Dunno Which Dinner Was The Best

The Mindy Project, S01E07

Mindy spent Thanksgiving at Gwen's house and got into a fight with Gwen after she hit on Dennis.  Jeremy spent the holiday at Betsy's house where she was sick of being treated like a little girl.  Danny spent the holiday alone at the office.

Well, there wasn't much that I liked about this episode.  It was good there were multiples stories because all of them were a little boring to me.  I don't think I could pick a favorite.  Even with Danny being alone the whole night save a damn mouse was about on par with Mindy going after someone else's boyfriend.  I might say Jeremy and Betsy story because it was a little sweet how he comforted her in accepting the way her family treats her because it could be worse (like how he suggested his own family was).

What I was most annoyed about in this episode was Josh.  I'm getting less and less convinced that he is a great match for her.  First of all, after he made a slightly gross dinner for her made entirely on panini presses, he set her apartment on fire was pretty damn useless in taking care of that situation.  Like I couldn't believe that he just sort of stood next her and kind of wanted her to do something about it.  Wow.  Didn't think he could be more unimpressive than his cooking skills.  Second, he didn't want to be exclusive with her.  I don't know why, but I was a little shocked.  You come to cook (by your own definitions) a meal for a girl, but you don't want to be exclusive with her?  Why the hell even go to the damn trouble??  Yes, later he found out that he missed Mindy and wanted to officially be her boyfriend, but I don't appreciate that he sort of swung her emotions around like that.  Especially since it encouraged Mindy to make out with Dennis (although I guess Morgan was the one who told her she didn't need to stick to one man either) and made the fight between Mindy and Gwen worse.  I just don't like the way Josh puts up a front--can't he be  a little more straightforward with his feelings?  It's frustrating and frankly makes him a little less manly in my eyes.

Related to Mindy seducing Dennis a bit, how dramatic was the fight between her and Gwen?  First Mindy jumps to conclusions about Gwen replacing her with another Indian girl (I wonder if she would have felt as threatened if she wasn't the same race), and then Gwen nearly kicks Mindy's ass after she sees her making out with Dennis.  I was really surprised that Gwen got so violent and loud.  But I guess she was just tired of Mindy's shit during a holiday dinner.  Wow, I would not want to piss her off.  I guess her voice makes you think she might be sweet and nice, but apparently she can bring it when necessary.  Learned a good bit about her character in this story.

I also learned that Jeremy doesn't seem to be much of an ass.  I mean, the more I see him with Betsy, the more I think they should hook up.  They would be a weird pairing (okay, well, she's just weird), but I think it might work.  She's definitely not so sneaky and sexually loose as he is, so maybe she could balance him out.  

As for Danny...  What a loser spending Thanksgiving at the office.  I'm surprised that he even texted back Mindy when she sent him a picture.  I guess he sort of missed her.  It wasn't like he was getting any love from anyone else that day (not even a mouse, haha).

This was one of my least favorite Thanksgiving stories I've seen, but I'm not really surprised.  This  show is still getting its act together, so I never expected them to blow me away.  I guess the best thing about the story was that perhaps Mindy has a confirmed boyfriend now.  I wonder if we'll see a change in Josh that will allow me to like him a little better.  Because of right now, I can't wait for someone better to stroll along for Mindy.

It's All Coming Back

Family Guy, S11E04

Brian broke Stewie's time machine and caused time to reverse itself.  Brian and Stewie had to rush to fix the machine and get time back to normal before Stewie was unborn.

It's funny that only this show I find that when they show scenes from previous episodes it's really enjoyable.  I suppose it's because the way they did this wasn't like a typical flashback.  We got to see some old scenes in reverse, which was, in a way, like seeing it anew.  One of my favorite reverse moments was when Brian had a cutaway gag in reverse.  I thought that was pretty funny itself, not so much the actual cutaway.  I just liked hearing Stewie express surprise that even the cutaways were affected by the time phenomenon.  Another that I found to be funny in a sick way was when Brian went back to the time that Lincoln was shot and one of the puppets from The Muppet Show was shot in the head as well.  It was just so surprising (and a little deserving since him and his buddy are always bitching) that I found myself laughing, although it was terrible.  But if you watch this show long enough, you're bound to laugh at something really inappropriate, despite yourself.

The third moment that I wanted to mention wasn't funny, but horribly disgusting.  Brian and Stewie had to relive that awful scene where they, Peter, and Chris were puking all over the den, but in reverse!  I still hate watching that scene as it was and couldn't imagine that watching the puke fly back into their mouths would be just as bad!  Ugh...  But I applaud the show for selecting that scene.  It really displayed how horrible it would be to have to go through things backwards.  I was equally grossed out when Stewie had to have a dirty diaper put back on him!  Oh, god, that was the worst.

