On The Boob Tube: Week of Oct 3 to Oct 9

This Saturday, and every Saturday for the duration of the TV season, we bring you On The Boob Tube with The Book Smugglers:

In which we talk about all those water cooler moments of the past week’s episodes, raving about the good, ranting about the bad.

For the Week of October 3 – October 9:

Ana’s Favourites:

Mad Men

Oh well thank you TPTB for a stroke-inducing episode. For two reasons: 1) Don Drapper was absolutely gorgeous in this episode. The scene in Italy where Betty sits at a café and two (totally stereotypically sleezy) Italian men start to hit on her and then Don sits and they pretend they don’t know each other and OMG CAN THIS MAN BE ANYMORE SEXY AND CHARMING? I don’t think so. And yet Betty has the nerve to say he is ugly. WTF? Is she blind or something? Actually I do have a brand new Ana Theory about Betty. I think she is sick. I mean, in mentally ill type of sick. At the hotel she complained about the smell of something burning (isn’t that the sign of some mental malady?) and then in the end she totally snapped at Don. Very unbalanced that woman is.

The second stroking inducing reason was Pete Campbell and his pursuit of the German au-pair. If that wasn’t rape then my name is not Ana. She might not have said “no” but she was totally coerced by someone in a powerful position. Now we are back to stake one with Pete and my dislike for him has intensified tenfold. I do not care that he cried, that he felt guilty , whatever – that man has some serious problems as well. And don’t even get me started on the way neighbour dealt with the situation: what a bunch of jerks.

Dexter

Sunday television is not good for my health because this episode nearly caused me a heart attack. Dexter spent the whole episode running around trying to find out where did the remains of Gomez were always on the brink of collapsing and/or being found. I still can’t, for the life of me, understand how in the world I ended up rooting for a killer not to get caught but there you have it: the brilliance of this show. Meanwhile, John Lithgow is soooo creepy as the Trinity and he is scaring the beejesus out of me. I am loving the Batista-Laguerta ship and OH MY GOOD, Deb. Woman, just SHUT up. You are so wrong in so many ways..watching her putting her foot in her mouth (for the thousandth time) when talking to Lundy was painful. And embarrassing, I could hardly watch.

Castle

Meh. Wasn’t very impressed with this episode. I mean, it is a good , amusing way to spend one hour but meh, it wasn’t brilliant. I did like the Castle-Beckett convo in the end and I love Castle’s mother. She cracks me up.

House

Oh wow. This episode was awesome. It brought Chase and Cameron back to the team and the case they were working on was pretty heavy. I LOVE how Chase killed the dictator – it was a very difficult decision and one I keep thinking about for hours after I watched the episode wondering if I would do the same if I knew I could prevent mass murder. (I have no answer to that question ) .I can’t wait to see the repercussions: in any case, this is a wonderful character arc. As for House, his role wasn’t that important but the one scene where he cured his neighbour of a 35 year old muscle cramp made me cry. This season is very good so far.

Lie to Me

One of the best episodes of the week and of the show. I liked that it didn’t focus on the characters going around looking for other people’s lies, focusing instead on the main characters’ reactions to the investigations they were involved with. I liked to see the dynamics of Cal, his daughter and his ex-wife and how they dealt with the kid’s lies. And when James Masters walked into the room? I was like, OMG SPIKE! It is a shame that he got killed. I rather hoped he would be part of the show. Alas, no.

The Middle

Ha. Hummm….where did all the funny go? This is crazy: I loved the first episode but this one? Not so much. The strange thing is…the jokes were similar. So..yeah. I don’t know if I will keep watching. Maybe.

Glee

I think this was definitely the best episode of the series so far. I LOVED the musical numbers – the mash ups had me clapping and dancing! The episode was part funny part poignant (the PE teacher proposal made me all weepy) and DUDES, Sue is now Glee coach. Oh this promises much much laughter. And OMG her Journal? Seriously, how WRONG is that woman? She is Evil but as of now, Jane Lynch owns my soul.

Favourite Sue Quotes:

“Every time I try to destroy that club, it comes back stronger than some sexually ambiguous horror movie villain.”

“You’re dealing with children. They need to be terrified. It’s like mother’s milk to them.”

As for Will and Emma..awwww. She is weird but so cute, and they have a cute chemistry that reminds me of Pam and Jim: we need a new JAM peeps. This might be it! I really do hate Will’s wife though…..the whole thing with the vitamin D was so f-up (although, yes, hilarious).

The Office

This was quite possibly the best episode of The Office so far. It was the right mixture of everything that this show is about: the wrongness of Michael and Dwight. The awkward moments (Kevin and his shoes! Andy and his scrotum!) and the funny moments which are one and the same. But really, the best thing about The Office is in its hidden heart. Like when Michael and Andy cry during the wedding. Mostly, though, this was Pam and Jim’s episode. Their wedding was everything I wanted it to be and Jim and so awwwwwwwww and made me cry over and over again: when he cut his tie; when he spoke of the mental photographs; when he did his speech and said he didn’t mind waiting for Pam because he knew he was waiting “for his wife” (*sniffles*) and then the wedding itself alternating between the real wedding at Niagara Falls and the wedding in the church with the entire cast doing that dance down the aisle from that famous youtube video! I was a mess by the end of the episode, crying and laughing like a maniac and then Jim went on to talk about Plans A, B and C and I cried all over again. I have followed and rooted for these two since episode 1 and it was just great to see this.

It was funny. Heartwarming. It was brilliant TV, folks.

