The Letter In The Closet

Big Bang Theory, S06E19

Howard and Bernadette threw a dinner party, and they let Sheldon organize their cluttered closet after he insulted Bernadette by bringing his own food.  Howard got upset when Sheldon found a letter from his dad and read it, and he was troubled by what it said, but couldn't bring himself to read it.  All of his friends eventually convinced Sheldon to tell them what was written without Howard's knowledge.

I think considering that Sheldon is a horrible dinner guest (or maybe just any kind of guest), leaving him occupied in their closet for some hours contributed to the best dinner party they could have thrown.  I mean, Bernadette has some kind of willpower not snapping at someone who would dare bring takeout to a party when she was cooking all day for that person's sake.  I would have grabbed his food and thrown it straight into the trash.  Or coughed on it.  Anything to spoil the dinner he thoughtlessly brought into their home.  Since he was doing an indirectly nice thing (he certainly wasn't doing it out the goodness of his heart) by making their closet tidy, I could better forget that Sheldon made an ass out of himself within less than a minute of arriving at Howard and Bernadette's.

I like that they brought up the issue about Howard's father abandoning him.  His mother is so overpowering that I never stop to think about his other absent parent.  I don't consider what kind of impact growing up without a father might have had on Howard.  There wasn't much light shed on this, but we did find out that Howard has been holding onto a letter from his father for years.  Hearing that he never got the courage to open it up after all this time really made me want to find out what his father's last words were to him.

I didn't like that Sheldon had read the letter, but I was surprised that he didn't immediately give away the information when Penny first asked him.  I guess he has some standards, even if he can easily be talked out of them.  I just feel like that was such a huge violation of privacy, and if it were Sheldon, he wouldn't have wanted anyone else to know what he didn't know.  I wish Sheldon could have put himself in Howard's shoes (a huge impossibility).

Although everyone seemed pretty terrible for learning what the letter said behind Howard's back, I loved the way that they made up for it.  It was really touching how they all said some heartfelt scenarios of what the letter could have possibly said.  I mean, except for Sheldon who was dumb enough to think that telling him it was a map from the movie Goonies was going to fool him.  Hopefully he just thinks Howard is that dumb and Sheldon isn't that dumb himself.  Regardless, it was really sweet of them all to give him those possibilities of great things his father could have said in the letter and let him have a bit of peace about it.

I also liked some lines from this story.  This was when Amy was explaining how Sheldon's behavior was normal, and it was what made him likeable:

His quirks just make you love him more.  [Silence]  Someone please agree with me.

The way everyone just exchanged glances silently really made me laugh.  It's a little sad that Amy needs to have validation from her friends about her boyfriend.  She may love him, but she's not blind to his shortcomings.

Speaking of those, he is such an asshole for throwing Amy in front of him when Howard came after him.  I doubt that Howard was going to break a bottle over his head or something, but for Sheldon's first instinct to be throwing his girlfriend in front of himself is such a cowardly move.  I wish if he were going to be the type of person that infuriates people as he does that he would back that up by having the balls to at least defend himself.  I also would have loved to see Amy grab his arm and flip him over her shoulder so Sheldon was in the front again (and possibly a little hurt).  That would have made me laugh.

One last thing, when Penny's closet was getting organized, I knew that Sheldon was going to find a vibrator.  I mean, the dead goldfish he pulled out was a greater surprise to me because I really thought the first thing he'd reveal was a sex aid.  It would have been a much bigger shock if he had found anything else peculiar (like a picture of her winning a science fair).

I liked this episode, mainly because Sheldon was kept busy with his obsession to organize.  I feel like they should always throw a box of unsorted buttons in front of him any time he starts talking or acting like a nuisance.  It would be the perfect way to handle him.  However, I would hate to leave him alone with any of my secrets because it doesn't take much for him to find a logical reason as to why he can share the information with other people.  Although Howard's friend violated his trust by finding out what the letter had said, they redeemed themselves well by giving Howard hope that his father left him a really wonderful message.  This group may be pretty nosy and terrible at keeping secrets, but I give them a lot of credit for supporting their friends when they're have a rough time.

Just Do It Online

Parks and Recreation, S05E16

Leslie wanted to keep a failing video store going by using the government's help, but her good intentions only made others want payouts too and turned the video store into an adult establishment. Ann forced April to hang out with her as friends in exchange for a vetenarian school letter of reccomendation.  Chris gave Tom some advice in order to test how well he'd be a father.

