Parenthood- Season 4, episodes 13-15

Parenthood season four has ended. Too short, right? We guess the show got through everything though. We hope there's a season five, if only to give Sarah some semblance of a future, but if there isn't, most things ended pretty well. Let's go through the characters' doings in the last three episodes.

Drew and Amy- We knew Amy was pregnant way before the show told us, and we think everyone else did too. We also think, in reality, that Drew would have told his mom what he was stressed about when she came into his room to check on him. Kids WANT their parents to ask about what's really bothering them. Maybe they will act out or sulk to get their parents to notice. They don't always know how to approach parents with problems. We think Drew would have cracked.

Parenthood, season 4, episode 12

By Greg Hernandez (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Keep on Rowing- Why did this air on new year's? We almost missed it. The LIBRARY was closed on new year's day, and a network station is airing an important episode of one of its best shows? "Important, you say?" Yes, because this is the one where Kristina thought it would be empowering to shave her head. Guess what? It wasn't. She only lost one tuft. We say, if you have cancer, wait until it looks thin and then shave it. Keep that hair as long as possible, even if it's just a couple of days, jeez.

Parenthood- Season 4, episodes 9-11

By Sebastian Jespersen (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We were annoyed when Pamela Adlon (pictured) showed up to be a poor, complaining neighbor to Crosby, because we're over the irrational b*tch stereotype. It's just this kind of portrayal that women don't need. Marlyse. Ugh. She's a funny actress and we liked her better on Louie, but we guess this is an interesting way to give the recording studio a storyline. Thank God it was over quickly and the good neighbors showed up to support local business. So sweet.

We didn't recognize Glen Hansard as the musician who got towed right away, but we've seen him before in Once. It was a cute cameo and shows that The Luncheonette is doing really well/attracting some big names. Crosby and Jasmine having another baby should be hilarious.

Julia and Joel's marriage troubles are boring us. We've seen the storyline where the workaholic is bored being a stay-at-home parent before, and we feel like this couple deserves better things to do than that. Oh yeah, there's also the plot where Julia isn't very good with the kids, especially Victor. We're so glad she bounced back. Of course it was going to be this hard. Joel and Julia are lucky it isn't harder. We think it's cute that they wanted Syd and Victor to believe in Santa.

Sidenote: Ern never believed in Santa. At the age of two, her mom read her a book about Saint Nicholas, a nice Christian who lived a long time ago, was very generous, and "would be sad to know that he takes attention away from Jesus on Christmas." Ern's mom was very adamant about never lying to her kids. So when every adult asked Baby Ern what Santa Claus was getting her, she would reply, "Oh, you're such an idiot. Santa Claus is dead." Yup, that's how kids are gonna take that.

In the last couple of weeks, we'e been thinking, "Amber and Ryan are going exactly where we thought they would. It starts with Ryan being surly and shutting her out, and will most likely end with a big, violent blow up that breaks them up, at least for a time and possibly forever." It was nice of Amber to try to get Ryan a job. Lots of people don't know this, but it's extremely common and accepted to find a job through someone you know.

People want to hire people that they can trust, and if they have it on good authority that a person is cool, they are more likely to take the chance. Of course, Joel didn't really need anybody and it was a favor, but it's still all well and good. It's not school anymore. In the academic world, it's all about equality and merit (or at least it should be). In the real world, it's networking and "who you know." So make friends, kiddies.

Amber gets more adorable in every episode, by the way. It was painful to watch Ryan suck at construction. It was almost cathartic to watch Amber and Ryan's fight after he came home drunk having damaged her car. We all knew it was coming, and a drunken screaming match was less excruciating than a different scene might have been. Amber made a wise and mature decision, learning from her mom's mistakes. We hope Ryan gets his act together though...and comes back just in time to be part of a triangle?!! Pretty please, show?

The show was really obvious with having Sarah choose Hank's job over the wedding with Mark. We've known for a while that Sarah would be torn between the two, and having this happen is just the step before a few more steps that get her into Hank's bed and in a world of confusion. We were hesitantly Team Hank before, but after Mark called Sarah "a lousy fiancé," we were positive about our choice. Marie from Breaking Bad played Hank's ex, so we knew she was going to be unpleasant and icy.

We were genuinely surprised when Mark showed up at the hotel. His anger level was understandable. His analysis of Sarah's issues was probably right on too. Huh. Maybe Mark has a point. Maybe we want him back. Hank might be too melancholy for Sarah. Still, we loved them hooking up in the Christmas episode, and they seem to like each other for the right reasons. Also, Max needs someone in the family who thinks he is the best Braverman. It was pretty funny when Camille kept her mouth shut about Mark being in the Christmas cards.

We're getting more and more able to tolerate Max. There's something about this season. Maybe it's because he agreed to go to the dance for his mom, which is a huge sacrifice for someone with Aspergers. The noise, the social challenges, the boredom, all the stimulation, the physical awkwardness...yeesh. Poor Max. Kristina bribing Max with candy was hilarious. So let's talk about the video. Obviously that was the biggest tearjerker of all time.

BUT what it means is that Kristina is going to live. The show already had its big emotional payoff that it would get from her dying, so now it would be pointless to kill her. Adam praying for her was adorable, you have to admit, even if you aren't the praying type yourself.

This season is moving at a glacial pace, and it's going to predictable places. This show makes us miss San Francisco and our friend who lives there. :-( But the Christmas episode made up for the slow first half. It was emotional and good. Also, it made us happy that we are not Bravermans this year. Man, what a rough holiday for everyone but Sarah.

You Can't Always Get What You Want: B
Trouble In Candyland: B
What to My Wondering Eyes: A

Last Night and Tuesday Night

Most of our Wednesday night shows were off the air due to the holiday today, so we packed two nights into one post.

Parenthood- One More Weekend With You
This was one of the most intense episodes of this show we've ever seen. Can't this show give our tear ducts a rest? Some people thought it was too over-the-top, but we loved it and think the show has earned it. First, Amber and Ryan's outing ended a lot better than we would have guessed. We're glad Ryan's buddies didn't call the police. We're glad he didn't freak out and treat Amber badly. Is it only a matter of time? Will he do it in his sleep like on Grey's? Or will he just get surly toward her (which is bad enough)? We're worried.

We're not as fed up with Max as we are with his Dad right now. It's time for Max to get a new social skills trainer. Not Minka Kelly, but someone else. Asperger's doesn't mean you have no feelings like compassion (in fact, many feelings and sensitivities are actually enhanced), it just means you have trouble expressing it and need someone to show you how. You at least need an example. It's not that you don't want to be considerate, it's that a) you don't always know when you need to be, and b) you don't know what to do in that situation. It's like a skill you need to learn, like math. But you can learn. If you get treatment that makes you feel bad about yourself or suggests you're cold/immoral, it can be awful, but if it's from someone who doesn't judge, it can be good.

Someone needs to say, "Now, when your mom is sick, you need to say, 'Let me know if you need anything. I hope you feel better. I love you.' And then do what she and your dad say, because she's in pain." You can't expect Max to figure it out and then watch your whole house fall apart when he's a "brat." As weird as it is that you have to teach things that come naturally to most, it's a fact. It's the way their brains are wired. They are naturally good at some things and have to learn others. We've never given credit to the young actor playing Max, but he's always been so excellent that we've actually suspected him of being on the autism spectrum, even though we could find no evidence in real life that he is.

We liked Sydney in this episode. Her meltdown was well-earned. She's not being a brat for no reason, like usual. We loved Kristina smoking the pot. These are the people who need pot. It was soooo depressing to see her on the bathroom floor like that, but it was realistic. Mark and Drew....ugh. Mark should never have made that promise. It's time for Ray Romano to come in and not make promises like that in an attempt to be liked and sweep Sarah off her feet. At least he was in this episode. We need a decision on this triangle already. It's not like it's The Vampire Diaries.
Episode grade: A

Happy Endings- More Like Stanksgiving
Is this not one of the funniest Thanksgiving episodes you've ever seen of any show, ever? Sure, the Native American Dave stuff needs to die, but even some moments in that plot drew laughs (like when he dropped all the clams at the police station; it's the throwaway jokes on this show that get us). Dave, you know both of us would have come with you to that writers' fest. Stephen King was there! Stephen effing King! (Speaking of famous authors, one of us had a crazy run-in with Ann Coulter the other day, and if you know who that is and want to know about it, just ask, haha.) The best thing about this episode was The Real World: Sacramento.

