Left Behind

Suburgatory, S02E15

Tessa confronted Ryan about his unexplained absence and found out that he was investigating possible colleges.  Realizing that their futures would soon go in different directions, Tessa tried to think about college herself, while Ryan tried to find a way to stay with Tessa on a long-term basis.  Marty's sudden death made George realize no one knew him in Chatswin at all.  With Noah's help, George tried to find a good place to leave Marty's ashes after he had been the only one they could find to take them.

What a relief that Ryan wasn't doing anything particularly wrong!  He was just worried that Tessa would freak at the mention of him going off for college.  It's adorable that he was so concerned she wouldn't want to be separated from him that he tried to hide it.  That idiot.  I just wish that Tessa was more worried about them parting one day rather than almost gleefully imagining her life in New York City without Ryan.  I mean, it reflected badly on her when Ryan was moping around about his blessing being a curse because it would put himself and Tessa in different places in the future, while her first thought wasn't to find a way to maintain their relationship.  He was even ready to get himself "hobbled," so that his time with Tessa wouldn't have to end.  It took Tessa while before she thought about how precious her remaining time with Ryanwas  and rushed off to see him.  Sometimes I don't like how long it takes her to realize these things.  She's human, but still.

That guy who works at the photo shop is crazy as hell.  I knew he was a troublemaker from the moment he babbled to Ryan that he wasn't a biological Shay.  Sir, mind your own business!  This time he wanted to be a "hit man," and whack Ryan with a metal pipe?  What is this grown man doing?  He should be arrested, even if Ryan asked him to do it.  Like, Tessa pointed out that he had to hear the message she was leaving for him before he ran out to attack Ryan, but Mr. Photo acted like he had no idea.  After coming back for a second attack that failed, thankfully, I was happy to see Tessa snatch the pipe from him.  What a nutcase!  I don't like the idea of Ryan hanging out with that guy.  Nothing good ever comes from it.

Besides Ryan saying that he wanted a life-size of Tessa over a pocket-size (aww!), I loved when Tessa ambushed him in the bathroom:

[Ryan] Tessa.  You're not allowed in here unless you have a penis.[Tessa] Then what's your excuse?

I liked that Tessa was not playing around when it came to lying to her like that.  I'm guessing that he was just going to keep avoiding her, so she had to resort to such methods.  Thank goodness.  I wouldn't have wanted half of the story to be about him running away from her.

In George's story, Marty's death was so predictable.  If hadn't died after talking about having his life ahead of him, it would have seemed like false advertising (or foreshadowing).  It was sad that not one damn person knew more about him beyond a few superficial things like what his driver's license might tell you or what his mailman could say.  It's ironic the second George thought to learn one thing about Marty that he kicked the bucket.  Especially because the few bits of information he gained tipped the scale enough to make him the owner of Marty's ashes.  That's a crazy responsibility for someone who barely had a conversation with the guy.  But I guess Marty was sort of lucky he ended up in George's hands.  He could have gone to Dalia who sang this horribly monotone song for his slideshow, yet easily admitted she had never even met him.  She really set the overall sentiment for those in attendance of Marty's memorial.

It was sort of cute that even though Marty's "girl" turned out to be another stranger, Fatima still was grateful enough for the gift of the tickets to give his urn a kiss.  It was a little weird, but nice that she wasn't creeped out by receiiving a gift from a dead guy.  That was closer than he was going to get with Fatima at that moment, so George sorta did Marty a favor.

I liked George's idea of spreading out Marty's ashes outside of Chatswin to let Marty travel like he always wanted to.  I guess they couldn't afford to go somewhere really far, but I think George's heart was in the right place, so it was good enough.

Noah admitted that he was in love with Carmen--duh!  Who didn't know that?  There is no way Noah's affection for her only amounted to how well she took care of Opus.  Please.  He took her to an opera and got her fancy gifts.  It explains a lot of why he couldn't let the feud with Dallas die for the longest time.  He wanted his woman back, not his nanny.  I don't know how Jill will fit into this whole thing, but I'm sure Noah's love won't come easy.  Jill and Noah don't have the most spectacular marriage, but I doubt that Jill will be able to save face if Noah divorces her for "the help."  I just hope that Carmen, who hasn't done anything wrong (so far) doesn't get caught in the crossfire of Noah's decision to pursue her.

Speaking of love, Dalia is so aggressive when it comes to Evan.  I don't think that he'll be able to push her away after that intense kiss she gave him.  That was insane.  I admire her for going after the one she wants, even if he's so outside of my imagination of her preference.  I wonder if Dalia and Evan will make as a wonderfully mismatched couple as Tessa and Ryan do.

This was a good episode.  I couldn't hate it for any reason as long as Ryan wasn't trying to go after another girl behind Tessa's back.  I should have had more faith in him--he wouldn't be that much of a scumbag.  I don't know if they'll be able to survive Ryan going off to college, but at least they've agreed to enjoy their time while they have it.  And it's great that Ryan didn't throw away his future by letting a crazy photographer destroy his leg.   George was burdened by giving Marty his final resting place, but he eventually figured out the best thing to do.  The lesson he and Noah learned through their journey of Marty's unknown life made Noah confess his love for Carmen, which seems equivalent to lighting a stick of dynamite to me.  There might be another explosion of love soon between Evan and Dalia.  I doubt that little dork will be able to keep Dalia off his mind after the passionate kiss she gave him this week.

Mindy's Perfect Guy

The Mindy Project, S01E16

Mindy reconnected with a guy that she had met at camp when she was thirteen and had an amazing time with him.  The only thing that ruined the start to their relationship was that Sam was in the army and was meant to deploy for 18 months to Afghanistan.  Mindy, not wanting Sam to leave so quickly after they started something so good, tried to find a way to make him ineligible to return to duty for a while.  Danny also was asked by a couple to be their sperm donor and had second thoughts after agreeing to it.

Who would have guessed the first guy that seemed to be Mindy's perfect match would be played by Seth Rogen?  I like him as an actor just fine, but I didn't think that he would have such chemistry with Mindy that it was a little devastating that Sam had to go in the end.  He had all the things that I felt like Mindy needed: a guy who could keep up with her in the comedy department, could share in her love of romantic comedies, and was genuinely a nice person.  It was like every second they spent together made me not want to see him go even more.  It was a little embarrassing that Mindy got caught trying to sabotage his return to service, but I sorta wanted her to succeed.  Sam won me over from the second he awkwardly tried to pretend that he was blind--why did he have to be played by a guest star?  Argh.

My favorite scene between Mindy and Sam was when they were at the drug store and he suggested that they use self-checkout.  Mindy only scanned one item before it had an error and set off an alarm because it thought she was trying to bag something she hadn't paid for.  I liked how they ran off, abandoing their items, and how the machine knew her name.  I think even though it made them look like shoplifters, it was a memory that they could laugh about later.

Sam also gave Mindy the best goodbye letter ever.  I haven't watched the movie You Got Mail, but I think that Sam's ability to quote from it in a letter (and his request that she not share this fact to anyone else) made him look even more perfect for Mindy than he had before.  Their story together was exactly what you would expect from the kind of movies that she liked:  first meeting as kids, and then years later having a chance love connect as adults.  Where is she going to meet a guy again that has this kind of setup?  I really wanted him to stay, but the beautiful letter he left behind was more than adequate to make me accept that he was just one of Mindy's passing through loves.

I also had a line that I liked from this story.  It was after Sam asked Danny whether Mindy was a great doctor and he agreed, surprisingly.  Morgan summed up nicely how much value that nod of approval from Danny meant:

That means a lot coming from him because he's very competitive and doesn't give a lot of compliments.

Either Danny is really starting to fall for Mindy or he really approved of Sam enough to be honest with him (because we all know he wouldn't want to co-own a business with her if he didn't think she was a doctor of good quality).  I liked that Danny has really started to bond with Mindy and seems less about bringing her down and more about joking around with her.  I like honest Danny a lot more than "pretending like he's the biggest bastard in the world" Danny.

Danny also seems to have made Mindy his problem solver.  While everyone else at the office was making him terrified of fathering a son that wasn't going to be in his life, Mindy quickly got him out of his commitment of donating sperm by listing Danny's many faults.  Although he didn't look prepared for the negative points that she was going to tell the couple, Danny went along with it and appeared grateful that she released him from the burden.  The old Danny probably wouldn't even have gone to Mindy for advice in the past.  But the new and more likeable Danny trusted her enough to tell her his problem and let her take care of it.  I'm really liking the place that their friendship has gotten to now.

