TVSquad

(S01E02) I'll say this much about the second episode of Cougar Town: It didn't make me laugh as much as the first did. But I feel a whole lot better about the show's future after seeing it.

Sometimes that happens, and it happens a lot with Bill Lawrence-led shows. Sometimes it's not wall-to-wall laughs, but the story is satisfying enough that you don't care. In this episode, we see some more humanity behind Jules and her quest to finally have a life even though she's in her forties... and we see the consequences of trying to pursue a life in your forties. We also got a little more out of Ellie than just the bitter wife we saw in the pilot. We also see the beginnings of a weird flirtation between Jules and Grayson that most people figured would happen from the first three minutes of the pilot.

Better Off Ted, ABC's new workplace comedy, debuts Wednesday at 8:30PM ET. However, the timing of the show's release couldn't be more fortuitous... or disastrous, depending on how you look at it. The show revolves around an ethically inept conglomerate, Veridian Dynamics, and as a result, viewers will unavoidably end up thinking about everything that's wrong with our economy - from Bernie Madoff to AIG to Enron (a stretch yes, but still relevant). As a comedy, it's a decidedly glass half-full approach. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when most viewers will probably have more in common with a glass half-empty mantra. Will it work? I'm thinking yes.

Nathan Fillion deserves a break. Sure, he's had a successful career with memorable guest turns in recent hits such as Lost and Desperate Housewives. And sure, he's got cult hits like Firefly and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog under his belt, too. However, as of late, the well has run dry for Fillion (Drive, anyone?), and let's be honest - a man cannot live off of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place residuals alone. So I'll say it again - the man deserves a break. Castle, unfortunately, is not that break.

(S01E02) "I will not look the other way Jax." - Hale

I'm still on board with Sons of Anarchy, but there are just too many things that are rubbing me the wrong way. Much like my minor complaint on this season of The Shield, Jax's father's manuscript has reached the point of becoming über-important just like Cruz Pezuela's blackmail box (the one Mackey stole) without any solid explanation. One gets the feeling that without that manuscript, the story would just crumble.

If this thing is so important, then why didn't Gemma or Clay have it destroyed years ago? Did they even know it existed? It was just lying out in the open in the family storage unit. While I appreciate the tension that builds as Jax slowly reads one page at a time, I'm still unconvinced that when he gets to, I dunno, "page 86," that we're going to be that shocked when the inevitable bomb is dropped. Why else would Gemma want it so bad if there wasn't some horrible family secret buried in it?

(S01E02) "How old were you?" - Patty

I gotta be honest. I'm just blown away by this show and we're only two episodes in! I mean... how does FX do it? This is what? The fourth or fifth legitimately good show they've pumped out now? Not bad for a basic cable network.

I think what has me so impressed are the characters themselves and how much they're already developed. The characterization that's been achieved here in two episodes is something that other shows often don't reach over the course of an entire season. We know motives, vices, and whats drives all the players involved. Yet at the same time... I still don't know who to trust. If Damages preaches one truth, it's that everyone lies.

(S01E02) This show is just too cool. Everything about it is just so smooth and flashy and slick. Very slick. Just look at the opening title sequence. This is new since it wasn't attached to last week's pilot. It looked great. The way it incorporated blood into every aspect of Dexter's life? He wakes up being bitten by a mosquito. He cuts himself shaving. For breakfast, he even juices a very ripe blood orange. See? Slick.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.

(S01E02) David Schwimmer is still around. I love it! Even better is that Kelly refuses to call Schwimmer by his character's name. Rather he keeps referring to the guy as his apartment number, 4B. Hilarious.

Back to the story though, we pick up right where the pilot episode left off. Sipowicz is in the hospital, but he's talking and seems to be recovering quite well. The only problem is that he has no recollection of who shot him. At least that's what he tells Kelly and Fancy. It becomes clear pretty quickly that Sipowicz wants Giardella for himself, so he's keeping his mouth shut.

One of the things I'm loving about this show are all the great cop show stereotypes that NYPD Blue adheres to. Good cop, bad cop. Seasoned veteran who's seen it all and the balanced partner. The compassionate hard-ass of a lieutenant. This show follows all the rules and then goes ahead and breaks them. It's interesting to watch though. It's like seeing a child being born because you can see things that have influenced other shows in the years that followed.