New show - The Finder and other Thursday shows

The Office - Trivia

Are we crazy, or was this a decent episode? We liked Dwight’s initiative. The scene where he grabbed Gabe’s arm after Gabe pretended to flush a toilet was inspired. Yes, Gabe, you are a great toilet. After that, the Dwight storyline fell flat. It should have had a different outcome and more jokes after Dwight bested Gabe. We like that the “stupid” team won the trivia and the whole idea of trivia. However, we wonder what kind of business like that can’t do $850 in a day. We knew Dunder Mifflin was pathetic, but we hadn’t grasped how pathetic until today. This episode was a lot better than the episodes in the beginning of this season. We still think that the show should quit soon and let its considerable talent move onto projects that have no run their course. These writers and actors need fresh ideas. 
Episode grade: B-

Grey’s Anatomy - This Magic Moment

The doctors take on conjoined twins with great success, and Webber cheats Karev out of surgery, twice, in order to teach Karev a lesson. We totally knew he was playing Alex both times, especially the second time. Come on, Alex! The only heartbreaking stuff this episode was Teddy questioning Cristina for two full weeks about the Henry surgery so that Teddy could get closure. April, an annoying bystander in this storyline, continues to bug us. We love the growth of Cristina, whose patience with Teddy rivaled Job’s. Cristina’s been to dark places herself now, and it’s given her the compassion we’ve always wanted to see her have. Bailey wasted our time waffling about her relationship with that nurse guy. No one cares. It seems like all of Bailey’s storylines are on repeat. Does she even want a guy? Bailey should focus on her career, because only Shonda is getting gratification living vicariously through the romantic life of this character. Baby Zola took her first steps and is still cuter than most kids we’ve ever seen. This episode was filler, but after the powerhouse last two episodes that bummed us out, we needed filler. We realized that this show is eight seasons in and still not a waste of our time. That’s an achievement, despite brief missteps over the years (Gizzie, musicals, etc) Too much Bailey this week though.
Episode grade: C+

Parks and Recreation - The Comeback Kid

Andy and April adopted a three-legged dog, which guarantees this episode at least a B- in and of itself. Fortunately, we also got the gang walking across ice and depressed Ben the claymation-ist. We got a few chuckles out of this one, even though it wasn’t on-par with some of the other episodes this season.
Episode grade: B

Secret Circle - Fire/Ice

Man, The CW is really targeting emo, freak, and goth kids with Adam. We wish he were more our taste, but you can’t blame the channel for wanting some variety with its run-of-the-mill Ken dolls and obvious cuties. The lucky girl kissing Adam this week was Cassie. It was bound to happen, but we were surprised it happened so soon. Adam’s jumping from pining for Diana to going after Cassie sure happened quickly. In other news, Faye tries to steal Cassie’s dark powers and almost kills her circle members (except Cassie), an unintended consequence. Cassie and Adam found out that Jake is back in town after he interrupted their kiss. While this episode was eventful, it didn’t really grab us. It had lots of noise and that by itself is not good. We found out that the house the kids use belonged to Cassie’s dad, who did not start the fire. We think this show needs to focus less on “danger of the week” and more on characters and overarching plots.
Episode grade: B-

The Finder - “Pilot”

This is called a Bones spin off and it’s nowhere near as good as Bones was in the beginning. It also has nothing to do with Bones. Main character Walter Sherman spends his time finding missing people and things. He’s talented at it, and he does it along with a few sidekicks. The first episode was generic and forgettable. It’s not awful, but if you have more than five decent shows on your weekly must-watch list, you don’t have time to add this one too. If you are absolutely obsessed with Bones and would watch it without the Booth/Brennan love arc, go ahead and watch this show too. We think Seeley and Temperance are what make Bones worth watching, and The Finder doesn’t have them. It’s a regular, comfortable procedural. It’s going for a lighthearted, breezy, quirky tone. The fun characters might make the show worth watching later, but it’s not a must-watch yet. Wait and see, then catch up on the first season if it turns out to be a hit.
Episode grade: C