Review: The Mindy Project 1x04, "Halloween"

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder; in the case of The Mindy Project, that cliche held true for me. When the show finally returned last night after a two week break, I was pretty pumped for a new episode.

"Halloween" focused on two storylines. The A story dealt with Mindy's relationship with Josh and her quest to find the perfect costume to wear as Josh's date to a Halloween party. The B story consisted of Danny and Jeremy's quest to get their driver's licenses.

I feel like being mean, so let's talk about the B story first. There was almost nothing I liked about this storyline. I mentioned in my last review of The Mindy Project that Danny is growing on me, and I didn't necessarily dislike the idea of his character in this episode. In practice, however, he just wasn't that fun to watch. I suspect that this was largely due to his sharing the storyline with Jeremy.


I really don't like Jeremy's character. His story in "Halloween" centered around his supposed ability to charm anyone, but I had a hard time buying him as charming when I dread watching his scenes. More than anyone else on the show, he feels forced and unoriginal. He just drags down the show, and it would be much better off without him.                                

There were only two somewhat positive things I have to say about the driver's licenses plot. One, I thought it was kind of funny that Danny had taken the test enough times that the DMV workers recognized him. Second, I liked that there were touches of Halloween in this portion of the episode like costumes and trick-or-treaters walking about but that it wasn't really a Halloween story. It was an interesting choice to balance a non-Halloween storyline with a more festive one; it's just a shame that it wasn't a better story.

Fortunately, the Mindy portion of the episode was more enjoyable.

While I don't necessarily like him, I continue to be intrigued by Josh's character. I'm honestly not completely sure what to make of him. I'm used to rom-com love interests being classified as either the good guy or the jerk. The better rom-coms might introduce a third category of okay guy that's just wrong for our heroine. Josh seems to fall into all three, although he probably fits best into the jerk one.

Bragging about taking a model to last year's Halloween party and talking about all the Caitlins in his phone definitely fall into the jerk category. Plus, there's something about Josh that's slightly serial-killer-esque. While it could maybe still be classified as serial-killer-esque, dressing up as Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride after finding out that it's Mindy's favorite movie showed that Josh at least has a genuine interest in Mindy. That seems to reveal that he's at least a little bit of a good guy. However, the two don't have a lot of chemistry together or much in common. These two things along with the likely future pairing of Mindy and Danny mean that Josh also falls into the third category.

In addition to the Josh stuff, Mindy also spent much of the episode in search of a costume. Costumes are one of the best parts of Halloween episodes, and this was a fun way for us to see a bunch of them. I have to admit that I was partial to her Tinkerbell Tailor Soldier Spy costume, but I liked that her costume ended up being something she threw together at the last minute. It was a little bit ridiculous that Mindy and her coworkers seemed to spend the whole work day trying to find her a costume, but it was still fun to watch.

I didn't feel like the reappearance of Mindy's ex-boyfriend Tom (Bill Hader) contributed much to the episode (other than giving Mindy a reason to accept Josh's invitation), but I did greatly enjoy his and Mindy's conversation about Breaking Bad spoilers.

The funniest part of the episode for me was when the stray cat suddenly appeared in Mindy's lap. It reminded me a lot of an episode of Happy Endings where Penny finds stray cats in her "haunted" apartment, but Mindy really sold the moment.

It's hard to give an enthusiastic two thumbs up to an episode where I really didn't care for half of it at all, but the other half of the episode was strong enough that I can it at least give one thumb half-up and maybe a pinky. The Mindy Project still has quite a few kinks to work out and doesn't feel like it's hit its groove yet. Still I'm probably going to miss it when it's preempted by election coverage next week, and that's a good sign.

Review: Grey's Anatomy 9x03, "Love the One You're With"

Grey's Anatomy has had its ups and downs over the years. Those downs have been pretty low at times, but it's always, in my opinion at least, been able to recover. After the first two episodes of this season, I was started to wonder if it had finally hit a bottom it couldn't come back from. The episodes bored me, and I couldn't bring myself to care about what was happening. I liked both Sloan and Lexie a lot, but their deaths didn't even affect me.

I think my biggest problem with the current state of Grey's Anatomy is there's far too much trauma. Look, I appreciate some trauma on Grey's Anatomy from time to time. I loved the Denny storyline, and the season six finale with the hospital shooting was what convinced me to go back and watch from the beginning.

However, the trauma has reached a point of saturation on the show. A lot of beloved characters have died: Denny, George, Lexie, Henry, Sloan and for a brief period of time Meredith (Remember that time she drowned? Although I can't quite remember if she technically died.). There's been a shooting at the hospital, a bomb, a car crash for Arizona and Callie, a plane crash and worst of all a musical episode. I won't even go into all of the relationship drama that has taken place of the course of the show. I feel like I'm drowning in the trauma, and I need some fun and humor to keep me from becoming overwhelmed.

That's why I mostly enjoyed last Thursdays's episode, "Love the One You're With." While it wasn't a perfect episode and was still bogged down with some drama, it was a breath of fresh air compared to the first two episodes of the season.


My absolute favorite storyline to come out of last night's episode was the relationship between Mr. Feeny (whose character is technically named Dr. Thomas, but there's about zero chance I'll be able to refer to him as that) and Cristina. I love Cristina's misanthropy, but I always enjoy seeing her bond with another person. The budding friendship between her and Mr. Feeny was incredibly sweet and exactly what she (and the show) needs right now. I want sweetness and humor not tragedy and tears. I will even suffer through the awkward product placement iPad scenes if it means that Cristina stays in Minnesota for a while and we get more Mr. Feeny.

While Cristina's storyline provided sweetness to the episode, Bailey's was a nice dash of humor, at least initially. Bailey's exasperation with Meredith and company joining the attendings' lounge was fun to watch and reminded me of her relationship with them in the earlier days of the show. I laughed at the camera panning to her during April and Jackson's relationship conversation and her sticky-noting everything. I was really annoyed with the motivation for Bailey's actions that was tacked onto the storyline: that Bailey's upset about everyone in her life moving on. I was so appreciative to have this silly, fun plot, and then of course Grey's had to make into an emotional thing.

There were also some fun, small moments in the episode that I liked. Jackson and Meredith talking about the chief's relationships with their mothers was a nice way to give the two a bonding moment (and I got a kick out of Meredith asking if he was talking about Owen), and Cristina's attempt at a smile was funny.

I was somewhat ambivalent about Alex's story. The new girl, Jo, is a little annoying and reminds me a little bit of a second-rate Lexie. Even though I wasn't crazy about her, I didn't enjoy Alex's being a jerk towards her. However, I'm hoping that their probable relationship will be a nice, normal one and will lead towards a permanent, positive change in Alex. I'm tired of seeing Alex go through some character development towards becoming a nicer person, only for it to be retracted. I'm also tired of seeing him in disastrous relationships. So while I didn't exactly enjoy his portion of this episode, I'm hoping it will lead towards good things.