This might be my favorite episode yet.  It's as good as that one at the club, but I think Mindy meeting a guy who had it all for her purposes beats a good night clubbing, for sure.  Seth Rogen was fantastic as Sam, and I hope somewhere (possibly in the second season if the show gets renewed) that Sam returns.  Maybe by then Mindy will already have found someone as great as him, but I still want him to come back and rekindle that spark they have together.  Sam's character really made me forget about all the other jerks Mindy's been cursed with, so I'll always be grateful for that.  I'm also grateful that Sam's visit made Danny admit how much he values Mindy as a doctor.  The two of them are really getting along well lately, and I'm eager to see if their friendship can deepen to the point that Danny opens himself up to Mindy even more.

Schmidt Presents "Tinfinity"

New Girl, S02E18

Schmidt and Nick celebrated their tenth roommate anniversary with an elaborate party.  Nick wanted to be part of the planning, but Schmidt only pretended to give up some of his control.  Jess was determined to stop thinking about Nick's lips and frustrated about not knowing what he was thinking, so she latched onto a "real man" who was more open about his feelings.  Cece was disappointed at how casually her marriage proposal came about with Shivrang.

It's just like Schmidt to throw a party that most people would mistake as a celebration for lovers rather than friends.  It's sort of cute that he values his friendship with Nick so much that he would want to make a big deal out of each year that they've spent together.  I'm a little surprised that their friends were down with it, though--I'd be questioning why two grown men who aren't together need to throw a party that wasn't just about drinking and dancing (or hooking up with random girls).   But people seemed to have no problem doing things like taking pictures in the Nick and Schmidt photo cutouts (super weird, even if it was for a married couple).

I guess the best thing about the party was Nick's contribution of a purchased porta-potty.  I might understand someone who often holds outside parties wanting to have one on hand, but not someone like Nick who probably doesn't even have a place to put that after the party is over with.  If it were of good quality, I guess he could rent it out to other people, but it was disgusting to look at from the outside--I couldn't imagine even washing my hands in there.  It's so like Nick to buy the one that was meant for the garbage and be so proud of it that he was trying to bully people into using it.  I really like when he was trying to get Sanders to use it and gave him the ultimatum of using it or leaving the party.  Sanders left without a second thought.  You would think people literally running away from his porta-potty would give him a sign that he made a really dumb and filthy purchase.

I liked that Jess is so obsessed with Nick's lips, but would rather run from that problem than do something about it (like kiss Nick some more to get it out of her system).  Her solution was to flirt aggressively with Jax (which might have been partially because she wanted to screw with Winston a bit), who seemed to be exactly what she wanted--a man who could tell her straight up if he liked her or not.  It was interesting both that Jax turned out to be exactly what she didn't want, and that Nick was acting a little jealous of Jax.  Although Jess didn't get to kiss someone who could erase her memory of Nick, Jax turned out to be a significant guy in the scheme of things.  He proved that Jess probably does like Nick's "grumpy mystery" better than a guy who declares that he is going to marry and put a baby in her in less than a few days or knowing her.  I liked when Nick, trying to hide that he didn't like Jess with Jax, asked her if she truly wanted a guy who was open like that.  I liked that moment as much as I liked when he was staring at Jess and Jax at the bar with concern.  Jess didn't get the cure she needed to stop thinking about Nick's lips, so she ran off in the night after being offered a bottle he had drank from.  It'd be nice if all the guys she tries to get involved with put her right back where she started with Nick.

Before Jess met Jax, she met some random guys and had a good line with the second one we saw:

[Guy #2] Microchips be gettin' smaller.  They be like blueberry size.  So you could put 'em in your cereal, girl.

[Jess] I don't get your thing.

 No wonder she ran to the first "normal" guy that she ran into after that.  What in the world was that guy talking about?

I've decided that I like Shivrang, even though he kept using the expression "do this thing" to refer to getting married.  The first time he said it I felt like it was such a passive way to refer to marriage, but then again, they are having an arranged marriage.  I don't mind that, but it would be nice if they made it seem less like going to get a mole removed and more about joining their lives together.  Anyway, when he got on the stage and proposed to Cece with all of the toast sequence stuff going on (can't believe that Schmidt wanted that romantic display going on during his speech), I thought that was really sweet.  He asked her again if she wanted to "do this thing," but by then it sounded just right and less mechinical.  I'm glad that things worked out for Cece, but I am a little sad that Schmidt had to see that at his "Tinfinity" event.  Shivrang stole his moment in two senses--he ruined his big speech and he ruined his chance to propose to Cece in a big flashy way.  You can't blame Shivrang for that, though.  I'm a little in the middle right now whether I want Shivrang to suceed or if I want Schmidt to make a comeback. Schmidt's heart is in the right place, but he can't get it together.  Shivrang may not be beating Cece over the head with the romance stick, but he's a good guy with no drama.  Can''t be mad at her for going either way.

This was a good episode. Somehow the party became more about Nick taking a stand with a gross porta-potty he bought than having a good time.  Jess tried to run away from Nick's lips to another, but found that a guy who is too open is just as bad as a guy who is a little closed up like Nick.  Cece was sort of swept off her feet when Shivrang redid his proposal to her, and the slightly odd friendship anniversary party turned to an engagement party of some sorts.  I don't know if Cece will really go ahead and walk down the aisle for Shivrang, but it's just as likely that she will as it is that Schmidt will win her back somehow.

Problems Bigger Than A Seagull Cup

2 Broke Girls, S02E18

Caroline and Max were far enough behind on their rent that they were given an eviction notice and were tempted to be rid of their problems by a company that wanted to buy them out for $25,000.  Caroline refused to sell their business so quickly and thought to go ask her aunt whom she hadn't mentioned because she hated Caroline.  Although her aunt refused to invest in them, Caroline didn't give up and tried to convince her a second time, not taking no for an answer.

 I think there are many reasons to hate Caroline, but I didn't really like any of the reasons her Aunt Charity had for doing so.  I mean, she was jealous of someone barely a decade younger than her---it was pretty pathetic.  Picking on a little girl because you want attention as an adult is sick.  I sort of wish that Caroline would have really stood up to her and let her know how messed up she was.  It wouldn't have been to her benefit business-wise, but that bitch Charity (ironic name) wouldn't have given her a dime anyway.  Maybe Charity did want Caroline to earn things in her own right or whatever, but she still took her seagull cup from fifteen years ago in spite of Caroline.  If that lady is going to hold a grudge for that long and still hasn't grown up, she's way overdue for someone to tell her like it is.  Too bad Max was too high on morphine lollipops to add any real attitude to the situation.

It was pretty gross when Caroline was trying to feed Charity a cupcake while her face mask was partially peeled off.  Well, that face mask stuff was just gross in general, but I didn't want to see someone who looked like their face had been melted off trying to eat anything.  I just had hoped something good would have come from them badgering Charity for the second time.  It had looked like they had gotten the money they needed to not be booted out of their shop, but Charity was too smart of a bitch to not put a stop payment on that.  Damnit.

I can't believe they had to sell their business already!  Damn!  I know they aren't going to stop making cupcakes, but it's sort of sad.  They just started...  I mean, it is realistic because they haven't been having steady customers for more than like a week or so.  It wouldn't have made sense that they would have been able to keep up the rent.  I just wonder what step they'll take next to further their dream.  The buyout money has to go to the people they borrowed from, so they don't have anything left to start from scratch.  After all that trouble.  Especially when you think about the nod they got from Martha Stewart and all.

Who the hell drove through their shop, anyway?  I hope that's not just going to be glazed over and not discussed in the next episode.  Like, that person would surely have to pay them for the damages or something?  Or maybe not because the girls didn't have insurance, as we learned during their battle with Andy Dick.  Guess they just get to walk away and not worry about it because it's not their shop anymore.  Not their problem.

I liked this episode.  It was one of those rare times where I felt like I could have Caroline's back.  Usually I would love someone who hated Caroline, but if they're not hating her for a valid reason, I'm not down with that.  Charity basically just hated that Caroline was breathing, which is hardly acceptable.  She called Caroline spoiled and bratty, but it was really Charity, with her seagull-cup-stealing ass, who was the real princess.  I would have liked to see Caroline tell her off with more vigor, but as long as Caroline didn't cower in front of her aunt, I'm sort of satisfied.  Maybe it was a blessing that they didn't get any money from Charity.  If this is the last we have to see of that hair-pulling bitch, the girls will be very much better off.

This Time For Real

How I Met Your Mother, S08E18

Barney couldn't let go of his old lifestyle with women while he kept getting new ideas for his "destroyed" playbook in his dreams.  Once again, Barney used Ted as his proxy and made Ted use some of his tricks to get a new girl now that he had broken up with Jeanette.  Jeanette showed up again, however, while Ted was in the middle of one of Barney's schemes.  Marshall accompanied Lily to an art gallery as part of her new job and tried his best to charm people there with his jokes, but soon found that he was making a nuisance of himself.

