TV Links of Interest

Rather than writing something longer and somewhat specific, here's a post that reflects my life right now: a little random, a little judgmental, and riding on the shoulders of others.

Mo Ryan insists that the as yet only cringeworthy CBS hit 2 Broke Girls is fixable. Step one: get rid of the racism.


"Caress"! Ha! Katie Holmes' appearance on this week's HIMYM as the Slutty Pumpkin was a pleasant surprise. Remember when we liked her as Joey Potter?

Pan Am sat better with me this week. I like what's going on with Goran Visnjic's character and what's-her-face, the covert operative. I still don't care about 75% of the show, but a love affair between a Commie and a secret agent from the Company, c. 1960s, is aces. Yes, show: more of that.

American Horror Story got renewed for a second season. It's been delivering killer (heh) rating for FX, so no surprise there. Here's a humorous take on its ridiculata so far.

Name confusion or not, this guy's pretty much the best thing about Dexter this season!

I liked Grimm, didn't love it, but I think it's got potential. Here's a good pilot review.

Sarah and Mr Cyr might be my favorite couple on TV right now (especially since Coach and Tami are no more). This interview with Lauren Graham and Jason Ritter rocks my face off. Is there a campaign for Parenthood to retain Ritter as a full-time cast member? That needs to happen.

Parenthood's Season 2 Finale

I didn't post on last week's season finale of Parenthood, partly because I didn't know where to start. I'm sad that the show is leaving us for five long months, with no final word yet on renewal (sooo glad they didn't leave it on a cliffhanger...just in case), but I thought the finale was all kinds of fantastic, with the singular exception of the Jasmine/Crosby storyline. (Are we supposed to think they're getting back together? That needs to not happen.) After all the network teasers leading up to the finale, I'm really glad that the pregnancy test was Christina's and not Haddie's because we don't need another teen pregnancy storyline on network TV. (I actually called that little twist at the beginning of the season, but since I didn't write it down, I don't expect you to believe me.) My favorite central relationship on the show, though, is Sarah and Amber's fraught mother-daughter dynamic, and this episode gave it to us in droves. I love that they can go so quickly from "I'm sorry! I love you! You're great!" to "I hate you! You don't understand me! Why won't you listen to me?!", and so frequently. It seems authentic that these two personalities, which are alike in so many ways, would oscillate between harmony and discord. All things considered, I loved this show this season, and I really really hope it gets renewed, because with Friday Night Lights exiting this year, there aren't any more quality family dramas on TV. (Seriously, name one.)

Check out Margaret Lyons' New York Magazine article on the show for a much better analysis of the show's biggest strengths than I could give you. In case you've never read her articles before, enjoy this sentence as a sampler: "[Mae] Whitman in particular gets that adolescent frustration-cry exactly right, joining Claire Danes in the Teenage Weeping Hall of Fame." Yessss.