expected that Howard might be saved for a moment when he tried to strike up a conversation with Bernadette's mother, but she was just as tight with words as her husband was.  I loved when she had a simple response to how her trip was, in a voice that reminded me of Bernadette.  I might like Howard's in-laws as much as I love Raj's parents (hope they make an appearance this season).

I don't know whether it's sadder that Raj, Leonard, and Howard had to seek help from Penny about fishing or that it was that Penny seemed so manly in this story.  I mean, Penny was in sweats, eating pizza like it was nothing to be ashamed of stuffing her face with it at the door.  Like she couldn't put it down for a second?  But seeing her like that made the point clear that Penny was going to know how to fish better than the three guys.  I didn't think she was going to show Howard how to gut a fish, though--that was pretty nasty.  I would have reacted probably like one level better than Howard's disgust.  But to be honest, it was a little impressive that Penny is so skillful about preparing a fish.  It's not something everyone knows to do, so it's nice that she could teach the geniuses for a change.

I liked that at the end of Howard's story, he and Mike sort of bonded over the fact that their wives force them to do things they don't want to do.  I also liked that while Mike defended his wife and daughter, he admitted that calling them "great" was a little too much.  I like his honesty.

Howard's story was nice, but I loved Sheldon and Amy's story the best.  I was touched that even though Sheldon complained and was impatient about taking care of her, he did it regardless.  Even if he was doing it to ensure that he would have someone to take care of him who wouldn't run away (I loved when Leonard and the rest did that) the next time he got sick, it was sweet by Sheldon's standards.  I was really happy that Amy was milking the attention from her boyfriend because I know she is one emotionally starved woman.  Anyone who is that excited to have her boyfriend rub VapoRub on her chest has not been getting a lot of action.  So I got a kick out of her enjoying the intimacy with Sheldon, while he was just seeing it as just a chore.  I was surprised that this even included helping her shower!  Wow.  He can help her do that and doesn't think more of it than probably cleaning a dish.  It was hilarious to see Amy getting to enjoy it without having to be really sick.  You can't blame her for taking advantage of the situation.

Sheldon, of course, didn't see it that way and felt that her lies were some kind of great crime.  He mentioned that ideally he would lock her in stockade!  Really, Sheldon??  You had to take care of your girlfriend a few extra days.  She didn't make you lose your job or rob a store.  He really astounds me at how highly he thinks of himself.  Amy is smart, though.  She tried to get off easy by suggesting that she be banned from the opening of the next Star Trek movie.  She would have gotten some applause if Sheldon had agreed to that.  I know good and well she would have loved to been spared seeing that movie.  Oh, well.  Instead, Amy got something a little better--a spanking.  For Sheldon to suggest that was such a brilliant conclusion.  I was like, man, is there anyway Amy can get away with pretending like she doesn't like that?  Nope.  Which made it all the more hilarious to see Amy on Sheldon's lap, getting her ass smacked by him.  And he reprimanding her not to enjoy it only made it funnier.  Amy and Sheldon are really becoming one of my favorite TV couples.

Oh, there was something so wrong that Sheldon said earlier in the episode:

Amy’s taking me to a memorial service.  It’s for one of her colleagues who is of Asian descent, so my planned conversational gambit is to casually remark that no matter how deep they dig his grave, he’ll never make his way back to China.

How I would love him to say that so someone could punch him in the face, or escort him out of the memorial service.  He's lucky that Amy was sick for more than not wanting to wear a suit.

Great episode.  I think that Howard is becoming possibly my favorite character, after maybe Amy and Raj who sort of compete for first.  I definitely want to see him struggle to get along with Mike again--it's just too funny.  But, of course, nothing can be funnier than Amy trying to cling onto the slightest bit of affection from her boyfriend Sheldon.  Sheldon spanking Amy is in my top ten favorite moments for this couple.  That was just great.  This show keeps making this couple better and better.

Being With Loved Ones

Suburgatory, S02E07

Ryan freaked out after learning he was adopted and stayed at Malik's house during his identity crisis.  George set up avacation package for Tessa and Alex to enjoy during the holidays, so they could spend time together.  Dalia wanted Carmen to come home for Christmas and made a music video that expressed her feelings.  Carmen and Jill didn't get along well, and Carmen considered whether she wanted to stay at that house.

Ryan was sort of acting like a mixture of the Hulk and some kind of wild animal once he found out he was adopted.  I knew he would be mad and confused, but I could have never predicted that he would jump on his parents' car and start banging on it in a fit of rage!  I really loved how he scared the hell out of his family.  It was so funny.  Especially when he went to Lisa's window calling her a liar and she quickly rolled up the window in fear.  He probably would have pulled her out of the car and started swinging her body around like a bag or potatoes.  Ryan is so crazy!  He even hit things like parking meters and lamp posts like some kind of maniac.

I loved that he somehow happened to be running on the street when Malik's family was driving by.  It was cute how Malik coaxed him into coming near with a Starburst.  He's such a simple guy!  Then it was really weird that Malik threw him into the trunk and closed it.  Malik's dad responded in a funny way:

Did you just put a human being in our trunk?

I'm assuming that Malik did so because there was no room in that little ass car for one more person, but I felt kind of bad for him.  But at least he had a place to go.  While there, he apparently had time to print out business cards with his new "opposite name," Eugene Goldfarb.  Horrible name.  Doesn't fit him at all.  It was funny that he had "no longer living a lie" written on there.