Turns out that Barney hadn't destroyed his real playbook.  That was far from a surprise.  I just knew that he had another copy somewhere else.  If he was going to keep another around when he knew full well that the destruction of that book symbolized his commitment to Robin, he should have been smarter about leaving it around and using it even if it was for Ted.  I mean, Robin could have easily found out about it without ever have save seen it.  Ted would have slipped up somewhere and Robin would have found out.

Anyway, I was a little disappointed at the mention of Weekend at Bernie's because I thought they were going to do some kind of parody.  Instead, it was used as a really bad scheme to pick up chicks.  It made absolutely no sense, as Barney would play a dead guy, but then again none of Barney's ideas really do.  They're all just horrible setups that lead to offering one's penis.  I don't know how Barney got laid at all sometimes.  He had to be dealing with the stupidest women on the planet.  Back to the point, I was expecting more from the title and from the promo I saw where Barney was dressed as Bernie.  If I had known that it was just another of his plays, I would have been less excited.

Concerning Ted, I guess he just needed a few more bad ideas in his system before he was cleansed.  I mean, he finally got freed of Jeanette, and then he goes and takes Barney's advice on who he should date next?  Or rather, he uses Barney's methods to find a new girl.  I guess you could look at it like Ted being a good friend to Barney who so desperately wanted to be doing his old tricks again, but it still was a stupid move.  After two times of knowing that the "punchline" to many of Barney's plays are "my penis," Ted should have thrown in the towel there.  Barney doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.  Worse than humiliating himself and angering some girls, Ted's plays led him right back to Jeanette for a second.  I knew that girl wouldn't go down so easily.  But I was glad that her and Ted's reconciliation didn't last for long.

I sort of liked seeing Ted sitting outside of his apartment while all of his things were thrown out from above.  Like a cement block to the head, it really hit him that he was done dating for real.  Barney too had his moment of finality where his playbook was concerned after Jeanette exploded it with fireworks.  It was a nice end to the era of terrible pickup schemes and dating psycho girls.  Both Barney and Ted have closed the book on that chapter.  Thank goodness.

The best part of Marshall's story was when all of the skittles fell from him during the moment of silence.  I wondered how he could make himself less useful to Lily after all of his failed jokes, but I didn't expect his candy would rain out around him, making him look like the least popular guy there.

Speaking of that, I loved when Marshall recalled bitterly how in his junior year this other kid tied with him as the most outgoing that year. They showed a picture of Marshall's rival grinning widely and beside him was Marshall with the same expression.  It was funny because they didn't look like they disliked each other at all.

I also liked that Marshall's goofy interests ended up being crucial to Lily meeting the artist that she couldn't get near all night.  I couldn't stand, knowing how likeable and friendly of a guy Marshall is, if he ended up just being a loser who snuck food into a gallery and spoiled a moment of silence for the deceased.  It was great how he and the artist got along, recalling things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Small world.  Of all people there, it was Marshall that he could relate to best.

This episode was okay.  I did like that Barney and Ted put a stop to some of their bad habits.  Barney finally said goodbye to his playbook for real, and Ted ended things with Jeanette and made a vow to stop dating.  I can't wait now to see how much longer it will be until the wedding begins, aka when Ted first sees the woman of his dreams.  I know it's not going to be the next episode, but I'm still wishing they could skip over all those other "adventures" that happen in between that point.  I'm sure there will be some decent ones, but none of the stories will be as great as when Robin and Barney tie the knot.  I feel like I'm just now watching this show just for that moment and can't be bothered with anything else in the meantime.

A Journey Through Archer's Past

Archer, S04E06

Archer's snakebite caused him to have a dream where he was ushered through his memories by James Mason.  While Roy and Cyril were trying their best to get to safety and get him an antidote, Archer drew closer and closer to uncovering the mystery of who his father was.  Back at ISIS, Lana kept pestering Mallory about her being left out of the mission the boys were on.  Lana was taken back when Carol accurately diagnosed the reason why Lana chooses to stay with ISIS, despite all of her moral issues with their missions.

With the way Archer had prepared for their mission, like wanting to use the map as toilet paper and leaving behind a compass, I don't think that they would have succeeded even if Archer hadn't gotten bit by a snake.  It was sort of poetic justice that he did because he kept doing things to screw over Cyril and Ray at every turn, while not doing anything to improve their situation.  The snake's poison just did what his teammates were thinking every second they were with him.

It's interesting to note that Archer has killing Cyril on his bucket list of things.  Of all things he wants to do before he dies, his second most wanted thing is to see Cyril end his life.  I didn't know that he hated him so much.  Cyril and Archer might not be besties, but does he really have to wish him dead?  I wonder if it's just about how he came between him and Lana (not really because Archer screwed that up pretty badly himself).

The dream that Archer experienced while slowly heading toward death was the most interesting part of the story.  He met James Mason in this smoky place that seemed to be limbo, essentially, and he showed Archer a pivotal point in his life where a stalker shot him and cost him his future as a college lacrosse player.  That was a pretty disturbing scene seeing Archer getting shot by this demented woman.  It was really unexplainable and looked traumatic.  I wonder if there was ever a moment in Archer's life that was pleasant.  No wonder he didn't want Mason to show him anything about himself.

What I really loved was when Archer had to relive the moment where he was shot as teenager and he reminded Mason that he hadn't signed up for this journey through his past:

Yeah, so, I don't know if you're deaf or an asshole or both, but I'm pretty sure I said I didn't want to see this.

I liked that Mason didn't seem to listen to any of Archer's objections, nor really be listening to him in general.  I really wonder what part of Archer's mind created him as a guide.

I also liked when Archer saw himself as a little boy, who still loved alligators (that's a little shocking).  He was alone on his birthday and a strange man brought him a stuffed alligator.  Apparently it was his father!  We didn't get to see his face, nor did Archer remember him once he awoke, but it brought us closer to that mystery than we have been before.  Archer might be able to rack his brain and recall that memory once again.  After all, he has to have it somewhere in his subconscious.

Besides Archer's death visions, I liked when Cyril was trying to communicate that Archer had been bitten by a snake.  However, the word for "snake" was the same for a few other words that the soldiers (or whatever they were) kept mistaking it for.  Ray's frustration at this gave me a good laugh:

How's it the same word for bread and snake and Friday and that damn dog?!

Sounds like a pretty damn confusing language, if you ask me.  Then again, if you learn any language long enough, you'll find something that doesn't quite make sense to you.

I didn't really like what was going on back at ISIS.  I felt kind of bad that Carol (or whatever her name is) could see right through Lana like that.  And what she saw was pretty depressing.  I can't disagree with her analysis, though.  Lana does raise a lot of objections, but she ends up doing things she doesn't agree with all the time.  I think that her love for espionage will tether her to ISIS no matter what sort of horrible things they get involved with.  Lana will hate herself for it, but she won't be able to walk away either.  That's just like Carol to see the darkest part of someone's soul.  She's so damn twisted.

This was a pretty good episode.  I really like seeing into Archer's past, even though it wasn't anything pleasant.  I don't ever expect to see anything good concerning how he became the Archer he is today, anyway.  There's no way he could have had a great childhood with the way his mother is and how he turned out to be.  I just wonder if he'll try to figure out who his father is again, knowing that he had that memory in his head.  I don't know how important that still is to Archer.  As far as Lana is concerned, I wonder if she'll try to find something beyond her job to fill her life.  It'd be really sad if she ended up in such a depressing fate as Carol had predicted.

Lucy Don't Play Raj Like That

Big Bang Theory, S06E17

 Raj's coffee date with the girl he met at the Valentine's party bailed on him while pretending to go to the bathroom.  Raj locked himself in his apartment, drowing in his own sorrow, and refused to leave until Howard brought him the girl's number that she had handed him.  Sheldon took Amy's advice to compliment Penny on her acting advice for his flag show and reluctantly tried to obey social rules by going to see her play.

I tried to keep an open mind about the girl (I guess her name is Lucy?) that ran out on Raj.  She did come to a party for lonely people at a comic book store--there was no way that she was expecting some kind of perfect guy to be there.  I started to lose hope that her reason for leaving Raj wasn't purely on her own part and not Raj's when he spent much longer holed up at home than I would have liked.  By the time Raj called her and got an explantation from Lucy, I was more than peeved that it took her so long.  I mean, if Raj had any kind of dignity, he would have already written her off.  Lucky for her that Raj is just as messed up as she is, so she still had a chance.  Still, I don't like that she made Raj feel so bad for so long.  She better be worth all the trouble.

