Let me start this by saying that it was better than LOST’s ending. But that isn’t saying much…

Smallville has always been an uneven show. It had good years, bad years and worse years. It never had great years. It rarely had great episodes. They were there but there weren’t as many as one would hope in a ten year run with a total of 217 episodes.

And yet: Ten years and 217 episodes. There aren’t that many shows overall and even fewer shows in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genre that can bring that much to the table.

For all its faults I love Smallville but I am also at peace with it ending now. I nearly gave up on it after what is commonly referred to as Failsday.
Seasons nine and ten became better again and quite a few episodes of season eight have grown on me.
But season ten and its finale also showed that even though they knew exactly how it was supposed to be ending they didn’t really have a clear idea of how to get there.

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Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: LOST · Smallville · Superman
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In the last few weeks I didn’t feel much like watching anything. But then the hill turned into a mountain. Luckily some of the series are pausing for some weeks and I decided to play catch up before I have to cross the Alps. Since this was a bigger marathon session I won’t talk about every individual episode but rather about I like the season so far.

Bones
With Bones it’s business as usual. I like their cases and their chemistry and I just enjoy watching them.
And I loved it how Brennan managed to jump over her own shadow for this kids show:

Castle
The same is basically true for Castle. Castle and Beckett are hilarious together and I love the way they solve their cases. Both shows have put the WTWT topic on a back burner which is good for now but it’s obviously still there and will become an issue again. I don’t mind as long as it’s well executed.

Chuck
Chuck’s family tree is becoming more complicated than the one Jennifer Garner had in Alias – and that’s saying something.
Chuck as a person has grown but luckily that doesn’t take away the humour and the appeal of the show. If anything the addition of Morgan as Casey’s “partner” made it even better.

Community
I love it how every episode is mainly about one or two characters but it doesn’t really feel that way because everyone is contributing their own point of view and in the end it’s always an ensemble show.
The zombie movie homage in the Halloween episode was so cool – and I don’t even like zombie movies.

Cougar Town
The show continues where it left at the end of the first season. I’m glad that it doesn’t really matter that Travis is in college because he’s either at home or they are visiting him, so he’s still a full cast member.
I also love how they toy with the series name, for example in episode five the title card read 100% Cougar Free Cougar Town.

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Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Alias · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Life Unexpected · Melissa & Joey · No Ordinary Family · Raising Hope · Smallville · Supernatural · Terriers · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Two and a Half Men
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Two and a Half Men 8×03 A Pudding Filled Cactus
Alan really has become the new Charlie. Loved it how he handled the whole situation.

The Big Bang Theory 4×03 The Zazzy Substitution
And I thought Leonard was the one with the cat fixation when his love life took a dive. Sheldon and Amy are perfect for each other even when they split up.

Smallville 10×03 Supergirl
This (final) season brings a whole lot of confusion. In the season nine finale Salvation Clark had become a leader, confident of himself and his destiny. And now Jor-El suddenly tells him is doing everything wrong again, even disowns(!) him in this episode and everyone except Lois is on the Clark-bashing train again. I just hope there’s something wrong with the Jor-El A.I. because otherwise this makes no sense at all. But making no sense is not unheard of in Smallville land either…
The Darkseid story could be interesting but it’s that back and forth again that muddies everything. For example: At the end of last episode we saw a confident Clark in a new costume on top of the Daily Planet and suddenly his cousin comes back and flat out tells him that he has too many doubts and cannot defeat Darkseid.
The only thing I’ve enjoyed so far this season is all the Lois scenes, either with Clark or with Carter.
And Lois extended her costume collection.

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Smallville · The Big Bang Theory · Two and a Half Men
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Better With You 1×01 / 1×02 Pilot / Better with Firehouse
I watched the first two episodes but I don’t really get it. I think it has to do with the fact that I don’t see the irony in not being married and why that’s supposed to be a source for humour.
What also doesn’t work for me are these scenes where they show all three couples doing the same thing – just differently.

Community 2×02 Accounting for Lawyers
Jeff in his natural habitat. It was cool to see the lawyer from the pilot episode back and how he could twist anything to his liking.
It was also cool to see them all in formal wear and going on a Mission Impossible.

