Somehow Better As A Play

American Dad, S08E10

The show was presented as if it were a play.  Francine threw Stan a birthday party, not realizing the dark family secrets the celebration would bring up.  Hayley was keeping a secret from Avery who slept with the family maid, Edna, in his heartbroken state.

This isn't the first time I've seen a cartoon do something like this, but every time I have seen it, I remember enjoying it.  This episode was no different.  I liked all the touches they added to make it feel like you were in the audience watching a play, such as the lighting and someone coughing being shushed.  I really liked how they did the lighting for when Stan's car was coming and going from the house, in particular.  Another thing I enjoyed a lot was them substituting glitter or confetti for the splashing water and for the blood.  It was also cute to see them use the pool, which was just made out of cardboard or something.  It was little things like that that made me like this story even more.

The stories were pretty dramatic, but I did find a few things to laugh about.  One of such was when Stan was brought home for driving recklessly by a police officer:

He was eating crab and driving.  He'd be spending the night in the cooler if there was anything illegal about what he was doing.

That was my favorite line.  I just liked that he got pulled over in the first place while he was sobbing and stuffing his face with crab legs.  Somehow it seemed like he was going to be arrested for something that silly.

I also found the end to the Hayley story to be unexpectedly funny.  I mean, it was terrible that Edna had suffocated a baby right when Avery and Hayley had gotten back together, but their reaction to the baby's death was so over the top with anguish.  The lighting went red, they were screaming, and they ripped out their hair and clothes.  It was definitely one of those times I didn't want to laugh, but I just couldn't help myself.  They were doing a great job of bad acting.

There was one other thing that wasn't quite funny, but mentionable.  When Francine tried to keep the party going with their guests, she had someone start a record of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit."  Her songs are not anything you want to play at a party unless it's a drinking-out-of-sadness sort of affair.  I just liked the irony of that moment.

Oh, and it was so weird to me that I happened to fall asleep a little before Stan went outside to find his father and son swimming in the pool.  When I woke up again, Patrick Stewart was pretending to be asleep himself and the episode was pretty much over.  The timing of that was hilarious to me, although it was just because I randomly dozed off.  Patrick Stewart was sort of amusing as the host of this play.  Even when he was making cheesy puns of "Act Two" with a sneezing sound.

I really liked this episode, even though the stories were pretty sad overall.  I liked how Stan was misinformed about his broken family and in the end he started one of his own by ending his life.  Despite the dark nature of the story, I enjoyed that it came full circle.  The story about Avery, Hayley, and Edna was equally tragic in nature, but the little time we spent on them allowed me to find a little humor in the grandness of the emotional conclusion.  I couldn't say anything that bothered me in this episode.  Wish they would do more like this one!

Christmas Baby Woes

Happy Endings, S03E07

The gang found out that Jane was really born on Christmas and tried to celebrate her birthday without letting Christmas sneak in.  Dave tried to help Penny give Pete the perfect gift and failed to see the sentiment of Pete's gift for her.

Everyone would have been able to pull off the no-Christmas birthday party for Jane if it wasn't for Max and Alex.  I wasn't too surprised that Max was unable to stay away from something he loves to consume--that's like telling a fish not to swim.  Alex's fetish with unwrapping gifts, though, was so out there and a little creepy.  But she is very childlike, so it's not uncharacteristic of her to enjoy the process of opening presents.  Still, I wish she could have shown a little restraint.  Max was a lost cause, but if he wasn't and hadn't had that "back nog" on him, Alex would have stabbed him in the spine!  Then it would just be blood spraying all over the place.  Somehow, though, for Jane being a Christmas baby, I'm sure she would have preferred that.