We found out that Jane tried to sleep with someone else, and Brad was just an accident. Sure, they stole that from Friends (Monica was really trying to have a one-night-stand with Joey on the night of Ross's wedding), but it was still funny. Everyone's hair! Max trying to come out on TV! HA. I'm Greg. Brad's weiner greeting. There were tons of good lines. There was even some forward-moving drama with Dave having clear doubts about moving in with Alex, and Penny still crushing on him. We're so impressed with this show lately. Everyone expected it to be cancelled, and we definitely didn't think it was going to turn out to be this good.
Episode grade: A

New Girl- Parents
We can't believe Happy Endings did a better Thanksgiving episode than this show. Jess trying to Parent Trap her folks was great (even though it was weird when she was watching them make out with that look on her face), but we're kind of annoyed that it worked. That doesn't work. Do the writers actually have divorced parents? Because then they would be familiar with the soul-breaking tension that goes on when parents who don't like each other are forced to share a room. It's awful for everyone. And it's immature. We don't think it's funny when comedies bring in main characters' parents most of the time. We always cringed when they did it on Friends, although Ross's dad was at least tolerable for laughs. The parents were well-cast on New Girl, but we still thought having family from the past dragged down the show. Winston is so underused on this show that he's now relegated to getting kissed for a homophobic joke. Hehe. We liked the One True Schmidt stuff, overall though.
Episode grade: B

The Mindy Project- Thanksgiving
We can't tell if this show is legitimately funny now, or if it's just so much better than it used to be. The openings on this show have been stellar for a while, and this week was no exception. Mindy trying to define the relationship while her kitchen was on fire was nothing short of genius. We were also impressed with everything this episode did with Danny. It was so sad and so funny. We felt so bad for Betsy when her parents handed her than strawberry milkshake instead of a beer. We have family like that. It's so uncomfortable when people refuse to let you grow up. We couldn't even laugh at that. We also felt bad for Mindy when Dennis showed up to the party with a skinny, sane version of Mindy, and her best friend set them up. We're glad to see the best friend get more screentime though.
Episode grade: B+

American Horror Story- The Origins of Monstrosity
Okay, does anyone else feel like this season is almost over? So much has happened. But, psych, this was only episode six of 13. What?!! We can't even fathom this. What are they going to do in seven more episodes? Are the aliens going to come down and live among us? Will Lana be Thredson's mommy for a long time? Is she going to end up going crazy and becoming the next bloody face? Will they have a bloody face baby that Thredson refers to as Brother-Son? Gross. We felt kind of bad for him. Kind of. Harry Potter didn't turn out crazy, Thredson. God, what's your excuse? Haha.

Teresa (Adam Levine's wife) is in deep water, but we don't even feel worried for her. The trouble with having a show this dark (and ending last season like it did) is that we have no hope for the characters, good to triumph over evil, or things not to just be majorly f*cked up. If there's no hope, you can't have intensity. Just resignation. That's how we feel. This show has worn us out. We're tired. What can AHS show us that it hasn't before? Do we really want to know the answer to that question? Should we even be watching a show with these disgusting images? Well, we're doing it anyway, but at least we questioned, right?

 Jenny is The Bad Seed, and yeah, that makes sense. The only thing this series is missing is an evil, murdering child, so now we've got one. Shelley is finally put out of her misery, although we wonder how many Hail Marys that Howard will have to say for that one. Arden is trying to make people into little more than cockroaches so that they can survive nuclear warfare. ISN'T THAT WORSE THAN DEATH? He wants to save the human race, but that, bro, is not the human race. We wonder what Arden has on Howard.
Episode grade: B

Julia makes a good choice on Parenthood, New Girl brings at least two big laughs, Happy Endings turns in a typical episode, and The Mindy Project improves a little

By David Shankbone (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New Girl- Menzies
The two big laughs we mentioned were Nick in the Asian guy's serenity pool (the first time, when the Asian guy was holding him), and Jess having a meltdown over the dog in the cup. We didn't appreciate a few of the PMS jokes. It's not THAT overpowering for most women, some women just get irritated quicker, and it's not that irrational. Most of the time, women get upset over actual things, but any other time of the month, they would just ignore it and be able to let it go easier. Sometimes the PMS is the straw that breaks the camel's back and something has been building for a while. It's not like people should just go, "Oh, it doesn't matter/I don't have to watch that, because it's just PMS." The problems aren't imaginary; the reaction is just exaggerated.

Aaaaanyway...teaching creative writing is a lot different from teaching elementary school. You usually have to be able to write. Has Jess ever written a book? Had a short story published? Does Jess even like to read? We think she's woefully unqualified, but this is TV. Schmidt's new sex buddy should provide some awkward laughs. Moises Perdue? Who even thinks of a name like that? Cece is NOT a nice girl. Poor Robbie! Cece kissed Schmidt, and we're glad she backed away. Maybe she's nice than she thinks she is. There were a few good lines in this one.
Episode grade: B

The Mindy Project- Danny Castellano is My Gynecologist 
The best part of this episode was the opening where Josh was wearing Mindy's pants. "Leave your tie; I'm going to use that to hang myself." Ha! She flipped the whole "wearing your boyfriend's clothes" thing on its head by swapping it and having it be self-deprecating humor rather than sexist "oh, it's so funny that a guy would demean himself by wearing something feminine" funny. Man, we're feminists today. The second-funniest part was Mindy proving to Danny that she's not just a lamp. Gwen is still underused, but this episode was a step up from the previous weeks.
Episode grade: B

Happy Endings- Boys II Menorah
We love Max's weird jobs. It would be cool if we saw a new weird job every couple of weeks. Our favorite part was when Jane got tased the first time and said, "That only makes me stronger." We're starting to think there will never be a year of Penny. The show never gives her a break. She's always a loser and a butt of a joke. We'd like to see something nice happen to her, but other than that, this show is pretty good as it is.
Episode grade: B

Parenthood- Together
Ryan and Amber hit the hay. Did you guys see his body? Mazel tov, Amber. However, we don't see this going smoothly. There was foreshadowing all over the place letting us know that Ryan's problems are going to start showing themselves even more. We feel for the guy and all others in his situation. We loved Sarah's reaction after Amber cancelled breakfast. Beyond cool indeed. We like Amber and Ryan together, so we hope they make it. Kristina's storyline brought the misty eyes, especially in her last scene with Camille. So sweet. Is Monica Potter going to shave her head? We're going to hell for saying this, but we don't think she'll look good bald. You pretty much have to be Natalie Portman to pull that off though.

Julia starting Spanish Rosetta Stone made us cringe with sympathy. One of us is on level four of that very program (and that language). It's an easy and helpful program, but it's time consuming and it takes a while to get through it. We love the way Julia handled her new son this week. We agree that inviting Miguel over was a good choice. He needed a friend, and we're sure he'll still be able to adjust to his new home if he stays in touch with his old buddy. Having a friend might give his social skills a work out too so that he could make new friends. We liked that the episode was light on Crosby. He was only in the episode long enough to be an excellent brother. That guy really grew up.
Episode grade: B+

New Girl and Happy Endings bring laughs, Parenthood brings tears (as usual)

New Girl- Models
This episode took on a relatable subject: What happens when friends change and you feel like you don't have much in common anymore? Plotwise, nothing happened, moved forward, or cropped up. There was no new side to any character and no development. However, this episode was hilarious. We loved the jokes about butt drinking and bra stuffing, the Russian monkey cartoon, and Nadia saying "YOLO." Can that die please? Whoever said that's just "carpe diem" for idiots was so right. The Russians are racist toward Romanians! Ha. Jess's physical comedy when she was modeling didn't work for us; we hate when Jess is turned into a stupid incompetent who can't do anything but be cute and clumsy. Idiot Jess hasn't made an appearance in a while. Here's hoping the show learns to retire her and bring Smart, Dorky Jess back around forever. We love all forms of Nick. He was great in this episode.
Episode grade: B+

Parenthood- I'll Be Right Here
THIS IS A HOUSE OF LIES. They didn't tell Haddie about her mom's remaining cancer. Although we get them wanting her to stay in school, they could really use her help with the baby, and it's just a semester. Also, Haddie will find out and trust will be broken. Does this season just exist to make us cry? Amber and her new boy don't have a whole lot of chemistry, but the awkwardness of their first date and its aftermath was realistic and comforting. There's nothing like dating to send a lot of people to the chocolate cake and television (just ask this blogger, who finds the whole thing just painful). Amber was a lot better with that politician, but we're not averse to this new relationship. We like that Ryan was direct, and Amber took it well.

We are so glad that Max won his election. This show has improved since the first season on its treatment of Asperger's. When Max was first diagnosed, his parents mourned like he was dying and talked about how there was something wrong with him. While we know it can't be easy to have a child who doesn't seem to connect with you on the level that a "normal" child does, we sort of cringed at the idea that Max was defective. It takes all types to run a world. In Max's speech, he recognized the things about his personality that work for him. He doesn't like to lie and he's focused. There are aspects of that condition that can be advantages, just like there are things that make it hard in lots of situations. That's why you learn coping skills, not to think of your entire personality as some disorder. We'll get off the soapbox and back to Max now. He expressed happiness at being the way he is. It was perfect. Look out world, here come the vending machines.