Leslie's attempt to save Videodome was amusing for three main reasons.  One was because the owner of said store was played by Jason Schwartzman. He was really oblivious to how his depressing attitude and niche-audience selection of goods were damaging his business. He didn't have all that much screen time, but he's a funny guy simply to look at.

Leslie also made an enemy out of Ron with her bailout plan, adding another interesting element.  He was so against her plans that he actually came to a town council meeting to speak against what she was doing. You hardly ever see him get so involved on his own, so I liked seeing his rare passion. Ron didn't have many good lines in this story, but Iiked when he spoke about Dennis without sparing his feelings:

This man is a failure. He is not up to snuff.  His business is failing, and you're bailing him out. 

It's funny how Dennis didn't make one sound or expression even that disagreed with Ron.  Maybe this was because he agreed with him wholehearted or that he was just terrified to argue with Ron.  Either way I liked how honest Ron was being at Dennis' expense.

The last part of the story that I loved was the random guy who kept aptly pointing out that video stores and the like were a bit outdated now that there are some many outlets available on the Internet. I liked how  he asked why would he bother to rent anything from Videodome when he was watching a movie for free on his phone.  My favorite line from this guy was when he spoke out against the guy from the hardware store after the random guy had already been kicked out before:  

[Store Owner] And people need places to buy tools. 
[Online Guy] Uh, you can just buy tools online.
[Leslie] Bailiff, why is he back in here?  How did you get back in here?

He cracked me up with his unsolicited comments and how he frustrated Leslie. 

It was weird that Leslie's plan caused Dennis to start renting porn videos.  He refused to sell Pixar films, but he had no problems supplying dirty wares.  Also, strange enough, the renewal of the store contributed to a porno about Leslie bailing out the store. It was funny in the bit we got see that Ron was played a black guy. Wow.

In Ann and April's story the only thing I really liked was when April felt awkward hearing about Ann's worries about Chris agreeing to be her sperm donor.  They started singing together like they were besties, and the icing on the cake was when Donna joined in too. They all were pretty good singers and that scene was adorable.

I didn't like the introduction of Jean-Ralphio's psycho twin sister who eventually became Tom's girlfriend.  She actually made her brother look ten times less annoying.  I was glad Tom chose to be firm with her even if it didn't calm her ass down.  Someone needed to at least try to stand up to her.  I just hope that Tom doesn't find himself in trouble messing with an unstable girl like that.  He could do better.

What I liked best was Chris taking up Tom as his " bag of flour " and how Tom had little clue that Chris was trying to parent him.  I loved when he first spoke to Tom and sat right next to him on the couch at the far end, despite all the other seating available:

[Chris] Tom, I have something to talk to you about.[Tom] Do we need to sit like this?

Chris had another funny moment when he told Ben about his uncertainty to Ann's request:

I am one hundred percent certain that I am zero percent sure what I'm going to do. 

 Finally, I loved when he talked about how he had failed Tom as his father:

If Tom were a bag of flour, that flour would never grow up to be a happy, well-adjusted loaf of bread.  Much less a bran muffin, which is the highest honor that flour can achieve.

Chris' test run of being a father was wonderful.  I wish that he could continue to look after Tom.  With Mona Lisa in his life, he could probably use the help.

This was an unexpectedly good episode.  I didn't think I would have enjoyed a story about Leslie trying to save a little business, but it was as good as Chris' story.  I enjoyed the guest star, Ron opposing her, and of course, the guy who wouldn't be quiet about how some businesses were irrelevant with the internet available.  Ann and April ended up being very cute when they got the chance to bond, especially when singing was involved.  Finally, Chris kept making me laugh with his numerous good lines and moments.  He was surprisingly a decent "flour" dad to Tom.  I sort wish that it were possible for Chris to adopt Tom, so their father-son relationship could go on.

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.

I Want Better Costumes!

Community, S04E02

Jeff and the others stopped by Pierce's house after he called saying that he was locked in his panic room.  Pierce told them that the reason he had holed up in there was because he thought he saw his father's ghost.  As the gang explored the house for the notebook with the access code to free Pierce, they we frightened by several freaky occurrences.

