This week:
- Raising Hope
- New Girl
- The Mindy Project
- Happy Endings
- Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23
- Modern Family
- The Big Bang Theory
Raising Hope – “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Me What To Do”
This week’s Halloween-themed episode of Raising Hope walked a thin line between comedy and stereotypes, and personally I thought it landed on the side of hilarity rather than insensitivity. I liked the idea that Jimmy and Burt are guys who aren’t close-minded or homophobic, they just don’t know anything about gay culture. Seeing them interact with the guys at the gay bar was hilarious. The main storyline, that Sabrina’s gay BFFs wanted her to donate an egg so they could have a baby, was silly enough that nothing came across as offensive. It was all obviously in good fun, and there were a lot of laughs.
Best moment: Burt asking if it would be weird if he shaved his chest. “Some of the guys are doing it.”
Runner up: Virginia disguised as a gay man dressed as Charlie Chaplin, complete with a cucumber down her pants.
New Girl – “Halloween”
Another great episode of New Girl this week, and one that really brought out the best in the whole cast. Everyone was breaking up this week, it seemed. Jess fell for her friend-with-benefits and he ended things, Nick realized he didn’t actually like his old college crush, and Winston and Shelby finally pulled the life support plug on their dying relationship. The only couple that remained in tact was Cece and her guy, but her unfinished business with Schmidt was lying beneath the surface.
Best moment: Nick’s girly shrieks inside the haunted house.
The Mindy Project – “Halloween”
OK, FOX shows, take a cue from Raising Hope and get a little more creative with your episode titles. Anyway, I liked this episode of Mindy quite a bit. Mindy’s dating the basketball lawyer, but he’s cocky in that way where you’re never really sure if he’s serious or not. I liked watching Mindy go back and forth on whether she should go to the fancy party with him, eventually pulling together a last minute costume. (Though personally, I liked Tinkerball Tailor Soldier Spy.) And focusing on Mindy’s love life this week gave Danny and Jeremy a chance to have their own fun, taking the driving test together. I know this show hasn’t completely found its footing yet, but I like it.
Best moment: Mindy’s reaction to her best friend’s daughter. It’s how I act around children. That friendship obviously needs to be fleshed out much, much more, but I laughed out loud at Mindy’s sighs during their phone chat.
Happy Endings – “Sabado Freegante”
Considering how popular last year’s Halloween Happy Endings was, I think the show was wise to steer a little clear of that this year. I know a lot of people didn’t love the season premiere of Happy Endings last week and while I didn’t love it, I do think this week’s episode was a big improvement. The Penny/Jane storyline was hilarious. Perfectly hilarious. Jane was scary and Penny was flaky, but there was still an unexpected turn at the end and their chemistry was great. I still hate Dave and Alex together though, and I think the show really should have just allowed them to realize that getting an apartment together is a mistake and call it quits. Finally, I liked Brad and Max’s storyline quite a bit, because they’re a combo we don’t see in isolated storylines very often. They were silly and fun together, and played off each other’s energy in an interesting way.
Best moment: That last scene where Jane takes a job selling cars. “Never leave the house without your ideal salary written on a folded up piece of paper” just cracked me up.
Don’t Trust The B—- in Apartment 23 – “Love and Monsters…”
I really liked last week’s premiere of 23, and I think this week’s episode was one of the series’ funniest so far. The show is on a roll, and I’m way into it. First of all, James van der Beek. He’s killing it. They’ve managed to make his character not only about his fame, but also about his quirks. “I hate Halloween. Almost as much as I hate applause for other people.” His annual Halloween positivity party was funny and weird, and fit right in with what we’ve learned about him so far. Meanwhile, I loved how the show used Chloe and June to play with some rom-com tropes. Her annual prank and fake relationship were hilarious, but also played perfectly into the more realistic idea that June needs to stop thinking about Chloe and focus on herself more, and that Mark is starting to crush on her.
Best moment: I loved the When Harry Met Sally bit, but I’m going to give it to Chloe choosing a victim when he says “Wait, you’ve never seen The Wire? I’m going to spend the next hour telling you how good it is!”
Modern Family – “Yard Sale”
I’ve always liked Modern Family episodes best when they get the whole family together in one place. This week’s did that quite well, as everyone pitched in for a yard sale Luke and Manny had to put on to raise money for school. Gloria’s puppet storyline was totally wacky, but I thought she was hilarious. The best storyline was Alex and her gay teen boyfriend, since Claire had Mitch and Cam on hand to try and clue Alex in to what’s going on. But nothing was funnier than Jay’s complete and total disgust at having strangers come to his driveway to buy his belongings. The bartering with the also-rich guy over a fifty cent ashtray was the highlight.
Best moment: I’ve already mentioned the ashtray, so I’ll say Phil’s 127 Hours bit when he got “stuck” under Jay’s motorcycle in the desert. “I said no TOMATOOOOOOES!”
The Big Bang Theory – “The Extract Obliteration”
I think it was around last season of TBBT that I started saying the writers needed to do something with Penny’s life. Her only storyline recently has revolved around her relationship with Leonard, and that’s wearing thin. I wanted them to give her a small success with her acting career. So when she said this week that she was taking a community college class, my hopes went up – but all for nothing. The storyline was flat and predictable: Leonard was worried that her history paper was bad and he was right. Penny ended up with a decent grade, but only because her smart friends helped her. How tired. I wish the show would give Penny something to do that she’s good at and loves. Her character is beginning to come across as bitter.
I liked Sheldon’s storyline, but it was pretty simple and silly – a ‘Words With Friends’ feud with Stephen Hawking, so, enough said.
Best moment: Raj and Howard imitating one another’s accents.