$#*! My Dad Says 1×02 Wi-Fight
Shatner as the grumpy old man totally works for me. I’m not sure about the older brother and his wife though. Maybe they need a bit more time to find their pace. They are lucky that they have Shatner and I am willing to give them that time.

Melissa & Joey 1×08 Dancing with the Stars of Toledo
It was an OK episode. I really loved the all-male Tango, it was incredibly funny to watch them dance and they really pulled it off. I also liked the drug-induced dream sequence. It’s of course a staple of these kinds of sitcoms but you also have to find two people that can actually pull it off and I think these two can.

Raising Hope 1×02 Dead Tooth
Even the show acknowledges that it’s weird. And as the cast is getting wider, more weird people come into it. But it also shows the genuine care between father and daughter.
What makes it more fun for me is the fact that I can’t stop seeing Garret Dillahunt as the Terminator from The Sarah Connor Chronicles and then to watch him here.
And Sabrina reminds me a lot of the young Ally Sheedy from WarGames.

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Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Better With You · Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Community · Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Life Unexpected · Melissa & Joey · Raising Hope · Smallville · Stargate SG-1 · Terminator · The Big Bang Theory · Two and a Half Men · WarGames
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No Ordinary Family @ Wikipedia
No Ordinary Family @ IMDb

The Powells are your run-of-the-mill slightly dysfunctional family. Jim works as a police artist who has not achieved what he had hoped for. Stephanie on the other hand is too successful and has barely any time for her family. And their kids have their own problems at school.
But when their plane crashes in South America something weird happens to all of them. Caching a baseball at 140mph? Running the mile in less than six seconds? Piece of cake… But where does one go from here?

I really enjoyed the pilot. It had the right mixture of fun and seriousness which could make for a very interesting dramedy show. And since I like the actors of both parents already (Michael Chiklis from The Commish and Julie Benz from Buffy, Dexter & Rambo) I think I will like this show very much.

Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Dexter · No Ordinary Family · Rambo · The Commish
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Life Unexpected 2×02 Parents Unemployed
I hope that the Paige story goes somewhere and isn’t just swept under the rug.
I have to admit I nearly didn’t recognize Emma “Anyanka” Caulfield but then it made *click*. Good to see her again, it has been a while.
Though I must say the whole firing Cate story doesn’t make much sense considering that they were supposed to get a five year contract just two episodes before (season one finale). Let’s see where this season goes.

Chuck 4×02 Chuck vs. the Suitcase
*indignant voice* “You slapped me!” When Lou “The Hulk” Ferrigno says that, it becomes even more funnier. “Is she naked?” – “Who? … Yes. Yes, she is.” This episode had everything I love about Chuck and was incredibly funny – especially the return of the Buy More crew (What an entrance!).

Castle 3×02 He’s Dead, She’s Dead
This was a hard case to follow for me. For some reason I couldn’t keep track of who’s who and how they are connected.
But I still enjoyed it and loved the “Alexander” revelation as well as Beckett’s and Castle’s banter about this whole truth seer issue.

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Castle · Chuck · Hulk · Life Unexpected
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Smallville 10×01 Lazarus
Why are fanboys unable to have a reasonably objective opinion on their subject? I wrote the following over at KryptonSite because they were all so overly ecstatic and gave that episode a 10/10. They would have given it 11 or more if they could have..

The only two things I really enjoyed where Clois interactions and Clark/Jonathan.

1) It would have been so easy to get one of the flying buddies Hawkman/MM to remove the Book of Rao. It’s just a tiny piece of continuity that wouldn’t have hurt at all.

2) Not the tiny-tiniest Chlark hug – which would have been so easy when she discovered that he’s alive. Just back to business as usual. They treat each other like co-workers in a cubicle office but not as best friends for years.

3) Lois’s discovery of the people who know: Aside from the fact that she doesn’t even know Pete (at least not on-screen), the selected articles give no hint towards the fact that they are in the know. Sure, she could deduce that Chloe and Lana know, but she doesn’t need the articles for that (especially not the one about a gunman! [Van McNulty]).

4) Clark’s superspeeds to cross, what, ten foot across a room? There has to be a better way to use his abilities in front of a hidden Lois.

