Jason Hughes
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Sundays with Seth: A night of criminal activity
I'm not sure if it was by bizarre coincidence or divine -- by which I mean Seth MacFarlane -- intervention, but all three MacFarlane episodes this week were mired in illegal activities. 'Family Guy' saw Meg go from a sweet innocent teenaged girl into a hardened criminal, Cleveland Brown inadvertently became a drug trafficker, while Stan Smith found himself overwhelmed with a drug problem of his own.
And in both 'The Cleveland Show' and 'American Dad,' we got reminders that marijuana isn't really a drug. 'The Cleveland Show' listed for us where we can get it legally (with a prescription), while 'American Dad' mocked the notion of someone becoming addicted to pot to the point they would need rehab.
At least 'Family Guy' kept it simple. Drugs weren't an issue throughout the entire episode, though Meg was certainly acting like she was on drugs. What she was really doing, though, was acting out over years of abuse by everyone around her.
Continue reading Sundays with Seth: A night of criminal activity
Review: The Simpsons - Million Dollar Maybe
(S21E11) This episode featured two surprises, though both rather short-lived. The band Coldplay appeared as themselves, and the winning character from the "Best. Character. Ever" contest was revealed. It's so much excitement, even a million dollars couldn't top it!
The animation looked a little more awkward than in most weeks for some reason. It's as if the characters were drawn in a slightly more abstract way, similar to Groening's 'Life in Hell' comic strip. There was a bit more distortion in their features than we're used to seeing. 'The Simpsons' has become a very crisp production.
The main plot this week involved Homer ditching Marge at a wedding because a fortune cookie told him he would be lucky that day. From there, things went into the realm of the absurd at a breakneck pace.
Continue reading Review: The Simpsons - Million Dollar Maybe
Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Four
(S09E04) Good lord there was a lot of drama in the Biggest Loser house tonight. After the yell-fest last week between Bob, Jillian and the Red team, I was confident that we'd get the fallout from that as the trainers tried to work with Lance and Melissa -- and we did -- but drama came from another direction as well.By the end of the episode, I was ready to completely send two teams home just so there could be some damned peace and quiet in the house for once. I got 25% of my wish.
Faced with the challenge of forging ahead on his own, and after getting encouraging, but tough, words from the other contestants, the pressure was on Michael to prove his worth in the house, with the other contestants and most importantly, for himself. His journey of commitment was completely overshadowed.
Continue reading Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Four
Review: Men of a Certain Age - Father's Fraternity
(S01E07) One of the many things I love about Men of a Certain Age is the wonderful marriage shown between Owen and Melissa. She is such a wonderful counterpart to all of his insecurities and frustrations, and yet knows when to stand up and let her own voice be heard. I thought the relationship was on wonderful display when Owen came home complaining about being forced to do the commercial, and she was able to quickly get to the root of the matter: his stagefright.The series continues to add layers to the characters, even giving Owen's father a hint of sympathy this week. Don't get me wrong, the guy's still a complete and total hardass, but he was willing to do the right thing, and seemed genuinely confused by the misunderstandings people were having about the intention of his commercial.
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Review: Heroes - The Art of Deception
(S04E17) Forces are starting to converge at the Sullivan Bros. Carnival as we get closer and closer to the finale -- two weeks away now! After last week's stunt where he wiped out an entire town, the "family" at the carnival is understandably a little wary of Samuel. He did, after all, erase a small town killing hundreds of people. I'd give him a wide berth.Maybe if I was invulnerable, I'd be more willing to get closer to him. Claire certainly has no reason to be afraid, right? She stumbled upon her father's plans regarding taking down Samuel and shutting down the carnival for good. Like Edgar, she is concerned about Noah's plans to break apart the family. Noah, as usual, is bull-headed and stubborn. I'm just not sure under what authority he was acting throughout this episode.
As for Sylar, we saw him at the Parkman house. And we know how powerful Matt is. Maybe, just maybe, this psychopath can be taken care of for good. Not hardly.
Continue reading Review: Heroes - The Art of Deception
Review: Community - Interpretive Dance
(S01E14) This one actually hits a little close to home. Through most of my childhood, and into my teen years, I took dance classes. I even got pretty good, performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company for a brief time. But, like Troy, there was that element of shame and embarrassment in being a male dancer, primarily based on the negative response most people still seem to have to it.However, while I've been to plenty of recitals in my day, I've never seen adults perform routines anything like the weird teapot-flower dance Britta found herself in. It was so goofy and hilarious, that I felt almost as horrified and mortified for her as Pierce did. Actually, I think Pierce was having a blast.
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Review: The New Adventures of Old Christine - Truth or Dare
(S05E13) It's always nice to see that the men Christine falls for are as damaged as she is. Well, one of her suitors tonight is anyway. Things continue developing intimately between Christine and Max (Eric McCormack), until she gets a text from Mr. Harris. You remember Mr. Harris, don't you? Ritchie's former teacher who was so gorgeous that Matthew and Richard developed weird fixations on him as well.
That's right. Blair Underwood is back, reprising his role as Mr. Harris. And while he remains as handsome as ever, things couldn't be more complicated between him and Christine as they were tonight.
Continue reading Review: The New Adventures of Old Christine - Truth or Dare
Review: Modern Family - Fifteen Percent
(S01E13) As usual, there was a ton going on this week, with all three families dealing with different types of crises. Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) was in one of the more unusual guest roles I've seen in awhile. You can't really describe how she came to be on the episode without it sounding all kinds of creepy, and yet the show managed to avoid any of the cliche reactions to what happened.
The way they've handled Jay's reaction to and dealing with the ongoing situation of his son's homosexuality has also managed to avoid the trite and formulaic "tough guy" dads we're used to seeing. There's just something more authentic about all these relationships, and I think a lot of it is bucking expectations. Gloria's not a gold-digging foreigner, nor is she just looking for a green card marriage. She's a sweet and understanding woman who genuinely loves her husband and son. Maybe a little too understanding.
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Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Three
(S09E03) The theme this week at the Biggest Loser Ranch was apparently anger. The first part of the episode focused on the Green team. Migdalia, the daughter, does a great job of bottling her emotions, thinking of tears as weakness. But those defensive walls almost prove her undoing. I thought her anger issues would be all we might get, but by the end of the episode, there was anger, bitterness and resentment flying all around.Alison lets the contestants know that this week will be Student-Teacher week. One teammate will be the teacher, and will be the only one training with Bob and Jillian. The other teammate will be the Student. The only training they'll receive will be at the hands of the Teacher, and only the Student's weight will determine which team falls below the yellow line.
After that, she threw an Immunity Challenge at them that had more twists and turns in the way it played out than it did in what the contestants were actually doing.
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Review: Heroes - Pass/Fail
(S04E16) "Objection, your honor. He's reciting the opening to Quantum Leap." -- Adam Monro, prosecuting attorney in Hiro's mind-trialThis week, it was time to deal once and for all with that pesky tumor in Hiro's brain. This isn't Eli Stone, after all. Not to mention how downright loopy he's been lately. So apparently the resolution is for his body to collapse while he faces a strange trial in the diner where he met, failed-to-save, and then did save Charlie. David Anders reprised his role as Adam Monroe to prosecute our time traveling hero, while George Takei presided over the thing as his father and the judge.
The rest of the episode was split between Sylar's quest to figure out why Lydia's ability was directing him to Claire, and Samuel's attempts to woo Vanessa after he'd kidnapped her. I can say, that I thought he was off to a rough start on that one.
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