I really identified with Jane's problem.  I have a birthday in what I call the "Christmas Radius" where any date that falls within it gets swept under the carpet by Christmas (and sometimes New Year's as well).  If you've never had a gift that seemed to just be an unimpressive extension of a Christmas gift, then you can't really relate.  It is a little sad when you feel like the one day you are allowed to make it a little about yourself is ignored or made light of.  Because of this, I thought Jane's idea to tell people her birthday was a completely different date was a pretty damn good idea.  People aren't going to remember the real date anyway, so what's the harm in that?

One thing that I thought was interesting in that story was Jane macing all of her friends.  She had just woken up from bed and was still in a robe, yet she had two bottles of it ready to go.  I know she doesn't like surprises and is always prepared, but damn!  I couldn't imagine carrying mace in my own house at the crack of dawn.  If she's that worried that a robber or rapist might be waiting for her on the way to the kitchen, she should invest in a security system.

I sort of wish that Dave's claim to "gift whisperer" was nothing more than hot air from him (as usual) and his gift for Pete had been a bust.  But it turned out to be just right.  Ugh.  Nothing more than I hate than seeing Dave feel superior no matter what insignificant thing he's gloating about.  It was nice, though, that he turned out to be dead wrong about Pete's gift for Penny.  It did seem like Pete hadn't put any thought into it at all, but it turned out to be a big symbol of his love for Penny.  Yay.  That shut Dave up for a second.  It's annoying that he thinks that he could possibly know the depth of Penny and Pete's relationship.  He needs to back off.  Even if he's unconsciously showing some kind of untapped affection for Penny.  I still hoping that road will never be taken again.

This was an okay episode.  Nothing too bad that made me upset.  I think what I liked most was that the story was something I could relate to.  With all the crazy things these friends get involved with, I'm fairly sure there won't be many more stories like that for me.  And I don't think that I'll find many more stories I like in general as well.

Randall, The Problem And Solution

Ugly Americans, S02E13

There was a roasting for Twayne (not "Twaine" as I've been misspelling his name) this week, but Mark unsurprisingly couldn't tell a good joke if every comedian in the world was channeling through his body.  Randall supplied him with material that not only was worse than anything Mark would have come up with (by himself Mark would have only gotten silence instead of things thrown at him), but also was so hurtful to Twayne that he gave up his job to Mark.  Mark only had the job for one day, but his decisions instantly put the entire city into chaos and almost caused its destruction.  Although, this all looked like Mark screwed up, it was Randall who made him say all of those horrible things.  But I guess Randall can be forgiven since it was also him who made Twayne come back to his job and smooth things over with the goose people (and stop the bomb from destroying the town).  Still, when will Mark learn to not listen to his moron roommate in the first place?

Listening to Randall, of course, can bring no good, but I didn't think that after Mark got his new title that he would so easily ruin the peace that Twayne somehow created through an excessive birthday celebration system at the DOI.  I mean, they spend so much money and effort on making cakes, cards, and singing a birthday song, but they pay their employees so little?  It's more than outrageous. I can understand why Mark would want to cut the Birthday Department (although, truly it was Leonard who canned everyone).

It was interesting that there is an assembly for all the different species and at heart, they are all held together by cake frosting, when you think about it.  I wonder if had Mark destroyed the budget on anyone else's birthday except Goose Kevin's, would the same thing have happened?  I guess what happened sort of reflects what happens all the time between nations:  a little thing sets off one nation and the next thing you know, there's a full-scaled war.  Of course, we wouldn't be laughing as much because there's no way it could be over something as trivial as a birthday party.

Another interesting point is that as stupid as I thought Twayne to be, he has the job of director down to a science.  It sounds hard to believe that a man who does nothing but have lunch all day and helps chefs create delicious cakes is actually protecting lives.  The most amazing part of his job is that he thinks that if he points out a problem, then someone will definitely come along and solve it for him.  Well, Goose Kevin surely did this time.  It was nice that things worked out so easy, but it was strange to me that the bomb Kevin took off to safety didn't explode in a bigger way (since it was going to destroy the whole town).  I just thought the explosion was a little small.  Maybe it's just me.