The best part of Ryan's story was when Lisa asked Tessa to go talk to him.  It seemed that she had straightened him out and made him realize that the Shays were his real family because they raised him, but he ended up running away.  However, I was so happy that Tessa admitted that she had a crush on Ryan too and kissed him.  It was adorable how happy he was about it because she had used tongue.  It was the only thing he wanted for Christmas--Aww!  Ryan and Tessa forever!

Speaking of Tessa, I'm surprised that she missed George so much.  She just seemed so gung-ho about spending time with Alex that I thought she would be super excited.  But I guess during Christmas you just really long for your traditions and those that you remember spending them with.  It just didn't feel like Christmas when she was in a spa and sitting in a hotel lobby with a mother she barely knew.  Also, there was that incredibly clumsy hug the two of them did.  Ugh.  It was nothing like the quick one George had to remind Tessa to give him before she left.  So it only made sense she would want to come back.  I was a little touched by her feelings because it reminded me of my own feelings for my father during Christmas.

There were lots of great things in the other stories, but Dalia blew away all the other stories with her music video "You Missed A Spot."  That was hilarious and cute!  She even had her stepmother in there sort of rapping in a futuristic flight attendant outfit.  And I loved seeing Dalia making a heart with her hands but seem so emotionless doing it.  I think I enjoyed every second of that video.  I had high expectations, but Dalia exceeded them.  Wow.

Another "wow' thing was that Dalia called George "Daddy Altman."  I don't know if she meant it sincerely (because her voice always sounds the same), but it was sort of sweet because it caught me off-guard.  Has she already started to think of George as a father figure?  Because that would great. He might have scored enough points to earn that right since he managed to get Carmen back for Dalia.  I thought he might, but I hoped Carmen wouldn't have to actually be in a box (she must love Dalia to sit in a box with packing peanuts just to surprise Dalia).  He also scored points with Dallas too--good job, George.

Great Christmas episode.  It's a little earlier than I was expecting, but I suppose it's all right since it's already December.  I guess that just means that they won't be showing any more episodes for a while?  I hope that Ryan goes home soon and gives up that stupid name he invented.  I'm happy that Tessa hasn't forgotten about her father in exchange for her mother.  Dalia's hilarious music video also helped get herself reunited with her loved one.   She really needs to have another reason to make another video again--I don't care what the song is about.

Stand Up For Your Man

Happy Endings, S03E05

Jane struggled to break through the "men-only" wall with her coworkers at the car dealership, and Brad offered to help her.  Max wanted revenge on Brody for breaking his fist pump, and Dave blamed himself for it happening because he believed he invented the concept of "too slow."  Penny tried to hide the fact that she needed to wear a prescription helmet while dating a new guy.

I guess that Jane's offer to work at the car dealership was a real thing.  I kept wondering if it was a gag.  I guess that's good because it helped make a good story about Jane fitting in there.  I would have expected with her aggressive attitude, she would fit in well with the kind of sharks that work at the Car Czar's dealership.  But instead she tried too hard to be one of the boys and just ended up being awkward and a little gross.

I liked that Brad tried to help her, but got stuck with all the wives at the party.  I can buy that.  Brad is the kind of guy that most people just like in general.  I don't know if he would have won over the boys at Jane's office so easily, but I think if he had been focused he would have found a way.  It was cute how he started acting like a trophy wife and sort of supporting Jane, even though she was putting him down to her coworkers.

One of my favorite lines was when Brad mentioned after the Car Czar had left their house:

His humor makes me uncomfortable.

It was also one of my favorite parts to see Brad come into the dealership in shorts, acting super feminine and sporting a little pig in a pet carrier.  He was both cute and really embarrassing to Jane.  I could watch him doing that all day--he was so ridiculous.  But he made a good point about Jane treating him so badly when they are a team and he's never done that to her.  Aww.  I liked that Jane finally stood up for him, but was too valuable of an employee for  the Car Czar to fire her.  Yay.

Okay, I couldn't care less about Dave thinking he invented the concept of faking a low-five, but I loved seeing Max so damn angry over something so stupid.  He even had a childhood memory to back up why it upset him so, making it funnier.  Max holds grudges over the silliest things.  However, I will agree that Brody is a dick.  I loved when Brody countered Max's counter by covering his hand with "mashed potatoes" and Max exploded:

I'll kill you!

Max usually isn't the one full of rage, so I enjoyed seeing what set him off.  And usually I can't stand Alex, but when she exploded too after  Brody made the squid-like motion, I had too laugh, too.  Wow, they really made fist bumping a serious issue.

Penny and her damn helmet.  I don't know why she couldn't just be happy from the beginning with the new pink helmet she had bought instead of trying to cover it up?  I mean, she could have just went out with the guy like once a week until her month was over.  In those four dates, she could have better spread out her ideas to hide the fact that she had to have protection on her head at all times.  Or she could have not been a moron at all and told him the truth right away.  She was lucky that Pete put up with her for as long as he did.  She has enough problems going on without her adding "acts crazy when you try to touch her head."

I didn't exactly love this episode, but I didn't hate it either.  I liked the story about Jane and Brad the best, and I enjoyed seeing Max being angry to the point of wanting to fight.  Didn't care too much about Dave or Penny, but that's nothing new.  It would take a really great story for me to be over the moon about something those two did.