My two least favorite storylines were Derek's and Arizona's. Unsurprisingly, these were two of the more dramatic elements of the episode.

Before I start talking about Derek's portion of episode, I'm going to give a warning that you might want to skip the following paragraph if you're a Derek fan. I'm definitely not a Derek fan, and it's hard to not go into rant mode when I'm when I'm writing about him.

I found Derek incredibly annoying in this episode. His speech about not accepting the settlement was one of his most self-righteous moments in the show (no small feat). I'm not saying that it was necessarily a bad idea to reject the settlement, but he went about it in the most self-righteous way possible. Not only did he hold back on sharing his thoughts on the matter until they were actually in the meeting, he gave some long-winded speech about how doctors are better than people who work in airlines. Plus, this means that the plane crash plot is going to be dragged out even longer. Great, more melodrama. The only tragedy I want to see right now is Derek's death.

I'm finding Arizona's story very annoying as well. I understand that losing a leg is a huge deal, and the scene where Arizona was lying in the bathroom was pretty sad. However, the segments with Arizona really drag down the show. I don't want to see this angry, bitter Arizona; I'd rather see the cheery Arizona who's great with kids. Like I've already said, I'm tired of watching tragedy. I want fun, and this storyline is not bringing it.


My hope for the rest of this season of Grey's Anatomy is that it will abstain from inflicting tragedy on the main characters and leave it for the patients. I want good things to happen to them (other than Derek of course) and for the show to lighten up a bit. Both the characters and we desperately need it.

Review: The Mindy Project 1x03, "In the Club"

When I reviewed The Mindy Project's pilot a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the show didn't quite live up to my expectations and that I was hoping for improvement in future episodes. While The Mindy Project still has some growing to do, I do feel that the show has made some strides in the two episodes following the pilot.

Last's night's episode, "In the Club," featured a club night outing for Mindy and her coworkers. I didn't completely love the episode, but it was pretty fun and wisely fleshed out some of the supporting characters. Because "In the Club's" primary accomplishment was allowing us to get a better idea of who these characters are, I'm going to spend most of this review talking about them.

One of the biggest surprises to come out of last night was that I realized I'm warming up to Danny. I was pretty harsh on him in my review of the pilot. While he was somewhat more likeable in the second episode, I enjoyed Danny far more in this episode. I was expecting him to spend the whole episode feeling like a fish out of water in the club setting, but it was a good choice to let him dance and show off his fun side. Given that The Mindy Project is deeply rooted in the romantic comedy genre, it's important that the leading man be likable. While the writers have some work to do before I'm fully team Danny, "In the Club" proved that Danny can be more than a jerk who tells Mindy to lose fifteen pounds.

I was somewhat surprised that Morgan was added to the work crew last week. While I found him pretty funny, he seemed more like a ridiculous one-off character. However, I surprisingly enjoyed his pretending to be an attendant in the bathroom. I think the writers are going to have to be careful not to let Morgan get too out there if he's going to be a regular part of the show (Moments like the roofie joke are a little much for me and err on the wrong side of the line between endearing weirdo and overly broad caricature.), but he can actually be pretty funny and fits into the group better than I expected.

I don't really have strong opinions about Shauna or Betsy, but it was nice to see them get more than a line or two in this episode. Jeremy, on the other hand, is just a weak link in the cast. I felt no connection to his character, and frankly, I find him cliche and grating. In both this week's and last week's episodes, his storylines have been somewhat disconnected from the main cast (other than a pep talk from Morgan this week) and could have easily been cut without much of a effect on the episode. Because I've managed to warm up a bit to Danny after hating him in the pilot, I'm not going to say that Jeremy is a completely unsalvageable character. However, the writers need to majorly retool him and figure out how to use him or cut him out completely.

While Mindy's coworkers got some additional screen time in this episode, Mindy's sister friend Gwen only had one brief scene. I was excited to see Anna Camp in the cast list when The Mindy Project premiered, but she's been underused so far. Given that this was a very contained episode focused on Mindy's work crowd, it's understandable that this wasn't a Gwen-heavy episode. Still, I'd love to see her used as more than one-an-episode sounding board for Mindy.

Steven Tobolowsky's character Marc Shulman was also missing from the episode. While I think Tobolowsky is great, he got enough screen time last week that I didn't really miss him.

"In the Club" was a very loose episode and light on plot. While plot-light episodes can be great, in this case, it felt a little bit scattered. There were a couple of stories thrown in like Mindy's ovaries before brovaries (sorry, I can't resist a Parks and Recreation reference) dilemma, Jeremy's seduction of a bachelorette, Shauna's infatuation with Danny (This felt a bit hasty, considering that he won her over solely with his sweet dance moves. This isn't Grease, you guys. Then again, Danny kind of won me over with his sweet dance moves. So who am I to judge?), and Morgan's imitation of a bathroom attendant, but they felt uneven and disjointed.

Still there were plenty of jokes and fun moments scattered throughout the episode to make it worth watching. I loved Mindy quizzing the NBA players and Josh on their favorite Tom Hanks rom-com.

Speaking of Josh, I'm kind of intrigued by his character. He gave off creepy vibes, and I was fully expecting his storyline to take a "jerk who's trying to take advantage of Mindy" path. However, his gift of a limo ride home and return of Mindy's pashmina suggested otherwise. IMDB suggests that Josh will return in a future episode. While I'm not sure what the writers were going for with his character, I have to say that I'm intrigued.

"In the Club" was a fun installment of The Mindy Project and provided some much needed character development. I'm finding it hard to unbiasedly judge the show because I'm watching through Mindy-Kaling-loving glasses, but I feel like it's on its way to becoming to a really fun show.

Edit 11/21: I'm not sure why I assumed Mindy and Gwen were sisters, but apparently that's not the case. I've corrected my mistake above.

Review: Doctor Who 7x02, "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

As a fairly new viewer of Doctor Who, this seventh season is the first that I've watched the show live (Well, relatively live. I watched it on BBC America, several hours after it aired in the UK.). I know some viewers had issues with last week's episode, "Asylum of the Daleks," but other than a few problems, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I enjoyed this week's episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" even more.

I imagine that some will criticize "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" as crowded, flashy, silly, filler, and frantic. I totally agree with all of these assessments; they are why I loved the episode so much. I like Doctor Who a lot, but I don't watch it because I think it's a super well-written show. Please don't start throwing things at me, but sometimes it's kind of awful. I watch it because I like to sit back for an hour and get lost in the fun. That's exactly what "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" brought to the table: a bucket of fun.

R.I.P sweet Tricey, the dinosaur of my heart

The dinosaurs were obviously part of the fun (I can't be the only who fell in love with Tricey), but the Doctor's "gang" was probably the best part of the episode. Queen Nefertiti was awesome. She was sassy, brave, and really likeable. As a clever viewer on Reddit pointed out, in fitting with her storyline in the episode, the actual Nefertiti did disappear from historical records after a certain point. I would loved to have seen a whole episode devoted to her set in Egypt, but the randomness of her being in an episode about dinosaurs added to the chaotic fun.