The reason I'm not so quick to love Lucy is that we got to see how miserable Raj was due to her actions.  He was sitting around in a soiled shirt with his hair all messy, looking as sad as can be.  Then he improved upon that pathetic look by enjoying lobster in nothing more than  a bib and his underwear.  I sort of understand how Howard felt like Raj had ruined eating lobster for him.  That's not an attractive look for eating, nor is it a sight you want to be seen running down a public street (I'd pretend to not know Raj in that case).

Lucy and Raj do seem to have the potential for a perfect match because their inability to interact with people brings them such discomfort that they become dysfunctional.  Raj becomes mute in front of women he doesn't know, and Lucy apparently runs off into the night when she's just had too much human contact for the day.  Hopefully their flaws won't cancel each other out, though.  This is about as close as Raj has gotten to a real girlfriend in a long time.

I've sort of forgotten that Penny does acting at all because she seemed like she had given it up and admitted that she hasn't had much luck finding parts, but comparing her acting to Sheldon's on his show made Penny not seem like the worst actress around.  I thought the way that Sheldon executed her advice was hilarious.  He even looked like he was going to make the moves on Penny with the way he was sitting next to her, all "relaxed" and such.  I sort of wonder how his viewers thought about all of his over the top body language.  Well, the real imporatant thing was that Sheldon valued her input, instead of acting like the expert on all things in the world.  Even a praise that Amy initiated in him was still  pleasing to hear from Sheldon's mouth.

I probably would have felt the same way as Sheldon did when Penny invited him to her play, but it was still pretty rude that he shot her down like that when she was trying to engage him in friendly gesture.  It's hard for Sheldon to understand doing things for other people that's not based on obligation or personal gain.  I don't think we will see the day when he will understand all these "confusing" rules.  I did like that these concepts frustrated him.  Just for that, it was worth Amy telling him what to do and Penny ordering him to come to her play in the end.  I didn't expect Sheldon to more than show up and complain, though.

The most surprising part was that Penny was really good in her play.  For even Sheldon to admit that she was good at what she was doing really showed that.  I guess all those acting classes she has been taking have paid off.  She might have a real shot at something real in the future.  Hopefully that was the point of bringing up Penny's acting in the first place.  If this was just part of teaching Sheldon about praising his friends and accepting invitations after being helped, then they could have done it another way.  Now I'm expecting to see more about Penny's acting since she wowed everyone.

I liked this episode, even though it sort of tricked you into thinking that it was another typical "Raj is a loser" type of story.  I've seen quite enough of those, and I'm ready for Lucy to start something significant with Raj.  They seem to have some similarities, so if that's not enough for Raj to get a girlfriend, I don't know what kind of hope he has.  Maybe Sheldon has hope of one day knowing the next socially acceptable move when dealing with a friend without Amy or someone else having to tell him.  He's definitely learning, but it's obvious that he's got a low tolerance for all of the "rules" that he has to abide by.  Penny was surprising good in her role on the stage, making me wonder if we'll address her acting career again.  I haven't been thinking about it previously , but seeing her perform so well, there's no way I can't be a little curious as to where her talent might take her.

Leslie Hacked, Ann's Request, And Andy's Charity

Parks and Recreation, S05E15

Leslie had her jokes stolen by an enemy at the Pawnee Sun, and she asked her friends to help her fight against the woman hacking into her emails.  Ben asked April, Andy, and Tom to help him pick a charity at his new job, and April got angry at him when he didn't choose Andy's pick, which could have cheered him up about failing the police academy.  Ann asked Ron for help on how to ask Chris to be sperm donor.

Leslie's jokes for the Correspondence Lunch weren't that great, but it was still annoying that Kim had hacked her email and stolen all her ideas.  What a bitch.  I don't know what Leslie's done to her to make her the butt of every joke in her paper.  Actually, opposed to Leslie's jokes I liked the one that Ron suggested to her that she didn't use:

[Ron] I have a joke for you.[Leslie] OK.[Ron] The government in this town is excellent and uses your tax dollars efficiently.[goofy laugh]
[Leslie] That's not really a joke.[Ron] I disagree.  I find it hilarious.

I liked at the end, thanks to Donna's plan, Amy brought up a rumor from a fake email Donna had sent, revealing Kim's guilt.  That stupid bitch.  It  was funny that they had brought up a fictional thing from Stars Wars, making Kim look like an even bigger idiot.  It's too bad that people there didn't boo her or something.  She couldn't have enough humiliation in my book.

One of my favorite parts about Ben's story was when he told April and the others why he had brought them there.  April quickly let him know she hadn't come to help:

[April] Pass.[Ben] You came down here to pass on helping me?[April] Yeah, I wanted to see what your face looked like when I said no.  It was totally worth it.

Ben's job at Sweetums Foundation is insane.  I can't believe how fancy it is around there with the expensive food, massages, and office space as if Ben was the CEO of a global corporation.  Tom was soaking it up like he was duck in a pond (no surprise there), but I can't believe that Ben didn't feel the irony of having to settle for one charity while they wasted so much money on fringe benefits.  What I did like is that Andy, even in his depressed state, could see that as plain as day.  He's pretty sharp when it comes to certain things.  Since Ben eliminated all of the wasteful spending on pampering the employees, I wonder if there will be enough money to do the music program that Andy wanted.  It was so cute when Andy hugged Ben after he finally realized that Ben was hiring him as his assistant at the foundation.  Yay!  Andy might have found a new calling.

Ann made an awkward mess out of asking Chris to be the father of her baby.  She could have easily just pulled him somewhere private at work and asked him, yet she beat around the bush so much that Ron forced her to do it where someone like Perd could listen in.  Luckily, Chris wasn't repulsed by the idea so much as he was a little shocked.  However, he seems like he may eventually say yes to her.  Here's hoping--I think they would have a really adorable child together.

What I liked most about Ann's story best was her talking to Ron in his office.  I loved what he said to her when she first ran into his office for help:

 I wish this office had only walls.

You really got a sense that he didn't like anyone just stopping by his office, no matter what their business was.  Ann later came to praise Ron for his advice, but he didn't even want to hear that:

[Ann] I gotta tell you Ron.  You were absolutely and totally right.[Ron] I know.  Stop talking and get out.[Ann] Yep.

Ann barely sat down before Ron essentially kicked her out.  I wish I could cue people to leave with just a few words like that with no further questions nor complaints.

Oh, I also liked at the very beginning where Leslie and Ben were dishing out presents from their honeymoon.  They gave Ron a Hawaiian god of anger who looked like Ron when he was at work.  It really did look a whole lot like him, even though Ron doesn't bare his teeth like that.

This was a good episode to follow that amazing one before it.  It helped get the excitement of their wedding out of your system and return to the usual stories of lesser importance, but still with the usual comedy.  Chris might be soon fathering Ann's child, and Andy will soon be working for Ben to help people in a different, but still useful, way than he would have if he became a police officer.  I'm not so sure how well Ben and Andy will work together, but it could turn out to be funny.  After all, Ben is a riot when working with April and Tom, so him and Andy might be another hilarious pair.

Yay--Best Wedding Ever!

Parks and Recreation, S05E14

Leslie and Ben scrambled to get their friends to help them prepare for their last minute wedding.  They had some trouble at first, but they managed to get it together within two hours.  However, the wedding was ruined when Jamm stepped in  with jeers and stink bombs and Ron had to go to jail for punching the councilman in the face.  When it looked like Leslie would have to wait until their planned wedding date, her friends surprised her with an even more intimate wedding at her old City Hall office.

One of the quick fixes that was impressive was Ann's contribution.  She really stepped up and created a meaningful and fashionable dress for Leslie!  I loved her dress.  It was fun, unique and also didn't make Leslie look like some old lady getting married for the third time.  It's not at all what I pictured her walking down the aisle in, so it was a wonderful surprise.  I don't know what her original concept was for her wedding dress, but I can't imagine it topping Ann's creation.  Who knew that watching Project Runway for so long could turn you into such a skillful designer?

I was also impressed by Ron making those rings from Ann's wall sconce.  He just ripped it out of the wall and next thing you knew he had two silver rings.  That was confusing until they showed an extra scene where Ron like melted that metal down and formed rings as if he does this sort of thing in his sleep.  It only took him about twenty minutes to make those.  Damn.  Let me get a friend like that.  He had a good comment after he finished making them:

People who buy things are suckers.

I wish I could not be a sucker and just make stuff out of raw materials.  Unfortunately, there aren't people like Ron everywhere you look.

Another good line was when Chris was watching Ben fix his tie.  Chris got emotional, but was trying to hold back:

I promised myself I was not going to cry tonight, and I have already broken that promise five times.

