Week in Review, Dec 17 to Dec 23

Seeing as this post is going live early morning on Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas to everyone! Yeah, that's right, I'm an atheist and I'm wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. What "War on Christmas?" Most atheists are happy to celebrate Christmas, but we obviously take the Christ out of it. It's a pretty damn good holiday with the Christ taken out of it.

So, what did I do for fun in the week before Christmas? Spoiler warning! Not a whole lot.

The Week in Video Games

I spent a fair bit of time this week playing the Wii Virtual Console version of the SNES's Super Mario Kart. It is still a sweet game! In this first iteration of the series, winning is all about skill, and not item usage. Best of all, no rubber-band AI and no fucking blue shells!

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii news, I finally worked my way through all 8 worlds and took on Bowser in a surprisingly epic end boss battle. Now that I've finished the main game, I can safely say that NSMBW is significantly better than the DS version, which somewhat disappointed me actually, and is unquestionably a worthy addition to one of the best video game series of all time. Although I have rescued Peach once again, my time with the game is nowhere near complete. The collection of star coins opens up levels in secret world 9, offering an extra challenge and many extra hours. If levels 9-1 and 9-2 are a sign of things to come, these are easily the toughest Mario Bros. levels since Tubular.

One of the highlights of this week, probably the highlight actually, was playing NSMBW with my two brothers who were in town for Christmas. No previous Mario side-scroller has offered simultaneous cooperative (or combative) multiplayer, so I was skeptical that it would work--but goddamn, it does! It's often confusing and chaotic, and frequently frustrating, but it's also a fucking blast. And so very, very funny sometimes. Well done, Nintendo!

The Week in Television

Having caught up with Mad Men, it was time to start a new series this week. My choice was about as far from Mad Men as you can get: the goofy but enjoyable Warehouse 13. I'm not marathoning Warehouse 13, but using it to take a break from video gaming every once in a while.

Friday, December 18th
Loved: Dollhouse (2x9/2x10)

The third and final two-hour Dollhouse event featured the weakest and strongest of the six episodes. The first hour, Victor-centric "Stop-Loss," was pretty good, featuring interesting developments with Echo and especially Adelle, but a little awkward in the execution of the Borg-like soldiers plotline. Fortunately, the second hour, "The Attic," was awesome--arguably the best episode of the season and maybe series. Cancellation of the series has forced Joss Whedon to show his hand early and I am loving every minute of it. Best of all, the unexpected ending brought back fond memories of Angel season five.

Sunday, December 20th
Liked: Top Gear (14x5)

Tuesday, December 22nd
Loved: Better Off Ted (2x3)

"Battle of the Bulbs" was another great episode of Better Off Ted. Introducing a rivalry between Ted and Linda was a smart idea, leading to many good scenes. The return of Dr. Bomba was fun, and Lem had some great moments dealing with his mother. However, drunk Phil was unquestionably the hightlight of the episode.

Week in Review, Dec 10 to Dec 16

I spoke too soon last week when I thought that post would be the last television-heavy Week in Review post of 2009. Nope, this one is.

The Week in Television

After watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's season finale on Thursday night, I decided it was time to watch A Very Sunny Christmas. Released on DVD nearly a month ago, I saved it for closer to Christmas, to really appreciate the gang's anti-social behaviour at the right time of the year. And, boy, did they deliver on the promise of seeing the gang ruin Christmas for everyone. This special was effectively a two part episode of the show, and it was easily as strong as any of the fifth season's episodes.

Thursday, December 10th
Loved: Fringe (2x10)
Liked: 30 Rock (4x8), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (5x12), Parks and Recreation (2x12), The Office (6x13)

All four Thursday comedies ended 2009 with above average episodes, three of the four celebrating the Christmas season. The exception was Always Sunny, but if you've been paying attention you already know that Always Sunny's Christmas episode for the year was released on DVD and reviewed one paragraph up from here. In "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry," an old flip cup rivalry leads to embarrassing hi-jinks in a fancy restaurant and a frat house where the gang meets their match in more ways than just flip cup.

The Office has a history of strong Christmas episodes, but the first half of "Secret Santa" was a little worrisome with an overly assholish turn by Michael. Thankfully, Michael soon learned the error of his ways, and the episode picked up in a big way in the second half. The Andy and Erin relationship continues to be the highlight of the season, with the ending especially delivering in a big way on that front.

30 Rock's Christmas episode was (coincidentally?) also titled "Secret Santa." It was a more consistently funny episode than The Office, but in that ridiculously goofy 30 Rock way. Liz's search for the perfect gift for Jack had the best payoff of the episode's many storylines.

In Parks and Recreation's "Christmas Scandal," Leslie's encounter with a sleazy politician led to scandal (obviously--it's in the title) and some brilliantly satirical media coverage. As funny as that story was, the best moments of the episode involved the relationships of Leslie and Dave and especially Andy and April. It looks like Louis C. K. has made his last appearance in the series, which is pretty sad considering how great he was.