Rory's dad Brian was a fantastic addition to the gang as well. He was utterly adorable, particularly in his interactions with Rory, and he reminded me a lot of Donna's grandfather Wilf. It's always fun getting to see a character become introduced to the craziness of the Doctor's world, and I particularly loved the effect that the Doctor had on Brian. Brian's transformation from homebody to travel nut was a sweet note on which to end the episode. Plus, the scene where he's sitting on the edge of the TARDIS and looking at the world was gorgeously filmed.

Gorgeous. It's fun to imagine what this scene would have looked like on the earlier seasons' budget.

I know this was supposed to represent Brian's learning to love traveling, but it looks more like he learned how to use Photoshop.

I like the Ponds, but they sometimes rub me the wrong way (Amy moreso than Rory). The appearance of Jenna-Louise Coleman, the actress who's going to play the Doctor's new companion, in the first episode of the season actually got me excited for the Ponds' departure. However, if they're written in the next couple of episodes the same way they were in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," I really might miss them. Both had plenty of great, funny lines in the episode. One of my favorites was Rory telling his dad that he no longer has a Christmas list at 31 (and the Doctor's response that has one). More than anything, they both looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Since I usually do really like Rory, I was more impressed with the improvement in the writing of Amy in this episode. Amy was written as a competent companion rather than the sassy damsel in distress she often is portrayed as. While the group of Rory, Brian, and the Doctor was a bit more fun, I liked seeing Amy getting a chance to lead the group of her, Nefertiti, and hunter John Riddell. She showed her smarts in figuring out the computer system, her general awesomeness in helping to take down the dinosaurs, and her humor in letting Nefertiti believe she was also a queen. My only complaint with Amy in this episode is that Karen Gillan's acting seemed a bit off to me. It wasn't terrible, but I feel like she had a little bit of trouble with the differences in Amy's writing.

As much as I loved "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," it did have a few drawbacks. The pacing in the first ten or fifteen minutes had me feeling like I was on a roller coaster, and the ending was thrilling, but the episode lost a bit of its momentum in the middle. Most of this was due to the episode's villain Solomon. I liked Solomon's goofy minion robots, but Solomon was a bit of a bore. I feel like such a fun episode could have used a more fun villain. I was a bit shocked that the Doctor sent the missiles towards Solomon and let him die, but reading some Internet comments from more avid fans than I has convinced me that it was indeed in character for him. My other minor issue was that I didn't care for Nefertiti's crush on the Doctor. It was thankfully a very minor part of the episode and not a terrible idea, but it seemed a bit repetitive after seeing so many historical women act similarly towards the Doctor.

While "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was mostly a filler episode, there were a few moments that hinted to the show's larger picture. The most obvious foreshadowing was a moment between Amy and the Doctor. He tells her "You'll be there till the end of me," and she ominously jokes "or vice versa." While I thought this was probably a bit too obvious, it's nice to see a bit of a lead up to the Ponds' last episode. 

A subtler and more visual bit of foreshadowing was the scene in which Amy and Rory appear in the foreground both wearing blue and bathed in cold, blue light; the doctor, on the other hand, appears in the background in the lively, warm light of the TARDIS. This could simply be representing their distance from the Doctor as they live their own lives, but I think it could also foreshadow death for at least one of them. 

Even her nails are blue.

After the Daleks forgot the Doctor in the last episode, I also have to wonder if Solomon's machine not recognizing the Doctor (I wasn't sure why it didn't recognize him, though) ties into a season-long theme of the Doctor's enemies forgetting him. I'm not sure how this would be used as a story arc or if it means anything at all, but it's something that stuck out to me.

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" wasn't the cleverest or most well-written episode of Doctor Who, but it was ridiculously enjoyable. Dinosaurs are cool, and the episode embraces that. It also brings together an interesting group of people that looked like they were having fun. I know there are some out there that will disagree with me, but between "Asylum of the Daleks" and "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," I think season seven is off to a great start. I'm excited to see what will happen next.

LOL, Okay: A Review of Revolution 1x01, "Pilot"

For the past several years, many shows have tried to fill the television void left by Lost. These shows vary, dealing with everything from aliens (The Event) to dinosaurs (Terra Nova) to worldwide blackouts (FlashForward), but they all try to replicate Lost's complex mysteries and mythology. Even if these shows don't intentionally imitate Lost, the comparisons are inevitable.

This fall season's Lost-esque contender (which actually has J.J. Abrams attached as a producer) is Revolution, a show about the world 15 years after all electricity has been shut off. More specifically, it focuses on Charlie Matheson (played by relative newcomer Tracy Spiridakos), a plucky young woman trying to find her uncle and obtain his help to get her brother Danny back after he's been taken by the evil "militia."

So is Revolution any good? 

Let's start with the positive. During the 44 minutes I was watching Revolution's pilot, I was never bored. There's some exposition and a few flashbacks, but most of the episode focuses on the show's here and now. The pilot is pretty well-paced and moves along fairly quickly. There's a good bit of action, but there's also some smaller moments that let viewers begin to get to know the characters and understand what they're going through. One of my favorite moments of the pilot was a short scene right after the power goes out where Charlie's parents let her eat as much melting ice cream as she wants and tell her to remember what it tastes like.

The characters themselves are a bit of mixed bag. I'm going to need a few more episodes to decide how I feel about the show's female lead Charlie. I think she could be a likable character, but her can-do spirit and repetition of the "we're family" argument could also become grating. Her gruff uncle Miles (played by Twilight's Billy Burke) serves as a nice foil to Charlie. Miles is probably my favorite character. He's kind enough to be likable, but his pessimism adds a nice element of spice that the show needs. My second favorite character is Aaron (Zak Orth), a semi-dorky ex-Google employee, who provided a not overly over-the-top bit of comic relief.

I loved Giancarlo Esposito's performance as Gus on Breaking Bad, but his performance here as Captain Neville, part of the militia, is decidedly less impressive. His threat to Charlie's dad to "re-educate" his teenaged children so that they wouldn't remember his name is a joke compared to Gus's threatening of Walt's family. Pretty much everyone who plays a bad guy in Revolution is similarly campy and over-the top. Watching them trot around on horses made me laugh rather than fear them. Monroe, presumably at least the show's intial big bad, didn't get enough screen time for me to decide if he suffers from similar campiness. However, his giant tattoo of his own name on his arm points to yes.

It isn't just the villains of Revolution that are campy. The whole show is pretty silly. I admittedly don't know much about what the world would look like if electricity everywhere was shut off (and maybe Revolution is spot on), but I feel like Revolution takes some major liberties with the concept. It explains that many people died from lack of medicine and other complications of the electricity blackout, but the world looks far more deserted (and full of vegetation) than I would expect it to a mere fifteen years after the blackout.

