This week:
- How I Met Your Mother
- Raising Hope
- New Girl
- The Mindy Project
- Happy Endings
- Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23
- Modern Family
- The Big Bang Theory
- The Office
- Parks and Recreation
Whew! That’s quite a list – if I were to cut any sitcoms right now though, it would have to be HIMYM first, then Raising Hope, then The Big Bang Theory. I could part with The Office if it weren’t the last season, but I can’t do without the others.
Due to how many shows I cover, I might consider leaving out a few that I usually don’t have much to say on – specifically, HIMYM, Raising Hope and The Office (until the finale, when I’m sure I’ll have many thoughts.) If you guys have suggestions, let me know in the comments!
How I Met Your Mother – “Split
sville”
You know it’s a bad sign when I browse Pinterest the whole time a show is on. I’ve definitely become disenchanted with HIMYM, and this week the jokes I laughed at were few and far between. Robin’s boyfriend was too dumb, and all the jokes about it felt like they were from Two and a Half Men. I think the biggest problem with this episode, though, was that I’ve become fed up with the Barney and Robin relationship. I’d have cared a lot more about Barney’s declaration of love to Robin if he hadn’t written it off as a gag, and if I didn’t know that they’re going to end up at the altar and Robin will try to bail. I did like some of the stuff with Marshall and Lily, but that’s the usual now for HIMYM.
Best moment: Ted’s architect basketball team complaining that the gym had too much hardwood and lacked flow.
Raising Hope – “What Up, Bro”
I won’t say a lot about this episode, other than I didn’t really care for it. The idea that Burt and Virginia had given Jimmy up for adoption and then backtracked was funny, but I don’t think the plot went anywhere that we couldn’t see coming. It felt too stereotypical that the rich, seemingly perfect family turned out to be racist. This has always been a hit & miss show for me, and this week was more of a miss.
Best moment: Sabrina’s British accent. Never pass up an opportunity to fake an accent.
New Girl – “Menzies”
Loyal blog readers and close friends will know that I am reeeeaaaaallly not a fan of period humor. “Women act crazy because of PMS!” is not a funny joke. It is not insightful or fresh or new. And I hate over-the-top bitchiness being passed off for how women actually act. Crying in a job interview? Do people do that? Come on. That said, I thought Nick’s grumpiness was hilarious, and the interactions with his Asian old man friend were hilarious. Schmidt and Cece’s plot was decent, but overall this wasn’t my favorite episode. I’m glad Jess has a job again, and I think it’ll be fun to watch her teach adults.
Best moment: Nick trying to guess his magical best friend’s name. I think it was Tran.
Best Schmidt: “I would never run away from you. But if I did, I’d run faster than Robbie.”
The Mindy Project – “Danny Castellano is my Gynecologist”
Curvy girls with slim boyfriends live in fear of him putting on her pants by accident. This is a fact of life. Anyway, I thought this was a really good episode. Danny’s nosy questionnaire was as hilarious as the entire situation was inappropriate, and Jeremy breaking into Mindy’s apartment to retrieve a watch was a good use of a character the writers have so far struggled with – it helped that he was paired up with Morgan and Betsy. I liked how Danny asking for Mindy’s weight tied into her earlier insecurities, which she overcame.
Best moment: We have a winner! Beyonce Pad Thai!
Happy Endings – “Boys II Menorah”
This episode was so funny that I don’t want to review it, because I can’t do it justice. A+, Happy Endings. Brad and Max performing at bar mitzvahs was hysterical. The 80s video at the end needs to be made into a series of animated .GIFs ASAP. The funny throwaway lines that makes the show was it is were in full force (Brad and Penny? They have their own thing going on this week…) and I’m pretty sure I’ll watch this episode a second time on the weekend.
Best moment: “You fools! That only makes me stronger!”
Runner up: Only an idiot eats a candle. (The execution here was much funnier than the line itself.)
Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23 – “Sexy People…”
23 has been having a really strong second season, and this episode was no exception. James Van Der Beek has been killing it, and watching Chloe prove that June could fall for any man chosen as People‘s Sexiest Man Alive was the perfect level of scheming and not-too-bitchy. Plus, who doesn’t want to see Chloe play her own version of Meryl Streep as Anna Wintour?
Best moment: “Is that Secretariat? Oh it’s not? Because the way everyone’s fawning over him, I thought it must be.”
Runner up: Season one of Luck and a big tub of glue.
The Big Bang Theory – “The 43rd Peculiarity”
Leonard and Penny have been killing this season of The Big Bang Theory. I haven’t liked them all season, and I’m tired of Leonard’s constant insecurity and Penny’s constant doubt for her feelings. This week, she finally told Leonard she loves him, but they avoided having a real moment. Still, I hope this means we can move on knowing that Penny is really invested in the relationship. The rest of the episode, which had Howard and Raj spying on Sheldon’s experient in a secret room, was funny. I liked the prank he pulled on them, and the fact that ‘43′ had to do with hackeysack was a delightful surprise.
Best moment: “Oh drat, I’m never going to get to 43 again.”
The Office – “The Whale”
I wasn’t super into this episode of The Office until it turned out that the female client Dwight was being prepped to pitch to was Jan. That was a great twist that brought back all the craziness she put Michael through – a fun trip down memory lane considering this is the show’s final season. I also liked Oscar and Angela’s mission to spy on her husband/Oscar’s lover, which culminated in Angela realizing what has been going on. Jim’s realizing that if he wants to pursue his new business for real, he’ll have to leave Dunder Mifflin and move to Philly.
Best moment: Jan’s ridiculous slideshow.
Parks and Recreation – “Leslie vs. April”
Remember how season one of Parks wasn’t very good? This show took a while to find its footing, and since then the pit that started it all has only been mentioned a few times. It seems fitting that Leslie’s reluctant protégé April would be the one to finally do something with it, turning it into a dog park. There was a lot to love about this episode, but it’s late so it’ll have to be short. Joe Biden’s much-hyped appearance was just amazing – major kudos to him to keeping a straight face, because Amy Poehler was pure gold. Ben getting offered jobs better than the one he’d just accepted at every turn was quite funny, and Andy’s mission to become a police officer continues to pay off in dividends. Another great episode.
Best moment: There were many, but I’m selecting “Maybe we should find the person who stole his positive attitude.”
