The Best TV Shows on TV – Young & Knott, Legal

Welcome to another spunykbean Friday.  We’ve just about made it to the weekend, which means it’s time to take our weekly look at the Best TV Shows on TV.  As ever, we watched a whole lot of TV this week, and we’re breaking down the best television shows we saw.  And this week, well, it was a huge week for the best shows on TV.  Yes, it was Super Bowl week, bringing us a game that may have showcased the greatest butt-first touchdown in recent memory.  Aside from that, we got to see Jon Hamm performing motivational CDs, William Devane joining the cast of Revenge, Tokyo drifting, a friendly dog in Thailand, and the horror that is a trip to IKEA. 

Before we get to our shows, we have to say that we loved the promo NBC ran on Super Bowl night that began with the TGS Super Bowl Party. (Sadly, the ad didn’t run during the actual game, when more people would have seen it.) The casts of our favorite shows perform “Brotherhood of Man”, and it’s great. Check out Creed’s jazz hands, Ron Swanson refusing to get into it, and Chang’s sweet dance moves. Yes, this promo is a rare instance of NBC acknowledging that Community exists. It’s really fun, despite the presence of Trump.

House – Sometimes House just hits it out of the damn park. This heavily promoted episode saw House facing an ethics investigation after a violent incident involving a patient. (Who, by the way, was played by David Anders of Alias and Heroes fame.) We only saw what happened as it unraveled through the testimony of House and his team. A risky treatment caused the patient to suffer a psychotic break, and he stabbed Chase with a scalpel, nearly killing him. What was fascinating was hearing how the other cast members feel about House when pressed – easily the most revelatory moment came when Chase, still unsure if he’d ever walk again, told investigating Dr. Colfield (an excellent Jeffrey Wright) that “House’s obvious lack of concern is evidence of his deep concern”. That’s always been a question, and while we’re no closer to the answer, now we know what Chase believes. And then, when House’s methods lead to a breakthrough that saves the patient’s life, he’s exonerated. But if you’ve ever watched the show, you know that House desperately needs to be punished – he criticizes Colfield for taking the patient’s results into account and then he seeks out Chase, struggling through physical therapy, and comes as close to an apology as he can manage.

It was a fantastic episode – beautifully shot with washed-out, gritty colors. (This was the final episode for longtime series director and executive producer Greg Yaitanes.) It asked questions that have always lurked in the background – Are House’s methods ethically justifiable? Does his lack of professionalism put lives at risk? And it casts a new light on the relationship between House and Chase. After years of being at odds, it seems that Chase is House’s biggest supporter. And now, with the injuries impairing his mobility, Chase has to learn to walk all over again. He has something in common with House now! After eight seasons, House can still blow us away.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret – The penultimate episode of the series finally started bringing all the plot threads together. Alice, Brent, and Doug figured out that Dave has masterminded all of Todd’s misfortunes from day one. Well, Alice figured it out, and then Brent and Doug eventually came to that conclusion after she explained it. Twice. We even learned that Dave’s butler, Jon Hamm, was the voice on the assertiveness training CDs that set both Todd and Brent on the wrong path. But this discovery may be too late, since Todd’s in prison and they’re actually reinstating the death penalty just for him. (Dave: “They’re calling it the Todd Margaret Bill.” Todd: “That won’t apply to me, will it?”) And when his (very good) legal counsel arrived, Todd and Brent roughed him up since they thought he was another of Dave’s minions. Next week, we finally get to the trial that opened every episode of Season One, and presumably Todd’s mishap with the Chinese military that opened this season. This show, besides being funny and amazingly inappropriate, has really impressed us with the way all the seemingly random events have all come together, and we’re going to miss it after next week’s finale. Still, we can’t wait to see just how bad things are going to get for Todd. It’s not often that a sitcom finale has you wondering if the title character will survive, but that’s how Todd Margaret works.