Chris and Ben had a little touching moment then, but it didn't get to quite as much as later when Ron was walking Leslie down the hall of City Hall for her second attempt for a wedding ceremony.  I don't know why, but I teared up when I heard Ron say to Leslie:

You are a wonderful person, your friendship means a lot to me, and you look very beautiful.

I think this was so heartful because Leslie refused to have her wedding without Ron there to walk her down the aisle as her father figure.  It's so rare to hear Ron speak from the heart, but when he does it's emotionally amazing.

That part was my second favorite part.  My absolute favorite part was when they were having the wedding initially at the gala.  Jamm's ass was acting a fool (I don't know why Leslie gloated to him about the wedding in the first place) and he had the balls to hit Ron.  It was an awesome moment when Ron hit him in the face once and Jamm was down on the floor instantly.  April conveyed my feelings about that perfectly:

Yay--best wedding ever!

Any ceremony when Ron can assault a jackass is a great event to me.  It's just too bad that he couldn't have literally thrown Jamm out of there on his ass.

Still, the little wedding ceremony they had in the office was just as great, if not better.  It came as another surprise and it was more than Lesile and Ben could have asked for.  I'm really happy that it all worked out in such an amazing way.

It's unfortunate that Andy was bummed about him failing the police academy, but at least Chris was there to comfort him and assure him that all was not lost.  Plus, Ann realized that she should have considered Chris as a sperm donor all along.  I don't know why she was looking for strangers when Chris has always been nearby.  Not sure if he'll be up for that, though.

This was a beautiful episode.  It was heartwarming yet funny, so it didn't just feel like they overwhelmed you with just Leslie and Ben mushiness--you also got to see the joy and feelings of her friends in seeing them unite.  Everyone had a little part to play, and in the end it was the people who were most special in her life that made her wedding possible.  I feel relieved that they are finally man and wife, so I don't have to worry about someone sabotaging it for them.  I just wish that Andy would soon feel like his life has come together.  Chris has to be right that sooner rather than later they will figure out the next step, and Andy will have found his place in the sun.

No One Replaces Troy

Community, S04E03

Abed, Troy, and Britta went to an Inspector Spacetime convention, inviting Annie and Jeff along who planned to go skiing in the area.  Abed introduced a friend he had been emailing for a while named Toby, and Troy quickly began to feel threatened by Toby's obvious attempt to replace him as Abed's best friend.  Annie played as Jeff's wife in the hotel, making Jeff's flirtation with a girl seem like adultery.  Pierce and Shirley also came to the convention, even though they weren't invited, and got pulled into a focus group about the American version of Inspector Spacetime.

I wasn't happy to see Toby, who was so pushy and rude, try to muscle his way into Abed's life through their mutual love of IS, but I did love how Troy got jealous in the same way a woman would if someone was trying to steal her boyfriend.  It's not unlike Abed to not even notice that Troy felt like he was being snubbed, especially since Abed was told to expand his his horizons and Troy was now spending his time more often with Britta.  Even though I'm still not loving the two of them together yet, I'm glad Troy wasn't just left to his lonesome.  Britta's no substitute for Abed, but at least she was there to support him and encourage him to "win back his man."  Troy might have gone off in a more destructive way if Britta hadn't been there instead of just screaming at Toby for forgetting his name.

Abed has really made some progress because he realized that although he had a lot in common with Toby, he was no replacement for Troy who is the one who keeps him grounded or "human," if you will.  It might have been nice if Troy had heard him come to that conclusion, but him simply knowing that Troy is his rock no matter how many other friends his makes is enough for me.  Also, Abed didn't need to freak out much being shoved into that phone booth like he would have in the past.  He trusted that Troy would find him, and of course he did.  That was a really cute moment.

Something else that I liked was when Britta asked about the only female inspector.  Somehow his explanation about Minera seemed to be sort of directed at Britta:

Yes.  And everyone hates her, not because they're sexist but because she sucks.

I liked how they kept using Minerva as a point of discord between Britta and Abed.   She seemed to have tgotten that shirt with her on it to sort of poke fun at Abed, who didn't agree much with her thoughts that Minerva was kinda cool.  It really shows you how Abed and Britta are like polar opposites when it comes to taste.

I thought Annie seemed a little delusional when she was pretending to be Jeff's wife, even if it was just for fun or to pass the time.  I mean, she seemed like a bigger psycho when she brought Jeff into it and made him look like a philandering weasel.  Still, I'm glad that she made him stop lying to that Thoraxis fan.  It made him look sleazy, and his accent was terrible.

My favorite part of their story was actually when Jeff stopped acting like he was too good for the convention and let his inner geek out by shouting Thoraxis' catchphrase.  He even ripped open his shirt and stood dramatically.  It was sort of cute that most of the other fans bowed down to him.   He should have done that sooner and had fun with it rather than sulk around the hotel like a jerk.

The only good thing about Pierce an Shirley joining the focus testing was Pierce's contribution to the show.  When Abed saw the Inspector Spacetime that was made with Pierce's suggestions, he had me laughing at his whispered "I hate you."  I wish I could see Abed get some kind of revenge on him somehow.

So far, I like this episode better than the other two.  It's not exactly noteworthy, but I feel like things are starting to pick up.  I hope that they will be able to have a story that makes me like Britta and Troy together better.  Right now I can't see her as much more than a third wheel to the Troy-Abed dynamic.  I'd rather see Jeff and Annie give it a go again, though.  They were sort of interesting as a fake married couple at least.  I don't know if they would really be so great if they were really man and wife.  Pierce and Shirley didn't have a big part in this episode, but at least they contributed to a final laugh in the extra scene.  Can't end an episode much better than Abed quietly furious at someone.

Don't Ask Tessa

Suburgatory, S02E14

Fueled by how well Tessa thought things were going with Ryan, Tessa began giving love advice to students and staff at school, whether her opinion was wanted or not.  She stuck her nose into Mr. Wolfe's relationship with Chef Alan when she observed a possible cheating situation.  George wanted Noah and Dallas to end their feud, so he tried to help Dallas coach the T-ball team she hoped would crush Noah's.  George soon saw that Dallas' coaching style, while not teaching the kids how to play the game, ended up being a more enriching experience for the kids than his take-no-prisoners approach.

I haven't a clue why Tessa would get such an inflated head after surving some trials with Ryan.  They haven't even made to a year of a successful dating.  It seems a little early for her to be claiming herself an expert, no matter what others think of her.  My main problem with Tessa dishing out tips of love is that most of the time she has had an issue with Ryan, she went to Dallas for advice.  She probably would have broken up with him by now if it wasn't for her.  So Tessa doesn't really know anything about making it work, I think.  It was so bizarre to me that she was so cocky.  I guess this is one thing I don't like about Tessa.  She takes a little praise a little too far.  I mean, she was messing with adult relationships.  She doesn't know squat.

I actually hoped that Tessa would be brought down to earth when Chef Alan proved to be innocent of cheating on Mr. Wolfe.  I was just as shocked as him that Tessa was right about the whole thing (well, she wasn't right to make him roller skate in purple hot pants).  Throughout the whole episode Lisa kept suggesting that Tessa focus on her own boyfriend, but I didn't pay her much mind because I thought she just didn't like that Tessa was meddling so much (even though Lisa would totally do the same thing).  I was floored when Lisa pointed out to Tessa that Ryan's absence had nothing to do with an away game as she had thought.  What the hell is going on?!  They cannot do this to me.  I hated how they suggested that Ryan is doing something shady and ended the episode there.  What?!   If he's cheating on her, I'll go crazy.

I think I felt pretty much the same as George about the rivaltry between Noah and Dallas.  They needed to hurry up and bring that to a close.  Especially because Noah was determined to go around stealing everythng from Dallas that he could, including her hairstyle and OB/GYN.  Um, he's lost it.  I was annoyed that when he knew that George was getting involved in their T-ball match, he made some Grinch-like moves and started taking things from George as well, including a smoker detector and a chair.  George is a better friend than me because while that moron's arms were full of my stuff, I would have smashed a bowl on his head.  However, I loved when George called Noah "Mufasa" due to his poofy new hairdo.  That was great.

Dallas also had a good line when she was arguing with George about the quality of hair styling the new girl did on her. George claimed that she had done a wonderful job on Dallas' hair, but Dallas vehemently disagreed:

She did no such thing, you ignorant fool!

Dallas was just so passionate about that that it made me laugh.  I don't think I could be angry or keep a straight face if she called me a fool like that.

The T-ball game didn't go at all as I thought it would.  The kids seemed resistant to George's coaching, but by the time they were playing, they were vicious players calling for the other team's blood.  I don't even know how long George taught them, but their progress was crazy.  I thought Dallas would just lose from the kids wanting to dance and eat frozen treats rather than them being disqualified for injuring a kid.  Wow.  It all worked in George's favor because Dallas agreed (or halfway did) that she would end the feud between her and Noah, while Noah was happy that it looked like George had thrown the game for Noah's sake.  Also, George noticed that making kids super competitive wasn't as good as letting them have fun.  I would have hated to see him get caught up in victory as well when the game had nothing to do with him really.