Although I don't like those Peter-Chicken fights, it was interesting to see it in reverse.  It was an improvement over them fighting normally for sure.  Of course, for them to have a fight like this again would make no sense, so hopefully the writers will not find another excuse to throw in one of their "epic" fights again.

Lastly, why didn't Stewie have an umbilical cord when he was going in (and out) or Lois?  Even though it's a cartoon, I was still wondering about that.  I mean, sure he should have been a lot grosser coming out of her and other things if it was supposed to be a birth, but still.  It's really weird to see a baby just come out like that.

I liked this episode.  It could definitely be one of my favorite Stewie and Brian stories.  Usually those make you want to groan because they are likely to have a terrible song in them, but this time we were spared an awful singing session.  I feel like I want to see them do something else with Stewie's time machine because these stories have been pretty good so far.  Although, I don't know how they could work another story about time travel again without it seeming a little stale.

More Like A Grimm And Less Like A Cop

Grimm, S01E19

Nick started training with some of the Grimm weapons he had with Monroe's help.  Juliette invited Monroe to dinner, and Nick and he had to lie to her about their relationship.  One beaver Wesen named Arnold witnessed a murder by a troll Wesen named Sal.  Since he called 911 before he fled, Nick and Hank were able to find out his identity and address.  Nick noticed that he was friends with Bud, a beaver Wesen whom he had met a few times before.  Arnold went into hiding, but after Nick spoke to Bud and some of the other people in the beaver lodge, Arnold decided to identity Sal so they could make the arrest.  Before Nick arrested Sal, Sal hired some reapers to take care of Nick, but the reapers turned on Sal so that they could get information about Nick.  Nick was attacked by the reapers when he tried to take Arnold home and successfully killed both reapers.  With Monroe's help, Nick and he sent the heads of the reapers back to their headquarters (?) to send them a warning.

After fighting so many creatures that could have easily torn Nick to shreds (his luck to avoid injury from most fights is unbelievable--literally), Nick decided to train with some of those Grimm weapons he has had from almost the beginning.  What the hell??  What has taken him so damn long?  He is a police officer and a normal human being (to any non-Wesen), so I'll admit that if he started regularly carrying things like crossbows and axes, he would look a like a psycho.  Still, most of his battles were done somewhere private with enough time for him to grab a relevant weapon to use.  He needs to keep some of those weapons in the house (where Juliette would never look--definitely not in the sock drawer like his damn ring) and have them ready to go.  Of course, Nick has little trouble using any of the tools he practiced with in this episode.  That, despite his police background, I just find hard to swallow.  Nick looks like you could take him down by throwing a rock at him.  I wish that we could have seen him a little less "naturally skilled" at using the weapons.  He may be a Grimm, but so far he hasn't really exuded any kind of special skill, so it's strange he's that good on his basically first try.

What I did like about his training session was when Monroe attacked him and later Nick was on top of him.  After Nick scolding him for doing exactly what he needed (a sudden attack by a Wesen), Monroe asked him to get off because it was "awkward."  It actually seemed just about right to me.  I feel like there's more sexual chemistry between Monroe and Nick than there is with Juliette.

Speaking of Juliette, it's not so random that she invited Monroe to dinner.  I think it might be a little later than I would have thought if it were to thank him for saving her life.  That seems like it was ages ago.  I just think that  Nick, despite that he would have trouble explaining why he knows Monroe, shouldn't have been so resistive about the dinner.  I mean, damn.  Monroe has done a lot of free things for Nick--that selfish bastard can at least allow him one free dinner!  I won't even comment on how bad they were at keeping their lies straight, but I will say that Juliette better not be dumb enough to let their obvious secrecy slide.  What I really want to mention is that Juliette served them vegan salmon.  I'm not a vegan, so I may not just understand why that doesn't sound ridiculous, but it does to me.  I can't imagine eating artificial seafood.  Nor could I imagine serving it to guests.  What if Monroe wanted some damn meat??  I'm just saying, it's an odd choice for a first-time guest.

Onto the murder of Robert by Sal.  Sal was such a stereotypical construction guy.  He even had goons who looked like they just walked out of a bad mob movie.  Wow.  I'm still not too clear as to why Sal decided to go with reapers to get rid of Nick.  Getting rid of Nick was a good idea (if he had no idea of how weak Nick really is), but I don't see why he didn't just send one of the many trolls after him.  I was expecting that.  I wasn't expecting to see this headquarters (what is this place where these reapers are all gathered??) for the reapers who were taking requests from regular Wesen like Sal (I assume he's nothing too special).  What was even stranger was that the reapers beat the crap out of Sal from the beginning, wanting answers.  He had asked them to get rid of the Grimm, and they thought he was his friend?  Do these reapers have any kind of intel on Nick at all?  I'm wondering if the reason most reapers don't know much about Nick is because Renard is protecting him in some way.  More than the reapers' interrogation of Sal, I wanted to know why some Wesen have the means to contact reapers for hired kills (do you pay them?).  Probably a question that I will never have answered.