Lastly, I have to comment on Randall doing nearly nothing to help Twayne get over his self-loathing.  I kept forgetting what he was doing with Twayne in the first place after watching them do all these random things like have Twayne stuck in a bag full of nothing but cats.  I guess his real purpose was to take advantage of Twayne for a while with the illusion that he was going to "cure" him.  He was just damn lucky that he did.  And it's only right that he did, since his insensitive jokes were the ones that sent Twayne into a shame spiral in the first place.

I liked this story because it showed the significance of Twayne's job.  At times he seems like nothing more than a buffoon, so it's nice to see that he's an essential part of the balance for peace.  Now, if only we could get Randall to stop tipping the scale whenever it seems convenient for him.  Of course, I won't leave Mark out of the blame, since he is always letting Randall use him as a puppet for chaos.  How I would love Mark so much more if only he could not be under Randall's thumb all the time.  Oh, and the preview for the next episode shows that Callie has turned into a man and is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin!  I think that might be really hilarious to see!

When Don's Happy, No One Else Is

Mad Men, S05E01-02

Don and the rest of the gang from Sterling Cooper Draper Price are back for their fifth season!  Typically, this show is in my reserves because it's one of the few dramas that I like, but since it's fast approaching the summer break for most shows, I think I'll watch it as it comes out, for the most part.  I have to say that I have a bit of a crush on Jon Hamm, and the show's just full of great characters and stories.  Also, historically it's an interesting thing to watch, such as the technology differences and the way everyone smoked all the time (especially around children and while being pregnant).  At the center of this week's episode, Don's new wife, Meagan, threw Don a surprise party and performed for him as a present, but Don wasn't exactly ecstatic about it.  Another major issue was the "battle for power" between Roger and Pete.  These were just some of the many things that happened in this double-episode.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Pete continues to show signs that he will just never be satisfied until he is the "King of Advertising" or something like that.  While I realize that Roger is starting to look like a useless bag of bones around the office, Pete can't just stamp his foot and think that everyone will so easily boot him out.  I was glad that he ran into the wall and had blood coming out of his nose when he was whining about Roger appearing at his meeting with Mohawk Airlines.  I know they had to make Pete a junior partner in their firm, but he is so insufferable at the way he thinks that he should be on the same rank as the big dogs.  Sure, he brings the money and all, but let's be real--if Pete was in a business by himself with just his name, no one would give a damn, and no one would want to do business when him.  He needs to calm the hell down.  He has a loving wife, a new baby, a new house, I think, and a job that most people his age would kill for.  Still he is out for Roger's blood.

It's sad that Pete had to resort to sending Roger off on a fake meeting with Coca-Cola just to get back at him for showing up at the Mohawk meeting.  But I think that wasn't as bad as Pete bringing in all of the partners so he could demand that he be given Roger's office on the grounds that he was basically more important than Roger.  Even if that were so, I just don't like the way he did it.  It just looked like a child crying over having the smaller half of the cookie.  Later, when Roger tries to pacify him (or annoy him?  I'm not sure what Roger was playing at) by getting Crane to switch offices with him, Pete just isn't satisfied.  No, he won't be happy until he's in a position where he can walk the halls of their office like Roger, and Pete is the one giving orders that few can refuse.  Seriously.  When is he going to shut up and be thankful??

Onto something a little less infuriating.  I loved how lovey-dovey Don was being with Meagan.  I was worried that things wouldn't be going so well between them when the season started again, but they really looked like they were in love.  Meagan even sang that wonderful song in French for him, which is more than Betty would even dream of doing for him when they used to be in love.  I did think her dancing was a little too much for all the company they had (I can't blame Crane for saying those disgusting things about her at the office later), but I think Don should have tried to be less of an ass about it.