This episode was okay.  It wasn't too fun watching Tessa put her nose into things that weren't really her business.  I didn't want to see her mess up Mr. Wolfe's relationship with Alan, so it was slightly good that her suspicions about him turned out to be correct.  What was really bad, though, is that they alluded to the fact that Tessa and Ryan might have trouble in paradise.  It's killing me to think that Ryan is up to no good when things have been so amazing between them.  Dallas and Noah seem to finally have brought an end to their long battle, but I wouldn't say that it's impossible they'll fight again.  They seem to have similar taste when it comes to employees, so they may soon be at each other's throats again before we know it.

Mindy's Rowlf Wasn't That Bad

The Mindy Project, S01E15

Mindy's pitiful taxi video about women's health brought her enough ridicule and infamy that the local news wanted her to do a segment on their show.  Danny coached her on how to successfully present facts without being a joke, but Mindy had to bail on the show at the last minute to look after a patient.  Danny reluctantly took her place.  Beverly also got rehired to the practice as part of the administrative staff, but she had trouble using computers.

I didn't think that Mindy's little video was so bad.  It was definitely dorky, but not so bad that I think that the cab driver needed to express a wish to kill himself the longer he heard her voice.  It was strange that when I saw her open her mouth super-wide, it reminded me of The Muppets, but I still didn't get why she was dressed up as a dog.  It wasn't until later when Mindy said that she was trying to be Rowlf that I got it.  I felt like an idiot, but I felt like it made me like her video even more.  Only Mindy would dress like him to teach tips about women's health.  She is so random that it ends up being a little adorable.

I had mixed feelings about her being on the news, though.  On one hand, it was a chance for her to redeem herself and show that she's not just some goofball playing with puppets, pretending to be a doctor.  On the other hand, they only wanted her because her rating for pity was so high.  Damn. She wasn't that bad.  I don't think her taxi video was the best thing to bring in customers, but I don't think it was something that should have been on Tosh.0 as one of his "Fat Losers of the Week."  People's reaction to her video were way over the top.  She was being silly about reporting health.  It wasn't like she was sobbing over a cheeseburger on the floor or something.

I thought Mindy was going to make herself look even more like an idiot until she picked job duty over PR repair.  Her choice was the right one, I think.  We got to see Danny mess up on all the things that he assumed Mindy would do, proving once again that he (and Jeremy) shouldn't act like she's the only one capable of making their business look bad.  I'm pretty sure that Mindy would have been able to keep it together a little better than Danny.  He fell apart so quickly.  The best thing about him doing the news segment, though, might have been that his screw-up probably distracted the town from her dog-doctor video.

The absolute greatest thing that happened in the episode was one of my favorite scenes so far.  Danny and Mindy were in the elevator when Brendon came in.  I was not ready to see his smug face so soon, nor did I want to see Mindy being lured into his trap again.  Thankfully, Mindy did not want to give him the time of day:

[Brendon] Mindy, why aren't you answering my texts?

[Mindy] Because you're a dick.

I wanted to leap out of my chair and cheer when I heard that.  Finally!  It took her long enough to cut the bastard off.  I couldn't have possibly handled her being fooled by that piece of trash one more time.  Way to go, Mindy.

I didn't care too much about Beverly coming back to the practice.  So far she doesn't bring much besides a knack for racist quips.  Maybe that'll grow on me with time, but for now I wasn't impressed by the story about how she didn't even know how to use a mouse.  Who hasn't seen an elderly person struggle with technology?  This was nothing new, nor made me glad to see Beverly employed there again.

This episode was okay.  It had an incredible moment where Mindy basically told Brendon to shove it, but that didn't really make up for the entire story.  I like seeing Mindy putting her patients above her own reputation, but I'm a little tired of her being made a fool of for little reason.  Beverly, known for punching Mindy square in the nose, has returned to the show, but I don't see her value quite yet.  We'll see if she's able to make herself as indispensable as Morgan or Betsy.

Get Out Of Here, Schmidt!

New Girl, S02E17

Schmidt found an empty parking spot and started a competition for it between him, Jess, and Nick.  Nick dropped out of the race initially and became the deciding vote for Schmidt and Jess, but he only got manipulated by them due to the kiss situation.  Fed up with being toyed with by Jess and Schmidt, Nick made a mad dash for the spot, prompting all three of them to stake out the parking spot until one of them finally gave it up.  Winston also ran around town looking for a condom so he could have sex with Daisy during her tight schedule.

Schmidt got on my nerves with his reaction to Nick and Jess' kiss.  I feel like they should have never told him because he made into something more upsetting than it was.  Jess and Nick were bringing a new and awkward vibe to the apartment, but that didn't give Schmidt the right to give them shit about it like they had been having sex or anything and were stirring up drama because of that.  Mostly I think Schmidt was worried about the parking spot and Jess using sexual tension to get an advantage over him.  He did bring up the loft oath about some no-nailing policy that the guys had all signed, but hearing that just made me hate the fact that Schmidt knew about Jess and Nick all the more.  He made it so much worse talking about that agreement and forcing a kiss with Jess (so gross).

Schmidt also interrupted one of the best parts of the episode.  Jess had forfeited her rights to the parking spot after Nick talked about how much he regretted kissing her.  I absolutely loved when he said that his real regret was that he made things between them weird and the reason he kissed her was because he couldn't help it.  The way they were looking at each was just like they would finally get to kiss again until "Pee Pants" Schmidt walked in between them and basically peed all over their moment.  I was so pissed about that!  I almost wish that Jess and Nick didn't care about the parking spot from the beginning and just let Schmidt have it so they could have all that time to concentrate on themselves.  Wish Jess had rammed into his car so hard that it flipped over and slid down the street into traffic.

One part that was equally as good that Schmidt didn't ruin was when Jess decided to seduce Nick by wearing his hoodie paired only with some tights.  I can't believe how much she wanted that parking spot or how much she unconsciously wanted to flirt with Nick.  Typically you would think that it would be hard or embarrassing to come on to your roommate for the sake of easier parking, but Jess looked like she was more than willing to slide that hoodie down to show him what was underneath.  I loved it because Nick was surprised and confused, yet not against her methods.  I even liked when he offered her a hug and Jess panicked and gave him a purple nurple.  One of the comedy benefits of them being so awkward with each other now.

The only thing that I liked in Winston's story was when he ran to Cece's for a condom.  Shivrang crazily was giving Cece a second chance, it seemed, and she was trying to convince him that her friends were chill and drama-free.  I liked that after Winston had made Shivrang confess he did have a condom and assumed that Cece wasn't going to give Shivrang any that night that Shivrang claimed this second meeting with Cece's friends was worse than the first time.  I had to agree, and he'd be the biggest idiot in the world to give her a third chance.  Not sure if Cece's dodging a bullet or not--we haven't quite gotten to see what Shivrang is all about yet.

I liked this episode mainly because of how Jess and Nick were acting around each other.  I don't know how long it will continue to be like this with them, but since it's creating a lot of funny situations, I don't mind if it drags on.  I just hope that Schmidt will butt out and let their natural attraction for each other play out.  I'm getting a bit antsy to see what next step they will take.  Whether they decide to start seeing other people or try out dating each other, I'm ready for it, even if it causes a lot more damage to their friendship.

Cupcake Bitches Versus The Serial Killer Puppeteer

2 Broke Girls, S02E17

Max had a great idea to rename her cupcakes to bring in a lot of hipster customers into their shop, but a puppeteer performing outside of their business was driving people away.  After trying to convince J.Petto to move his puppetry show somewhere else, he ended coming into the cupcake shop and slipping on a cupcake.  His fall broke his favorite puppet, Pierre, and Max and Caroline soon found themselves being sued by the man for damages to it.

The girls versus Andy Dick as this nutty puppeteer was sort of funny.  From the beginning he was a little off, and the girls had a hard time dealing with him.  I knew with his crazy behind the girls wouldn't be rid of him so easily, but I didn't think that he would try and sue them.  I can't believe that they had to pay him a grand to try and shut him up.  Of course, since he wasn't living a fabulous lifestyle, it wasn't a surprise that once Caroline and Max paid him, he wanted more.  He was being a greedy jerk, but I couldn't hate him because seeing him in his apartment filled with puppets (the "dead body car wash" as Max put it), I couldn't help but pity him.  He didn't have anyone but his freaky little puppets.