Nick attending the beaver lodge meeting was a little interesting.  It didn't do anything to convince the beaver community to stand with Nick.  However, they didn't want to anger him either, which was indicated by the elder (or whoever it was) requesting that Nick not cut off their heads for opposing him.  That made me laugh.  As if Nick could or would.  After that failure of a meeting, Nick told Bud that he was really courageous to approach him as he did.  Uh, I wouldn't have called Bud's actions brave or anything of the like.  He went to Nick basically groveling as if Nick would smite him if he didn't.  If Nick had punched him lightly in the arm, Bud would probably have crapped his pants.  Still, I think I like Bud and his Wesen kind.  Arnold eventually did the right thing and helped locked Sal away, and Nick was showered with gifts by all the beavers Wesen in Portland after everything was said and done.  I don't know why just putting away Sal was good enough to keep the rest of the trolls in line. Won't the others go ahead and take revenge on the beaver people?  Or did the news of Nick killing the reapers scare all the troll folk away?

I will admit that Nick's fight with the reapers was one of his best fights.  I expected Nick to get his ass kicked, but he was moving so nimbly that they didn't even seem like a problem for him.  Granted, his quick moves allowed one of them to chop off the head of the other (how convenient), but I thought for sure Nick would be in real trouble this time.  I mean, he had prepared to fight trolls!  Reapers were a wild card that should have tripped him up a little more than they did.  All complaints aside, I liked Nick escaping from near beheading and taking the heads of the reapers himself instead.  He called Monroe when the deed was done (of course--leave the dirty work to him) and told him to bring a shovel.  They both agreed that they needed to send a message to the reapers to let them know they meant business because surely more reapers would come after him.  I'm not sure that sending their heads back to the headquarters was such a great idea.  It does raise a lot of questions, though.  The most important to me is why does Monroe know where to send the box where the reapers gather?  Is this common knowledge among the Wesen?  If you know where they are, why not go to them and take them out?  However, I did see that the box looked like it was addressed to Germany (and it was airmailed, so definitely out of the USA), so I guess Nick can't just fly off somewhere and kill people as he pleases (not yet, I guess).  Also, the reapers that came for him were special "Grimm reapers."  Why are there specific reapers?  These questions hurt my head.  I feel like I need a guidebook when watching this show.

There were quite a few more questions that I didn't care to add to my list, but I still think this was a good episode because Nick started to act a little more like a Grimm.  I always thought, from the time I saw Aunt Marie fight a Wesen in the street, that Nick would be brandishing more odd, but interesting weapons to dispose of those creatures, but it's taken him to almost the end of the season to really take advantage of the supplies he had been bequeathed.  Besides Nick owning a little more of his Grimm persona, I like that the reapers are becoming more and more an important part of this whole Wesen creature world mystery.  More questions are irritating to me, but I'm intrigued enough by the reapers that I'll see if this show can enlighten me.  As always, though, I won't hold my breath.

Heinz, Howard Johnson's, and LSD

Mad Men, S05E06

This episode was broken into three stories told from different perspectives.  First, Peggy had a blowout with Heinz during her last attempt to please the client with the ad they asked for.  After she had been successfully fired from the project, she learned a little about Max and gained a little perspective on things in life she had been neglecting for work.  Roger and Jane went to a party held by her friends where they all took LSD.  While high, Roger and Jane discussed the problems in their marriage and rationally agreed that they should get a separation.  However, the next day Roger was the only one who still seemed calmly resolute about the divorce, while Jane was surprised that they had made such a decision.  Don whisked off Megan to visit a Howard Johnson's instead of doing work, and Megan revealed her displease of how he was mixing their married lives with their work lives.  After they fought, Don left her at the diner and lost her when he returned and spent the night worried out of his mind about her.  He found her at home, but they continued to fight until Megan realized how scared Don had been.  The next day, Don and Megan seemed to have gotten past the horrible day, but Don realized that he couldn't afford to keep putting his wife before his job anymore.

