As usual, this week brought the good (epic Batman parody on 30 Rock), the bad (the skyrocketing melodrama of Downton Abbey), and the maddening (Amber Braverman, you break my heart).
Sunday
Sunday
Downton Abbey: Uugh. The Matthew/Mary drama is starting to feel forced – now they cannot date because the drip fiancé saw them kiss right before she died? How many more faux-obstacles can stand in their way before they end up together, since that is going to happen at some point. The Lord Grantham almost-affair was random and unnecessary. What exactly was that supposed to be a reaction to? The show seemed to explain it as his trouble adjusting to post-war changes, but why does that manifest in hanky-panky with the maid when he has a seemingly healthy relationship with his wife? But at least Mr. Bates and Anna got their five minutes of bliss. (See my full review of this episode)
The Walking Dead: Way to raise the stakes with the mid-season premiere. Rick has been rather one-dimensional as the stoic hero, so as much as I don’t like what he did at the end of the episode, I am curious as to how far down he will go (*Sidenote: fantastic cameo by Michael Raymond-James as Dave, Rick’s first victim at the bar. He is charming, but on the prowl, a fantastic enemy. It’s just too bad he only gets to be on the show for those few minutes). But unless the bar scene does actually hint that there will be new (human) characters descending on the farm, the writers need to wrap up this setting real quick.
Monday
Shut Up: Usually, plucky drama heroines are quick to adapt to their riches-to-rags lots in lives, but they don’t really learn much from it, like the actual (lack of) value of being wealthy or the merits of working hard for oneself. So I really appreciate that Su Ah not only picks herself up quickly after her father’s business collapses, finding a job and housing on her own. Further still, that she starts to see the value of even a few thousand won and that living on a budget isn’t all that bad, and can even be exciting when you’ve got good people around you. I just wish that the actress, Jo Bo Ah, could be a little more energetic – she reads every line as if she’s floating around on a cloud, unaware of what is happening around her.
Tuesday
Parenthood: AAAAMBEEEEEER!!!!! Dammit! She is such a smart girl, and she has already had so much crap in her life. Why are Katims and Co. saddling her with the impending politically scandalous relationship? But thank God they have Kristina shut it down real quick. It was also smart of them to have Crosby be the one to find out about Zeek’s heart condition. For someone who gets to always play the well-meaning rebel/goof, it means that much more that he steps up and starts looking after his father. And poor Max. This kid can’t seem to catch a break. It seems odd that Sarah wouldn’t think that Max would be afraid of being abandoned, especially since his father was such a royal screw up.
Shut Up: This series seems to anticipate my every concern for it and knows how to resolve them well. Just as I was thinking that the characters all were getting to be too confident and self-assured, especially since almost all of them are teenagers, this episode highlights the very proud Hyun Soo’s insecurity about his guitar playing. I’m starting to get a Friday Night Lights vibe from this series – the series doesn’t romanticize high school and the drama involved, but it doesn’t dismiss the students as merely ignorant or naïve, either.
Thursday
Parks and Recreation: Another fun outing, even if it wasn’t the best ever. It was a little weird to see Dave come back all clingy and obsessive, but Louis CK played him perfectly. I wish we had gotten to see a little more of Duke Silver, Ron’s alter ego. I really cannot wait for him to be outed, because his secret has been kept for way too long in this Youtube day-and-age. So far, the idea of Anne and Tom’s relationship seems to be more interesting than what actually shows up on screen. It’s hard to buy that there is anything substantial that would keep them together, and it just makes me nostalgic for the adorable romance of Tom and Lucy from the second season.
30 Rock: What an awesome episode! I’ve been a little frustrated with this series lately, but that Batman allusion was fantastic. Everything about it was perfect, from the lighting to the makeup to Tina Fey’s bag-lady-turned-Joker. But what was even better was that it grows out of what we know of the characters. Liz has always bound to snap eventually, and snap she does. And we've all just been biding our time until Jack decided to run for public office of some sort. My only complaint this episode is that his run only lasted half an episode - the show is wasting a potentially genius storyline!
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