I didn't know if the girls could get out of the situation until I saw Max take Pierre hostage.  She shocked me by going further and making the puppet hump with some naked dolls.  I loved that this was enough to make J.Petto cave into them.  They were pretty smart to use that disturbing display as a threat to his business.  I'm pretty sure that people would want to avoid him knowing that he was going around using his puppets in some kind of sexual play.  I liked how much that got to J.Petto.  Serves his money-grubbing ass right.

What I liked best about this episode, though, was just Max calling J.Petto a serial killer.  She kept alluding to the fact that they were getting closer and closer to ending up as his victims.  It made J.Petto seem all the more unbalanced and funny that they kept getting more and more involved with him.  I halfway expected Max to be right in the end.  That would have been a hilarious ending (providing they didn't get hurt, of course).

I liked this episode, even though I'm not much of an Andy Dick fan.  However, I think that his role as an annoying puppeteer really suited him, and he made an entertaining adversary to the girls.  However, he did make them lose a grand for nearly nothing more than a lesson about the necessity of having a friend to tell you when you're wasting your life on a bad idea.  If that's all he's going to add to the value of the show, I really hope that his appearance is just a one-shot.

What Really Happened?

How I Met Your Mother, S08E17

Ted told his friends about the last time he saw the Captain after receiving a call from him that Ted felt was angry.  Robin retold the story, revealing that Ted's version was skewed, but Lily finally told the real story and proved that Robin also was fuzzy about the details of that night.

I wasn't sure why they had brought the Captain back into picture until the end, but I was thrilled to see him.  I love how he frightens the hell out of Ted and the other guys.  My favorite part, of course, was when Ted replayed the message for Marshall and Barney and each time he replayed it, the Captain's tone and overall image kept getting darker and more foreboding.  Ted really turned a simple message to call him back into the beginning of a murder plot.

I also liked that Ted's story wasn't true at all, but I should have known.  The Captain doesn't seem like the type to rudely end someone's sentences and pull out a harpoon at someone.  When we saw the Captain and Ted together in other episodes it was just Ted imagining all the "terrifying" things that the Captain was trying to do to him.  I should have known that Ted was lying or something.  I wouldn't have guessed that he was high off his mind, though.

I also wouldn't have guessed that Robin was drunk as hell at the gallery either.  I mean, she's used to having guys hit on her, so I could believe that the Captain came onto her.  I don't know about him lying all seductively on his bed in her story, though.  That should have been a clue to me that her story was a little less than true.

The surprises kept rolling in when it was revealed that the one that the Captain was interested in was Lily.  He clearly knew that she was married, so it made me confused (I guess I thought that Robin's story was just her mistaking herself for Lily).  I liked that it wasn't obvious that Lily had stolen an ashtray from him year ago because he belittled her opinion in art because she was a kindergarten teacher.  It still didn't all tie together until Lily started talking about how she regretted never doing anything with art in her life.  The Captain had reminded her of that and even a year later it was still a sore spot for Lily.  I started to feel for her, even though she has a pretty good life with a great husband and an adorable son.  I was happily surprised that Lily didn't have to put aside her dream because the Captain was going to give her a taste of it, possibly, with his job offer.  I would have sooner believed that the Captain was about to harpoon Ted than think he was going to ask her to work for him.

I liked this episode.  It was funny to see the Captain through Ted's terrified eyes.  I don't think I could ever get sick of Ted imagining the worst of him.  It was also interesting that the different versions of that night at the art gallery kept you wondering what the real story was.  Once we found out that it was all about Lily, it made all the storytelling seem worthwhile.  Especially because the Captain ended up giving Lily a way to enjoy her dream again.  Lately, we've been concentrating on the joy of Marvin and we've neglected that Lily might want more out of her life than a wonderful family.  I'm glad we'll get to see her expand her horizons, and the Captain should prove to be a very entertaining boss for her.

The Cycle of Abandonment

Once Upon A Time, S02E14

Rumpelstiltskin, Emma, and Henry arrived in New York and found the apartment of who they assumed was Rumpelstiltskin's son.  Emma was shocked to find that Baelfire was actually Neil, and she struggled with the decision to let him go or turn him into his father.  In the past, Rumpelstiltskin went to war and met a seer who predicted the birth of his son and Rumpelstiltskin leaving his son fatherless.  Regina, her mother, and Hook looked for information about the whereabouts of Rumpelstiltskin's dagger.  Greg also got video proof of magic in Storybrooke.

Wow.  This episode was incredible.  I actually realized that Baelfire might be Neil when I saw that they were in New York City.  Before I had thought that they were just going to that airport, but going to a different city.  It's weird that I didn't immediately think New York City.  I'm just glad I had gotten to that conclusion before Emma had chased Neil down the street otherwise I would have kicked myself for not piecing the obvious clues together.

I can't believe that Neil is Baelfire, making Henry Rump's grandson.  Henry has some kind of amazing blood ties and non-blood ties (if you count Regina and her mother).  Also, Emma is firmly connected to Rump more than ever now that Rump is her son's grandfather.  She's never going to be rid of him.  I really like that they decided to do this.  Baelfire's identity has been something I've wanted to know for the longest time, and it was satisfying to know that we've already seen him, but we just didn't know who he really was.

I don't blame Emma for not telling Rump right away about Neil.  The reunion of that father and son was inevitably going to make the father-son reunion of Neil and Henry, and Emma didn't want any part of that.  I was just scared when Rump knew she was lying and started to threaten her even without magic.  He's still pretty scary without fire coming out of his hands.

Neil, even with his abandonment issues, has some nerve giving Emma crap about hiding Henry from him.  He can go straight to hell, as far as I'm concerned.  I know that Neil only acted as August had told him to, but I could give two craps about that.  That's actually another lie that he kept from her--knowing that she was the savoir.  I don't think her ending up in jail for his crimes while pregnant was such a small thing that she should have been looking for Neil a long time ago.  Yeah, right!  I would never want to see his punk ass again!  Anyway, Neil being involved would have stopped Henry from ending up in Regina's hands and Henry bringing Emma to Storybrooke.  So if Neil was so damn concerned about following August's advice to get her to Storybrooke, he didn't need to know about Herny in the first place.  I was pissed that he wanted to be outraged.  

Still, I got a little teary-eyed hearing that Neil went sleep every night seeing his father let him go as a boy.  That's damn harsh.  No wonder he turned out to be a thief who would send his girl to prison.  I can't imagine the kind of trauma that put upon him.  I would hate to see that happen to Henry (although, you can't feel too abandoned when you think your father's dead to begin with).

I was disappointed in Rump's first words to Neil.  Instead of talking about the struggle he went through to be reunited, he kept talking about making up their separation with magic.  What the hell was he thinking?!  Who wants to have magic turn them back to fourteen so their father can raise them again?  That's so messed up.  Rump could have done so much better.  He didn't show that he had changed at all.  And he has changed, to some degree.  I never thought that Neil and Rump would get off to a good start, but Rump pretty much killed their reconciliation before it even began.  Damn.  I hope that he finds another way to redeem himself with Neil.  I really want him to show that from the first moment he held Baelfire, he just wanted to be there for him.

In the past, I felt bad at how manipulated Rump was by his own fate.  Once that seer had put the fear of the future in him, he was doomed to be the father he never wanted to be.  It's so damn sad.  Milah was so quickly disgusted with the way he had injured himself so he could come home alive to his son, and his cowardly decision to desert the war only put him the fast track to become the Dark One.  Rump's story is such a tragedy because all he wanted was to not be a coward nor an absent father.  His efforts to avoid that put him directly on that path.

The past also showed that Rump will be undone by Henry one day.  How ironic that the boy the seer foretold ended up being his grandson.  Rump declared that he would just kill him, but is he going to live up to that promise?  He'd have a lot of people against him if he tried.  Maybe Henry will be the one to break him of the Dark One status or something.  Those futures are so vague, it's not quite clear whether Henry is a life-threatening danger to Rump or not.

Speaking of Henry, I hated that he didn't quite understand why Emma lied to him.  Even if she was being selfish, she did have a decent reason for being so.  Likening her to Regina is a bit childish.  If he thinks everyone is just going to tell him the truth all the time, than he's a bigger child than he looks.  Maybe Henry could have handled the truth, but Emma sure as hell couldn't.  And if Emma did tell him about Neil, we know Henry would have sure as hell went looking for him.  He's that kind of gun-ho kid.  It pisses me off.  He has no idea the pain that Emma went through.  Him thinking his father was a dead hero isn't so bad as the reality.  Get over it, Henry.  As if Neil in your life would have made everything better (then again, maybe so because he might not had to live with Regina).