I liked that Peggy spoke her mind at the Heinz meeting even though the client was so angry at her.  It was the sort of thing that Don would have done, except he would have managed to convince the client that he was right (usually) and he wouldn't have had the danger of getting fired.  That client was such a typical client asshole who doesn't appreciate the creative process.  It's the kind of person who hires someone to do work for them but expects them to pull ideas out of thin air that will exceed their unknown expectations.  Even Peggy, who sometimes can be irritating, didn't deserve to be treated like she wasn't doing her job just because the client was too lazy to tell her what he really wanted or too stupid to see that she was going him good stuff.  When Pete told her that she had been pulled off the Heinz account, I was so angry!  I was also a little angry at Don because he wouldn't have let that happen (under normal situations).  Cosgrove did his best to support Peggy, but Don would have made sure that Peggy didn't even explode at the client in the first place.  It was ballsy of her, but I respect her outrage.  I hope that they lose that Heinz account (even though, I'm sure they need it) because that client is too much of an ungrateful dick.

Another person who was irritating me was Max.  He kept making Peggy sound like she was being nosy when he was talking to his father on the phone and when he popped up at work.  Just because he didn't want to share (at first) that his relationship with  father was unusual, didn't give him the right to act so icily.  Geez.  Calm down!  I was still angry at him, even when he finally told Peggy that he was an alien (I was annoyed that he was speaking so seriously that he was) because he had been told that he was born in a concentration camp and had no idea who his real parents were.  If that turned out to be true, that would be an amazing story, but Max seems insane so I'm hesitant to take his word for it.  It would explain why he's not the most sociable guy at the office.  I swear he only likes Don, whom he doesn't even know yet.

Onto the Roger story.  It's been a little painful to watch him and his wife lately.  He just seems like he'd be happy if he threw her off a bridge, and I'm not so sure why or how it got like that.  Also, I felt bad when Roger tried to play hooky with his good pal Don, but Don took his plan and just decided to take his wife with him instead.  It's times like that when I feel so bad for Roger.  He just wanted to have a little fun, but Don was shutting him out.  I expected his bad mood to continue through the party, but things got interesting when they all took the drugs.  I never expected it to go in that direction, but I was glad it did.  He just seemed to connect with his wife and talk about things they never seemed to be able to when sober.  It was pretty amazing.  And it seemed sweet at first.  However, the next morning when Jane didn't even realize what they had talked about, I started to feel bad for him again.  Roger seemed lighter and happier now that he thought his wife had been waiting for one of them to bring up divorce, but she seemed like she was the  opposite.  Also, she mentioned that divorce would be "very expensive."  Well, I guess it's not going to be nice and easy and she's probably going to take a lot of his money.  With Roger not exactly being the go-to guy at SCDP, he may not be able to afford a fund-sucking divorce.  At the end, Roger was clicking his heels, but will he still be able to do that if he doesn't become the top dog at work again and Jane takes him for every penny he's got?

The saddest story, by far, although it didn't look like it would have been, was Don's.  It was just a disaster, to say the least.  I knew that Megan was upset that Don took her away from work, but I didn't know that their argument was going to be so bad.  I understand why he would be angry at her for taking a low blow and asking why he didn't call his mother, but that was no excuse to leave her at the Howard Johnson's.  I have no idea how long he left her there, but they had intended to stay there overnight (I guess since they had a room?), so I don't know why she didn't just go to her room there.  I started to think something bad had happened to her too when Don came back and couldn't find her no matter how long he waited.  I even was scared that she might have been the one who had had the accident in the pool (even though they said it involved kids).  It was a relief when she was at home, but it was pretty scary when she was running from Don afterwards.  I thought he was going to choke her or something!  The thing is, Don never apologized for leaving her there and making her take a 6 and half hour bus ride back home.  I hope that at some point he did, but we just didn't see it.  I think that Megan understood that Don was terrified for her life.  I didn't think that he would get so worried that he would be holding onto her for dear life as if they had just gotten past a life-threatening experience.

To make things worse, Cooper was waiting for him at work the next day to lay down some truth.  I've been thinking it, but I still felt bad when Cooper had to tell him that things were getting out of hand with his lovey-dovey mode.  Then again, I guess it had to be Cooper to tell him because which of his other co-workers was going to have the balls or the right to tell him?  It's true that Don hasn't been balancing his work well with his love life.  He definitely has been going overboard with his focus on Megan, but I loved it about him.  He was just happy about something, and I don't think he ever had been about work, even when he does his job well.  I don't know if that talk with Cooper is going to make him turn into a hard ass again or if he's going to find a way to put more balance in his life.  I don't really want to see him miserable at work again, unless it means that he's going to be yelling more at Peggy and Max.