 Jimmy Fallon–Jimmy took the Late Night show on the road to Indianapolis for the Superbowl last week the energy was off the charts! You could tell the Midwestern crowd was psyched to have him there, and Jimmy’s usual exuberance was a perfect fit for the occasion. Special guests abounded, but the appearance of Shaquille O’Neal in pink bikini bottoms (he’d lost a game of video basketball to Jimmy in a previous visit, and that was the bet) was something we can never really unsee. Sunday, following the big game, Jimmy had SNL friends Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg swing by, a couple of the Super Bowl champion Giants and rapper Flo Rida. It was an all-around fun show, and a good chance for Jimmy to get exposure an hour earlier than his usual timeslot.

Fringe – This season has been pretty mind-bending, taking place in a new, revised timeline created when Peter removed him from existence to save both universes. It’s really been interesting the way they’ve played with the idea that what we’ve seen is no longer necessarily what happened anymore. Our heads are spinning a little, and spunkybuddy Larry Young has been trying to explain to us where Peter comes from and we’re still a little confused. (Why does he want to get back to his timeline, when his presence is what’s causing the war between the universes?) Actually, we’re going to go on the record and say that Peter either isn’t who he appears to be, and his work on getting back to his timeline is actually a plan to somehow save Olivia (who is fated to die in all possible timelines). We may be way off on this one, though.

Anyway, what put this week’s episode on the list was something much simpler – the first meeting between the two versions of Astrid. First, our Astrid screamed when seeing her doppelganger, getting an amused “I always wondered why more people don’t do that” from Olivia. (Hee!) The Astrid from the alternate universe journeyed to ours because her father had died, and the autistic Alt-Astrid just wanted to know if her doppelganger had been close to her own father. Out Astrid kindly told her that they had never been close, either. But at the end, we saw Astrid go home to see her father, a warm and caring man. She told her double what she needed to hear, and we got a little more insight into a character who’s sort of been on the periphery for years. (It was very difficult to avoid saying that she’s been “on the fringe”.)

There were other great bits, especially between our Walter and the other Olivia. Fauxlivia seems substantially warmer than she did in the original timeline, and seeing her win over Walter was both surprising and kind of gratifying. Such a good episode!

Revenge–The ultimate nighttime soap was back, and it was the week before the big reveal of who got shot (and by whom) at the engagement party. The tension was palpable. Jack was miserable in the wake of Fauxmanda’s abrupt departure, and then he happened on the tape Emily had dropped under his bed. He asked Nolan for help in seeing what was on it, and Nolan was supposed to erase it, per Emily’s instruction. But Nolan likes that Jack actually considers him a friend, so he let him watch it after all, and Jack learned the truth about Charlotte’s parentage. He stormed over to the Grayson manse, and broke up a dinner party that included the patriarch, played by Knot’s Landing vet William Devane. Sure, he’s Conrad’s dad, but he’s got a soft spot for Victoria. Also, his main worry is the company’s good name. Conrad was the one who announced that David Clarke was Charlotte’s father in front of everyone and also the one who made Daniel realize that his mother was lying to him about this all stemming from a rape. Emily arrived home to find her secret floorboard dislodged and her Revenge Box missing! Plus, an RSVP card saying that “Emily Thorne will attend” the upcoming Fire & Ice party. Oh, it’s on, y’all.

Archer – It was Sterling Archer’s birthday, and he got a pretty sweet spy car as a present from his mother.  Of course, it was stolen almost immediately.  Since this is Archer we’re talking about, he launched a mission against the Yakuza (including George Takei voicing the leader) and their underground drift racing.  Luckily, they had an insider – Pam, who dominates the track and is known as “The White Pumpkin”.  Of course, all the violence was for naught, since the Yakuza didn’t even take the car – it was Mallory, trying to teach her son a lesson about responsibility, just like she did when he was five and she stole his bike.  And since they never discussed any lessons, she clearly just likes taking things from her son (Surprise, right?).  We especially loved the way Archer started finding fault with his gift almost immediately (“It shouldn’t even let you put it in drive if the bar is open.  Design flaw.”), and the return of Agent Brett, who takes a bullet every time he appears.  And was that Frisky Dingo’s Mr. Ford who appeared at the end of the episode?  (He sort of looked like a younger version of the character, which has us thinking that Archer and Frisky Dingo are in the same continuity, only Frisky is set in the future.  That would explain why Archer has never mentioned that time an alien fixed global warming…)

Happy Endings–Valentines Day found Max running specials out of limo (all at a rate of $69, natch), Brad hilariously high on Novocaine after his first ever cavity, Alex getting mistaken for a whore, Penny avoiding breaking up with a guy “in the window” of a holiday and Dave thinking he’s getting dumped but instead missing out on a threesome with two “v”’s and only one “p”! In the end, Alex’s prediction that one of them would find love ended up with Max reconnecting with his former boyfriend and actually seeming to enjoy himself for once!