We are glad Crosby didn't forget the dinner. We are just now starting to not hate him, and that would have put us over the edge. We feel like Julia and Joel constantly get the shaft on this show. We bet if you took the screen time of all four main siblings and added it up, Julia's screen time would be the least. We don't know how we're feeling about Sarah and Mark lately. Drew is a whiner, so who cares about him right now. We're questioning whether that couple is even good together anymore. What do they even talk about besides spur-of-the-moment plans to co-habitate and/or procreate? Give us more Hank.
Episode grade: A-

Happy Endings- Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires
Ah, Happy Endings. The best show about six friends since Friends. In the premiere, Alex and Dave decide to be exclusive and accept that they are a serious couple, Jane finds out that Brad is secretly working, and Max "misery's" Penny in order to get a date, but she busts him. But this show isn't about plot; it's about the zingers, wordplay, fast jokes, and quirky tone. The dialogue is fast, and the characters are likable. We're glad Penny is out of the half-body cast. That would have gotten old if it went on for more than one episode. Also, the puppet thing is better left to GOB on Arrested Development. Oh, Franklin... The episode was alright. It wasn't as funny as most of this show's efforts, but there was nothing too wrong with it. We thought it was dumb when Brad took his briefcase in the bath though (unless it's waterproof).
Episode grade: B-

No Mindy Project this week.

New Girl, The Mindy Project, Parenthood,

By Genevieve (Max Greenfield) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New Girl- Neighbors
Jess and Schmidt try to befriend young hipsters this week, until they realize young hipsters aren't really worth knowing. They are just super hard to impress. Been there... Jess's Urkel impression is a lot better than her Frasier Crane, which, to be fair, got cut off before we could really evaluate it. We like the development where Nick is some sort of pranks king, and we expect to see more of his elaborate pranks later. Schmidt is a perfect target. We hope Winston's new job gives him something to do. We also hope it helps the show define the character a little better. Seriously, describe the guy's personality. You can't do it as well as you can describe Jess, Nick, and Schmidt, can you? Winston is the show's weak link that can absolutely be fixed with a few good storylines, episodes, and lines.

But what kind of man should he be? He's kind of the responsible straight man now. Should they make him super responsible and together? Sort of the den mother for these three? Could they make him the cool, charming guy who everyone likes? We're going to stop brainstorming now, because it's not like any good idea we come up with will be used, haha. This show often touches on the awkward position of being an adult who hasn't quite grown up yet...we saw this theme when Jess dated Russell. We liked when Nick said that he likes growing older because he's growing into his personality. Ern feels the same way.
Episode grade: B

The Mindy Project- In the Club
This show is going to have a full season. Hopefully it can take that news and use it to plot how all the episodes are going to go and give this show some direction. Because it does need a little direction. One thing we liked this week was the character Morgan being less cartoonish, yet still funny and weird. We worried about his character when he was introduced last week, but he's being used alright so far. Sure, everyone could be funnier. We also need the hospital crew to be a more defined group. People we haven't been paying much attention to got added to the crew this week. This is fine, but they need to be distinct and memorable. We liked the loser girl who vomited. You know who we're talking about. Betsy. She's played by a funny, competent actress.

Anyway, like we were saying, this show is going to work if we get an office-like ensemble going strong, like on New Girl and, well, The Office. Mindy's character is a one-trick pony. She's a romantic comedy heroine in a regular comedy body. While this gives Mindy ample opportunity to satirize and laugh at chick flick stereotypes and the ultra-girly among us, we need other jokes as well. Mindy's blonde best friend needs to find a place in the group and show if she's going to exist. We've got Mindy, Blonde, Danny, Betsy, Shauna (the girl in love with Danny), Morgan, and hot British guy. That's fine. This episode gave us more hope for the show. It was better than last week.
Episode grade: B

Parenthood- There's Something I Need to Tell You...
When Hank kissed Sarah, she did not pull away for a long time. The kissing scene really worked. His reaction afterward, kind of blaming her for the encounter and then insulting her, was icky though. He rectified it by saying, "You're funny, you're pretty, you're nice and I like talking to you. But I know you got somebody." But still. Sarah shows insecurity in her current relationship, making us think the Hank/Sarah ship might sale after all. We're so glad Victor hit that ball. The scene would have been so awkward if pushy Zeek had cost everyone the game. Ryan York now has a real purpose. A boy for Amber?!! We like it.

We always give Max crap for being a brat, but doing research on chemo and agreeing to play catch with Victor shows the heart beneath his social inabilities. Sydney's the real brat. Julia's situation was so realistic. As a lawyer, if you file something late, it could cost you big time. We loved Julia's honesty. We also love Kristina's. There is a temptation when you are sick not to tell your family. If you tell them, you look weak. You have to accept help and pity. It's actually stronger to tell and let people in.

Episode grade: B+

***EDIT*** A law school friend has told us that we weren't watching closely enough. We thought Julia didn't file a case, which can lead to heavy consequences. But she was late on an evidence-related request, which wouldn't exactly cost anyone millions of dollars/a judge would let it slide. The show needs one of The Good Wife's consultants.

Arrow and Nashville start tonight, mothalickas!

Parenthood- The Talk

By Greg Hernandez [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What happened: Zeek becomes obsessed with a weird sound coming from his sprinkler system, so Camille suggests he fill his time by volunteering at the local veteran's center. He befriends Ryan, a guy who just came back from Afganistan. Hank has trouble bonding with his daughter, Ruby, but Sarah helps. Joel and Julia force Victor to do an after-school activity, and he picks baseball. At first, it's rough, but he comes around at the end. Jasmine gives Jabbar a talk about racism. Christina tries to push back her surgery so that she can help Max run for president, but Adam makes her take the earlier date.

What we thought: At first we were with Crosby in thinking that Jabbar hearing that word shouldn't have been made into a big deal. We thought, "Don't tell Jabbar about racism yet. Let him keep his innocence. He heard the word in a rap song. From a black guy. That's not racism, so why make it about racism?" But something about Jasmine's speech to Jabbar made us tear up. She did it well. Maybe it IS better to talk to your kid about racism before they inevitably experience it.

If someone is ever racist toward Jabbar, Crosby is going to kill him. That might be the best we've ever seen the topic handled on TV. We're glad Crosby and Jasmine didn't use the term "the n word." We agree with Louis CK. Using that phrase plants the word in people's head so it's the same thing, and it's just a way white people can get away with saying that word. Great Harry Potter reference, by the way.

Reading The Hunger Games is always better than reading Twilight. That IS a smart kid. Well, she was. It's not cool anymore? If Hunger Games is uncool, we don't want to be cool. How can you be Team Gale though? HOW? We weren't crazy about the Justin Bieber lie. Ruby will be even more uncool if they find out that she's lying. Can't you find out where Bieber was on any given day using the internet?

Ray Romano's daughter looked way older than 11. And isn't 11 too young to start hating your parents? Maybe that's what happens when you give them a cell phone that young. Our kids won't get one until he or she drives. Man, our kids are going to hate us. Also, we can't believe we're starting to ship Sarah and Hank now. But we do. Ugh. We like his stupid art too. Hank, why do we care about you now? Did you guys know that the actors playing Adam and Sarah (Peter Krause and Lauren Graham) are dating right now? Is it weird that we find that gross, since they play siblings?

This episode had the Joel/Victor bonding we've been wanting. But it seems like Julia is better with this kid. Her moment was sweeter. Still, now they've both grown closer to him. It's only episode four though...isn't it unrealistic that it should be this easy? Team Christina. Adam is wrong. Max should be allowed to run. A kid should always be allowed to try something, even if it's likely he will fail. Failure is a test and learning experience, just like success is.

Also, he got the 25 signatures. We can't believe that! Plenty of "normal" kids would find that a daunting task. This might be the first episode in a while where we liked and respected Max.
This is one of Zeek's best episodes in that he wasn't as annoying and selfish as usual. Talking with veterans and bonding with them might be a calling. He should spend more time around there.
Episode grade: A-

Also, we've made changes to the weekly schedule page.

Parenthood- Everything is Not Okay

The short post is due to dumb computer malfunctions. 

We forgot Max had a friend! We love that. Of course, he ruined it with a fit about some vending machine. Is it alright to start hating him? It’s not, is it? Gypsy from Gilmore Girls played Gwen Chambers. We liked her character. Christina needs a friend who has been through this. Young cops can be lame, but you can’t be too nuts over a Zeke plotline where he literally renews his driver’s license. The pride on that guy…seriously. How cute is baby Nora? We like that Ray Romano shot the wedding, but we don’t want him with Sarah. It feels like it’s coming, but we hate it. Did anyone else cry a little? It doesn’t seem like Christina’s cancer is that serious, but if she dies, we’ll cry even more. We like the use of Amber, but where were Joel, Victor, and Julia?

Episode grade: B

Parenthood- Left Field

By Thomas Attila Lewis at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomdog (Monica Potter) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

With an episode title like that, you know there's either going to be a shocker or someone is going to be playing baseball. This isn't really a sports show. 

Crosby and Jasmine are having sex on the kitchen floor, so Crosby pities Adam for having to schedule sex. But when things get disorganized between Crosby and Jasmine, he realizes that he needs more structure. Kristina and Max want a dog, but Adam is hesitant. Sarah’s son, WHOSE NAME WE CAN NEVER REMEMBER, even though we’ve been watching this show for three years, is starting his senior year of high school. But then his girlfriend, Amy, breaks up with him and calls him “Drew,” so we’re going with that. Poor Drew. Ray Romano’s Hank manages to comfort him.