What sad stories, but wonderfully told.  It was nice to see the same day unfold but from different characters' points of views.  Once again, the scale of happiness has tipped and Don may have to go back to being a bit unhappy now that Roger seems to be in better spirits.  Peggy is always a bit in the middle, so there's not much of a change for her (nor was it that shocking when she gave a stranger a hand job--oh, Peggy).  I just hope that if anything comes about from her story it's that she finds out more about Max.  He's irritating as hell, but perhaps his background story could explain why he's not as pleasant as he could be. 

Finally Someone Punches That Prick Pete

Mad Men, S05E05

Don was unable to turn down an invitation for dinner at Pete's where it was revealed that Cosgrove has been continuing to publish stories in his free time.  Lane introduced a possible account with Jaguar through some family connections, but a night out with prostitutes ruined the deal.  Tired of feeling like a paperweight at his own firm, Lane took out some of his frustrations by having a fist fight with Pete.  Losing that fight, as well as the attention of a high school girl he was trying to flirt with, put Pete in yet another position where he pitied himself and hated his life.

Don didn't have a big part in this episode, but the bits he did were great.  In general, Don seems to have no interest in hanging out with his coworkers after hours (who could blame him--they're generally unpleasant people with habits that encourage him to act astray).  Trudy really twisted him arm and made him come.  Don was right that Trudy could probably do a better job at closing deals than Pete.  Geez.  But it was funny to watch Don squirm and fight against going.  And he was just so adorable in the sports coat that Megan got for him!  He just doesn't seem like the sports coat kind of guy, so it was nice to see him in something other than his business suit.  Despite he was dressed for the occasion, I didn't think he would be very convincing as a guest happy to be there.  He did have a lot of drinks before he even got there.  I loved that.  But in the end, I feel like he had more fun than he expected, especially when the sink was spouting everywhere.  Not only did Don get to take off his shirt to fix it, but he basically schooled Pete in being handy.  That was the icing on the cake for me.

It was nice to see Lane trying to bring in a new client because I sometimes wonder what he does besides manage the financial books.  Pete was pretty condescending of Lane's ability to secure an account, but Roger (who probably sympathized him now that his position was becoming less important) was decent enough to give him some advice and let him try to close the deal himself.  I knew that Lane is too much of a straight man to use the tricks that Roger suggested, and it was so funny to watch him try to buddy up with the client through a common problem.  It just was sad that after he failed, Pete basically pushed him into the corner and told him that the "big dogs" were going to handle it from then on.  Maybe Lane's not the most aggressive businessman around, but at least he's not a dick like Pete.

I never thought that the guys would take the Jaguar client to a brothel.  I suppose for these guys it wasn't that surprising, but it felt a little odd watching Don sitting there alone.  I was glad that he was resisting all of the women around him, though.  I felt bad for Trudy in how easy it was for Pete to go into a room with some blonde.  It's nothing that Don surely hasn't done, but something about seeing Pete's happy wife and little girl at his home and then seeing him cheat with a woman that meant nothing to him was unsettling.  It was funny later on when the madam of the house was talking to Don and he remarked that he grew up in a whorehouse, but it wasn't as nice as the one they were at.  Just love how he answers people without editing himself much for the listener's sake.  When they were finally leaving Pete was acting like such an asshole because Don seemed like a "nun" to him.  He needed to shut up and stop trying to make Don feel bad about his past, just because he was trying to turn things around.  I didn't think that Don was looking at him with much judgment, but I think he did have the right to anyway.  Like Don said, he had the experience of ruining a good life with kids and being miserable.  If Pete could stop trying to project his own guilt onto others, maybe he could listen to Don and appreciate the life Pete has before he destroys it all (and ended up where Don was before he met Megan, which was nowhere good).

The best thing by far in this whole episode was when Lane found out that their night with the paid women had cost them the Jaguar account.  Apparently, the wife had seen some gum on his pubes, which easily told her what her husband had been doing that night.  Pete tried to whitewash it, boasting that they were just doing what Lane couldn't do in his initial dinner with the man, but Lane wasn't about to be pushed aside by the little moron anymore.  I loved Lane's line before he started to fight with Pete:

You're a grimy little pimp.  Soon as I raise my hands, I warn you, it shall be too late to run.

 Pete got in some blows on Lane, so it wasn't a one-sided fight, but Lane definitely won when he knocked him off his feet.  That was seriously one of the best fights I have seen on TV.  I was so glad that the other partners were just looking on in awe, not lifting a finger to interfere.  I think Roger was as excited to see it go down as I was.  I could watch that little fight all day long.  Was so good!