I enjoyed watching Revolution quite a bit, but I managed to do so by saying "LOL, okay" to many of its aspects and embracing the silliness. Here's a sample of those "LOL, okay" moments.

Warning: This section may contain spoilers from Revolution's pilot.

These children's clothes? LOL, okay.

This magical electricity necklace? LOL, okay.

Danny using a crossbow? LOL, okay.

Gus on a horse? LOL, okay.

More 19th century clothing? LOL, okay.

The idea that Danny could even temporarily escape the militia's capture? LOL, okay.

Expecting us to think Elizabeth Mitchell's character is really dead? LOL, okay. (Although I suppose I may have to eat my words on that one if she really is.)

Nate's general existence? LOL, okay.

Danny's general existence? LOL, okay.

Extreme vegetation? LOL, okay.

The fight scene where Miles takes on a hoard of men with only minimal help? LOL, okay.

This tattoo? LOL, Okay.

Vague, covert instant messaging using the handy, dandy electro-pendant? LOL, okay.

Revolution is no Lost. It's silly and will probably end up suffering from some of the same problems that Lost's failed successors have. Still, it's pretty fun, and I'm interested to see where it's going. If you enjoy high-concept, mysterious shows and can accept the absurdities of Revolution with a "LOL, okay," (I promise guys. That's the last time I'm going to use that phrase. Well, it's the last time in this post.) it's worth a shot.

If you're interested in Revolution, you can check out its pilot now on Hulu or NBC.com. Alternatively, you can wait until its television premiere on NBC on Monday, September 17 at 10/9c.

Have you seen Revolution's pilot yet? What did you think? Who's your favorite (or least favorite) character? What moments, if any, stood out as absurd to you? Do you plan to keep watching? Let me know in the comments.

Review: The Mindy Project 1x01, "Pilot"

I love Mindy Kaling. I find Kelly Kapoor, her character on The Office, to be hilarious. I particularly enjoyed Kelly's music career. I read both of Mindy Kaling's blogs, The Concerns of Mindy Kaling and Things I've Bought That I Love. I check her Twitter fairly often. Most of all, I loved her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).

All of this is to say that it was pretty much a given that I'd be watching her new show The Mindy Project. When I saw that the pilot had been released early on Hulu, I was really excited, and of course, watched it instantly.



Given how much I like Mindy Kaling, I'd pretty much committed myself watching The Mindy Project before even watching the pilot. It could have been completely wretched, and I'd still probably watch a minimum of half a season. Thankfully, it is far from wretched. However, it is also fairly far from perfect.

One of The Mindy Project pilot's weaknesses is that it doesn't offer much new. It focuses heavily on rom-com cliches and fails to add a fresh twist to them. I particularly didn't care for Mindy's drunken wedding speech. The whole scene feels particularly tired and a bit lazy. Rom-com cliches can be fun, but I'm hoping that The Mindy Project will eventually find a way to help its use of them to feel a bit fresher.

I enjoyed Mindy Kaling's character, but I'm a bit iffy on some of the supporting characters. Anna Camp who plays her sister friend Gwen doesn't have a lot to do in the pilot but does well with what she is given, and I enjoyed the appearances by Bill Hader and Ed Helms. Everyone else is either bland or unlikable. The two main love interests are particularly disappointing. It took me a while to tell them apart, and when I finally did, it was mostly because of Jeremy's accent. Mindy's British-accented fling Jeremy is like a watered down, doctor version of Russell Brand. The show is presumably setting up Danny as Mindy's hate-turns-to-love romantic interest; he has the hate part down pat, but I'm curious how convincing the love part will be because Danny isn't very likable.

After all of that criticism, you might be starting to think that I hated The Mindy Project, but I actually did enjoy it. I'm a sucker for Mindy Kaling's brand of comedy: cute, girly, slightly shallow, and a little immature. The Mindy Project reflects all of these concepts. Most of the pilot's references, ranging from Downton Abbey to Sandra Bullock, are right up my alley. The pilot had plenty of fun lines, although none really stick out in my mind. Most of all, I thought it was a really likable show; I want it to succeed.

So yes, The Mindy Project's pilot is a little rough, but I strongly believe that it's going to find its voice.  Mindy Kaling's brand of humor isn't for everyone, but if you're a fan of hers, I suggest you give The Mindy Project a shot. I know I'll be sticking with it for a while

If you want to check out The Mindy Project, you can watch the pilot now on Hulu or wait to watch its television premiere Tuesday, September 25 at 9:30/8:30c on FOX.

Have you seen The Mindy Project yet? Did it live up to your expectations? How do you feel about the romantic interests? Do you plan to keep watching? Let me know in the comments.

Edit 11/21: I'm not sure why I assumed Mindy and Gwen were sisters, but apparently that's not the case. I've corrected my mistake above. 

Go On: 1x01, "Pilot"

I wasn't planning on watching Go On. I love Chandler Bing as much as the next person, but Go On's promotion didn't appeal to me. However, I changed my mind when I saw that NBC was going to air Go On's pilot early. Go On is the first fall pilot I've seen pop up this year, and that was enough for me to give it a shot. What can I say? I'm easily swayed.



Go On isn't completely terrible; I like the show's concept, and I like Matthew Perry. One of the problems with Go On, however, is that it feels second-rate in several ways. Its setup is similar to Community, but I far prefer Community's community college environment and cast of characters (It's been a while since I've seen Community's pilot, but I feel it was much stronger at these aspects even then.). Matthew Perry's Ryan King is definitely Chandler-esque, but he's a muted version saddled with emotional baggage.

In fact, most of Go On has a muted feel to it. I didn't really connect with the show's comedic moments or its dramatic ones. The emotional aspect felt forced and most of its comedy felt stale. I didn't feel like these elements were balanced particularly well either; it was as if the show tried for both and ended up with neither.

I do have to give Go On some credit for its standout scene. The March Sadness bit was pretty funny and a nice way to introduce the therapy group. It was definitely the freshest moment of Go On. It was pretty presumptuous for Ryan to propose such a game after spending only a few minutes in therapy, and I thought the show seemed to overly glorify his methods while treating the group's leader Lauren like a joke. Perhaps future episodes will do a better job with that balance.

For the most part, however, I didn't really enjoy Go On very much. It wasn't particularly bad, but other than the March Sadness scene, it just didn't work for me. With its setup, it could very well turn into a fun show, but without some changes, I'm going to have to give it a pass. I'm probably not going to watch again, but if I hear good things about future episodes, I may give Go On another go.

7 TV Show Substitutions to Tide You Over Until Fall

If you're like me, you're eagerly waiting for the return of your favorite fall shows. Sure, there are some great summer shows (such as Breaking Bad and shockingly Teen Wolf), but fall programing offers a much wider selection. While you're waiting, here are substitutions for some popular fall shows.