"Grey Matters" took Fringe back to welcome mythology territory, and was easily the most dramatic and interesting episode of the season so far. The revelations about the cause of Walter's mental condition were shocking, and the confrontation between Olivia and the new baddie was tense. The second half of Fringe's first season was significantly better than the first half, so I'm excited to see what the second half of season two has in store.

Friday, December 11th
Loved: Dollhouse (2x7/2x8)

The second two-hour Dollhouse event, consisting of episodes "Meet Jane Doe" and "A Love Supreme," was again amazing. It's too bad that no one is watching this show now that it has really hit its stride in classic Joss Whedon season two style. Like last week, both episodes were very good but the best material came in the second hour, with the return of the awesome Alan Tudyk as Alpha.

Saturday, December 12th
Loved: Legend of the Seeker (2x6)

Legend of the Seeker's "Fury" started out slow and non-promising, but slowly developed into one of the best episodes of the series. The sequence where Zedd saves Richard from his rage was unquestionably the most impressively acted scene in the series' history. Bruce Spence rocks! The storyline was strong, well-developed, and faithful to the spirit of the books. This episode was particularly good coming after the big misstep that was "Wizard."

Sunday, December 13th
Loved: Dexter (4x12)

What can I say about Dexter's fourth season finale, "The Getaway," other than "HOLY SHIT!?!" And, "When does season five start?" This season was undoubtedly the best season since the first, consisting of twelve excellent, exciting, intense episodes with very few missteps. Sure, some characters are simply not nearly as interesting as Dexter and Deb, but the amount of time spent on those characters was minimal and didn't take away from the strength of the Trinity storyline. Dexter has reclaimed its title as the best drama on television.

Monday, December 14th
Loved: The Big Bang Theory (3x11)

The Big Bang Theory's Christmas-lite episode, "The Maternal Congruence," was one of the better episodes of the year for me. Sheldon's relationship with Leonard's mom, Beverly, is absolutely priceless. Penny and Beverly bonding over booze was a touch over the top, but it brought the laughs in a big way. Best of all was Beverly's hilarious observations about Raj and Howard's latent homosexuality.

Tuesday, December 15th
Loved: Better Off Ted (2x2)
Liked: So You Think You Can Dance (6x23)

"The Lawyer, the Lemur and the Little Listener" was another pretty good episode of Better Off Ted. The title of this episode reflects the three parallel storylines, with Lem and the lawyer getting the biggest laughs, and Ted and the little listener (his daughter Rose) having the best payoff. The awesome Veridian Dynamics commercial near the end was a very welcome addition.

Wednesday, December 16th
Meh: So You Think You Can Dance (6x24)

So You Think You Can Dance finales are an incredible example of two hours of filler, filler, filler, and more filler. Seeing some of the season's best dances again is okay, although there weren't that many great dance routines in this below average season, but then... Jennifer Lopez, really? I'm also not impressed with America's choice for the winner, but ultimately it doesn't matter who wins SYTYCD, because I'll probably never see or hear from any of these people ever again.

Week in Review, Dec 3 to Dec 9

As the fall TV season is finally drawing to a close (although, strangely, two of my favourite series started back up this week when most series were winding down), this will hopefully be the last Week in Review post of 2009 that is focused almost entirely on TV. My biggest spare time consumer continues to be Mad Men, but I'm well into the third and most recent season now, so will soon be done with that time suck and ready to find something to replace it. (Note that I am not using "time suck" with a negative connotation. Mad Men is very good and surprisingly addictive and I need to watch it all now; therefore everything else that I could be doing is pushed to the back-burner.)

I've only read the introduction to Vonnegut's Mother Night so far. Ever since buying my Eee PC, which I love, I have replaced going to bed and reading a book with going to bed and reading feeds and online dating profiles.

In video game news, the fifth and final episodic Tales of Monkey Island game was released this week, but I still haven't played through episode two. The whole series is on my "games to tackle during Christmas vacation" list with Dragon Age and possibly Shadow Complex. I recently dug out my old Logitech mouse that has a scroll wheel that should work with Dragon Age, so now all I need to do is to find the time to dive into that monster of a game.

The Week in Video Games

Over the past week, I have for the first time in over a year been playing a new Guitar Hero branded music video game instead of a Rock Band branded game. On Black Friday, Walmart put Guitar Hero Smash Hits on sale for $18, and I found that I couldn't resist the price. Smash Hits' setlist is made up of some of the best songs from the first five Guitar Hero games (1, 2, 3, 80's, and Aerosmith), and there are more than enough songs that I love to make the $18 well worth it. I would have gladly paid more than $18 for these tracks as DLC in Rock Band, but most are not available, so this works as a substitute. After playing through the guitar career mode on hard difficulty, I was inspired to write about my feelings on the Rock Band vs Guitar Hero rivalry. Watch for an upcoming blog entry on that topic.