Victor doesn’t want to go to school, so he plays sick. On the third day, Julia promises to sit in the car outside the school, all day, in case he needs her. She does. It’s incredibly sweet and earns her a kiss from Joel. The shocker at the end was Kristina’s apparent breast cancer diagnosis. We don’t know what stage she’s at or how bad it is, but she was crying. Which means almost nothing because Kristina is always crying.

We loved when Crosby played “Funkytown” and when Sarah said, “Gross, Dad. Why does knowledge have boobs?” We guess we know how the show is going to handle the Haddie situation. When she’s at college, she will stay mostly offscreen. Maybe there will be a scene or two if her parents call her, but she was completely absent in this episode. We’re sure she’ll fly down a few times to be with her mom and we will see her over winter break and possibly the summer.

Drew and Amy were too perfect. It was time for them to split up. Drew always seems to have this wet blanket, boring, bad attitude, so we were glad when he joked with Sarah. Of course, it was jokes about suicide, but we’ll take whatever personality we can get with this kid. The only person on this show that we dislike more than Drew is Zeke. Crosby comes in at third for our wrath. Max needs to learn not to throw fits and shout over people. We know he has Asperger’s, but we don’t ever see his parents trying to discipline him into just basic obedience. Asperger’s affects social skills. Not obedience, punishment, and reward.

This episode changed the game plan for the season. Kristina’s cancer is no doubt going to be handled well by the show, but we’re expecting lots of rough scenes. It’s going to be super awkward when Max tries to comfort his mom, and watching Adam go through this is going to be tear jerking. This show can get REAL real. Hey, at least their new puppy is cute. Maybe this episode should have been the premiere with an added scene of  Haddie leaving for college. It was more eventful and gave us a sense of what's going to happen on the show this year. 

Episode grade: B+

Parenthood- Family Portrait

By Photographed by Greg Hernandez *derivative work: – Kerαunoςcopia◁galaxies (Lauren Graham) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Previously on Parenthood, Crosby got something awesome that he didn’t deserve, but we’re so happy for Jabbar that we didn’t care. Max was way ruder than anyone with Asperger’s Syndrome that we know. Haddie was a regular teen. Sarah was not Lorelai Gilmore. Adam ruled. Zeke didn’t. Julia is cool too. This isn’t the kind of show that starts off with a bang. Most premieres try to get attention, but this first episode was as quiet and normal as any episode of Parenthood. Julie and Hot Joel have a new kid, Victor, and he’s a sweetheart, but Julia doesn’t love him yet. He’s acting hesitant and Max told him that he’s not part of the family yet. Aww. We love him and can’t wait for the moment when he breaks down and loves the Bravermans.

Ray Romano is an even bigger jerk than Max, but we totally understand him firing Sarah after that work day. You don’t want an employee who is a liar. For the record, we’ve never lied in job interviews or on resumes, and God knows sometimes we’ve needed to. Nothing is worth it if you get it like that. We loved how different Ray was from his Everybody Loves Raymond days. We were surprised to see him pull this off so well, but that’s our fault for not watching his critically acclaimed last show. It was so awkward watching Sarah mess up and knowing that she was going to be outed as a liar! This is a good show, but we feel like Lauren Graham should be on a show where she has a bigger, better role than Sarah, whose best plots were in season two. Last year, she was largely wasted and kind of pathetic.

We didn’t think Haddie was a brat. We thought she was a realistic, relatable teen about to go to college. It was cute when she tried to bond with Max and gave him the weighted blanket. Crosby realizes that his parents didn’t raise him with any concept of spirituality, and it was interesting to see him actually seem to resent that rather than just feel intellectual superior to religious people. We get his complaint that the church is a community solely for people who can pass their litmus tests. We liked the way he and Jasmine handled the situation. They were totally in the right. The last scene of the episode was great. This was a regular, nice episode of Parenthood. Sure to please longtime fans, unlikely to win rabid converts.

Episode grade: B

Cougar Town saved! (and other news about other shows/our reactions)

If you haven't heard already, today TBS saved Cougar Town from cancellation and has bought all the rights to it. There will be another season of the show. We love when this happens, and we can think of no more deserving show. Thank you, TBS!

Lots of other shows have been renewed and cancelled, but we haven't gotten around to talking about it yet. Stupid exams! Alcatraz has been cancelled, and you know what? We don't care. Yeah, we watched and covered it a lot, but it was more due to the possibility that it could get good. It wasn't actually good yet. The pilot and one other episode were good, but mostly it deserves scorn. The Finder was also cancelled, to the joy of Ern and the mild disappointment of Leeard.

30 Rock was renewed for one more season. This is good. The show needs to start coming in for a landing, but it shouldn't end this year. Parenthood was renewed! Amazing, amazing, amazing. Love that show. Touch was renewed as well. When it came out of the gate, we really liked it, but we aren't sure the sweet concept is working out well, long-term. We hope this show does its homework and fixes its problems for the second season.

The Vampire Diaries unsurprisingly got another season, and can we say "rejoice?" Rejoice. Supernatural has also been renewed, and we have finally started watching it. We are done with season one. Ern thinks it's cheesy as heck but is willing to keep watching it. We also need to catch up on Person of Interest. We got behind, but it's been renewed, so we need to give it attention.

Grey's Anatomy is near deals with a few main characters who were at risk of leaving. We will put their names in the comments so that you aren't spoiled as to who might be staying for the next two years. Shonda confirmed a while ago that a character will be dying horribly in this year's finale. We will put our guess for that death in the comments as well.

Finally, a commenter has just informed us that Community was renewed today. This is not surprising, but we are concerned that there will only be 13 episodes. How can we survive with only 13 episodes?

P.S. We are seeing The Avengers tomorrow. Wooo hooo.

---Update---
ABC Renewed: Grey's, Revenge, Castle, Once Upon a Time, The Middle, Suburgatory, and Modern Family. No surprises there.

The Blogging Break Is Over/Last Week's Shows

We will now be posting daily again, for the most part. We reserve the right to take a day or weekend off if school decides to hate us again. Thanks for hanging in there with us. The numbers in our stats didn't suffer at all, meaning just about everyone reading this blog stuck around. That's awesome, and it makes this worth it. We are addicted to blogging anyway.

Sunday
Once Upon a Time - Dreamy
This was a really cute episode, mainly because one of us has adored Amy Acker since Angel. We got Grumpy's backstory (finally?). Apparently, in the Enchanted Forest, he was named Dreamy first, and he fell in love with Amy Acker's fairy Nova. Their bosses find out about their forbidden love and Grumpy turns into Grumpy. In our world, Leroy (Grumpy) falls for Astrid (Nova) and it seems that their love isn't necessarily forbidden, but frowned upon, since Astrid is a nun. People are still being mean to Mary, but things seem to pick up at the end of the episode when Granny lights Mary's candle.
Episode Grade: B+

GCB - Pilot
There was a blogger split on this show. Ern pretty much hated it, thought it was boring, didn't laugh at all, and wondered why it was a full hour. She liked Kristin Chenoweth's performance though. Leeard was just the opposite. She thought Kristin was a weak spot in a funny, enjoyable pilot. One thing we both agree on is the leading lady, Leslie Bibb. She has charisma and just enough mature cuteness to carry this show if the writing gives her good material. Both of us hope that Kristin's character stays to the side so that Bibb can be the main attraction. Kristin is better on the side. A little of that shrill voice goes a long way. We like the way Kristin was allowed to sing in a believable way (church choir). We also like the main character's funny mother and her daughter's new dye job. It's not disrespectful to Christians or anything. The worst thing it does to this group is associate these prideful, superficial, judgmental people with Christians. But, hey, lots of Christians kind of deserve that...We are amazed that they decided on GCB for the title because people are going to wonder what it is when they see it in their TV guides. Even Good Christian Belles would have been better. The original title's B stood for "Bitches", and that really would have been best. But, alas, people are prudes. The show reminds us a little of Desperate Housewives, only with more cattiness.
Leeard's grade: B, Ern's grade: D+

House of Lies - Veritas
Okay, if you're thinking of going to B-School, watch this episode. It epitomizes recruiting events, in the most depressing way possible. Usually the cutthroat person is another candidate, but it's still accurate.
Episode Grade: A

The Good Wife- Live from Damascus, After the Fall

Live From Damascus- Jonathan Groff was in this episode! He cried the entire time, but he still looked hot and manly. Will absolutely made the right decision to accept the suspension. Diane was crazy. The bar would have absolutely disbarred him because messing with client money is like the number one thing they disbar people for. We really felt for Will though, which is rare. Kathy’s brother on The Big C was a defendant in this episode. The case was powerful, and there was an element of tension when we found out it was possible for the lawyers to save a young woman’s life. This show is so good at being aware of the world at large, other countries, complex legal issues, and the way people think. After the Fall- Mina from Off the Map was the opposing attorney! We miss that show. Dexter Morgan’s older brother was the defendant. Will’s sisters are so different from both himself and each other. They were adorable. However, this episode was quiet and didn’t blow us away like the last couple.