An Idiot Abroad – The premise of this week’s episode was that Karl would go to Australia to swim with dolphins (“They say they’re as intelligent as a three-year-old. But when’s a three-year-old ever impressed anybody.”). First off, it ended up being sharks. Second, it was his surprise trip to Thailand that provided the best moments. Ricky arranged for Karl to spend the day with a group of “ladyboys”. (We have no idea if that term is offensive or not, but it’s what everybody in the episode said.) Karl assured us that he would be watching for “signs of blokeage”, which was amazing. And then he ended up having a good time – they actually discussed gender identity (though in Karl’s inimitable fashion), and Karl agreed to a makeover. It turns out that Karl looks a lot like Sharon Osbourne when he’s made up as a woman. Also: “I don’t look bad, but I don’t think that I would fancy me. Which means I’m better off…” And then, when he trained for a blindfolded Thai boxing match (“If he can’t see, he doesn’t know how bad I am.”), Karl’s sit-up regimen was constantly interrupted by an adorable dog. We have no idea why there was a dog in the gym, but he could not have been more excited about Karl. If Ricky and Steve need a premise for Season Three, they should really keep that dog in mind. An Idiot and a Dog Abroad, anyone?

New Girl–Every week, this show is hitting home runs, and we’re loving it. Jess wants to see the good in everyone, even the cranky landlord the guys tell her to stay away from. But, she brings him cupcakes to entice him into fixing the myriad of problems in the loft, unaware that they’re already breaking a rule by having four people in a three person apartment. He ends up being cool, asking only that they paint over the mural in Schmidt’s room of a “sexually charged zero gravity tea ceremony”. He also agrees to fix things, which Nick pegs as his interest in wooing Jess rather than just doing his job. She offers to make him dinner, and Nick stays to run interference. After a bottle of liquor he brewed in the basement, he reads the room wrong and thinks a menage a trois is next on the menu. What follows is the most bizarre use of “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root and the newly minted term “underpants captain”. In the B plot, Schmidt and his boss flirt, but we also learn that Schmidt kind of thinks everyone, even the UPS guy, is hitting on him. The line of episode went to Schmidt too, (shocker!) when he said this to CeCe: “Oh, come on! Don’t you ever wear jeans? Honestly, you look like you should be distracting James Bond at a baccarat table.”

Justified – It was another excellent episode this week, in a season that’s shaping up to be the best one yet. We love the machinations of the various big players, and the way they’re forced to rely on Harlan’s largely incompetent criminal element. When your scheme involves Devil or Dewey Crowe correctly following instructions, it isn’t going to go the way you hope. But this time, we want to focus on a single scene. Raylan was in his car when he spotted crooked prison guard Ash. Ash went for his gun, so Raylan ran him over. And then, Ash pulled himself to his feet and tried to take a shot, so Raylan backed up and hit him again. Word to the wise – if you draw down on Raylan Givens, he will hit you with his damn car!

Smash–NBC’s relentless promotion got this pilot a huge sampling, and we think it was a promising start to what could be a really cool new show. We’re following the mounting of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe (an idea that’s been tried for real, but never made it to fruition) and all the players involved. The writing team, Julia and Tom (apparently, there’s something in the NBC’s bylaws that requires Debra Messing to have a gay best friend on their airwaves); the director, Derek; the producer, Eileen (played by Anjelica Huston); and the aspiring stars, ingenue Karen (Katherine McPhee) and seasoned vet Ivy (Megan Hilty). But instead of making the latter a bitch who we root against in favor of the newbie, it looks like Ivy is going to be just as vulnerable and layered (if not more so) than Karen. The writing wasn’t perfect, but it was a pilot, after all. The acting was strong and the music was fabulous. We’ll be back for sure.

