This week:
- How I Met Your Mother
- New Girl
- The Mindy Project
- Cougar Town
- Modern Family
- The Big Bang Theory
- Community
- Parks and Recreation
How I Met Your Mother – “The Ashtray”
I wasn’t sure what to expect from an episode of HIMYM that featured the return of The Captain. I always kind of liked him, but he was directly tied to the worst character ever – Zoey. Luckily, this episode had very little to do with Zoey. I liked the setup of this episode, even though it’s a bit of a HIMYM . Ted and Robin’s recollections were unreliable because of sandwiches and drinks, so Lily’s version of events was the right one. It was funny, but the end result was a little cheesy – The Captain hired Lily to be his new art consultant after she’d predicted the success of an unknown artist. It would have felt more realistic for the Captain to give Lily money rather than a job.
Best moment: Ted knocking over the platter of food instead of giving the waiter a high five got me every time.
New Girl – Parking Spot
For any viewers nervous that Nick and Jess kissing would ruin the show, I hope these past few episodes have put those fears at ease – the writers knocked it out of the park again. Watching Nick, Jess and Schmidt fight over a parking space was delightfully funny, and it provided a bunch of great moments for the characters. Winston’s plot was pretty basic – find a condom at any cost! – but delivered laughs.
Best moment: “This city can’t take another scandal!”
Runner up: “Destiny might be a lady, but victory has a penis. Direct quote, Scott Caan.”
The Mindy Project – “Mindy’s Minute”
My feelings about this episode of The Mindy Project are like my feelings about most episode – mixed. The Mindy/Danny stuff still shines, and I adored seeing Danny try and look cool on local TV. All of that made me laugh so much. But the office stuff is brutal. What is that old lady doing back? She is not funny!
Best moment: “I get recognized between zero and three times a day.”
Cougar Town – “Flirting With Time”
Finally, an episode that I can truly say I loved. I have a weakness for flashbacks, but anyone whose loved Cougar Town for a while should have adored this episode. Who wouldn’t want to see how the gang met? Ellie and Jules are pretty different, and we always knew they came from different backgrounds. It was fun to see that explored. As for Laurie’s stuff, I liked the challenges she faced now that Wade is back from the military, but as someone who isn’t a fan of her and Travis I’m worried that we’re headed toward the inevitable there – I think Laurie and Travis will be together by the end of the season, and I won’t like it.
Best moment: Jules and Grayson’s meet-cute.
Modern Family – “Bad Hair Day”
This was just an OK episode, if you ask me. None of the storylines did much for me, with the notable exception of everyone trying to pass off the task of telling Gloria about baby Joe’s new haircut. The rest of it, well, I could have done without. Especially Lily – that kid is really starting to annoy me.
Best moment: Phil in the bowling shoes gets points because of Ty Burrell’s amazing physical comedy skills.
The Big Bang Theory – “The Monster Isolation”
Strangely, I had trouble paying attention to this episode even though I enjoyed it. The episode was funny enough, but I’m more interested in what it set up – a love interest for Raj and, fingers crossed, a career boost for Penny.
Best moment: I always like Penny and Sheldon together, so I’ll go with Sheldon thanking her for appearing on “Fun With Flags”.
Community – “Conventions of Space and Time”
The first couple episodes from this new season of Community have been disappointing, but I felt like this was a pretty big improvement. Troy feeling threatened by Abed’s new friendship made great use of Donald Glover, and almost distracted me from how much I hate Troy and Britta. The subplots were pretty funny as well. This is by no means a classically good episode of Community, but it was an improvement.
Best moment: Jeff telling Annie that if he really lost all that hair he “might have to call science.”
Parks and Recreation – “Ben and Leslie/Correspondents’ Lunch”
I love you and I like you. Perfect words for a perfect TV wedding. I had high expectations for this double-episode of Parks and Recreation, and it followed through in every way. Ben and Leslie’s wedding was sweet, weird and funny – the perfect mix for that couple. That episode was designed to serve as a series finale if necessary (I’m planning to write more about that this weekend) and had that been the case, I would have been more than satisfied.
The pairing with “Correspondent’s Lunch” rather than last week’s “Emergency Response” was weird, and the second episode was a bit of a let down after such a beautiful one. There was nothing wrong with it, you just can’t top that first episode.
Best moment: So many! In the first episode, I had to laugh at Ron’s “People who buy things are suckers”, but most of my favorite moments were the sweet, heartfelt ones. In the second episode. Perd Hapley got a few fantastic lines in.
What did you guys think?