Episode Grades: A- and B

Monday
The Lying Game - Unholy Matrimony
Alec and Rebecca are getting married. Emma and Ethan are over (for now), and Thayer is obviously falling for Emma, which we totally support. They're the only decent people on this show (besides Mads and Laurel, but that's beside the point). Sutton is still the worst person on this planet. Kristin finally got awesome and told off Ted and Rebecca for the affair. Ethan and Sutton find the picture of Alec holding a tire iron over Derek's head on Rebecca's computer while they're snooping during the engagement dinner. They show it to Dan and Theresa, who manage to get a search warrant pretty darn fast. Thayer lets the police into the house so they can search for any evidence that Alec was involved in Derek's death. We are loving Thayer in this episode. While the cops are searching the house, they find a bloody tire iron in Alec's golf clubs (!!!). After the cops take Alec away at the wedding, we see Sutton watching the scene from a room in the club. It turns out to be the bridal suite and HOLY CRAP Rebecca is Sutton/Emma's mother and she and Sutton have been planning this all along! We honestly don't know if this is awesome or terrible, but HOLY CRAP! Also, are Sutton and Emma actually Ted's children? Because that would be pretty cool. And how long have Sutton/Rebecca known about each other? Did Sutton actually find her in LA and we just weren't privy to that scene? ABC Family hasn't picked this up for a second season yet, but come on. There needs to be some closure on this insanity, even if it's just a movie.
Episode Grade: A

Pretty Little Liars - Eye of the Beholder

Jenna got the operation and Toby is back! Oh Toby, we’ve missed your face. And your arms. He’s seriously and suddenly looking really good in this episode. He kind of looks like Joaquin Phoenix. Ern doesn’t care how he looks; she will always be team Wren. Leeard, once again, is team threesome. We like the new hottie, Duncan. He needs to calm his tits though. Most people do. We loved that this episode had Toby and Wren interacting. We’ve never found Ezra sexier than we did in this episode. He finally grew a little shrivel of a sack! Wren reminds us of Ezra, looks-wise, only he’s better looking. We are ok with Wren and Spencer because Wren is not Spencer’s teacher. He may be older, but it’s the authority abuse thing that we don’t like. Also, Spencer can handle it. Mona is turning into the best, which makes us think she might be A. We hope not though. Hanna Marin is a hero, hoo-rah. Seven days until we find out who A is. Holy crap! We loved this episode. It was light on the action at first, but we still loved it, and then the action amped up. This show is so good. We can’t even. A is incredible, and Emily is really the best person. Sidenote: shout out to Conshohocken on the show! Nice!

Episode Grade: A-

Alcatraz - "The Ames Brothers" and "Sonny Burnett"
Well it took 9 episodes, but we finally got a case that was actually interesting. The Ames Brothers episode was okay; Hurley was captured by two brothers who tried to steal gold from Alcatraz in '63. They failed back then, even though they had a wildly elaborate plan, because they took the wrong keys from the warden. When the guard they were working with finally gets into the vault in 2012, there's nothing there. However, the audience sees that there was gold in that vault when the warden opens it and basically makes out with a massive gold bar. Sonny Burnett, however, was pretty good (for this show). The inmate who came back was a kidnapper; in our time, he kidnapped Mr. Pierce, who owns a cosmetics empire with his wife. Apparently, Mr. Pierce's wife Helen was, back in '63, basically Burnett's victim/accomplice. She turned him in and he went to Alcatraz. Then, Helen took the money Burnett had hidden away. He obviously wants revenge, so he kills her husband, kidnaps her daughter and buries her in the field where is money was hidden. Well that's terrifying. Of course they find the daughter in time. The only thing we find out about the overall mythology of the show is that some of the inmates have colloidal silver in their blood, keeping them healthier than they should otherwise be.
Episode Grades: C and B+

Smash - Let's Be Bad
Leo (Julia's son) gets caught hanging out with people smoking pot and Tom and his lawyer friend get him off with a bench warrant. Apparently this is enough to potentially mess up the adoption. Julia and Michael kiss outside her apartment (in view of her son) after he stopped by their home. Whatever, we like them together more than Julia and her husband. Derek scolds Ivy in front of everyone and makes Karen teach Ivy how to sing part of a song properly. It's sufficiently awkward for all parties involved, but Ivy plays it like it's what Marilyn would've done, just to make Karen feel worse about it. Ivy starts to go a little crazy. Honestly, we know we're supposed to be rooting for Karen, and we are (in her personal life), but Megan Hilty just IS Marilyn, so we'll probably be a little bummed when Ivy somehow loses the role. The musical is starting to come into its own, and we're starting to actually get excited about the show within the show (if not Smash itself).
Episode Grade: C+

Tuesday
Switched at Birth - Game On
Ugh this episode was so frustrating! We feel really bad for Bay; she wants to help Emmett's mom, but she doesn't want Emmett to hate her. We can definitely relate. Most of the family goes to Daphne's basketball tournament, where Carlton has to play Buckner in the first round. Carlton beats Buckner, which is unsurprising. However, what is surprising is that Emmett freaking sleeps with Simone after a fight with Bay. We're not going to get into the whole teen/premarital sex thing, because it's a tv show. But sleeping with someone he LITERALLY just met and has even less in common with than Bay? After getting into a (legitimate) fight with his girlfriend? Makes us start to hate Emmett. And we really don't want to hate him, because his face is just so awesome.
Episode Grade: C

Cougar Town - Full Moon Fever
Jules and Andy argue about who is the King of the cul-de-sac (it's obviously Jules). Some kids start riding their bikes through their backyards, and ultimately it falls on Jules and Andy to work together to stop them. It's adorable, as usual. Speaking of adorable, Sarah Chalke guest starred as Travis' photography teacher, who falls for Bobby. We like where this is going. Laurie starts dating a soldier through Twitter, which Ellie mocks her for. Once Ellie reads their tweets though, she realizes that this is actually the healthiest relationship Laurie has been in .... basically forever. Maybe Smith was better.
Episode Grade:

Breaking In - The Contra Club
We're pretty glad this show came back. It was pretty funny, and very weird, last year, so it was a nice surprise that it was un-canceled. However, we're worried about the addition of Megan Mullally to the cast. She's great in guest-starring roles (see: Happy Endings), but we're not loving her character so far. It's been one episode though, we'll give her a shot.
Episode Grade: B

New Girl - Injured
Honestly, Leeard needs to stop reviewing this show. She's so biased it isn't even funny. It's just so adorable. Cece and Schmidt finally bonded on a more emotional level, Winston had to say goodbye to his old, rundown car, and Nick finds out that he might have something seriously wrong with him (medically; we already know there's something seriously wrong with him mentally since he's not with Jess yet).
Episode Grade: A

Jane By Design - The End of the Line
Oh hey, another frustrating episode. Ben tries to make Jane quit, but he ultimately realizes that she loves, and is really good at, her job. Jane accuses India of being the mole, and Gray fires India on the spot. It turns out that Jeremy was the mole (which one of us predicted, because India being the mole was way too easy). After the (successful, of course) fashion show, Jeremy starts to tell Jane about his feelings for her, but leaves to talk to Beau. Billy comes in and tells Jane that he's always been in love with her and we groaned. Yes they've made it pretty obvious from the beginning that he's in love with her, but we were so thankful that it they weren't going there. We miss platonic opposite sex relationships on TV. It happens in real life, people.
Episode Grade: B-

Parenthood - My Brother's Wedding
Yes, yes, we know this one was a while ago, but we totally forgot to stick it in the post, and it's a finale! We can't ignore it. The adoption storyline took a sad but predictable turn, and we guess Julia's reward for all her trouble is that she changed Coffee Girl's life? Meh. Good luck explaining to Sid why she has a new older brother. That's going to be pretty interesting. Amber and Bob, why did you not get together? Crosby's wedding was sweet, but we sort of wish they had sold the Luncheonette. The time they've spent there, fighting, has been alright, but we wanted the show to move on from that a little. The finale was sweet, overall, and we are sad to see such a short season. Hopefully the show comes back because we don't think there was resolution here.
Episode grade: B

Wednesday
Psych - Heeeeere's Lassie
We don't mention this show much, but we just wanted to say that while some shows (*cough*GLEE*cough*) need to cool it on the tribute episodes, Psych does them so, so well.
Episode Grade: A

Thursday
The Office - Last Day in Florida
Jim saves Dwight from being fired. After she tells him that she plans on staying in Florida, Andy decides to go there to get Erin back.
Episode Grade: C

