Alright after that terrible Christmas pun to open, the truth of the matter is I did promise some TV recaps and only produced one. Since it has been some time since each of the episodes passed I thought I would do the other three quickly right here then tomorrow I'll catch up with this week. After this year's episodes culminate tomorrow with the Psych season finale, I'm going to list my Top 10 TV episodes of the year, so be ready for that on Thursday.
The Walking Dead- TS-19
Season 1- Episode 6 (Season Finale)
Unfortunately The Walking Dead continued its good episode, bad episode flow and ended the season on a fairly weak episode. The CDC provided a lot of potential for some semblance of civilization being left, but instead it was only a day before the site was scheduled to blow up. The episode did provide us with some interesting ideas to play with, it did not really provide any closure or excitement that will carry over until Season 2 premieres next Halloween. Essentially we learned that all civilization has been taken over and that it is some sort of virus that is causing this problem. There is no cure in sight and even one day of drinking and hot water does not change the fact that there are still a ton of zombies waiting for our gang next season. The episode did finally resolve the missing grenade issue, who knew Carol had it?, and ended with a beautiful shot of the explosion with "Tomorrow is a Long Time" playing. Some storyline we have to hold on to until next Season: the increasingly awkward and dangerous Shane/Lori dynamic, what exactly Jenner told Rick at the end of the episode, Dale and Andrea's newfound (and potentially one-sided) feelings. Also, goodbye Jacqui, we hardly knew ye (Seriously we hardly knew you. I don't think you had any meaningful screen time. Was T-Dog your husband?)
Grade: B
HIMYM- The Mermaid Theory
Season 6- Episode 11
This was a pretty standard episode of How I Met Your Mother, with Barney once again coming up with a theory on how we see and treat women. This one was actually one of the better recent ones, with Barney commenting on how continued contact with average or below average looking girls (manatees) eventually turns them into someone you are attracted to (mermaids). I think this is one of the more believable theories Barney has come up with, although the back-story of how pirates used to hallucinate on long voyages was a little over the top. This part of the episode did produce some great sight gags, especially Robin in the manatee suit, and overall I did like how they addressed how Marshall and Robin seem to simply be friends by association (their love of cold-weather sports notwithstanding). The other half of the episode was fairly weak, however, with Ted going on a boating trip with Zoe's husband "The Captain" and Ted believing that he was going to get killed at sea. It was a subtle push towards the inevitable Ted/Zoe pairing and overall the episode did not really have that much to offer. Although I did really love Marshall's blown- up photo of The Captain's face showing how his eyes and mouth offer mixed emotions.
Grade: B
Psych- We'd Like to Thank the Academy
Season 5- Episode 13
This episode was a welcome change from how bad "Dual Spires" was. Instead of running theme, they used a guest star, Ralph Macchio, well and put Gus and Shawn in funny situations from the very start of the episode. This episode also moved forward in answering one of the lingering questions in the show; how do Shawn and Gus get away with their blatant disregard for police procedures? I assumed they might address this with Shawn's dad taking a job with the SBPD, and I'm happy that we got to see how terrible Shawn and Gus are at actual police work. The mystery was a little lacking, although I did enjoy the shoot-out at the supermarket as the finishing point. Still the quality of the show is not nearly as high as any of the Season 2 episodes, and there has been no movement at all in the Jules-Shawn relationship. I feel like Psych is just in a state of stagnation and they are hoping people won't care as long as the Yin-Yang trilogy ends up alright. I for one would still like to see the show perform on a consistent basis, but right now I'll settle for more episodes like this one.
Grade: B+
Well that catches up on everything but this week. I'll update those tomorrow, and due to the network Christmas break it will be Psych heavy, but don't worry the season is over tomorrow so you can hear more about shows you may actually watch.
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