Back in Storybrooke, it was sort of weird to see Regina, Cora, and Hook hanging out together semi-publicly.  They were all at least in the library (which is closed, granted) looking for that book.  I think that Cora is straight-up playing Regina.  She's probably after Rump's power, not seeking to use it to destroy their enemies.  Hook isn't going to get anything out of helping them.  He's been played like a damn fiddle.  I would have loved to see him go to New York and fight Rump fairly.  Rump probably could still kick his ass with just that cane, I bet.

Regina was a moron in this episode, though.  Not just for believing that her mother is just going to use that power to get Henry back, but for openly using her powers to go through Belle's purse.  What the hell?  I knew that was going to be a problem, but I hoped it wouldn't be.  Nope.  Greg got it all on video!  Damn.  Well, the only good thing is that perhaps Regina will get involved in keeping Greg quiet later on.  If it's just left to Charming and Snow, I don't think they'll be able to keep a lid on the town's secret for much longer.

Also, Charming sounded like such an idiot when he was getting confused about how it was possible he was Henry's grandfather and Rump was too.  Um, duh!  Charming is really lucky he's brave and good with a sword because he's sometimes a moron.

Can't wait to see if Rump can get somewhere with Neil.  With the way he started to repair their relationship, Rump has a very long way to go.  Emma also needs to smooth things over with that moron Henry.  Sure he feels hurt that he's been lied to, but Emma's situation is too complicated for me to feel that Henry was betrayed severely.  Henry's getting to meet his father, so he should get over already.  Now that Neil has been named Baelfire, and Henry has been named Rump's grandson, it's unknown whether Rump will still see Henry as a threat and do away with him for his own sake.  Rump probably has a greater threat from Regina and Cora, who are conspiring to find the dagger that can kill and control him.  I'd hate to see Snow and the others get killed, but it would be entertaining to see someone use Rump as a puppet for a while. That could make a really awesome story down the line.

Roger's Sacrifice

American Dad, S08E12

Roger was determined to be free to walk around without an outfit when Jeff was home, so he pretended to be Jeff's imaginary friend.  Klaus later revealed to Jeff that Roger was real, and Stan refused to let both Jeff and Roger live if Jeff wouldn't be able to keep Roger a secret.  Steve also struggled to avoid ridicule about his flat ass at school.

Roger was being a straight dumbass  thinking that being naked whenever he felt like it was worth risking his life.  That's what it boiled down to when he tried to find a way to be outfit-less around Jeff.  He really makes dangerous decisions based on silly or small benefits.  He could have either worn less heavy clothing (tweed--really?) or stayed up in the attic when he wanted to be nude.  It wasn't that hard.  But it is Roger and he likes to have his cake and eat it too.

I was almost lured into the false impression that Roger would sacrifice the freedom he enjoys on Earth so that neither he nor Jeff would have to die.  After all, he was disappointed when he found at that the gun pointed at him in the garage didn't have bullets after all.  He doesn't give a damn if Jeff lives or die or about Hayley's feelings.  So to see him pack up and see that montage of him to the tune of M.A.S.H.'s theme song, I was just waiting for Roger to pull the rug from underneath everyone.  He did have me going for a while--it was nearly the end before he betrayed Jeff and shoved him into the beam of that spaceship.  Nicely played, Roger.  It was funny that Stan was impressed by Roger's move and not upset at all that Jeff was gone.  I just wonder if Jeff will stay gone (probably not, though).

My favorite part of this story was the very beginning when Stan was reading a newspaper.  He was caught off-guard by a bra ad on the second page and kept searching for a real article:

Finally, here's an article.  "A woman choked on her own bra."  What newspaper is this?

I'm curious to know what kind of specialty newspaper he was reading too.  It's rare that I'm laughing that early on in an episode.

I also liked what Roger said when Stan had tackled him later for being naked in front of Jeff:

This is the talkiest rape ever.

I don't know why he is so calm about being raped.  I guess because he's no stranger to committing that crime himself.

Steve's story was a nice twist on puberty.  Instead of making fun of someone for their boobs or something not growing in, it was asses.  That school Steve goes to keeps getting weirder and weirder.  I felt bad for Steve, though, because all of his friends had enough behind to dance appropriately to the "Wally World" song.  Plus, Barry showed what a ham-crazy bastard he is by exposing the hams Steve had used to stuff his pants.  That idiot isn't much of a friend to him.  I think he probably would have still eaten Steve's hams even if Steve had explained to his friends what he was trying to do.

My favorite part of the story was when Steve went to "Ba-Donkin Donuts."  That name for that place was great, but it was even greater that the fire started there was because a fat guy in courdoroy pants had his thighs rubbing together too fast.  That had me cracking up.  I couldn't even feel sorry for all the people who got trapped in there knowing that fat thighs were the cause of the fire.  That was hilarious.

It was nice that Steve realized that his mom was right about his flat ass having a purpose since he was able to escape from the restaurant, but it was strange to me that all those people couldn't escape.  There were two windows in the front--couldn't someone have thrown a chair or something at it to make a hole? That was crazy.  As crazy as Steve calling 9-11 to  report to the dispatcher that he had overcome his hatred of his own ass.  Steve essentially killed all those people in there.  That was a pretty unexpected ending.

This was a pretty good episode.  I thought I would be over stories about Roger being exposed as an alien, but this one went down a different path.  I never thought they would have Roger leave Earth because they need his wacky ass on this show, but I didn't really imagine that he would send Jeff away either.  You never know what Roger will do.  The same sort of applies for Steve.  I wouldn't have figured that his ass would have saved him from a burning restaurant, nor would I have thought that he wouldn't help the people stuck in there.  In a way, Steve's as crazy of a bastard as Roger is sometimes.

Chris Runs To Herbert's

Family Guy, S11E13

Meg saw Chris steal money from their mom and began blackmailing him to do her bidding.  When Chris got sick of being treated like slave, he ran to Herbert's house to live.  Stewie also got hooked into Anne Murray's music and turned Brian to her music as well.

I wasn't sure what would become of Chris being at Meg's beck and call.  She didn't really do anything too shocking or twisted (save maybe wanting him to call girls and pretend to be their dead babies), but I knew that Chris couldn't possibly tolerate being her slave forever.  I thought he might just come clean to his parents, but he surprised me by running away to Herbert's house.

I was scared what might happen to Chris under that pervert's roof for a few days, but after trying to jump into Chris' bed the first night, he didn't seem to make any other big moves.  He might have been working up to that had Chris not driven him crazy with his slovenly ways.  Chris got kicked out at the right time because in a cabin relatively alone with Herbert miles away, Chris probably would have been in some real danger there.  The collection of tapes he had spying on kids was creepier than anything he really did to Chris, so I guess I was glad about that part.

Chris made a good point that he and Meg need to stick together, growing up in the house they do.  Lois and Peter didn't even notice that Chris was missing for a few days.  That's crazy.  Even if Meg was covering for him, the fact that they didn't physically see him for a while didn't bother them at all.  Great parents they are.

The funniest thing about this story, I guess, was when Chris had to put in Meg's contacts.  It was freaky how her pupils rolled back into her head, but Chris' reaction to that was entertaining.  He first compared her eyes to ping pong balls.  Finally, he said that she looked like some blind jazz man--I really liked that comparison.

Another interesting moment was when Peter and Lois were at a restaurant.  He made a call to someone named "Damone" and asked him to help him pay for their bill.  It was a clip from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but I have never seen that movie, so I didn't get the reference.  The joke there might have worked for me had I seen it.

In Stewie's story, I liked that it commented on that fact that people listening to music can get very different impressions/meanings from the lyrics.  I think they did a good job about speaking to the fact that arguing about differing opinions is pointless.  There is no right or wrong.  Stewie and Brian thought they would settle their argument by getting the "true" interpretion from Anne Murray, but she had sung "Snowbird" in her own interpretation and hadn't written the song at all.  Somehow Stewie thought that made her a fraud and he felt like he had been deceived, which made him seem all the more ridiculous.  Regardless of who wrote it, the way it made him feel was the right answer for himself.

It was concerning that Stewie tied up Anne Murray and pointed a gun at her.  There was no resolution of that--they just ended it with him harassing her like that.  We can just add that to Stewie's list of messed up things.

I think what I liked best about this story was when Brian first got into Anne Murray's music and imagined when he was a puppy.  It was cute to see him frolicking with his siblings and nuzzling with his mother.  Sometimes I forget how sensitive Brian is because he's often so insensitive and narcissistic.

I liked this episode because Meg and Chris were able to have a pretty sweet ending.  Meg started off treating Chris horribly, but in the end she showed that she appreciated him, and they bonded.  Stewie's story wasn't so sweet, but it at least it brought up an interesting topic.  It really made me think about how there's just no wrong way to feel about music.