Parks and Recreation - Campaign Shakeup, Lucky
Well, we are caught up on this show just in time for it to leave us. There will be a hiatus since Community is coming back, and that's the only reason we aren't screaming. Campaign Shakeup: You know Tim Allen's character on Last Man Standing? Well, Ron is so much more of a man than that guy. We wish he could cross over to Last Man Standing and show Allen what a shemale he really is. The line about slaughtering calves when he was six was a Swanson Classic. This episode featured Kathryn Hahn as a guest star, and we always like her, even if her short-lived show, Free Agents, sucked this fall. And it did. It's disturbing that Leslie wants to bang Joe Biden. Andy's water balloon Kamikaze was great. Also, there's nothing sweeter than the ever-platonic Ron/April relationship. Lucky: Tom is a lot funnier now that he isn't trying to make that business work. We love when he sings. More Tom singing, we say. So Ron's life was shaped by powerful women, eh? That's why he has to be so manly. We are sick of guys who want weak, stupid women so that they can feel more like men. How about you just man up even more, like Ron? Ron got the girl over Chris, in a stunning twist. She must have been impressed with his steak-eating abilities. The lines in both these episodes were hilarious. Leslie accidentally getting drunk for her interview wasn't as funny as it should have been though. We had another famous guest star, Sean Hayes, as the interviewer, and he was just OK. Will the Tom/Ann breakup stick this time? We're thinking not. We will miss you, show.
Episode grades: B+ and A-

Friday
Degrassi - Can't Tell Me Nothing Part 2
We don't usually cover this show, but Leeard just had to say: if Jenna takes ANOTHER one of Clare's boyfriends, we will riot. Even if Clare isn't currently dating Jake, what is WRONG with Jenna? Find your own guys to like, goodness gracious.
Episode Grade: B

Movies
We saw Wanderlust. Leeard thought it was weird. Maybe it's just Paul Rudd, but she agreed with him 100% of the time. There were about five or six uniquely, awesomely funny parts, but they never lasted very long. This movie had split-second moments of brilliance, but the overall movie wasn't that funny. Grade: C+ We saw Woman in Black to support Daniel Radcliffe because we think he is a hardworking, cool person. We liked the Gothic, old fashioned setting, the goreless scares, the plot, and the cast. Dan did alright! There was nothing new in the movie, and if you hate or are not scared of ghosts, there won't be much here for you. It's a traditional ghost story. There were definitely a few scares, and we were really into it by the time the ending came around. But like many horror movies, the ending disappointed and came out of nowhere. Still, this was one of the best horror movies of recent years.. Grade: B. Chronicle was so much fun. Yeah, the "found footage" stuff is everywhere, but you haven't seen a superhero movie do it yet, have you? There was humor, likable characters, a fast pace, tension, action, and high school drama. The acting was great and the script was clever. All three leads should (and probably will) be stars. This was the most pleasant surprise of our entertainment week. Grade: A-. Rampart was mostly an excuse for Woody Harrelson to prove once again that he can act. This one had a good cast with lots of TV favorites, but it was way too long and dour. It succeeds as a character study and close look at a cop who is more evil than good. The plot was meandering and we just got to swim in this guy's self-inflicted misery for a few hours. It was fun seeing Ben Foster as a gross homeless man though. This was more art/indie than a crowd-pleaser or mainstream entertainer. Whether you like this will come down to personal taste. We just wish there had been a tighter plot. Grade: B-.

Books
We read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, and it was excellent. If you dislike quiet or shy people/think they are bad and selfish, if you are an introvert (even if you aren't shy) who always wished to be a little different, if you have or are going to have children, if you are a boss in the workplace, if you want to understand yourself better, or if you are an extrovert who just wants to understand literally half the people around you, you should rush to read this book. Cain's writing is readable, despite its academic nature and nonfiction subject matter. It really shows the upsides of being introverted, explains why they are that way (they are highly sensitive to stimuli), and gives advice to both groups. This book is both necessary and interesting, and we are not surprised it's a best seller. Recommended to anyone interested in the topic. We are both ambiverts (whenever we take a quiz, we get 50% introvert and 50% extrovert.) We love our introvert traits though. Introverts are bad ass, and more people should know it. Grade: A

Old Show Alert
Ern is still watching Veronica Mars but didn't get very far into the second season. It was spring break and we were partying it up. Ern was in Seattle, eating all the good food they have there. MMMM. Anyway, Ern watched two episodes of season two. It's weird to see Veronica hanging out with the 09ers and dating Duncan. We thought she grew out of him. He seems a little slow, quite frankly, but it seems like Logan needs to get a reign on his temper in order to deserve Veronica. The bus crash was a surprise, but it was necessary. This show is still huge on exposition and explaining past events, spaced out in flashbacks. That really annoyed Ern in the pilot, but she has gotten used to it, mostly. Normal is the Watchword: B+. Driver Ed: B.

There's a Light at the End of this Tunnel, Guys

Good news for those of you addicted to this blog: One of us sees a part in the clouds of schoolwork and anticipates that April-May will be lighter. This means daily posts are an option at that time. Until then, here’s your Monday summary. Yeah, we're behind on a few shows. 

Cougar Town - Ain't Love Strange: This show returned to a series low in the ratings. We were sad about that. It’s due to a tough time slot and no powerhouse lead-in like they had last year. That didn’t stop the show from turning in a premiere in its usual adorable, heartfelt style. We weren't digging Laurie's ankle monitor though. It felt like she would have told the gang the story right away, not in exposition in the episode.  
Episode grade: A-

Revenge - Chaos: Leeard was expecting (and wanting) the body to be Tyler, but Ern was completely surprised. Either way, bravo for the twist. In order to fool us, the show used a body double that looked sort of like Tyler and sort of like Daniel as the body that fell to the beach after being shot. We are really glad Revenge kept Daniel alive. One of us thought the Tyler stuff was getting a little too cheesy and overwrought, especially the scenes where he plotted with Emily. There was so much exposition that we expected him to break out in a cliché villain “muah haha.” Leeard hopes Tanaka doesn't kill Emily and is starting to like her.
Episode grade: A

Glee - Heart: Rachel’s dads were delightful, and we like the new Christian character. Ryan Murphy was jonesing for a Christian character so badly on The Glee Project that he was bound to name a Christian kid the winner. Now that he has his Christian, Ryan will be able to pick the most talented, awesome kids when The Glee Project returns. Yeah, we are still sore about Hanna losing. We also liked Quinn’s talk about Christianity and the Bible. For a crazy, flawed character, Quinn can manage to say sensible things when people need advice. She presented the other side of a common argument well. The show continues to avoid demonizing religious people while it pushes for tolerance of gay people. That’s quite a feat. We liked a lot of the songs and performances. It is eerie that Glee chose to do Whitney Houston’s famous song. The decision was made before Whitney died and the episode aired after Whitney’s death. Glee is psychic. That’s probably why it’s so crazy. We can’t believe we were sad for Karofsky. We are also surprised that Rory isn’t leaving! He was lying about his visa being denied. Does that mean Damian gets to be on the show longer than the few episodes he was promised? Strangely, Rachel Berry’s nighttime routine resembles Ern’s, only Ern’s is possibly more elaborate. Ern doesn’t do the ice thing though. That’s the height of insane, Rachel. 
Episode grade: B+

Glee First Listen Friday - Everything is a little forgettable except Blaine’s song, a cover of “Cough Syrup” by Young and the Giant/The Jakes. It’s a cool song. Blaine’s voice is too autotuned in it, but we still can’t decide if we like his cover or the original better. Rachel was given a song that didn’t fit her voice at all and the results were disappointing. The "Fly"/"I Believe I Can Fly" mash-up was ok. Ern is kind of over "I Believe I Can Fly". Leeard will never be.

The River - Los Ciegos: This show improves in its third week and is turning into a really fun show. A few of the characters got more sympathetic this episode, and there was some good humor. 
Episode grade: A-

Parenthood - Tough Love: Whoa, Julia. Being a paralegal is a hard job. They have to read well, pay attention to detail, and be extremely responsible. We love that Julia thinks Coffee Girl is that smart, but we think that’s a stretch. Fortunately for the legal profession, Coffee Girl did not apply. We love the aspect of Julia’s personality that just won’t let go of this girl, but we are bracing ourselves for a possible sad ending to this story. We can’t believe Amber was caught by Kristina so quickly. Haddie, you little rat! We are even more dismayed that Bob was such a pussy and let Kristina take her. They are both adults and the age disparity isn’t that great! Ugh, Kristina. We felt bad for Seth but not Drew in this episode. For some reason, we think Drew is too old to have this reaction. He has progressed to the age where he needs to work on being happy for his mother, getting along with his potential new stepdad, staying quiet about his feelings, and dealing with real life. Maybe we are being too harsh? Meh. 
Episode grade: B+

The Secret Circle - Return: Cassie's dad shows up at her house!! Then Cassie tells Adam, who says something like, "Then he's really alive?!" We wanted to hit him in the face for dumb ass-ery. It's been apparent for weeks. The audience knew in the pilot. Anyway, this episode was almost as good as last week's. The dad stuff did not disappoint. We're not sure we trust him, but we like him. We liked seeing Faye make out with a guy who wasn't Jake. Also, coma girl woke up. We'll see what that's about. 
Episode grade: A