The Week in Television

Thursday, December 3rd
Liked: Fringe (2x9), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (5x11), Parks and Recreation (2x11)
Meh: 30 Rock (4x7), The Office (6x12)

After a week off, most of the Thursday comedies came back this week with a whimper. In a surprise, Parks and Recreation had the best 30 minutes of the night with "The Fourth Floor," creating some good laughs out of Tom's divorce from his Canadian Green Card wife. The Office's "Scott's Tots" had a wrong-headed, awkward Michael A-plot and Jim reacting with uncharacteristic stupidity to Dwight's "diabolical plan" in the B-plot. In 30 Rock's "Dealbreakers Talk Show No. 0001," Liz transformed into Jenna in a nonsensical and not really all that funny turn of events, but in a somewhat funnier subplot Frank turned into Liz. In Always Sunny, "Mac and Charlie [Wrote] a Movie," which certainly yielded some hilarious brainstorming sessions, but the sequences on the movie set were uncomfortable and far too unrealistic in the way that the entire gang wasn't ejected from the set within their first couple of minutes.

Fringe's "Snakehead" was a good standalone X-Files-ish episode. The monster of the week storyline was decent, but the highlights were all character moments involving Walter and his increasing desire for independence, especially the development in the friendship between Walter and Astrid.

Friday, December 4th
Loved: Dollhouse (2x5/2x6)
Liked: Stargate Universe (1x10)

Dollhouse returned from its November hiatus with two stellar episodes, "The Public Eye" and "The Left Hand." The latter was the strongest of the two, bringing two Tophers to the screen in a few inspired sequences with some very impressive acting from Enver Gjokaj. Summer Glau also made her awesome debut as the DC Dollhouse's Topher, the slightly psychotic Bennett. The two episodes worked well in a two hour block, finishing the story of Senator Perrin's attempt to out Rossum Corporation and the Dollhouse with some fun surprises.

Stargate Universe's fall season finale, "Justice," was a strong episode, focusing on the tension amongst the crew on Destiny and thankfully avoiding the crutch of the communication stones. The ongoing hostility between Rush and Young came to a head, and the ending delivered an interesting cliffhanger.

Saturday, December 5th
Meh: Legend of the Seeker (2x5)

Legend of the Seeker had an iffy week with "Wizard." Memory loss storylines are often hit or miss, and combining memory loss with anything-goes-magic led to some questionable sequences. I appreciate that Zedd was given the starring role in an episode for the first time since the first season's terrific "Puppeteer," but unfortunately it wasn't Bruce Spence in the role this time.

Sunday, December 6th
Loved: Dexter (4x11)
Liked: The Amazing Race (15x11), Top Gear (14x4)

Dexter's solid penultimate episode, "Hello, Dexter Morgan," spoiled its ending in its title, but I guess the ending was inevitable. This episode resolved a few of the less interesting storylines from this season, but was more about putting the pieces in play for the hopefully exciting finale.

Monday, December 7th
Liked: The Big Bang Theory (3x10)

In The Big Bang Theory's "The Gorilla Experiment," Sheldon attempted to teach physics to Penny while Howard dealt with jealousy issues over his girlfriend's interest in Leonard's experiments. Both plotlines had good material and plenty of laughs, but as has been typical this season, it was still not nearly as funny as this show is capable of.

Tuesday, December 8th
Loved: Better Off Ted (2x1)

2009's best new comedy, Better Off Ted, returned this week for its second season. "Love Blurts" was not one of my favourite episodes of the series, but even a lesser Ted is better than most sitcoms' best. It was quite funny throughout with some great comedic payoffs, and the characters were as terrific as ever, especially the awesome Phil and Lem. But no Veridian Dynamics commercial?--boo!

Wednesday, December 9th
Loved: Glee (1x13)
Bah! Humbug!: Modern Family (1x10)

Glee's fall season finale, "Sectionals," has to be the most fan service episode of any show I've ever seen. I was surprised when the fake pregnancy storyline was resolved last week, but that was just a hint of what was to come in this one: the resolution to every storyline from the entire season. I was actually a little underwhelmed by the music this week, but that hardly matters when everything else about the episode was of such high quality. If Glee had not caught on with the masses and had ended here, it would have been a satisfying series finale.

Modern Family's "Undeck the Halls" was my first Christmas episode of this season so far. It had its moments, but this was definitely the weakest episode of the series to date for me. None of the three storylines really worked for me in their entirety, although they all had good endings. (Maybe my Christmas spirit is lacking this year.)