I feel like Pete deserved a good whooping.  If he hadn't done the prostitute, he might have done that high school girl he was desperately trying to get into the pants of.  It was pretty gross, even though I can't remember how old Pete is, but I know he's too old to be trolling for teenage girls.  Thank goodness that a more attractive, built, and age-appropriate guy came into their driver's ed class to cock-block him.  If anything, Pete should have felt grateful that happened before he messed around with an underage girl.  Instead, I feel like that just added to the self-pity he felt for himself.  What's there to be too depressed about?  If anything, I feel bad for Trudy if she ever finds out all the shit that Pete has done.  Starting with Peggy and ending with that prostitute.

In the elevator, Pete whined that Don didn't stop the fight because they were supposed to be friends.  Since when?  I know that Pete has always wanted Don to be his friend, but they don't have much in common beyond their job.  I almost felt bad for Pete, though, when he said that and Don had no response.  I understand why they would let Lane and Pete have it out--if Don had interfered, he might have damaged someone's manly pride, so it had to be done.  If Pete had said that to me, I might have asked him if he would have said the same thing if he had won the fight.  Probably not.  He'd be walking the halls like he was a king.  I hope that his pathetic sniveling didn't get to Don and make him think he should actually be a friend to Pete.  But why should he?  What has Pete really done for Don as a friend?  Does he deserve his friendship?

Oh, yeah.  Lane kissed Joan!  I thought maybe she was really angry about it, but she simply opened his door so that he wouldn't try anything else.  Maybe all those times she had fooled around with Roger taught her to be careful about get involved with the boss again.  Not sure.  I definitely think that Joan and Lane have something together, though.  It would be nice if they started a healthy relationship.  Not one of sneaking around in the offices (where I feel like most people can hear what you're doing anyway).

Lastly, I wonder if Cosgrove is really going to quit writing.  His narration at the end suggested that he wouldn't, but I guess if Roger's on his ass now (no thanks to Pete), he has little choice about publishing.  Though, why couldn't he just continue since no one knows his pen name except his wife and Peggy?  And Peggy isn't going to tell Pete, so why the hell not?  I'm bothered by the fact that he has to stop doing something that he likes because it happens to be something I enjoy doing.  As Cosgrove's boss, Roger has the right to call him out on things that might conflict with his employee doing his job, but I think that Cosgrove has proved that he can do both without it interfering with his job, so why not let him do as he pleases? 

One of my favorite episodes ever.  Don made me laugh, Pete got his ass kicked, and Lane stood up for himself.  I'm worried what Pete might do from now on now that his pride has been wounded and he's dropped to the lowest of low (according to himself).  Surely that can only mean trouble for the others, but I guess I don't mind as long as Don doesn't get too dragged into it all.  Don's finally getting to a pretty good place in his life--I won't stand for Pete to bring him along on his stupid sinking ship.

Russel Needs To Do Better Or Be Gone

New Girl, S01E20

Things were going great with Jess and Russel until she invited him over so that he could experience her world for a change.  Needless to say, it didn't go as well as she wanted, and she just got mad at Russel instead.  Winston got a dream job that was less dream than it was a bit of a nightmare.  Nick and Schmidt tried to pitch a phone app to Russel that was just sharp and dangerous.

I understand that Russel and Jess come from different worlds (and different decades), but I still didn't imagine he would be so uptight.  True, he did play True American (the rules of which seem impossible to understand quickly) like a champion and bond with the guys after having several drinks, but he was a little too freaked out by the shabby conditions she lived in and the injuries her roommates could randomly inflict upon him.  I mean, at least her friends are interesting and fun.  I think he was just generally being a stubborn dick and the fact that Jess didn't yell at him until he had to get stitches was amazing.  I actually don't like him that much.  Even if he is trying his best to fit into Jess' world, it's so obvious that he doesn't belong there.  The guys may be enamored with him, but that's not enough to say he's a good match for Jess.  Like it or not, she's one of them now.  And only someone who can meet their level of crazy should be by Jess' side.  Russel needs to go.

Poor Winston and that stupid new boss of his.  Finally, he got a job that made him look like a bit respectful (though his relationship with Elvin was priceless), and he was more of a joke than he was before.  I'm disappointed that he couldn't take the crap Napoli was throwing at him and basically Elvin had to kick him in the ass before he could go back to work.  Granted, it was Russel's prank that won Napoli's respect and made his job a little easier, but Winston would have surely quit and went back to nannying if it wasn't for Elvin.  I thought Winston was a tougher guy than that, but I guess not.

One good thing about Winston in this story was when he called out Russel's name and scared him.  Then upon seeing that he had indeed startled Russel he asked him if he was afraid of black people.  It was hilarious.  Anyone would be frightened hearing their name said like that with their back turned.  Winston is so randomly funny.

