"What I Watched" Wednesday - TV Time

I think I'll save my movie reviews for next Monday, since I've only watched a couple since last time. Should be a nice Halloweeny review day, since I have a couple of off-beat newly released on DVD horror flicks on their way to me from Netflix right now: Fido, about a boy and his pet zombie, and The Tripper, the feature-length writing and directorial debut of David Arquette about a Ronald Regan-obsessed serial killer going after a hippie commune. How can I pass up either of those?

Now, on to the TV reviews.

Monday, Oct. 15

Chuck (NBC 7:00): Yes, still running a week behind on reporting these. My only complaint about the episode was that Sarah got all ticked at Chuck for not trusting her, even though she flat out lied to him about Bryce. Other than that, still a great show

Journeyman (NBC 9:00): Every week I'm torn on this one: on the one hand, each episode has some clever moments, and I'm definitely intrigued by the overall mystery of what exactly is causing his travels; on the other hand, the fact that he falls into domestic chitchat with Olivia instead of pressing her for some real answers rankles, and the bipolar attitude of his wife towards him is driving me insane, as is the fact that nobody ever sees him disappear.

Tuesday, Oct. 16

Reaper (CW, 8:00): This one almost felt like it was shown out of sequence; either that, or they're setting up that, when it comes to dealing with the Devil, Sam's a very slow learner. Plus, they all acted like "nobody can sell your soul but you" was a new idea, even though it got brought up in the pilot; of course, with all of the junk that got crammed into that overstuffed mess, it's not surprising that it slipped through the cracks. Still like the show a lot for it's wit and humor, but feel like the through-plot isn't progressing at all.

Wednesday, Oct. 17

Pushing Daisies (ABC 7:00): First of all, some good news: Pushing Daisies has been picked up for the full season, meaning we are guaranteed at least 22 episodes. The overall plotting still leaves a bit to be desired, and sometimes the characters seem about to collapse under the weight of their own preciousness, but I'm still hooked for now.

Private Practice (ABC 8:00): Am I the only one annoyed by the blond doctor from the big hospital who seems to only be there to give the main cast an establishment to rail against? And I hate that they're going to have Cooper pursue Violet, as I'm pretty sure that making them a couple instead of just good friends will screw up their dynamic.

Thursday, Oct. 18

My Name Is Earl (NBC 7:00): I liked the concept of everyone escaping their mundane lives through the joys of creative writing more than I did the actual execution; don't know why, but most of the installments fell flat for me. Not that there weren't some great moments sprinkled throughout, especially in Randy's mishmash superhero tale an Catalina's telenovela, but all in all, not one of their stronger eps.

30 Rock (NBC 7:30): The whole "Jenna gets fat" storyline is much more entertaining than I had anticipated, and the cookie jar sequences were great. While I can understand why they're focusing on their heavy hitters (Jack, Liz, Tracey, and Kenneth) I do wish they'd go back to showing more of the writers' room. Although, after complaining in the past how underutilized Jane Krakowski had been, I suppose I should be happy she's getting a bit of the spotlight now.

Survivor (CBS 7:00): Well, there went my hopes of seeing the most annoying people go first; can't believe the girls blew the challenge so blatantly.

The Office (NBC 8:00): As usual, the show veers from the genius (Pam's reaction to realizing Michael was watching Million Dollar Baby, the Schrute farm, Andy's wooing of Angela, Kevin's ire towards Scrantonicity, Kelly's crazy mind games) to the cringe inducing (the bulk of Michael's scenes). If I can make it through Michael being a complete moron, I can make it through anything. Have to say, the scene where Jim goes to comfort Dwight in the stairwell was actually kind of touching.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC 8:00): Not one of their better episodes: the Izzie/Callie stuff was as bad as I'd feared, and Adele's dressing down of The Chief made me switch between hoping he gives up on getting her back and thinking that he approached the topic with her in the dumbest way possible and so deserved to get a tongue-lashing. All in all, far too little Bailey; even a crappy episode can be saved with a generous helping of Bailey.

Monday, Oct 22

How I Met Your Mother (CBS 7:00): Liked the way that future Ted dealt with the fact that he couldn't remember Blahblah's real name; liked Barney's crazy/hotness scale illustrations; liked all of the reminiscing of how they met; liked Blahblah's crazy reactions to Robin; liked Barney's repeated use of "crazy"; all in all, liked quite a bit in this ep.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS 7:30): More good news: this show, which has gotten stronger with each episode, has also been picked up for a full 22 episodes. Nice to see Sara Gilbert return, hope she makes a habit of it, but once again the true star of the show is Sheldon.

And now, for Bubblegum "Don't have cable so will have to wait for the DVDs" Tate's benefit: SPOILER SPACE

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Heroes (NBC 8:00): Parkman's dad's identity as the killer makes sense if you remember that Angela Petrelli's injuries were self-inflicted, and that Hiro's dad was the only one who saw the assailant that "pushed" him off the roof; if that's really the case, and he's not just a red herring, then I wonder who it was that Mr. Sulu, I mean, Nakamura, saw rushing him in the vision. Glad to see Kristen "Veronica Mars" Bell pop up; wondering exactly who her "daddy" is. Oh, and Mohinder still annoys the heck out of me; from the instant he let Sylar live instead of finishing him off last season he lost all rights to judge anybody else for their decision making.