1) If you like Once Upon a Time, you should try The 10th Kingdom.



If you're still watching Once Upon a Time, you're clearly fine with cheesiness. You may find this hard to believe, but Once Upon a Time isn't the cheesiest of them all. The 10th Kingdom, a mini-series from 2000, is quite possibly the cheesiest show I've ever seen, and I devoured all 400 or so minutes of it in one weekend. Like Once Upon a Time, it mixes the fairy tale world with our world; a girl and her father from our world are sucked into a magical world with an obligatory evil queen. There's also plenty of familiar faces, including Ed O'Neill as a troll and Gilmore Girl's Scott Cohen as a werewolf.

2) If you like Hart of Dixie, you should try Everwood.




Admittedly I've only seen about one and a quarter episodes of Hart of Dixie, but Everwood's premise is so similar that I feel it would make a good substitution. Both shows feature a city doctor's move to a small town. Granted, widowered father of two Andy Brown of Everwood is somewhat different from the shorts-wearing young woman Zoe Hart of Hart of Dixie; so if you're just watching Hart of Dixie for the hot southern guys, you may not fill that void with Everwood. If you, on the other hand, love the small town medicine in Hart of Dixie, Everwood might be right up your alley.

3) If you like The Vampire Diaries, you should try Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



I have such a weak spot for supernatural teen dramas. The Vampire Diaries started out as Twilight-esque mess worth of little more than eye rolls, but by the middle of the first season, it had developed into a fun, twisty ride worthy of only a few eye rolls here and there (although season three drew quite a few more of them). If you're a Vampire Diaries fan and have never experienced Buffy the Vampire Slayer, get thee to Netflix and get your marathon on. The shows share more than a few elements in common, and there's seven whole seasons of Buffy to tide you over until The Vampire Diaries returns. You might be thrown off by the extreme 90s cheesiness of Buffy at first, but once you get to season two, you may even find yourself looking forward to the next Buffy episode more than the next Vampire Diaries one.

4) If you like How I Met Your Mother, you should try Happy Endings.



Unlike the other substitutions on this list, Happy Endings is actually still on the air. It's such a great show that I couldn't help but include it. It doesn't have the same framework as How I Met Your Mother, but they both fall into the group of Friends-esque comedies. While I was ready to swear off Happy Endings after its lackluster pilot, it quickly found its footing. Season one had some great episodes, but season two was full of them. There's nothing wrong with just re-watching How I Met Your Mother reruns of FX (particularly if they're from the golden years of HIMYM), but if you're looking for some new material, Happy Endings shouldn't disappoint you.

5) If you like Castle, you should try Firefly.



On the surface, a police procedural and a sci-fi western may not seem to have that much in common. Okay, they may not have that much in common internally either. What they do have in common, however, is Nathan Fillion. It's hard to imagine Castle achieving the level of success it has had without Fillion's charm, and those of you suffering from Nathan Fillion withdraw can get that fix from Firefly. Don't be turned off by the show's genre; a sci-fi western didn't sound very appealing to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show's short run. Plus, after watching Firefly, you'll be able to understand the references to it on Castle.

6) If you like The Office, you should try Summer Heights High



If you've never seen Summer Heights High, you're in for a treat. Like The Office, it's a mockumentary featuring kooky cast of characters. Unlike The Office, the three main characters are all played by the same actor.  Chris Lilley plays all three excellently, but I'm partial to snobby, private school girl Ja'mie. While Summer Heights High features a similar off-color humor as The Office does, I should give a warning that the language used on it is somewhat stronger than the language on The Office. I doubt that many people are actually looking forward to The Office's next season (sorry, I had to throw a jab in), but if you are or are looking for a show that's reminiscent of The Office in its glory days, you should check out Summer Heights High.

Alternative: I hated to give another currently airing show as my main suggestion, but fans of The Office should also consider watching Parks and Recreation if they've yet to do so. It's similar to The Office but with more heart. It starts out a bit weak but really finds its footing starting in season two. It's hilarious, and the characters are fantastic.
 
7) If you like Revenge, you should try Veronica Mars.



I confess: I raked my brain for any current show resembling Veronica Mars because it felt wrong to write a list of TV show recommendations and not include it. Revenge and Veronica Mars aren't exact matches, but they have plenty of similar elements. Although Veronica is more of white hat and and Emily's more of a black hat, both enter their series with revenge for a loved one on their mind. Both are strong female leads, both go on undercover missions, and both pilots start in medias res (okay, the similarities are getting little thin). I'd recommend Veronica Mars to just about anyone, but I feel like Revenge fans will particularly enjoy it.


What fall shows are you eagerly awaiting the return of? Do you have any suggestions of TV show substitutions? Leave a comment, and let me know.

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man

While I was watching The Amazing Spider-man, I was plagued with a problem common to movie-goers. As Peter Parker searched Bing and Gwen Stacy rocked a seemingly endless supply of knee-high boots, a baby in the audience provided seemingly endless crying and cooing. There was a brief moment when the mother left the theater, and I thought that I could finally enjoy the rest of the movie in peace. When she returned five minutes later, however, it was clear that it was just a bathroom break.

Additionally, the power shut down about five minutes before the movie was over. So if the quality of those last few minutes affected the movie greatly, this review isn't going to reflect that.

It's kind of ironic, considering that I rank fairly high on the arachnophobia scale, but I really like Spider-man. There's something appealing about the fact that he's just a relatively normal, kind of dorky high school kid who stumbles into superpowers. I enjoyed Spider-man and Spider-man 2 a lot. I'm not much of a comic book reader, so they were really my first foray into the Spider-man world. When I heard that the series was being rebooted, I was skeptical, but after Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were cast, I knew I'd probably end up going to see it.

The comparisons between 2002's Spider-man and this year's The Amazing Spider-man are inevitable. They cover a lot of the same ground, and because the first Spider-man was generally well-received, a remake wasn't exactly necessary. That doesn't mean, however, that it was entirely unwarranted. It's been a while since I've actually seen Spider-man, so I'm not the best person to compare the two. That doesn't mean, however, that I'm going to refrain from making them. Some major differences between the two stand out such as a change in love interest, an alternative villain, and a much sassier Spider-man. These differences between the two movies in addition to my enjoyment of origin stories meant that I really didn't mind watching some of the elements repeated from the first Spider-man film.

Excellent casting is one of the biggest strengths of The Amazing Spider-man. Andrew Garfield made an wonderful Peter Parker. Admittedly, most of my Spider-man knowledge is derived from the first trilogy, and I don't really know how Peter is depicted in the comics. However, I really enjoyed Garfield's performance. I also found the writing of the character to be interesting; rather than depicting Peter as complete nerd as the 2002 version did, this movie portrayed him as a slightly awkward teen who only ran into trouble with the school bully when he tried to help out another student. I thought that characterization was a nicely realistic approach to the character.