5) Clark’s death grip. Lord Voldelex points out that Clark must always clean up his own mess. A fact that Clark himself admitted (6×02 Sneeze). So it would be totally in character for this Clark to agree and not get an angry outburst. That was totally OOC IMHO. As far as I remember Clark seeing red is a very rare occurrence and only when someone threatened his loved ones (1×09 Rogue, 4×12 Pariah, 9×10 Disciple).

6) Jor-El dissing Clark. For what, exactly? When has Clark ever been the poster boy for the Pride sin? (Except in 1×01 Pilot where he stacked the trucks. ) I just hope this wasn’t really Jor-El (Who repaired the Fortress?).

Bones 6×01 The Mastodon in the Room
It was an OK episode. I’m glad they are all back together but I think they’ll need some time to get it flowing again. It was really tangible that the team broke apart.
I also think that it was a good idea that Booth returned because of his son and not his work as an FBI agent. I think we will see some distance to the rest in the future.

The Big Bang Theory 4×01 The Robotic Manipulation
And they’re back! I loved Sheldon’s girlfriend and his plans to procreate and Penny’s way of stopping that. And Wolowitz is, well, still Wolowitz.
Too bad Kaley Cuoco will be missing for a few episodes (broken leg)…

Community 2×01 Anthropology 101
I didn’t like the Jeff/Britta arc, but overall I enjoyed the episode. The reference to Shit My Dad Says, erm, I mean of course Old White Man Says was cool. And then there’s of course Gollum, erm, I mean of course Chang. And last but not least Betty White rapping!

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Bones · Community · Smallville · The Big Bang Theory
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$#*! My Dad Says @ Wikipedia
$#*! My Dad Says @ IMDb

Henry lost his job when his magazine went under and now he’s broke. He has no other option than to go to his father. And Ed is most definitively not the easiest person to be around with because he always says the wrong things at the right time.

The Shat is really great in this role. One has the feeling he’s once again just playing himself but that’s OK because The Shat has the right amount of self-mockery to pull it off. “Guts or nuts – your choice!”.

Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says
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Melissa & Joey 1×07 Up Close & Personal
So now they start wading into WTWT waters. It’s okay. I enjoy watching them and that’s the most important thing in a sitcom, isn’t it?
And it’s Hammer time!

(Still) Cougar Town 2×01 All Mixed Up
I enjoyed having Jennifer Aniston in this episode but it’s not a must-see reunion. And I enjoyed this entire episode, I’m so glad that they are back. It’s such a great bunch that feels so organic.
I just hope that Travis’s going to college won’t remove him from the show.
And I quite liked the irony of the show’s title (Still) Cougar Town since it was under consideration to rename it.

House M.D. 7×01 Now What?
Absolute Huddy overdose. I’m usually not that big of a shipper. But I really, really loved this episode. House and Cuddy were so great together. It felt so right and absolutely honest.
I have no clue why Thirteen left (real-world and in-universe) but I was surprised at how it didn’t bother me at all. I never had anything against her but I’m already not missing her.

Gossip Girl 4×02 Double Identity
Of course Chuck is back. Gossip Girl wouldn’t be the same without him. But for now it’s not the old Chuck that is back and that could be interesting. I really liked him and his new attitude. It basically continues the development of this character if one ignores the huge elephant that was the last third of the last season. But no matter what Chuck Bass he is, he can always say “I’m Chuck Bass.”.
That Georgina’s baby isn’t Dan’s comes at no surprise to me (an AB+ father cannot have an O- baby, that’s biologically impossible – wow, I did remember something from school after all! ).

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · Melissa & Joey
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Raising Hope @ Wikipedia
Raising Hope @ IMDb

Jimmy Chance is a young man with no plans for the future who works for his father as pool cleaner. But then a young woman jumps into his van, they have a one-night stand and she gets pregnant. Also – she’s wanted for murder and gets executed after giving birth. Jimmy is suddenly a single father.

This reads as weird as it’s coming across. But it is surprisingly appealing. It has a very surreal feeling but it also leaves a desire to learn how this odd thing is going to continue.
I’m not sure I’m going to watch it but I will at least watch one more episode (and maybe one more after that (and maybe …)).

Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Raising Hope
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