30 Rock – An hour-long episode had Liz Lemon trying to have her first good Valentine’s Day in forty-one years.  Criss planned a romantic dinner, but without a dining room table, they had to go to IKEA.  It’s the ultimate relationship test!  And yes, they completely freaked out on one another.  Meanwhile, noted dirtbags Tracy and Frank tried to help Lutz find a desperate woman, Jack teamed up with Avery’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) to enlist the UN’s help to get his wife out of North Korea.  (Including the delegate from Transylvania, a Count Czokula.)  Jenna was in a panic because she had to perform live on America’s Kidz Got Singing, and everybody was rooting for her to fail after making so many children cry.  She enlisted Pete to help, giving us a little more insight into his past.  Believe it or not, he was once an Olympic-level archer.  (Scott Adsit’s flashback wig and mustache were truly glorious.)  And in a potentially awesome twist, new page Hazel Wassername (the always amazing Kristen Schaal) lost all patience with the TGS staff, right up until she met Liz.  Then she went into full stalker mode, which was hilarious.  Plus, we had flashbacks to her role as Mel on Flight of the Conchords.  This episode was the best of the season so far! 

Parenthood–It was a pretty big bummer of a week for the Bravermans. Zoe fled from Joel and Julia’s home, overwhelmed with the confusion over the impending baby. Julia is now petrified she’ll change her mind. Sarah met Mark’s friends (including his ex) and began to worry that their plan to get pregnant was going to ruin his young life. Amber, meanwhile, was making out with her boss, the city council candidate, but fretting over the implications. On the one hand, they are an adorable couple, on the other hand, it can’t really end well, can it? It looks like we’ll find out next week. Jasmine is set to move in with Joe, and Crosby is jealous. These two may not be done quite yet.

Delocated – Jon had a big week! Before we even get into the new episode, let’s take a look at his appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show. (Isn’t it weird to see his face and hear his real voice?)  Jon also showed up on Conan Thursday night, but the video wasn’t available before our deadline. We also recommend checking out this thread on a Denver Broncos fan site. Seems some people didn’t care for the Delocated banner ad, and it turned into a bizarre argument about censorship and “a show about almost nude robbers”.  Also, Jon started pitching for Subway.  No kidding, Subway has a new commercial where Jon, in character, talks about five dollar foot longs and tried to extend the “FebruANY” promotion to every month of the year.  (“JulANY.  AugustANY.  This stuff writes itself!”)

Finally, there was the actual episode of his show, which was an old-fashioned hoot.  The main plot focused on Jon’s obsession with a potato skin bar – he installed a used “skins” bar in the new apartment, and that was all he and David ate for a week.  David quickly grew tired of skins and just wanted nachos, which mortally offended Jon.  This led to a rift between the two that went to legal arbitration.  (“Your honor, I am very loud when I bone.”)  It was ridiculous and wonderful. 

And believe us, we have more we could be talking about.  Modern Family was hysterical as Greg Kinnear got a little too close to Claire while Cam and Gloria got a little competitive; Raising Hope had Virginia as a tarot card reader, while Burt teamed up with Barney and a couple of Chinese tumblers; Up All Night was a fun episode with Chris and Reagan missing out on relationship drama; and we cracked up watching The Office when Stanley claimed he was most suited for a special project in Tallahassee because “I am the only one in this entire office who watches Burn Notice.”  Even in a week without Parks and Recreation, there was a lot going on.

That’s all for this week – remember, Cougar Town returns on Tuesday and there’s a mini-marathon on Saturday night.  Also in the coming week, Zooey Deschanel hosts Saturday Night Live, and Louis C.K. returns to Parks and Rec.  It’s going to be a big week!  And while we clearly have plenty of TV shows to watch, if there’s anything we’re missing, let us know.  We’ll check it out and report back to you.  And in the meantime, head over to Facebook and “like” us.  It brings us joy!

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