Thoughts on Week 4 of the Fall Television Season

Jane the Virgin (CW) Episode 1: I only checked out this show because of the great buzz it has been receiving since it was first unveiled to critics, reporters and ad buyers during Upfronts a few months back. While it didn’t quite meet the expectations set by the glowing reviews it received, it is head and shoulders above the rest of the new broadcast shows, easily the best new network show of the fall. Don’t be put off by the ludicrous premise (don’t even read it), this show is fresh, charming, and likable. It may be the only new network fall show I keep up with for the rest of the season

Marry Me (NBC) Episode 1: I came into this with tempered expectations due to lukewarm reviews. Oh man, this just might be my favorite new broadcast comedy of the fall season, and most likely the only one I keep up with beyond 3 episodes. Is it the funniest? Nah. Laugh-a-minute joke rate? Nope. But with its winning cast, Marry Me is likable and enjoyable in spades. I liked it more than I laughed, but there were plenty of jokes that landed. Really, really likable.

The Flash (CW) Episode 2: Just a some quick thoughts:
-Bart, you’ve got a point but stop saying the words ‘you’re not my father!’ to the man who raised you! You bag of dismembered dicks!
-One of my previous complaints about the show was that Flash would need to eat a lot in order to be able to run 300 mph multiple times a day. Annnnd they addressed that. Well done. I think a little more than a ‘super special’ protein bar will do it though (this some Michael Phelps 5000 calories-a-day shit)
-Called this was a clone episode the moment he said the 6 shoe sizes were identical
-Okay, just because he can run super fast doesn’t mean he can maneuver hallways and turns quickly. Also when he’s conversing with Iris in super-speed, it would still eat up a lot of time, even if he’s talking super fast /nitpick
-I still like Iris and the chemistry between her and Barry
-“That’s pretty ironic, the guy who specialized in cloning and now he can make Xeroxes of himself” THAT’S. NOT. FUCKING. IRONY. /grammarnazi
-The scene between child Barry and his jailed father 😦
-When jailed father grabs child Barry I was waiting for the security guard to go “NO TOUCHING!”
-Wheelchair dude’s hella mysterious
-In the climax office fight, that one image of the silhouette of the hand wielding the gun then you see the actual hand holding the gun move from the glass, nice camera shot
-“REMEMBER BARRY YOU NEED TO ISOLATE THE PRIME”
“You need to isolate the prime” Easier said than done muthafuckas
“Nothing’s impossible Barry. You taught me that.” cringe-line of the episode
-When black guy brought the pizzas and turned around to look at the chalkboard with photos, I was expecting that when he turned around again Bart would’ve already finished the whole pizza and been all like “oh…did you want some?” MISSED OPPORTUNITY
-Not a fan of the voiceovers, beginning one was fun but the end voiceover was pretty lame.
-Iris looking into The Flash, meh. Inevitably they’ll be some close calls between her and Barry and he’ll act all innocent and unknowing when she asks for his help. Prettty predictable where and how that’ll play out.
All in all, still in the positive side, I’ve never really liked a superhero TV show before so this is one of the better ones for me, still, far from a slam dunk, rough around the edges and still plenty of meh-worthy things about it. Will probably be downgraded to background-noise status

A to Z (NBC) Episode 3: I watched the 1st episode over the summer when it was available for early preview and felt pretty meh about it, but saw something in it that was good enough to give it a couple more tries. Episode 2 was alright but I liked episode 3 the most of the bunch. It’s a romantic comedy that hardly ever gets too sappy or too cutesy for its own good. It’s got a likable cast, especially with the high-strung blonde boss. As I kick the other insufferable comedies to the curb, I’ll probably keep this one around for background noise viewing.

Selfie (ABC) Episode 3: Actually an improvement, it’s borderline-tolerable now. Karen Gillan nails it.

How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) Episode 4:
-Thinking this is a repeat at the beginning of every episode ugh
-Gay douchebag character boning everything in sight at all times always forever ugh
-Stupid dialogue for 1-dimensional unoriginal student characters ugggh
-Overly-dramatic dialogue as realistic as Pamela Anderson’s tatas are real uggggh
-Did I mention how fucking annoying gay douchebag character is
-Viola Davis super-dramatically removing her jewelry, wig, and makeup to ULTRA-Dramatic music UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH
-“Why is your penis on a dead girl’s phone?” LOLOLOLOLOL The most hilarious unintentionally funny line of dialogue, and the hardest I’ve ever laughed at such a line. SO. BAD. Why Viola Davis. why. This is straight-up some Soup shit.
I rolled my eyes so many times during this episode I thought this’d be like that episode of 30 Rock where Liz Lemon’s eyes got stuck mid-eye roll:

The music ain’t bad, if placed and used not-great-ly. Last week they used music from one of my favorite under-the-radar Brit bands, Fenech-Soler and I’m pretty sure this week’s ep cribbed music from the soundtrack of the super-awesome supernatural French series Les Revenants from the band Mogwai/
This show is finally getting dumped and off my watch list. Finally.

Mulaney (FOX) Episode 2: Oh Mulaney.
Seinfeld started out with poor reviews for its first 1.5 seasons and also low ratings (for that time).
Before Louis C.K. created the critically-acclaimed Louie, he made Lucky Louie, the 1-season HBO show that received mixed reviews.
That’s to say, even things/people that become beloved and well-respected make a (couple of) shitter(s) first. Mulaney is one of those shitters.

Returning Shows
Downton Abbey (ITV) Episode 5: Sad to say, but this show has gotten pretty damn stale this season, just re-hashing the same old plotlines from season 4

Boardwalk Empire (HBO) Episode 6: This is how you do a final season, by killing off every other major character.

Sons of Anarchy (FX) Episode 6: Conversely, this is not how you do a final season. As a fan of Sons of Anarchy, I’m enjoying this final season. It’s not great however, far from.

Modern Family (ABC) S6 Episode 4: Still don’t like Cam and Mitch’s storylines. And Cam just neglecting his daughter’s potential bullying when he frets about himself. Yeah, yeah, it’s a comedy and was played for comedic effect, but still. That scene would’ve been 500x better if Lily just deadpans ‘so I putting itching powder in their combs and they never messed with me again.’

The Mindy Project (Fox) Ep 5: More Peter-Dr. Jeremy Reed plotlines please. Also more Dr. Reed doing a bro-tastic American accent.