Flashforward.

Blah, blah, blah, blah. This show has yet to totally win me over. Mostly the episodes so far have been 35 minutes of boredom and 5 minutes of WTF. That does not a show make. The worst thing is that this is clearly, Lost’s formula. But the difference is that in those 35 minutes, the characters of Lost would shine, baby, shine! I have to admit to being intrigued as to the premise of the show and I will probably keep tuning in but let’s face it: this show lacks something. It lacks a Jack for us to HATE and a Saywer for us to LOVE. Yep. That’s it. I wonder if I shouldn’t just get the book and be done with it.

Supernatural

Finally back to a monster of the week episode. When I am THIS close from quitting this show because I am not digging the apocalypse mambo jambo , they bring me back in, damn it! This week reminded me why I liked the show in the first place and the promo for what is come looked great too! So yeah, I will keep watching…for now.

Thea’s Favourites:

Entourage

For the season finale, it’s basically everything you expect to happen. Drama goes in for his reading (loving Drama this season), Turtle is an idiot, Vince is predictably one note, Eric slobbers over Sloane…but the crowning moment of the show, in my opinion, was freaking Lloyd!!!!! I wouldn’t watch Entourage if it wasn’t for the boyfriend (like most twenty-something dudes, he loves this damn show, and refuses to admit that it’s the fluffy equivalent of Sex and the City for dudes), but the one thing that keeps me from physically wrestling away the control is the relationship between Lloyd and Ari. “You’re a real Asian now.” Awwwwww.

Dexter

*takes deep breaths* *tries not to hyperventilate* This season is gonna be SO bad for my health. After the car wreck, Dexter NEEDS to find Benny Gomez’s missing pieces before someone else does…except he has a concussion and can’t freaking remember where he put the body. I was on tenterhooks the entire time. And then when Dex gets the news that he can’t sleep for twelve more hours, I was laughing my ass off. Poor guy can’t catch a break! I loved all the little hints throughout about where Benny is, I loved Deb running her mouth and looking like a complete moron, I love how much of a KISSASS Quinn is (hilarious), and John Lithgow officially freaks me out now. I used to see him walk his dogs on campus and took a class with his wife (who is a History professor of all things), and if I ever saw him again, I’d probably turn and run the other way. Creeeeeeeeepy.

Hung

I finished the season this week. Finally. It’s pretty good. I mean, more of a character show, with some funny moments, some touching moments, a lot of WTF moments. I liked it, wasn’t super crazy about it though. Tanya is such an insecure loser, and my heart goes out to her. Ray is…Ray. Not too bright, just a normal guy living the crapper life after his house burns down. I liked how current the series is, with the economic undertones (the show takes place in Detroit). And the acting is pretty damn solid. I wasn’t blown away by the show, but it was a solid On-Demander.

House

Wow, they are really going balls to the wall this season. James Earl Jones guest starring as an ruthless African Dictator is, as one might expect, brilliant. I was so so so stoked to see the original team of House, Foreman, Chase and Cameron back together again! WOOHOO! And also glad to see Thirteen getting (hopefully?) pushed off the show. Seriously. Not a fan. Not a big fan of Foreman’s either. I loved the storyarc here, and how it is Chase, of all people, that does the unthinkable. I am terrified for next week!

Castle

Not a spectacular or memorable episode, but fun nonetheless. Although the show’s perception of fashion week and couture clothing was sad. Those awful plastic fintstones necklaces. *shudders*

Glee

I gotta agree with Ana here. This was probably my favorite episode since the pilot, and that’s all because of the awesome mashups (Confessions/It’s My Life was better than Halo/Walking on Sunshine, IMO), and the return of the glorious Sue C. That actress…I swear, she doesn’t get a script. They just stick her in a scene and tell her to make shit up, and it’s solid gold. Will’s wife is a horrible person, but such a great character! She’s hilarious. And Emma and WIll are sweet. They don’t got a THING on Jam though. Speaking of….

The Office

BEST. EPISODE. EVER. I laughed, I cried, I melted into a fangirly pile of goop. The wedding was EVERYTHING you could have ever wanted. I loved it. There are no words. It was simply perfection from start to finish. Jim and Pam FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER!

Community

Meh. This show isn’t really that funny, though I do love Chevy Chase and Senor Chang. Next week 30 Rock is back, so that’s something to look forward to…

FlashForward

So I finally caught up on last week’s episode….and I’m still waffling about this show. On the one hand, it is some ridiculous LOST fan-pandering, trying to snatch the core audience for when the show ends after this season. Matt from Alert Nerd wrote it best in his rant – a lot of the stuff was frankly annoying and condescending to fans. But I like to give shows at least three episodes to form a final opinion…and episode 2 wasn’t so bad. It’s still a ridiculously over the top drama complete with over-acting, but I liked some of the new developments. I liked the doll factory and this mysterious element hiding the cause of the flashforwards, and things look pretty grim for John Cho’s character when that police woman died, eh?

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Last night was a double shot of goodness, with the new episode back to back with a repeat of one of my all time FAVORITES: “Sweet Dee Has A Heart Attack”. So. Many. Good. Lines. And this episode, with Frank’s intervention is another winner:

“Salt the snail! SALT THE SNAIL!” *throws salt at Gail*

I loved all the boxed wine, the drinking it out of a can trick, Charlie once again showcasing his learning disability (i.e. he cannot read)…these people are so terrible, and I love it.

That’s it from us today – what were your favourite TV moments last week?