Nick and Schmidt are morons.  Their idea of "real apps" is one of the stupidest things I've seen.  But then again, Schmidt only contributed the name, while Nick was the one who made the prototype that could stab someone.  That's not too shocking considering Nick's plumbing and home improvement skills all around.  I'm just surprised that Schmidt agreed to present that monstrosity with Nick in the first place.  I guess he just wanted to be sure that he got a piece of that pie on the off chance that Russel liked it (even if it was for Jess' sake).  I shudder to think what else is in Nick's idea notebook (certainly not getting real bandages in the house).

Not feeling Russel at all for Jess.  I'm more of a fan for Schmidt and Cece (as much as him bragging about doing her makes me want to gag) than those mismatched two.  Nick keeps taking his stupidity to a scary new level each episode, but I still think that he would be better suited for Jess by far.  Hopefully now that Winston's boss has accepted him, we might get to see him enjoying his job and enjoying a little less ridicule from those who were hating on his former job (Schmidt).  As much as I love Schmidt, I'm gonna need less of him using "clever" metaphors to explain how he has screwed Cece.  He's really making me both want to vomit and punch him at the same time.

Never Go To Max's Gym And Never Let Jane Sleep On It

Happy Endings, S02E19

I'm not sure which story I liked better this time.  On the one hand, Dave went to Max's gym and met a bully he was ill-fit to fight against.  On the other hand, Jane became super relaxed after she listened to Penny's advice (oh, you should never do that) and took the time to think about her decisions rather than acting immediately.  We also learned that Alex was a former bully herself, but that really isn't so surprising when you remember that she comes from a family of apparently strong women (I wonder what her mother is like).

I was no different than Max's friends with their dubious faces when he announced that he goes to a gym.  It's less because I think that Max is horribly out of shape (he's all right), but mostly because I've seen him imitate a bear for several days, and he doesn't seem to commit himself to anything that might take a lot of physical energy.  Also, when Jane was questioning what activities he participated at said gym, Max plainly kept avoiding answering her question.  At the actual gym, Max was seen lying on a workout bench just reading.  So that's his workout.  Love it.

I was hoping we would see more of Max's non-workout, but instead Bobby Moynihan guest-starred to torture Dave at his new gym.  No surprise that Dave and his hippie-like pacifism prompted him to avoid direct confrontation with his bully Corey and to speak to the manager.  Really?  A man of his age is going to tell on him as if they are in grade school?  I wouldn't have blamed Corey for popping Dave one then and there.  Instead, he just waits until Dave shows up at the gym again after he clearly threatened Dave not to come back.  The best thing about Dave and Corey was that Max found Corey's aggressive actions toward his friend to be sexy.  Oh, Max.  I'm glad that Corey was too busy making all the other gym members miserable to spare a glance at Max because that would have been messed up if Max went out with him. 

I was ready to change my opinion about Dave being a weak, sorry-excuse-for-a-man when he challenged Corey to a fight.  However, I assumed that Dave would be on the ground within a few seconds of it.  It was also weird that there were a group of random people witnessing the event.  Were those Corey's friends?  Or were they people from the gym?  Anyway, Dave didn't get a chance to redeem himself as a man because Derrick jumped out of the crowd and knocked Corey the hell out.  Well, I guess that's one way to end a story.

Speaking of Derrick's return to this show (I assume he hasn't been around for a while because I had to look up when he had first appeared), he was pretty hilarious.  I liked when Dave asked him whether he was actually paying Max to train him.  After saying that he wasn't he had some pretty good lines:

[Derrick] Actually, he owes me 900 dollars.  Drama! Seriously, how do I get him to pay me?  I'm behind on rent.  It's like real drama.[Dave] Probably not going to see that money, buddy.

Later, he, Max, and Dave had a funny discussion about the difference between Corey's brand of fat and Max's kind of fat:

[Derrick] Well, you know, you're both fat.

[Dave] Yeah, he's kind of a strong fat.

[Max] Yeah--right.  I'm strong, he's fat.

[Dave] He's strong, you're fat.

[Derrick] Fat is fat.

I happen to think that Max does look like he would be strong, though.  Maybe Corey is a little more muscular, but I think that if Max had to fight someone, he would have some powerful moves.  He at least wouldn't be like Dave and passive-aggressively fight someone.

Jane's story also had an interesting guest star.  John Ross Bowie (Kripke! from Big Bang Theory) played Michael, who was utterly humiliated by Jane for suggesting they plant berries in the community garden.  I love how Jane can cut down someone and analyze something so thoroughly that even an innocent idea like berries can eventually cause everyone unforeseen disaster.  As much of a controlling "fascist" that Jane is, she is perfect the way she is.  The only part of relaxed Jane that I liked was her first moment of revelation in the middle of the night, and she encourages Brad to try sleeping on a matter too.  He isn't impressed at first and responds:

Bitch, it's 5:30!