I like that Meagan seems so different from Betty, in the sense that she's not determined to have Don control everything in their marriage like he used to (for example, "forbidding" a birthday party for him).  My favorite thing about her so far is that she can see how the people at SCDP are so cynical and unpleasant.  I can't believe she is the first person to say, "What is wrong with you people??"  Almost everyone in that building, especially the guys, that question applies to them.

However, I wondered what was wrong with Meagan (and Don) when they were having a fight back at home about the party the next day.  She was cleaning up in her underwear.  Her excuse that she didn't want to get sweaty seemed flimsy.  I don't know if she was intentionally trying to turn Don on or punish him for him being so inflexible, but they were soon having makeup sex on the floor.  So ridiculous.  Who pretends to clean in their underwear??  If she wanedt to get her point across, surely she could have come up with something better.  Geez.

Peggy, like Pete, was her usual self, wanting to be more important than she already was, but wanting others (Don) to use their power to make things work better for her.  True, if Don had used some of his Draper magic to convince Hines to like their bean ballet idea, she would have had less work to do and felt accomplished, but this was new Draper.  As Peggy put it he was "kind and patient," and she didn't like it.  So she'd rather have the Don who would have chewed her head off for having such a crappy idea (the idea wasn't bad--their client was just stuck in his ways about how beans should be viewed)?  I can't believe she couldn't get past her own jealousy about Meagan (of course, Peggy doesn't like any woman at the office who can achieve things easier than she) and be glad Don was happy.  He hasn't been happy in a long time.  Probably the happiest he was when he was married to Anna.  I don't know if he was ever really happy with Betty for a significant amount of time.  Peggy, again comparing her to Pete, needs to lighten up and realize how good she has things and stop trying to bring others down.  Sure it would leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth if the boss's wife was getting privileges that you had to work your ass off for, but at least Meagan is working and recognizes that Peggy is her boss.  Just swallow your pride, Peggy.

I felt bad for Joan because while she seems to love her son, she desperately wants to go back to work.  I don't care what those other girls say in the office--she looks great.  Perhaps when she was first seen in the episode with her hair disheveled and in a bathrobe, she wasn't her typical self, but when she came to the office for a visit, all those other girls could suck it--they don't have half the beauty she has.  I'm glad that the fake ad (I definitely missed why they made it) she saw in the newspaper wasn't a call to replace her ,and Don and Lane (particularly him) seem to be counting down the days until she comes back to SCDP.  I am, too.  Joan, among many talents around the office, keeps those stupid girls there in check.  She also tends to ground Peggy when she starts get self-important.  Without Joan there I don't want Peggy to be the only  figure of female power around.

With all the drama that happens, I'm glad we have a little comedy relief with Lane.  I really like him, the more he appears in episodes.  He was so sweet in the way he comforted Joan and let her know that none of those dumb girls could hold a candle to her, but he was also hilarious in the way that he re-enacted Meagan's dancing and his little awkward conversation with Alex's mistress.  The latter was so funny to me.  It was like he was calling one of those sex phone lines for the first time, the way he was acting.  I had forgotten that he had some tension with his wife, but it seems that he may soon be cheating on her in the future (he's gotta join the club with the rest of the partners).  But as funny as he is, it's a bit creepy that he would keep a picture of a woman he hardly knows that he got from a stranger's wallet.  Hope that Alex guy doesn't return in another episode to beat the hell out of Lane.

Lane was also pretty funny when he had to tell the male black applicants that came to their office they were "free to go."  Of all of the partners, they had to get him to speak on their behalf.  Hilarious.  I'm pretty excited, though, that through their gag ad, they were pretty much forced into hiring their first African-American employee (one who wasn't operating the elevators).  Yay!  You can't blame them for not having someone sooner (because that was the times, sadly), but as a black woman myself, I'd like to see someone like me in the show since Betty fired her housekeeper and all (damn Betty).