Seeing a Halloween story on Valentine's Day was refreshing in that it wasn't typical, but it did remind me that this show was supposed to have started back up in October.  Still, instead of seeing a bunch of hearts and candy, I was able to enjoy everyone in costumes.  Or I would have been able to if they were good ones.  I liked when they dressed up as celebrities for some kid's party more than what they decided to wear to Vicky's party.  I mean, I've seen Princess Leia a million times as a costume, even if it was adorable that her whole family was doing characters from that movie.  Britta was a ham--boring.  Jeff was a boxing--yawn.  Annie's wasn't too bad, especially since she mistook the girl from Ring for being a girl who announces the matches at a boxing ring.  I prefer what she ended up with than something like what Dean had did (who was sort of cute as a ring girl).  Abed's costume was cute too, but I had no idea who he was until I looked it up.  He and Troy were dressed up as Calvin and Hobbes!  Wow.  I would have never gotten that on my own.  That makes me like the stupid-looking tiger costume Troy was in a whole lot better and absolutely makes me adore Abed's (which was cute without knowing the reference).  I was initially a little concerned that they didn't go all out for a costume opportunity, but they exceeded my expectations.

Besides that most of the costumes weren't too impressive, I also didn't like too much that they ended up at Pierce's house.  I was prety much like Jeff the whole time, suspecting that he was up to something.  I liked that when everyone else was willing to give Pierce the benift of the doubt, Jeff was appalled at their sympathy:

What in the Scooby Doo is happening to you people?!

That was about the only line that stands out to me from the story.  There was more of a focus on the "horror" going on in the house than comedy, really.  That and Britta trying to show Jeff that he missed not having a father more than he let on.  The only thing interesting about that (it was mostly annoying that Britta was doing more of her "therapy") was that Jeff had found out his father's number, but hadn't gotten around to calling him.  I suspect that he was too scared to do so until the events of that night had passed.  Although, I'm not sure that I'm eager to see Jeff's dad or not.  After not knowing him for some many years, I can't imagine that their reunion will be a good one.

When it all turned out to be a Halloween prank just like Jeff had predicted, I wasn't as annoyed as I would have been if Gilbert hadn't appeared and had a sweet moment with Pierce.  Maybe with more brotherly love in his life, Pierce might be a little less insufferable.  At the moment, he's sort of like a fly that you swat at that just won't go away.  As he's an important part of the "study group," I would like to enjoy his character a little more.  At least for the time he'll be around (I've heard rumor that Chevy Chase won't be on the show for the entire season).

Finally, I just wish there was a little more Abed.  Like I said before, there was a focus on Jeff and his father problems, which I'm not too concerned with right now.  I did like that Abed was excited about finding a secret room and he was spying on his friends from the security room like it was reality TV or something, but that just wasn't enough for me.  I was a little happier when the extra segment showed Abed and Troy playing around with the secret door and Pierce came out and demanded to know who was in his house.  I like seeing them mess around with him like he's their crazy uncle or something.

This episode wasn't bad, but it could be better.  Somehow I'm wondering if the season is just off to a slow start or if my tastes have changed.  I don't know how I feel about Jeff bringing up his long-lost father.  That story could go either way.  Pierce's haunted house was a let down, as were most of the costumes.  However, Abed and Troy brought their A game, so I can't complain too much about that.  I just want there to be a little more Abed (and Troy) moments.  They're the kind of duo that I can't get enough of seeing.

Call Him Pop-Pop

New Girl, S02E13

Nick's dad came into town and got Jess involved in a scam to buy a horse and sell its sperm.  Nick got involved with the shady deal, worried that Jess would be bled dry if he left his father alone to do as he pleased.  Schmidt also teamed up with Robby to scheme to get Cece back and the two unexpectedly bonded with each other.

I really liked Nick's dad.  Mostly because he drove Nick crazy.  His appearance also explained a lot of why Nick isn't the most put together adult you would find.  But as Jess commented at the end of the episode, it's really impressive that with a dad who would just roll into town to con some people out of money and not really try to connect with his son on any level, that Nick isn't running the streets operating crooked games or something.  More important than that, Nick, who is usually a little high-strung about less serious things ,was extra strung out with his father around.  I love to see that, so I welcomed Walt's presence.

One of my favorite things that frustrated Nick was that Winston was in love with Walt.  I guess not having a father around himself he sort of adopted Nick's dad as his own.  He even gave him an adorable nickname, "Pop-pop," which Nick absolutely hated.  I really loved each time he would call Walt that and any time that Nick would plead Winston to stop doing that.