The Vampire Diaries - All My Children: We have yet another Alaric death fake-out as a cliffhanger. Meredith shoots a gun in his direction. He'll live. He always does. We loved watching resourceful Elena face off against Rebekah, and it was nice to see Damon protecting his brother's returning humanity. Bonnie's mom is a vampire, yawn. Good job for fighting back, Elijah. Don't let this show take you from us again so quickly. This episode was fine, but it wasn't among this show's best. We weren't surprised by anything or particularly touched. 
Episode grade: B

Grey’s Anatomy - Have You Seen Me Lately?: Hey, you know what's awkward and sad? Watching Owen and Cristina in couples counseling. Owen is kind of jealous of Meredith, showing that he misses the point of this show, which is the friendship between Meredith and Cristina, DUH. You have to give them credit for trying with this marriage thing though. Lots of people would throw in the towel and no one would blame them, under these circumstances. Amy comes to Seattle Grace and tries to get her brother, Derek, to do a surgery. They do the surgery in the Private Practice hour (it's a crossover event), but we didn't care enough to watch Private Practice and see how it turned out. If someone else saw it, let us know. The good news this week is that Meredith and Callie might be friends now. Callie is going to help Meredith study after Meredith rocked a case where a man got his hand ground up in a meat grinder. Yuck. 
Episode grade: B

The Office - Tallahassee: The only time we laughed was during Jim's early-morning prank on Dwight. Part of the Scranton branch went down to Florida to design Sabre retail stores. Packer was there too. Dwight got appendicitis. Stanley is acting like this business trip is a month-long paid vacation. That's about it. We miss this show being hilarious.
Episode grade: C

Parks and Recreation - Dave Returns: First of all, Team Ben. Second, we also like Dave. He's so honest. We are still raising our eyebrows at the whole Ann/Ben thing, which is apparently still happening, but it was funny this episode. That song Andy wrote was appropriately hideous. Finally, we have exactly the same reaction to cops as Ben does: we never break the law, because we are terrified of cops. Ern can't even look at them when passing them on the street! 
Episode grade: A-

New Girl - Valentine: We got to see True Blood's Ryan Kwanten guest star as a guy Jess tries to have a one-night stand with. Jess's quest to "get some strange" ends badly. Wait, no, it ends adorable, because it ends with Nick dragging Jess to her bedroom when she contemplates sleeping with Schmidt. She brought an entire (and very large) box of condoms for the occasion. Guess who did sleep with Schmidt? No, not Leeard, even though he is her soulmate. Cece! We can't believe it, guys. This was a funny episode, but we don't really dig the one night stand topic. 
Episode grade: B+

Awake - Pilot: This episode is up on hulu, so you can watch it early, and you should. There isn't much here that wasn't shown in the preview, but we loved what was in the preview, so you can guess what we thought of the whole episode. The main triumph of the pilot is that we already care about the characters. We will be tuning into the second episode when it airs in March. This show reminds us a little of Journeyman, only we care more. Sadly, it seems like just the thing that could be cancelled well before it's time. NBC loves to give us great shows that don't hit it out of the ballpark, ratings-wise. With this show, we just hope there is a satisfying conclusion to what will probably be a short run. 
Episode grade: A

Modern Family - Aunt Mommy: We haven't been mentioning this show in the last couple of weeks, because most episodes are the same. People are saying this show is stuck in a rut and we agree. At least it's a relatively funny rut. However, this episode had some pleasing factors that made it stick out. For once, Cam and Mitchell's plotline didn't involve them having a fight/bickering. We got to see multiple characters drunk. The only thing that could have made this episode better would be if we had gotten to see Luke try to reanimate that dead squirrel. Even though Modern Family refuses to give us something that feels new, it's still a funny show.
Episode grade: B+

Happy Endings - Everybody Loves Grant: One of us watched this episode yesterday when she had a fever and no energy, and this show still managed to pull some chuckles out of the haze that was that day. Dave trying to be "the cool guy" made him the MVP of the night. If you like this show, you probably liked this episode. 
Episode grade: B+

Pan Am - 1964 (and the series as a whole): Well, this show wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it had a nice little (probably) close to the series. We were left with Kate moving up in the CIA, Laura and Ted are in love (and one of us is so glad we didn't have to see Ted tell her that Amanda is pregnant), Dean and Collette are on the road to reconciliation, and Maggie is by herself. While we can kind of see hints of where the show would go if it's given a second season (Collette's search for her brother, Laura and Ted trying to figure out their relationship, Kate becoming an actual spy, Maggie hopefully dying), we think that 1964 works as a decent series finale. Pan Am was a nice diversion, but we won't miss it too much.
Episode grade: B
Series grade: C

Casting news: The Good Wife didn’t have a new episode this week, but news emerged that Matthew Perry will join the show as a lawyer who is trying to win over Alicia. Alicia and Bing-a-ling? We really don’t see it, but we like the idea of Alicia getting another love interest. Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito will play a business associate of Pierce’s dead dad on Community. We’re sure it will be perfect and hilarious, like that show always is.

Books - The White Devil: If nothing else, this book will make you deathly afraid of getting TB. The White Devil is a ghost story featuring an American teenager who has to go to a British boarding school. If you are familiar with Lord Byron as a historical figure or as a poet, you will enjoy this book a lot more than your average reader. This book was entertaining, for the most part, there was good writing, and it had some really creepy moments. But it never grabbed us and we will forget about the characters by the next week. 
Book grade: C+

As for movies, we re-watched Warrior, which is the best movie of 2011 that you never saw. Yeah, some of it isn't very original, but it is so intense Ern almost had a panic attack watching it, there's lots of emotion, you care about the characters, and it's never boring. Even if you aren't interested in MMA or fighting as a topic, you should give this one a shot. Grade: A We also saw The Other Woman with Natalie Portman. Despite mixed reviews, we enjoyed it enough that we're glad we watched it. Grade: B- Then, finally, one of us saw The Paper Chase. Like a typical law student, Ern nearly screamed at the end when the main character did what he did (no spoilers here, but if you've seen it, you know what we mean). How could he do that?!! We would NEVER do that. Also, plenty of Ern's law professors are just as bad as Kingsfield, seriously. Grade: B

Parenthood - Politics

Over the course of this season, Parenthood has been more about the nice little moments and dramatic arguments than furthering storylines. Actual plot movement have been slow. How long have we been rooting for Sarah and Mark and wondering if they will have a baby? How long have we been waiting to see if Snarky Coffee Girl will actually give her baby to Julia and Joel? Jasmine and Crosby have been circling each other, on and off again, since the start of the series. This episode had some substantial plot development though.

Sarah meets Mark’s friends and his ex-girlfriend. She’s pretty and she dated Mark for six years, through high school and college. Her name is Camille and she climbs mountains or whatever. She kept asking Mark if he was gonna “do Machu Picchu.” Some people can’t take a year out of their lives to train to climb mountains, Camille, because they are real adults. Sarah freaks, feeling old, and also doesn’t want to put pressure on Mark, tie him down, or keep him from climbing Machu Picchu. Mark tries to make Sarah feel included and tells her that they should take a trip and have an adventure. Sarah has a mini meltdown and has to get out of the car, on the highway, walk away from the vehicle and cry.

Sarah turns around as Mark follows her. “Look, I’m 40. My eggs are drying up and they might already be duds. We can’t climb Machu Picchu if you want a baby. We have to start fertilizing now. Get your swimmers in here, or find a younger woman who can gallivant with you now and breed with you later.” Yeah, we put that into our own words. Mark says he doesn’t want any of that. He wants a baby with Sarah and if it has to be now, then it’s going to be now. Awww. Well, then make it already! And please let it succeed. After Sex and the City, Friends, Julia on this show, Grey’s Anatomy, LOST, and Desperate Housewives, we’ve had enough infertility issues. We know. It’s important and it happens to lots of women. It’s heartbreaking. But, for this couple, having a baby will be more interesting to watch than trying to have a baby and failing.

Zoe moved out of Julia’s home, leaving a note, because Sid asked awkward questions like, “What should the baby’s name be?” Sid also asked where the baby will stay in the house. In Zoe’s room? We get Zoe moving out. It was bound to happen after the baby came, because who would want to live with the baby they are giving away for weeks on end? How heartbreaking would it be to live with a family, as part of it, and then have to leave and leave your baby at the same time. We totally get this and actually think that Julia should have foreseen it and gotten Zoe an apartment right off the bat. Zoe can’t express this, so she tells Julia over the phone that she just needed her space.

Julia freaks, wondering if Zoe will continue with the adoption. Joel goes down to Zoe’s cruddy neighborhood and tells Zoe that he needs to know her final decision. Is she still going to give them the baby? Zoe says that of course she is, but she feels that she should have had a closed adoption and really can’t handle all the emotions and the awkwardness of living with the family. We really feel bad for this girl and fear that this story can’t have a fully happy ending.