Emma Stone was another wise casting choice. While some real-life couples seem to lack on-screen chemistry, she and Andrew Garfield worked well together. They didn't share a moment quite as iconic as the upside down kiss between Mary Jane and Spider-man, but they were a fun couple to watch. I also appreciated Gwen Stacy as a character. She wasn't the most developed character ever, but she was smart and could hold her own.

While there was a lot I liked about The Amazing Spider-man, it wasn't perfect. I liked the Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone combination better than the Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst one, but I felt that the Aunt May and Uncle Ben of The Amazing Spider-man were quite a downgrade from the original characters. They weren't casted or written terribly in The Amazing Spider-man, but they were spot on and much more likable in Spider-man. While I suppose it was omitted to distance the two movies, I particularly disliked the absence of the "with great power comes great responsibility" line in The Amazing Spider-man

The movie's biggest weakness was probably its villain. Lizard wasn't a terrible villain, but he was somewhat lackluster. I even had to look up his name as I was writing this review because I'd just been calling him "lizard man." The villain portion of the movie felt a bit rushed, and Lizard seemed to mostly be there out of a necessity for the movie to have a villain.

While I had a few qualms with it, I really enjoyed The Amazing Spider-man. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the whole movie and was surprised to find out that it was over two hours long because it felt much shorter, even considering the few minutes I missed at the end.

4 Reasons Why Season Three of Veronica Mars is Better Than Its Reputation Suggests

Warning: There are spoilers in this post. If you've yet to see Veronica Mars's third season, I'd strongly recommend that you not read it. Seriously, just go watch Veronica Mars instead. It's really good.

Last Friday I posted a list of my reasons why the third season of Veronica Mars is my least favorite. Because I still also have a lot of love for the third season, it's only fair that I follow that up with a list defending it. Your mileage may vary on some of my reasons, but here are four reasons why season three of Veronica Mars is better than its reputation suggests.

1. New Characters

 

This will probably be the most controversial statement I make in this post: I'm a fan of Piz. It seems that a lot Veronica Mars fans think Piz is one of the worst parts of the worst season, but I consider him one of season three's highlights. I thought he was adorable, sweet, and endearingly awkward. Even though I don't agree with them, I can understand the viewers who simply found him annoying, but I don't understand those who disliked him simply because he wasn't Logan. As much as I liked Piz, he was a terrible match for Veronica. I feel like he was purposefully paired with Veronica to show that she needs a guy like Logan, not Duncan 2.0. Piz provided season three with both an enjoyable character and a nice foil to Logan.

In addition to Piz, a lot of other new characters worked really well in the season three. Near the beginning of the season, Parker seemed like she might be an annoying presence, but she turned out to be a likable, fun character (for the most part). Dean O'Dell was a nice replacement for Principle Clemmons. Even Professor Lasky Landry was an interesting addition to the character mix. It was fun to see Veronica win the respect of a qualified teacher in her field (even if he turned out to be a sleaze).

2. The Finale is Not That Bad

 

 

I'm always surprised when people complain about the series finale of Veronica Mars. It's not perfect, but it's a fantastic episode and even a pretty great finale. The pace of the episode is a little rushed, but really, this just ensures that episode is action-packed. The episode cleverly uses the Castle plot to bring back two of the major players from the earlier seasons, Jake Kane and Clarence Wiedman, in addition to referencing Lily and Duncan through the use of portraits.

I think I've said before that I appreciate series finales that convey a show's central theme. Veronica states her disillusion with Neptune several times throughout the series and given the show's noir-ish vibe, a downer ending just felt right.

I also appreciated how Veronica's life in the finale mirrored her life from the beginning of the series. By the pilot, Veronica and Duncan have broken up. While Piz (Duncan 2.0) and Veronica aren't broken up by the series end, the looks that Veronica, Logan, and Piz exchange in their final scene together make it clear that the relationship won't last much longer.

Additionally, the Veronica of season one had given up her popular crowd status to support her dad who had been ousted as sheriff. The Keith of season three gave up his reputation and likelihood at being elected sheriff to cover up Veronica's crime. In the pilot, Veronica's high school reputation had been ruined as a result of her being drugged at a party. In the finale, Veronica's college reputation had been ruined by a sex tape.

All of these similarities demonstrate that "the more things change, the more they stay the same" principle that Veronica expresses throughout the series. This quote from season two's "One Angry Veronica" springs to mind: "New Years Eve...Someone just needs to change the name to 'Same Old Years Eve.' Because that 'New', implying all that hope and promise, it's not fooling anyone."

Ideally, the finale might have been less open-ended. It might have been nice to see Logan and Veronica back together and to have had a few more episodes to deal with the Castle story, but I feel the series finale had a decent sense of closure and is far undeserving of the hate it gets.

3. Bigger Scope

 

 

One thing I really liked about season three is the sense it gives of Veronica becoming a big time detective. The move from high school to college really allowed the show to widen it's scope a bit. While plenty of the cases still revolved around students, the college setting felt a lot more like Veronica was in the real world than the high school bubble. It was satisfying to see Veronica enter the real world of the PI business and earn a license. While she solved some pretty serious cases in high school (as an obvious example, Lily's murder), it was enjoyable to watch the people around her start to take her more seriously as a detective in season three.

4. It Still Felt Like Veronica Mars 

 

 

Despite the changes, both good and bad, season three of Veronica Mars still felt very much like Veronica Mars to me. Even though it's my least favorite of the three seasons, it's still a good season of television. Kristen Bell was still excellent as Veronica. Most of the major players from the earlier seasons returned. There were still plenty of good mysteries. Most of all, I still enjoyed it. It's very much a part of the Veronica Mars story and well worth watching.


What are your thoughts on season three of Veronica Mars? Do you feel it's deserving of the criticism it receives? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

4 Reasons Why Season Three of Veronica Mars is My Least Favorite

Warning: There are spoilers in this post. If you've yet to see Veronica Mars's third season, I'd strongly recommend that you not read it. Seriously, just go watch Veronica Mars instead. It's really good.

SOAPnet's decision to air reruns of one of my favorite shows of all time, Veronica Mars, inspired me to do a rewatch of the show. I recently finished the much criticized season three, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts on it.

A lot of people flat out hate season three of Veronica Mars. I've seen plenty of hate for it on the internet, and I've even seen people recommend that viewers stop watching after the second season. Season three is undeniably different from the first two seasons. The setting of the show changed from high school to college. The mystery arcs were handled differently. Even the opening credits were restylized and placed with a remixed theme song. Despite all of the changes, I still enjoy season three of Veronica Mars. I'd pretty confidently rank it as my least favorite of the seasons, but I think it tends to get a harsher reputation that it deserves.

I've come up with two lists about season three: one illustrating the bad aspects of the season and one illustrating the good ones. This post contains my criticism of the third season, but I'm going to try to post my defense of it in a couple of days.