It was also funny how Jess was the absolute worst person to be hanging around Walt.  He was playing her like a fiddle and Jess had no clue until she had given him hundreds of dollars on a horse of questionable value.  I sometimes forget how trusting and guillible Jess is until someone comes along to take advantage of her good nature.  My favorite example of her excessive faith in anyone was best illustrated when Nick showed his dad:

[Nick] Dad, she will believe anything.[Jess] That’s not true, Nick.
[Nick] My real name is Jamil.[Jess] It is?
[Nick] No, my name is not Jamil![Jess] Nick, that was not fair.[Nick] It is Nick, you know that![Jess] You told me in confidence.[Nick] How could you think my name was Jamil?

 It's sweet and makes you laugh that someone could be bordering on stupidity with how much they want to trust people at their word.

In the Schmidt story, I expected that I was just going to see him make an ass of himself and make Cece hate him even more, but instead he started a weird friendship with Robby.  I can see how they would bond over their mutual love for Cece (neither of them is probably a great fit for her--they were both dating up).  However, it was ridiculous how they were stalking her and showed up at her house uninvited when Cece was having a family get-together with Pavun and her relatives.  Weirder than that, Schmidt thought an orgy was going on--what??  I think he just had dirty things on his mind from the beginning because he saw Cece in the sari and got excited, which was evident from him trying to describe one of his gross sexual fantasies--eww.  They were lucky that no one ended up kicking their asses for their rude and unwanted appearance.  I think their man-hug made them guess they were more stupid than they were dangerous.

The best thing about Robby and Schmidt getting together was that although Schmidt was dedicated in helping Robby, he made it very clear that he was going to help him to help himself.  He kept talking about smiting him when the time was right.  That was really funny, especially because Robby made it clear he wasn't going to go along with that part, but he didn't mind trusting Schmidt until that day came.  Robby is an amazingly easy-going guy.  If it was me, I'd not join forces with a guy who kept talking about destroying me in the future (but Robby might believe that Schmidt won't win even if he tries, so maybe he's just confident himself).

This was a pretty cute episode.  I liked getting an idea of how Nick's childhood might have been, and why he's been committed to acting like an old man his whole life.  It was really funny to have Walt around to see Winston showing him misplaced affection and Jess eating up any lie that he threw her way.  I'm looking forward to him coming back for another con some day.  Schmidt and Robby are lucky they have each other because neither of them has Cece, that's for sure.  They might want to just concentrate on their friendship rather than getting her back--don't think any plan they would come up with has a shot in hell to work.

Stone Cold Slytherin

How I Met Your Mother, S08E13

Barney had a hard time asking Robin's father for permission to marry her.  Robin was shocked that her father was not only more relaxed and fun, but had gotten married without telling her.  Ted and Lily fought over whether Barney and Robin should have a DJ or a band for the wedding.

This isn't much related to the story, but I felt like Robin was recovering from a cold the whole time and it sort of distracted me.  I mean, she didn't sound like a frog or anything, but she definitely sounded like she might need to clear her throat or something.  Must be difficult to be sick when you have to use your voice constantly.

Anyway, I might have never noticed how funny Robin's father was until now.  He was definitely my favorite part of the whole episode.  Before he even showed up Ted and Marshall were saying such funny things about him:

[Ted] Dude’s a stone cold Slytherin.
[Marshall] He always looks like he just came from slapping some guy tied to a chair in a back room.

I don't even like Harry Potter and Ted's line still has been chuckling to myself.  They set me up to expect to see some really scary guy appearing (I had forgotten what the man looks like), and Robin's dad didn't disappoint.

I loved his hard, intense expressions, especially when he was looking at Barney.  Barney's not exactly the bravest guy around, but I still liked seeing him sweat in the presence of Robin's dad.  Barney didn't look that good with dark hair, but it was really funny that he felt the need to do that after Robin's dad evaluated Barney's appearance:

This is Barney?  This man is blond.  Grown men are not blond.

Of all the things you could find wrong with Barney, that would be at the end of my list.  If he's bothered by just the surface of Barney, he's going to have a field day with what's underneath that blonde hair and expensive suits.

I wonder how, as terrified as Barney was of his future father-in-law, he was able to get the man to apologize to Robin?  Maybe now that he's married to someone like Carol, he's able to access some of those feelings that he's neglected all those years he raised Robin.  I thought they might say what Barney did, but that was left up to our imaginations.