UGH, Jasmine is still so obviously in love with Crosby that she even knows it. Dr. Joe asked Jasmine to move in with him and she says yes, after talking with Crosby. Crosby tries to keep his cool, but he gets a little snarky. He really should have gone sincere, apologized again for cheating, and asked her to give him another change. By the look on her face, she might have this time. Crosby and Adam go get drunk, and this ends up with Crosby lying wasted on the floor, talking to Lily about Jasmine. Lily doesn’t say anything…yet. But now she knows that Crosby is still in love with his ex. That’s gonna kill Crosby/cello girl. We don’t care that much. She’s a nice girl, but this isn’t a romance for the ages.

We are rooting for Bob and Amber. She’s young, but he’s not married and they are totally adorable. This could come off as creepy or as a powerful man taking advantage of a situation, but Bob seems to sincerely like Amber. They are both adults. There is nothing wrong with it. Bob promoted Amber to be his assistant and then they kiss when they stay late to work, alone. At first, Amber is upset that she was promoted seemingly because of Bob’s crush, but he convincingly tells her that he promoted her because she was smart and he kissed her because he liked her mixture of toughness and vulnerability. We will accept it. You're on this ice, Bob, but we are loving the adult storyline for Amber now that she's out of the house.

Episode grade: B+ for plot progression. Yay!

The Justified opening credits are amazing and that song is extremely catchy, no?

The Good Wife - Bitcoin for Dummies

A lawyer, played by guest-star Jason Biggs, is arrested under suspicion of being an online programmer who illegally invented a currency traded over the internet. Basically, this whole episode was watching Kalinda be a brilliant investigator and figure everything out. People said “Mr. Bitcoin” a lot. Too much, we think. Kalinda turns over evidence implicating Will for bribery in order to save Alicia from possibly losing her bar license. That should turn out to be interesting. This episode was a little "meh" to us, if still technically good. This season as a whole has rocked though. This is a show that can afford an average week. 
Episode grade: B-

Gossip Girl - The End of the Affair?

Of all the STUPID reasons to keep Chuck and Blair apart, (and there have been many) this takes the cake. Blair promised God that she would honor her vow to Louis to marry him, if only Chuck would pull through after their car accident. After Blair said “amen,” a nurse came to tell her that Chuck had woken up. OBVIOUSLY Blair can’t tell Chuck and Louis this “secret” and must only confide in Dan Humphrey and a priest who says this is “between her and God.” WHAT?!! Priests aren’t allowed to give advice when it is so sorely needed? Serena came through on the theology front when she told Blair that God wouldn’t want Blair to marry someone she doesn’t love. Thank you, Serena. However, Blair decided that if she didn’t marry Louis, something bad might happen to Chuck. We guess this fits Blair’s superstitious character, but COME. ON. Ughhhhhhh

Nate finds out that the accident wasn’t completely the fault of the paparazzi. Someone tampered with the breaks. Gossip Girl is going to help Nate find out who did it, in exchange for his help, probably on getting Gossip Girl back in business. Everyone is sending Serena blasts now instead of Gossip Girl. Serena decided to start posting a few, always keeping her conscience in mind. Also, Blair and Chuck got in the wrong car that fateful night. The car that was tampered with was meant for Nate. Lily hires a private detective to track down Charlie. He finds the real Charlie, but Lily just thinks that there are two people with the name Charlie Rhodes and the PI found the wrong one. We assume Lily will find out the truth this season. Vera Wang guest stars.

While this episode entertained us, we cannot believe the lengths to which this show will go in order to keep the Chair drama alive. How is this wedding still going on? Stupid, stupid, stupid. In other news, did you guys know that Blake Lively, the actress who plays Serena, doesn’t drink? While her character sometimes sets a bad example, we admire the example set by an actress who doesn’t roll with what the world at large is doing, even if we don’t condemn drinking if you are of age and able to handle it. We like when people aren’t partiers and are proud of that (as long as they aren't holier-than-thou about it). Keep being yourself, Blake.
Episode grade: C+

Parenthood - It is What it Is

Zeek gets bad news from his doctor and chooses to keep it from his children…for now. Crosby kisses the cellist and tries to take Jabbar to one of her shows. Jabbar’s mom and her boyfriend insist on attending the show as well, where we see that Jasmine is jealous of Crozby’s new girl. Amber helps her boss out at an event, and he asks her to have a bite to eat with him. Amber turns him down but is obviously confused as to whether this is romantic interest or not. Julia starts to worry that Zoe might want to keep her baby when Zoe starts experiencing some rough emotions. Poor thing, seriously. Haddie gets into Cornell, her dream college, and her parents realize it’s going to be hard to fund Haddie’s education in this economy and on their current income.

This episode was sweet, well-acted, and well-written, as usual. This show continues to be one of the best dramas on TV and absolutely the best ensemble family show. Yep, we’re looking at you, Modern Family. While the shows are different, Parenthood beats MF in overall quality. 
Episode grade: A-

Justified - The Gunfighter

Raylan is off his game after being shot, but that doesn’t mean he can’t outsmart a new bad guy. It looks like the “Dixie Mafia” is going to be the force to contend with this season. Question: Why is Ava still alive? Not only do we hate the character, the actress who plays her is clearly a yankee. That accent isn’t working, girl. We haven’t talked about this show before in the past because we just caught up on it this week! What you need to know is that the dialogue is out of this world. The show has some of the best-written lines on TV. The show is overrated though. The main character looks like a young and way cuter Billy-Bob Thornton, which is something that is annoying after you notice that (sorry for pointing it out, haha). The show fails miserably in creating romances that the audience will care about. Everyone Raylan Givens has ever bedded on this show (a grand total of two girls that we remember) could drop dead for all we care.

We don’t know what the show is doing with Boyd Crowder and we never have. But this show is like a modern-day Western mashed up with a Flannery O’Connor short story. The action is pretty great and it’s just an overall, well-written, entertaining show. This season opener was a little hard for one of us to follow though, and we pride ourselves on being at least smarter than the average TV viewer. Being too complicated can work against a show and we hope this one has the sense to lay a few things out for the viewer later in the season. We’re excited to cover season three, but we miss Mags Bennett. Who doesn’t? The new big bads have some mighty shoes to fill. Did you see that Dexter alum? (Quinn)
Episode grade: B+

Revenge - Commitment

It’s Revenge. Of course it was a good episode! Amanda shows some hesitance about her revenge plan when she realizes that it affects people she does not intend for it to hurt. The person affected is Jack. He is beaten and has to endure Emily/Fake Amanda leaving him. Originally, Amanda intended to frame Emily for burning down that house, but instead comes clean with Emily about her revenge plan and convinces Emily to leave town, for her own safety. Daniel proposes to Amanda (in the rain! On a boat! We love him!) and Amanda says yes. Sidenote: Daniel was so sweet to his mom in this episode, too. We really hope he isn't the dead body from the season premiere. We want him to survive.

Amanda has second thoughts about the engagement, because she has a heart after all. We loved seeing that side of her. But when Victoria tells Daniel that David Clarke raped her, and this is how Charlotte was sired, Amanda asks Daniel when the wedding date will be. Ha! Muah haha! We love this show. Charlotte is basically disowned by the only father she has ever known after Amanda releases the information about Charlotte’s paternity to the Grayson couple. They are so awful. We love it. Charlotte doesn’t know why she has to move back into her mother’s house, but she is not happy. Nolan continues to rule. This show continues to rule.
Episode grade: A

A Racist Parrot, a Magazine Cover, and a Sleazy Reporter

Parenthood - Just Smile

Crosby acted like a big baby when Adam ended up on the cover of a local magazine, along with a piece on the Luncheonette. All the drama was worth it for both Adam and the viewer when Max stated that his dad looked cool on the cover. Does anyone else hope that Amber ends up dating that politician? And bring on a baby for Sarah! Watching her with a toddler will be adorable, and you know always wanted to see clips of Lorelai Gilmore taking care of baby Rory. This is the closest thing to that. Julia and Joel’s kindness and patience with Zoe is rewarded when Zoe’s boyfriend (now ex) signs the adoption papers. Yayyy. We like Crosby’s new friend and probably love interest. 
Episode grade: A-

Revenge - Infamy

This is one time where we didn’t think the revenge was bad enough. A man lied to and manipulated a child to help his career. He should have lost a heck of a lot more than his house and memoirs. Things are really starting to heat up regarding Jack, Emily, fake Amanda, Daniel, and Victoria. Finding out that Charlotte is (potentially) Amanda Clarke’s half sister was a twist we didn’t expect, but we feel like we should have. Either way, it’s awesome. Of course this episode was good. It’s this show. But this episode was so much better and plot-thickening than that midseason premiere last week. 
Episode grade: A-

Happy Endings - Meat the Parrots

Dave’s father comes for a visit, bringing his new girlfriend. Dave’s dad is dating Penny’s mom, Dana, much to Dave’s annoyance and Penny’s glee. Alex gets a parrot to keep her company in her shop, but it is constantly saying racist things. Brad, Max, and Alex investigate a Chinese restaurant that they are convinced is hiding a brothel. Because it’s this lighthearted show, they are wrong. The racist parrot was a stroke of genius, and we always like seeing Megan Mullally. This episode was another winner for this show. 
Episode grade: B+

A post about the new show Are You There, Chelsea? is forthcoming.