1. Mini Mystery Format 

 

Seasons one and two of Veronica Mars contained a season-long mystery; in season one, the focus was on the mystery of Lily's murder, and season two centered around the mystery of the bus crash. Season three, on the other hand, had two mini mysteries and a handful of standalone episodes at the end. This new format was intended to make it easier for new viewers to jump into the show. The new format wasn't terrible, but it was a bad idea to mess with something that worked so well for the first two seasons.

Veronica Mars does stand alone episodes quite well, but the lack of a season long arc made season three feel a bit disjointed. The first two seasons were defined by their mysteries, and after a whole season of following one mystery, the big reveals in their finales had more weight to them (although I must admit that "Spit & Eggs" was a pretty great episode). I suspect that most people would define season three as "the college year" rather than "the season of the Hearst rapist" or "the season of the Dean's murder." Granted, the "college" label might stick even if the season had been defined by one mystery, but that mystery would still provide a secondary label that the season lacks.

2. Veronica and Logan Drama 

 

I'm as big a fan of Veronica and Logan as the next viewer, but their relationship in season three was much too dramatic for my liking. Their on-again, off-again relationship seemed to change status every other episode. Also, I don't know what was worse: the whipped Logan we saw when their relationship was "on-again" or the "off-again" Logan who did little more than sulk. I will admit that the relationship aspect of season three didn't seem quite as bad on my re-watch as it did initially, but it's the kind of thing I'd expect from The O.C. not Veronica Mars.

3. Meaner Veronica

 

 

From the beginning of the series, Veronica has always been snarky. She had good reason to be after the way she'd been treated, and it's part of what I love about the character. In season three, however, Veronica's snark occasionally veered into an overly acidic area. It's understandable that she would bring some of her bite to college. Even if she was no longer an outcast, the events of her high school years changed her, and it would have been weird if she went back to being pre-season one Veronica. Still, several moments in season three, such as Veronica cracking jokes about Chip being sexually assaulted with an Easter egg, felt a bit over the top, and the writing of Veronica just seemed to occasionally be a bit off.

4. Madison Sinclair (Among Other Storylines)

 

 

In addition to some of my bigger picture issues with the third season, some of the specific storylines in it bugged me. One of the storyline that bothered me most was the Madison one. Look, I know Veronica isn't a flawless character; it's one of the things that makes her such a great character. It's completely understandable that she would dislike Madison. However, Veronica's blaming Madison for her rape bothered me. Yes, Madison was a jerk and spit in her drink, but Dick was the one who put the GHB in that cup intending to drug Madison. It would have been one thing if Veronica had expressed hatred towards both of them, but the fact that she tolerated Dick while seething with hatred for Madison (declaring "If Dick starts dating her again, you're going to need to get a different roommate") felt extremely catty and strange for Veronica.

I also didn't care for Keith's affair. It wasn't enjoyable for me to watch, and like Veronica, I was disappointed in him. Dick's guilt storyline near the end of the season was perhaps an admirable effort to give the character depth, but it just seemed too little, too late for me and rang false. The Logan and Parker storyline wasn't completely terrible, but it wasn't great and led to the terrible moment of her blaming Veronica for their eventual breakup (a la Meg in season two). Additionally, the Fitzpatrick storyline felt unsatisfying and somewhat lacking in direction. The earlier seasons had some storylines that just didn't work well (the Duncan baby storyline, anyone?), but season three seemed to have quite a few of them.


What were your thoughts on season three? Do you agree with my points of criticism? What didn't (or did) you like about it? Let me know in the comments.

Burning Love: This is what a parody should be

If you've spent much time on the Internet today, there's a good chance you've heard of Burning Love. It's a web series parody of a show that's almost a parody of itself, The Bachelor. Burning Love features quite a few celebrities including Veronica Mars vets Ken Marino, Kristen Bell, Ryan Hansen, and Adam Scott. Often parodies have a tendency to go for over-the-top generic jokes, but it's clear that those behind Burning Love have watched a lot of The Bachelor.

I've posted the first episode here, but you can check episodes two and three on the Burning Love website (that's amazingly similar to the actual Bachelor site). The site reveals that new episodes of the series will be posted on Mondays and Thursdays.

Movie Review: Don't be afraid of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Warning: There are a few mild spoilers in this review such as a description of the creatures, but nothing that I feel ruins the movie.

Despite the command issued in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark's title, I actually am a little afraid of the dark. I don't quiver in fear every time I turn the lights out, but I do occasionally leave the television on as I go to sleep. In fact, I'm kind of a scaredy cat in general. I've literally jumped at my own shadow (on multiple occasions). If I spot something flying around during the summer, I assume it's a wasp or bee and go running. There's a certain completely ridiculous and implausible urban legend that shall remain unnamed (here's a hint: it deals with mirrors) that genuinely terrifies me and haunts my mind every time I start thinking about it. Worse than any of that, the Nancy Drew computer games scare me (as in, I run from the computer if something freaky starts happening). I enjoyed the games when I was younger (despite my terror), and during a bout of nostalgia, I recently replayed one thinking that I was long past my days of fearing a video game made for kids. Nope, but I did do a little less running away.

I'm telling you all of this not to completely wreck your opinion of me but so that you'll believe me when I tell you that, other than a couple of jump scenes, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark really isn't that scary of a movie.

I actually really liked the style of the opening credits.

As I type Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, I keep wanting to type Are You Afraid of the Dark?. I find the similarity between the two titles interesting because I could almost see Don't Be Afraid of the Dark as a children's horror movie. The opening scene is kind of gruesome, there's another scene that's probably a little bloody for kids, and overall, the movie might give kids nightmares. Still, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark captures the tone of silliness tinged with slight scariness that's present in the scary movies and shows geared towards children. While the rat-like monsters would be nothing to laugh at if they were to appear in real life, they're just not that scary in the world of movies and seem like a higher-budget version of something that would appear on Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Frankly, the drawings of them shown in the movie are much scarier than the actual creatures. The unveiling of these lackluster monsters comes early in the movie (although they're not really that scary when they're just voices in the vent repeating everything) and really takes away from the scare factor.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark also suffers from the "girl please" phenomenon that's common to horror films. The "girl please" phenomenon means that I was "girl pleasing" the characters of the movie for their decisions and had a hard time understanding their decision making processes. Why is the little girl cool with creepy voices coming from her vent? Why is the groundskeeper so closed-mouthed? Why do the little creatures wait so long to attack? I'm sure you could come up with explanations for these things, but everyone in the movie just seemed a little bit dense.

