TV Week in Review: “28th November – 2nd December ”

ABC didn’t give us Modern Family, Brothers&Sisters or Desperate Housewives and I missed Grey’s Anatomy, The Office and Burn Notice so it wasn’t a week of much TV.

Dexter: “In the Beginning”

 Holy F***. What an episode! The episode left the supporting players to rest and focused exclusively on the “Barrel Murders” and the Lumen and Dexter’s dynamic, and what an episode it was. With only two more episodes before the season ends (nooooooooooooo) the writers are keeping us on our toes, there really is no telling how it’s going to turn out. There were two very important things that happened this episode – the most obvious was the revelation of how Jordan Chase (aka Eugene) knew the men in the photos and whose blood was in the vial. I kind of liked the fact that we seem to get a plausible revelation that turns into a slight red herring. There’s no telling if that woman really was telling the truth and why she still seems indebted to Jordan...but it’s interesting to watch. The killing of the fourth rapist only points to the end of the arc, though I’m wondering how Lumen is going to leave the show. The fact that she and Dexter have now created and irrevocable bond only means that it’s going to be even more depressing when (if?) she leaves.
[A]

Glee: “Special Education”

It was nowhere near as good as last year's “Sectionals” but it was good. So we finally get the revelation of the Santana/Finn liaison which I know some people were waiting for anxiously – god knows why. I think the arguments between Finn and Rachel are a perfect example of why Ryan Murphy should just let those two remains apart forever. Finn is always going to have problems standing up for what he “loves” if it’s not cool because he has issues with himself, and Rachel’s just too self-conscious and needy to be happy with that. Rachel is abrasive but I’m always surprised when people hate her so much, the Green Room blowup is a perfect example of why she’s the way she is – although I wonder if it’s an egg and chicken situation. Do people hate her because she’s like that or is she like that because people don’t like her...I have a feeling it’s more of the latter than the former. Personally, I’m glad to see some Rachel/Puck interactions even if that whole final scene between the two was...weird (come on, how nice was it when he was the only said he “kinda” likes her). And on to the actual competition, the Sam/Quinn dynamic continues to be painful to watch (especially when they sing), Santana is still awesome, Brittney and Mike are spectacular. I’m not in-love with the idea of a tie, I thought the Warblers were merely “okay” and surprisingly the best number of the night turned out to be the Andrew Lloyd Webber track (that was a shock). Yep, the Rachel/Kurt dynamic is win-win for all and that pseudo duet was kind of brilliant. (And welcome back Jayma Mays, you’ve been missed.)
[B+]

Community: “Mixology Certification”
When Community first premiered I fell in love with the characters Annie and Troy and over the months my appreciation of Annie has generally grown but I’m sometimes confused as to what I think of Troy. It’s Troy’s birthday, I like how as a Jehovah Witness his birthday party is not really a “birthday” party, and they end up going to a bar where Annie needs a fake ID to get in. As she gets more and more hammered and it all leads to a scene where Annie and Troy discuss their relationship – easily my favourite Community moment of the season. I’ll admit that having Pierce sidelined so quick in the episode made me happy because he’s slowly and slowly annoying me as the season goes along (don’t even get me started on the horrible Senor Chang, ugh). Speaking of which Britta is back to being generally goofy and enjoyable, towards the end of last season she turned into this horribly unappealing character that seeing her and Jeff bask in their immaturity and argue and any and everything (and then make out) was actually fun to watch, and funny too. I’m glad I didn’t give up on them.
[B+]

30 Rock: “Chain of Mental Anguish”
Usually it’s only when he’s paired with Jenna – getting a touch of Jane Krakowski’s brilliant comedic timing – that I manage to find Tracy tolerable. This week he was tolerable, but for a different reason – his son was even more annoying than he is. The arc of Tracy’s son and his ridiculous ideas is so random that it doesn’t manage to be anything other than awkward. Other than that, though, every other arc manages to work well. Liz’s obviously traumatic childhood is always highly disturbing but also ridiculously hilarious and Kenneth does (in theory) make for a good therapist, I loved the revelation of his “dark” past and the fact that it ended up affecting Jack was a sweet move. I wish that Jenna had a therapist of her own; but she had her own arc with her cross-dressing boyfriend; a relationship that has apparently reached its end. What a shame, but a lovely episode.
[B/B+]

I’ll probably catch Grey’s Anatomy and The Office sometime at the beginning of the next week. Did anyone watch either? Worth the watch?

Interesting Things

• Raise your hand if you think Emma’s therapy session with Finn/Rachel was brilliant.
• I’m not sure where I stand on Lumen and Dexter having sex...I’m wondering what the morning after will be like.
• I’m actually going to miss Jenna’s freaky boyfriend.
• Goddamn, Alison Brie is just superb. Loved her accent.

Standouts
Michael C. Hall in Dexter A-
Lea Michele in Glee B+
Alison Brie in Community B+
Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock B+
Jane Krakowski in 30 Rock B+
Matt Morrison in Glee B+
                       
I was remiss this week and didn’t see much. What about you?