I was also wondering why Ted was so set on a DJ throughout the episode.  I knew what Lily's deal was--she just wanted to be part of the planning and show that she knew what was best for the wedding.  I don't know why I didn't think it was because he was still stuck up on Robin.  For the love of everything, Ted--let it go.  I get that his love for Robin is deep, but he really looks so damn pathetic.  I believed him when he had accepted that Robin wouldn't be his and had really let her go.  Instead he was just fooling everyone, even himself.  Come on, Ted.  When are you gonna pick yourself up and stop grasping at straws?

There was a glimmer of hope in Ted's ridiculous battle for the DJ--they revealed that Ted would finally meet his future wife at Robin and Barney's wedding.  She'll be the bassist in the band, and we even got a sneak peek at her arm.  It's frustrating that this fated meeting is further down the road, but at least we know it's semi-soon.  We most likely won't have to wait another season to find out at least what she looks like.  There will be plenty of stories left once he does meet her because just because they met doesn't mean they'll fall in love in a second.  Especially with Ted, I think it'll take a lot before any woman decides to spend a lifetime with him.  He's a mess and even with the girl of his dreams, that'll never change.

The part where Marshall got "confetti" all over his face was so gross, but a little funny.  I would have vomited to see what actually flew out of little Marvin's behind, so I'm glad they had a cute way of conveying that.  I'm just glad that something came out of Marshall and Lily complaining about Marvin being constipated.  I just didn't think it was going to be the confetti explosion in Marshall's face.

This episode wouldn't have been half as good if Robin's father wasn't in it.  I couldn't stop laughing at his cold, dead-serious stares at everyone, especially Barney.  As for Ted, I just felt bad for him as usual that he can't commit to the things he's resolved to do or feel.  I think he's had more than enough time to get over Robin and truly be happy for Barbin finally becoming a thing.  Hurry up and get on the Barbin train, Ted!

Don't Make Max A Fifth Wheel

Happy Endings, S03E06

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prelude To A Revenge Episode? Let's Hope

Archer, S03E07

This time Archer does something unexpected.  It's not that he got a hangover or seemed to have spent a night with a random stripper.  I anticipated that when he opened the bathroom door to reveal the rumored stripper that she might be dead.  That would have been an extremely unoriginal event and thankfully I was wrong.  Unfortunately, it turned out that he had slept with Pam.  Um, gross!!  I might have pretended to overlook their hookup if Pam's first scene wasn't her crapping out the contents of her stomach.  Ugh.  She's is so disgusting!  I'm done talking about this weird development.

What I did like was the return of Barry, who is voiced by Dave Willis.  I'm a huge fan of his ever since I got hooked into Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  Now anytime I hear his voice, I can't help but laugh.  He's a genius at sounding like a jerk.  Also, I like that Barry is sort of an archenemy of Archer's.  I'm sure that Archer doesn't quite consider Barry's existence for the most part, but perhaps after this episode he will.  After all, while Archer was getting his last Pam fix, his possible father was murdered.

I'm not all that convinced that Nikolai is Archer's father, though.  It's possible, but I think it's more likely it's someone else who resembles Archer more.  It was nice to see Archer and Nikolai semi-bonding for a few minutes before Archer abandoned him.  I rather like that Barry had a fork frozen in a block of ice and popped it in the microwave so that the sparks would set off a gas explosion.  It was so odd that it was interesting.  Also, I like that Barry was simply doing a "goof" and didn't take killing Nikolai too seriously; it seemed it wasn't intended to be the ultimate payback for Archer.

Barry's planning something else, but we just don't know what yet.  I'm looking forward to it.  I hate to root for Archer, but of course, if he died, there would be no show.  That's an inescapable truth.  However, I don't have to hope for Barry to be destroyed.  He may very well be my favorite character (although I'm biased with my love of Dave Willis), but he surely shakes things up.  And this show has needed a little kick for a while.

Besides the battle between Archer and Barry, I wonder if we will ever see Seamus again?  He's Cyril's kid, but Archer seems to love him.  That story wouldn't be relevant for next week's episode, but I just wanted to throw it out there.  If anything, I'd love to get a little more closure upon the mystery of Archer father.  Even if they just want to pretend it was Nikolai out of respect for the dead, I'd be satisfied.