 But Brad was enjoying the benefits of a looser leash around his house, able to eat nachos on their couch.  When Jane nearly grabbed all of them and shoved them into her mouth, I really wanted to have some so badly.  But once there wasn't anything like nachos or any kind of food in the house and Brad's outfits started to look bi-polar, he had to get the girls' help to make Jane snap out of it.  I thought Alex might use funnier examples to upset Jane enough that she could no longer relax, but the issues weren't that great.  What was great was when Brad was still pro-Chill Jane and the neighbor who gives them hams comes to complain about several things since Jane had become lax, including someone starting a math tutoring business from their home (is that really such an obscene matter??).  Losing his free hams (I wonder how long they have been getting those?  And where is this man getting them from?) was another nail in the coffin for him.

I mention the hams thing mostly because it ties into one of my favorite TV endings.  Definitely this week's ending was my favorite so far in this show.  They played Ice Cube's Today Was A Good Day while Jane and Brad enter their condo as if they are the president and the "first gentleman."  While they are doing this hilarious slow-motion walk of triumph, the old neighbor hands Brad his ham.  And all is right with the world.  It's so good, I have to post it here:

Now that we have seen Max take interest in someone else, I wonder if he's going to get serious any time soon.  I just love his relationship because he's such an unusual guy. I'm trying to predict who will be the center of the next episode, and I think it might be Penny and/or Alex because they didn't have a large role in this one.  However, Penny did just have a birthday episode and before that Alex was running away from Dave.  Perhaps it's time for a Brad-centered episode.  One of my favorite ones of his was when he lied to Max about needing time to hang with the "brothas."  If they could make a different story about him that is just as funny, I would be quite the happy viewer.

With Schmidt There Is Only Down, No Up

New Girl, S01E16

This week Jess decides to use her magical wand to fix Schmidt who is too high-strung, but mostly because he refuses to let her keep a hatch she found on the street. Unfortunately, not only does he become way too relaxed, their home becomes a pigsty instantly without Schmidt's care.  Winston and Nick also squabble over money owed between them (though the scales seem more tipped toward Nick).

If only Jess didn't bring in that hatch, Schmidt wouldn't have been set off, and Jess wouldn't have felt like she needed to change him (Nick and Winston later tell her that Schmidt only gets worse the more you try to repair his bad habits).  However, that random piece of furniture did allow Schmidt to have a good line:

Pine has no place in this loft.  It's the wood of poor people and outhouses.

Again, we see that Jess' good intentions bring about disaster.  I do like that any time she aims to make the world a little better, things are almost guaranteed to go to shit.  I guess I never noticed how nice their place was for a three-man loft until Schmidt became a sort of bongo-playing beach hippie.  Not only does he keep their place looking good, he apparently provides over services for his friends that are revealed in this episode.  Nick lists one of best services Schmidt provides:

I need you to make fun of me when I call a panini a "hot sandwich."  How am I ever gonna learn?

This scene and others in this episode in particular remind me that Nick is such a hopeless guy.  If he didn't have friends like Schmidt and Winston, he would probably be even more socially awkward than he already is.  And he is quite there already.  He seems normal until you take a good look at him (like how he doesn't carry a wallet--just a plastic bag).

 Nick also had some good lines when he was talking to Jess about her desire to become part of their family:

What family?  These clowns?

After he officially makes her a member, Jess says "aww" and Nick responds:

Yeah, we don't "aww" in this family.

 Concerning the fight between Nick and Winston, I thought their tension wasn't too bad until they went grocery shopping.  That was a great scene.  It seems that Schmidt buys all their food too (Nick was later seen in the apartment starving and unable to cook anything beyond frozen food).  I loved that when they realized that they would not be able to afford everything they wanted, they would not get out of the checkout line and just threw the extra items in places like the magazine rack and beverage cooler.  How ghetto are they??  And of course, Nick and Winston start slapping each other, to add to the hilarity.  I was kind of worried they might get more violent (since they both look like the type that could beat the crap out of someone), but I guess deep down they still realized they were friends and held back.

I liked that this episode uncovered a little of why Schmidt is crazy and also why he needs to stay the way he is.  I guess if you were looking for a moral, you might learn that you should accept your friends for who they are and appreciate their good qualities.  Schmidt may be kind of gross (when it comes to sexual things) and OCD, but no one can say he doesn't take care of his friends.  It was interesting to see a different, easy-going side of him, but overall the original Schmidt is the best of all.