Boob Tube Round-Up, Week of January 29 – February 4

Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes its for the best. New Girl and Project Runway, I'm sorry, but it's not me. It's you.





Sunday

 

Downton Abbey: The war is becoming all too real for the Abbey, giving the series a much-needed narrative kick in the pants. Matthew has finally given up his cute but bland fiancé, but what undermines this progress is that his decision to give her up is a result of his coming down with Noble Idiot Syndrome. There are enough obstacles getting in the way of his relationship with Mary, like the time bomb in Richard Cartwright’s possession, without Matthew’s self-pity nibbling away at my good will. Lastly, RIP William. At least that poor boy finally got his kiss with Daisy, albeit laden with guilt and sadness on her end.

The Good Wife: The way that the seriousness and the drama of the Grand Jury trial was undercut by the straightforward jurors was fantastic. So often law dramas portray jurors as simpletons driven by ignorant, visceral reactions and molding clay in the hands of sophisticated lawyers. I appreciated that these jurors had minds of their own and called Wendy Scott-Carr out on her bull. But I wish Alicia had been forced to own up to her decision to sleep with Will, especially with her children.

Monday

Padam Padam: What a relief that everyone in Kang Chil’s life is rallying around him, that they actually recognize that he is being threatened and is pushing them away for their sakes. But right now, I am a little bit more interested in what is going to happen to Kook Soo. What is Kook Soo’s fate, now that he’s seemingly forsaken his shot at heaven in an attempt to save Kang Chil? Also, Kook Soo gave one of my favorite lines from a show ever: “I may have been an angel, but now I’m just a mutated chicken!”

Shut Up: I thought I would hate this drama, expecting an angst-ridden high-school melo that artificially glorifies a network president’s confused notion of The Rock Music (cough Mary Stayed Out All Night cough). Yet I was won over by this series within about five minutes. It feels like a guerrilla style independent film, capturing the idealism/naivete of being in high school. I think it helps that the boys of the band are completely charming yet still raw and natural. It’s too bad Lee Min Ki is only cast for a cameo, as his lead singer Byung Hee is a scene-stealer for all the right reasons.  

Tuesday

New Girl: Aaand I’m done with this show. I think I probably would have dropped it sooner had it not been for the nostalgia I feel for the promotional trailer that was made for upfronts. There just isn’t enough that is unique in this show that compels me to watch anymore. The plots have all been done before, and I don’t really like Nick or Winston enough to care what happens to them. Even Jess, who I watched this series for in the beginning, has become tiresome and catty.

Padam Padam: Kang Chil is just a fantastic character. He tries so hard to be noble, to protect his girl and his family, and yet he recognizes his limits, and as people do sometimes, he lets his awareness of them overpower him. It’s so realistic and yet so painful to see Kang Chil rejecting Ji Na again as he tells her that right now the pain from the cancer is more powerful than his love for her, and that he just wants it to end. And with only two episodes left, I am excited and yet terrified to see Kang Chil’s fate. Bring on the tears!

 

Shut Up: I can appreciate why the series kills off Byung Hee, since it seems that his music ambitions are going to become a rallying cry and source of motivation for his band members. However, how they kill him is still vexing me. They take the Mean Girls approach and slam him with a semi? I can see that they wouldn’t want to draw out his death with maudlin speeches or tearful goodbyes, and it is much more realistic that he’s hit by a car than actually dying on stage in all his rocker glory as he hoped. But it’s unbelievable that no one noticed a semi coming at him, and it makes his death seem almost comical.

Thursday

Parks and Recreation: What makes Leslie such a fantastic character to structure a show around is that she is able to engage even the most reluctant of characters, and that not only leads to great humor but helps push characters to grow. She is even able to get the ever-dour April and the government official with automatic closers on his doors to get involved with her Valentine’s Day plans.

Project Runway All-Stars: Finally, the contestants get a reasonable amount of time to work, but the fashions only improved marginally. Mondo’s outfit of course surpassed the rest by a mile, and it is now becoming obvious that we aren’t watching a competition. We are seeing designers get picked off until Lifetime can give Mondo reparations for Gretchen-gate of season 8, and that is not exactly compelling television.

30 Rock: As usual, it is the Jack and Liz scenes that make this show worth watching. I love watching Liz try to compete against Jack in the negotiations – her interpretations of his lessons are perfect (“Hello may I please speak to Pizza?”). Jenna and Tracy’s story has basically been done many times over, but the reinterpretation of “Who’s on First?” was actually funny. And as boring as Kenneth’s story was, I am actually looking forward to seeing how his new job shakes things up.