After watching the trailer for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, I was under the impression that Katie Holmes was the main hauntee and character of the movie. In actuality, her character's boyfriend's daughter Sally takes both of those roles (yet another reason why I feel like this is almost a kid's movie). Bailee Madison (who's been in several projects you might recognize, most recently Once Upon a Time as the young Snow White) portrays the sullen child Sally. Sally was the subject of the majority of my "girl pleases" because I believe that even a child should know not to respond to creepy voices in their vent. Perhaps my expectations are too high. Still, Madison does a pretty good job, and I warmed to Sally once she realized that the creatures were not her friends.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark was far from the movie I expected it to be, but it's not completely terrible. I found it pretty entertaining, and there's a couple of moderate thrills towards the beginning of the movie (in particular, there's a monster-under-the-covers scene that really did creep me out). Still, it's the kind of movie that I didn't mind talking during, and I didn't pause it when I walked out the room for minute. And thrillwise? I still find Nancy Drew games much scarier.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: Good, But Needs More Sawyer

Confession #1: I've never seen the any of the first three Mission Impossible movies. I entered this movie with a couple of tidbits of knowledge (the theme song, the "your mission should you choose to accept it" bit, etc.) about the series, but I didn't know much about it. I didn't even know Tom Cruise's character's name (It's Ethan Hunt, by the way.).

Confession #2: Having recently seen the fantastic The Avengers, I couldn't help but compare Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol to it. I know they're not really that alike (one takes place in a world of superheroes and aliens, and the other at least pretends to maintain a facade of realism), but, in my defense, both are action films. Plus two weeks after seeing it, The Avengers is still pretty fresh on my mind.

Despite all of that, I really enjoyed Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. It's not like gadgets and fighting sequences take a lot of back story to figure out. Sure there was a bit of a story in the movie, but it was just there to provide a framework in which to put the aforementioned action and gadgets.

The actors that made up the main team (Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner) had nice chemistry and worked well together. I especially appreciated that there wasn't much of a romance storyline among the cast. There are mentions of outside romances that tie into the story and one flirty moment, but there's not much of a featured love story to dilute the action. I can definitely enjoy love stories in action films if they're done well (the one in Captain America springs to mind), but it was refreshing to see an action film that's content to simply be an action film.


I'm probably not the best person to judge the action in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol because I'm not the biggest action movie buff, but I thought it was really well done. There were plenty of fun sequences, and I found the action to be really exciting. The movie is fairly long at a 133 minute run time, but its quick pace and almost non-stop action make those minutes go by quickly.  There were several moments where I thought "that looks really cool." The same train of thought applies to the gadgets. I found it kind of funny that a lot of the gadgets were Apple-based, but the Apple logos did somewhat help to give the gadgets a realistic feel.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol's biggest weaknesses are in its non-action related moments. Most of the quips and funny moments didn't really work for me. They weren't terrible, but they weren't particularly good. In The Avengers (sorry guys, but you had to know I was going to mention it again), the dialogue and jokes were just as strong as the action. There were a plethora of quotable lines, and the movie got plenty of laughs from me. I'm not sure I laughed once in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, but if I did it was probably at the visual humor of one of the stunts.

Probably my biggest disappointment with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was Josh Holloway's lack of screen time. This is a silly personal qualm, but I was really expecting him to have a bigger role. I'm pretty sure I saw him doing promo for the movie, but that's ridiculous considering he couldn't have had more than a few minutes of screen time. What can I say? I'm a Sawyer fan.

In all seriousness, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is a fun blockbuster that makes a great summer film. Is it a deep film? No. Does it offer much beyond gadgets and action? No. Is it as good as The Avengers? A world of no. But it is a solid action movie that's well worth watching.

Four episodes in, is Scandal a win?

Warning: This post contains spoilers about Scandal through episode four.

It seems like many times when I read an article about Grey's Anatomy, there will be a disparaging comment like "People still watch this?" or some other variation. You can feel free to send some judgment my way, but I have to admit that I'm one of those people still watching Grey's, and even more, I enjoy it.

Credit: ABC/DANNY FELD

So when I heard that Shonda Rhimes had a new show coming out, Scandal, and it looked half-way interesting (I never watched Off the Map due to a failure to meet this last criteria), I decided to give it a shot.

One of my biggest problems with Scandal is that is tries extremely hard to be clever and sassy. This causes problems like painfully bad catchphrases ("gladiators in suits" from the pilot being the worst). It's almost as if there's at least one implicit "oh snap" written into every scene. Frankly, this becomes somewhat exhausting to watch. I do have to say, however, that this aspect has toned down a bit from the pilot, and I feel like it will continue to improve with time as the show becomes more comfortable with itself.

Another big problem with Scandal is its characters. Kerry Washington's lead character, Olivia Pope, is the only character with a strong sense of personality. Even so, the writers seem to be so determined to make her strong and unassailable that it's been hard to connect with her character thus far. She has had a few "tender moments" where her walls come down, and Washington is truly a magnetic lead. I just feel like Olivia could use a little bit of work. The other characters, however, could use quite a bit of work. They seem like they're mostly there to serve as sidekicks to Olivia, and they don't have a whole lot of personality. Honestly, out of all of them, the only whose name I even remember is Quinn, the new girl to the group. For the others, I only remember a couple of facts (this one left an abusive husband, that one just proposed to his girlfriend, ect.).

I've been pretty harsh on Scandal so far, but there's also plenty of good aspects to the show. For one, it's a nice twist on the typical procedural. Instead of solving a crime every episode, they work towards fixing a scandal. While this scandal may be a crime, their job may likely be to prove who didn't commit the crime rather than find out who did. This is a fun idea, and so far, there's been a good variety of types of scandals.

Scandal doesn't just focus on a "scandal of the week" format, but also incorporates an overarching scandal concerning the president. I'm a sucker for shows that incorporate weekly plots with overarching ones, and Scandal has found a good balance between the two so far. The presidential scandal is pretty silly and dramatic, but I'm finding it to be pretty interesting. There's been plenty of twists and turns in both the season arc and the weekly stories. Although a few of them have been quite predictable, some have taken me genuinely by surprise.

The characters may not be all that strong, but I've enjoyed all of the familiar faces in the cast. My Lost-loving self was excited to spot both Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) and Jeff Perry (Frank Duckett who Sawyer shot/Grey's Anatomy's Thatcher Grey). Also starring in Scandal are Darby Stanchfield (creepy Glen's mom on Mad Men) and perhaps most excitingly, Liza Weil (Paris on Gilmore Girls). Honestly, I kind of just like to pretend that Weil is playing a version of Paris who changed her name because her character Amanda Tanner is somewhat Paris-esque.

Scandal is kind of a ridiculous show. You know what, though? That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's the Grey's Anatomy treatment given to the political world. It's melodramatic, but it's entertaining. So far, it hasn't seemed to take itself too seriously, but rather seems to embrace its dramatics. Why just settle for a presidential affair when you can throw kidnapping into the mix? Why not have a dictator back down from taking his children away from his wife after Olivia gives him a little speech? Scandal is not going to appeal to everyone, but if you can accept it for what it is and deal with some silliness, it's worth a try. I may not stick with the show forever, but I plan to at least keep watching throughout the season.

Plus, the fact that I marathoned the first three episodes in one afternoon and added the show to my already full Thursday night DVR line-up has to say something good about it, right?