Speaking of Betty, she didn't appear at all in this episode, so I wonder how things are going with her.  When Don dropped off the kids, it looked like he left them at some apartment building, but I wasn't sure.  Perhaps that means that she got divorced again?  I hate to be happy about that, but Betty had a chance at a new beginning, but instead she was just taking out all the angry she had from her previous marriage out on her new marriage.  As much as I want to know, I'm glad I didn't have to see Betty berating Sally for some petty thing again as she had become custom to do since last season.

One last thing I really liked was Crane saying those gross things about how he would gladly do Meagan if he had the chance, and she heard all the horrible things he said.  Later, he kept worrying about if Don had heard what he said about his wife.  He was so scared!  He even seemed to like having Pete's new office because it gave him a chance to hide from Meagan until the heat was off.  Good ol' Crane.  On a side note, does it look like he lost a little weight?  Maybe it's just my imagination because I haven't seen him in a while.

I'm pretty happy with the return of this show.  I can't wait to see what sort of things unravel and go wrong this season.  Although, I really hope that Don and Meagan will be the real deal (and he won't start cheating on her like Betty).  I can handle all the other random shit that might hit the fan, but I'd really like this season to be the end of his super-drama in his love life, at least.

Ya'll Can't Eat Nowhere

Happy Endings, S02E18

Through the misfortune of Penny's birthday celebration, we not only learn that her parties have famously been cursed ("The curse of Penny's birthday strikes again), but also that her group of friends have managed to get themselves banned from almost every restaurant in the city.  It's not so unusual that people have a hard time deciding on a place to eat that everyone will like, but it's a different matter when you have to worry about if someone might be arrested from setting foot upon a suggested place.

I think that Brad's old custom of taking girls he wanted to break up with to a certain restaurant with a mariachi band and bolted down tables was damn smart.  I don't know what the kind of ladies he used to date before Jane, but I'm sure that crazy only attracts crazy, so I'm sure each time it could have been a scene.  I didn't think that he might have taken Jane there, but it was sweet when he explained to her how her self-assurance won him over, and he knew that he would never need the breakup restaurant again.  They are so good together.  Probably a little too good together, as they managed to get the gang banned from Medora for having sex in the bathroom.  They may be a cute couple, but they are some freaks when it comes to getting it on.  Seriously, do you two have to bang in every restaurant in town?  They need to start a stamp card and receive a free ice cream for their 20th "Oops!  You caught us!"

While I was shaking my head at everyone's ability to mark off the restaurants in town as if they were playing "Ooo, not there!" bingo, Max had me laughing with hunger-induced madness and his motto that night of "The curse of Penny's birthday strikes again."  The best time he used this was in a modified fashion when he accidentally hit the lights off without realizing it:

The curse of Max's love handles strikes again.

 Was it really a curse?  After all their mishaps that night, including Penny losing her shirt and getting everyone kicked out of Big Dom's, they all have dinner at Rosalita's (I could see that coming) and encounter a strange woman speaking a language they don't understand.  She blows salt on them and seems to curse them.  What's even stranger is that they all pretend (I think it is) they have switched bodies.  That was hilarious, even with Alex failing to do it (instead of imitating Dave, she just says "I'm Dave").  What in the world was that about?  I just love that a random woman can just show up and do that.

I think this was a great episode to provide evidence that all these people belong together.  They are such a bunch of misfits, to put it the nicest I can, who cannot do anything simply like even eat a different place (Rosalita's it shall be forever).  I think anyone should be so lucky to have friends like these they can identify with on the same level of insanity without having that one "normal" person in the bunch who can judge you.

Who Cares About Caroline's Birthday?

2 Broke Girls, S01E18

Mainly because this was a Caroline-centered episode, I didn't particularly like it.  It was her birthday, and she hooked up with a pretty fine web designer.  Just like the party that Max planned with pretty much only balloons as decorations, there were some things lacking this week.