Week in Review, Nov 26 to Dec 2

The Week in Movies

This was the week that Wes Anderson brought his unique charm to the world of stop-motion animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox, a rare animated movie made for adults, giving me my first reason to visit a movie theatre since the release of District 9. I have no familiarity with Roald Dahl's source material, but the script by Anderson and frequent writing partner Noah Baumbach is brilliant, completely retaining the flavour, wit, and pathos of the dialogue in Anderson's live action films, except here voiced by animals, and with all swear words amusingly replaced with "cuss." The animation style is terrific; jerky and traditional while also detailed and beautiful. If you are a Wes Anderson fan, it's a must see; if you are not, you probably won't enjoy Fantastic Mr. Fox much either.

The Week in Television

No Thursday or Friday TV this week, due to Thanksgiving. It was both a relief and an annoyance; annoying because I do really enjoy the Thursday and Friday shows, especially the comedies, but a relief because I had a lot more free time. Unfortunately, I didn't actually do anything productive with that free time, choosing instead to mostly do nothing. Or at least I don't remember doing anything...

Over the past week, I have continued trying to catch up with Mad Men, moving into season two. I also watched my first three episodes of the UK's Top Gear, a show that has long been recommended by friends, but I didn't see what appeal there would be for someone that couldn't care less about cars. Top Gear is in its 14th season, and I don't plan to revisit past seasons anytime soon, but I have to admit that it is abnormally entertaining for a "car show."

Saturday, November 28th
Liked: Legend of the Seeker (2x4)

"Touched" was a busy episode of Legend of the Seeker; not great, but still quite good. Amidst a mildly successful Confessor-heavy episode plot (the love story didn't work, but the rest was well done), the Stone of Tears storyline was advanced, tag-along Flynn was disposed of, and Richard and Kahlan had a long awaited encounter in the woods. I'm really enjoying this season so far--better stories and more momentum than the first season at this point.

Sunday, November 29th
Loved: Dexter (4x10)
Liked: The Amazing Race (15x10)

Dexter's "Lost Boys" was another awesome episode in an awesome season. Almost everything worked brilliantly, including the development of the previous episode's crazy twist, and the momentum and intensity that is being maintained (pretty much since episode five) is incredible. I really wish I could watch the last two episodes right fucking now.

I haven't written much about The Amazing Race this season, but this is a show that is what it is, so what do I write? I have enjoyed every episode, I like most of the teams, and I'm sure next week's finale will be exciting. The Amazing Race continues to be my favourite reality show because it is about traveling to interesting places and completing crazy tasks while dealing with foreign cultures. Teams mostly only have themselves (or shitty cab drivers) to blame when things go wrong, which is a nice change from the Survivor-style competition reality show. (I used to watch Survivor as well, but eventually found myself bored with it because of the predictable format and the non-deserving winners. The only other reality show that I watch currently, So You Think You Can Dance, hasn't even received a single mention in these Week in Review posts, but that's mostly because I am watching the episodes on someone else's schedule, and we are usually a week or two behind. If I was to review SYTYCD episodes, the performance shows would almost always earn a Liked and the results shows would always get a Meh.)

Monday, November 30th
Meh: Heroes (4x12), House (6x9)

Heroes entered winter hiatus with "The Fifth Stage," an episode that offered a whole lot of "WTF?" and not much enticement to come back in January. The best storyline had Peter and Nathan/Sylar battling it out, but Peter's new Haitian powers were used inconsistently, and Nathan's (presumably final) death scene was just silly. There was no explanation this week for where Hiro ended up last week, but instead we were treated to plenty of scenes with Claire being retarded, and Noah was again completely wasted. I have to admit that I am fascinated by the fact that showrunner Tim Kring is continually penning the weakest episodes of this series. Of all of the series I have watched over the years, Kring is unquestionably the worst showrunner of all time.

If anyone is actually reading these Week in Review posts through in detail each week, you may have noticed that I stopped talking about House. That's because it has become background noise for me. I'm still interested enough in the character of Gregory House to want to keep half-assed tabs on what's going on in the show, but I don't care about any of the other characters--except maybe for Wilson, who got a very special episode of his own this week. Conceptually, the idea of a Wilson-centric medical mystery of the week was great, but the execution was only okay. If the show delivers another episode worthy of specific comments, I may offer some, but this season has been a big Meh-fest so far.

Wednesday, December 2nd
Loved: Glee (1x12)

"Mattress" was the first substantial episode of Glee since before the World Series hiatus. Other than the musical routines, my favourite scenes in Glee generally involve the relationships between the adults (Will, Terri, Emma, Ken, and, of course, Sue) or the character of Rachel, and these elements were the focus in this episode. Last week's drama with Terri seems even more pointless after this episode, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the plot development--I certainly expected that plotline to drag out all season (although, technically, since Glee was originally only picked up for 13 episodes and later extended to a full 22, episode 12 is pretty close to the end of the originally planned season).