What comes to mind is that there wasn't enough Sophie.  Her best moment was when she was eating a cupcake and ogling Caroline and the hottie making out.  We've also come to expect her to reject Oleg for a good minute or two, and this time she barely had a few seconds to send him an insult.  Dang.  And there was no interaction between she and Earl this time.  Double-dang!  The fact that she hooked up with Oleg was almost gross except that Oleg thankfully didn't go around bragging about it in the nastiest way possible.  Dodged a bullet there.  I wonder if that will be the end of their fooling around or will it progress beyond just "hand stuff."

It was also pretty predictable that the reason Caroline didn't want to celebrate her birthday was because she wouldn't be able to spend it with her dad.  When isn't it about her dad??  Like, there needs to be a limit to how much of a daddy's girl she is.  It's getting a little annoying.  We did get to see a glimpse of him, but I wasn't straining my eyes (or going back a few seconds) to see what he really looked like.  It's not really that important to the story.

If I have to be truthful, besides the extremely ghetto lady with the dreads, my favorite thing about Monday's story was the Capri Suns.  I love these and when Max said that she was going to have them at the party, I totally thought she was joking.  But they were all drinking them!  And Oleg's call for all the party members to "raise their capri to the sun" was excellent.  Seriously, back in the day I used to drink those things like water and inhale them as quickly as air.  This episode didn't have much to offer, but I respect a good shout-out to my favorite portable drink.

I wonder what kind of business they will get after that website is up and running.  I'm hoping that whatever mishap it will bring will be up to my standards.  A reference to Capri Suns can only get you so far.

Tanjoubi Omedetou, Archer!

This week's Archer was about the car he got for his birthday.  Well, it wasn't a bounty-hunting story, so I was happy enough.

I was surprised anyone even bothered to celebrate his day.  He's the king of assholes, but maybe he'd be so pissy and whiney about it that they figured it was easier to acknowledge his birth, rather than ignore it.  I almost thought Archer was going to be nice to Woodhouse for a change when he made him a special birthday breakfast.  Unfortunately, Archer went right back to being ungrateful after Woodhouse dropped confetti on top of the meal.  Oops...

So Mallory gets Archer an incredible car for his birthday.  Now wait a minute--isn't ISIS broke right now?  Where did that money come from?  No one brought it up in the episode, so I guess it was plausible that she could afford it.  Mallory warns him not to let it get stolen, but of course, it gets stolen as soon as Archer parks it.  He goes to Lana for help, and Pam and Cyril get involved too.  They plan to get information about his car by going to the Yakuza-run car races that Pam frequents.  Well, it's not that easy.  Not just because Archer thinks he can just go in there guns-a-blazing and get answers, but also because they don't steal cars like Archer's.  Oops again.

They get out alive, thanks to Pam's driving and some luck.  But Mallory shows up and lets Archer know that she was the one who stole his car to teach him a lesson.  This is the same lesson she taught him when Archer was a child and thought he had lost his bike she had given him.  Upon learning the truth, Archer seems to check out mentally and walks away from the group, singing to himself.  Wow.  We can hate Archer all we want, but Mallory does have a pretty big hand in creating that narcissistic, drunk bastard.  I felt bad for him, actually.  Mallory seemed like she beat him when he was younger for losing a bike she stole!  And she never returned it!  Geez, lady...  Good thing Archer is an only child (as far as we know).

Oh, and gotta love George Takei.  That gave that episode a little extra kick.  I generally like anything that has to do with Japanese people or culture.  I especially liked that Pam's racing nickname was "Shiro Kabucha," or the "White Pumpkin."  She thought it meant the "White Shadow."  With stuff like Google Translate at our fingertips, there's no need to be so ignorant of such things.  Come on.  But it was good for a laugh.

I'd enjoy George Takei's character coming back to get Pam one day.  That'd be cool.  Mallory shot at him, but we didn't actually see him die, so it's possible.  This is the 3rd Adam Reed show I've watched, so with him, you never know how the overall storyline will go.  Just going to have to see what happens next week.