How I Met Your Mother: 7x16, "The Drunk Train"

Last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, "The Burning Beekeeper," was pretty bad. It was clear that the segmented format of the episode was an attempt to recreate the magic of an episode like "Brunch," but it was almost sad how much it failed to do so. With "The Burning Beekeeper" fresh in my mind, I didn't have great expectations for this week's episode, "The Drunk Train." Perhaps it's partially because my expectations were so low, but I surprisingly really enjoyed "The Drunk Train."

Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS © 2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This week's storylines featured the following pairs: Barney and Ted, Lily and Marshall, and Robin and Kevin.

Barney and Ted received the title storyline, the drunk train. In addition to Barney and Ted's attempts to capitalize on a train full of drunk girls, there was also a focus on Barney's infatuation with Quinn, a girl who's smart enough not to fall for his tricks. Barney and Ted being paired up often leads to some pretty fun storylines, and this episode was no exception. The drunk train bit was fun, and it's the kind of storyline I could see fitting into an episode from some of the earlier seasons. I particularly liked Ted's realization that the key to the drunk train is to "get drunk." (Side note: Between "This ain't my first word search" and "Last week, I went out with a girl whose favorite band is Glee," Ted had some great lines tonight). The "girl who's wise to Barney's lines" storyline feels like territory that the show's covered before (Nora springs to mind), but I thought it worked pretty well. Quinn was likable, and I liked the reveal that she knew so much about Barney because she works at the Lusty Leopard (I had to rewind that last scene to make sure it wasn't just one of Barney's fantasies).

The Lily and Marshall storyline was cute, albeit a bit forgettable. I enjoyed the absence of Lily's father because his character has become overused. I can't quite remember if he moved out in the last episode or if he was just missing for this episode, but either way, it was a good move not to include him in "The Drunk Train." The look forward to Lily and Marshall post-baby was interesting, and I'm curious how their characters are going to handled once they become parents.

The first comment I'd like to make about the Robin and Kevin storyline is Hallelujah. Kevin and Robin's breakup was probably the best thing to come out of this episode. I have nothing against Kal Penn, but I'm of the fairly common opinion that Kevin has been this season's Zoe. Both characters dragged down the show and were much too unlikable to appear in as many episodes as they did. It's a credit to Cobie Smulder's acting that I felt so bad for Robin despite my joy at what is hopefully the end of Kevin. I think their breakup was handled really well. I love that Robin was open and honest to Kevin, and it was refreshing there wasn't any wacky sitcom shenanigans involved in their split.

I'd be remiss if I didn't address that scene between Robin and Ted near the end of the episode. I'm not quite sure what to think about Ted's declaration of love, but my gut reaction was "not this again." I've always liked Robin and Ted together, and I think they made a really cute couple. However, it just seems like the show's treading water at this point. We already know the Robin's not the mother, and they've already even briefly revisited the idea of Ted and Robin. It seems odd that Ted would express feelings for Robin when they broke up for similar reasons to those that Kevin and Robin broke up for. Ted's outburst could have several different outcomes, so I'll wait to see what happens before fully making a judgment on the scene. Still, I'm somewhat skeptical about it.

Did you watch "The Drunk Train?" What are your thoughts on the episode? How do you feel about Kevin and Robin splitting up? What are your thoughts on Ted declaring his feelings for Robin? If you want to share, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

In Medias Res: 90210, 4x14 "Mama Can You Hear Me?"

In Medias Res is a post in which I watch a current episode of show that I haven't been following. Thus, I start in medias res or "into the middle of things." This allows me to give an outsider's perspective on the show.


This is my second In Medias Res post. It's been almost a year since my first one on The Event, and I thought I'd give it another go. For this post, I've chosen the most recent episode (it's no longer the most recent, but it was when I started writing this recap) of 90210 that's available on the CW website, "Mama Can You Hear Me?" I think I watched part of one episode a couple of years ago plus I've seen some promos, but I really don't know much about the show. All my screencaps are from CWtv.com. That's about all the pre-recap info I want to cover. So in the words of Coolio in the "Keenan & Kel" theme song, "Aw, here it goes..."

Luckily, the previously segment gives me a glimpse into the show. It features the following things: cheating or perhaps faux cheating, a break-up, baby drama, Lexi aka Lindsay (depending on if you're a Vampire Diaries or Gilmore Girls fan), and a "no, I don't know her" that's filled with double meaning. It's certainly not enough to catch me up completely on all that's gone down in the infamous ZIP code, but it's a start.

I'm going to take a guess and say that Naomi gets a lot of screen time.

The episode begins with some couch-crasher making his opinion on The Civil Wars quite clear.  F.Y.I he calls their song "broken-hearted country crap." Some other guy disses their music as well. But you know you does like country music?

Shirtless guy does! 

Shirtless guy (presumably the one who Naomi broke up with) walks into the room shirtless, pours the last of couch-crasher's cereal, and then abandons it for a beer. I'd probably just nab the box of cereal to enjoy in my room, but I guess we all grieve in different ways. Anyway, the point is his depression is annoying his roommates, and some of them are prepared to leave if he doesn't shape up soon. The guy who I suppose is the only official roommate of shirtless guy agrees to comfort him. Until I find out his name, he will be the "comforter."

Meanwhile, Naomi (I do know a couple of names) walks in wearing this.

What can I say? I'm not a big fan of jumpsuits and fedoras. 

I'm assuming she works in fashion because she compares her boss to Miranda from "The Devil Wears Prada." This outfit looks kind of awful to me, but I guess I'm not a fashionista. Anyway Annie basically calls Naomi a slut and tells her that's why her boss doesn't like her. Naomi retorts by essentially calling Annie a psycho ex-stalker. That's got to mean they're BFFs, right? While some random girl in another questionable outfit joins their conversation, Annie defends her case with some sassy head bobbing. 

Homeless chic, anyone? I guess I really just don't understand fashion.

Next thing you know, Holly (thanks 90210 for mentioning a name) is bumping into Naomi. Look out guys, I think we've got a mean girl on our hands. I might just have to side with Holly though because she's the only one whose outfit I can get behind. Plus, she has the guts to do this.

I feel they all must be looking at her dress with envy.

Annie walks up to Naomi, and I realized that the gap in her black mourning gown is not a belt, but rather it's just a gap of flesh. Anyway, she's wondering where Naomi's fighting spirit is. Naomi assures her that she just needs to solve Holly's mommy issues therapist-style, and everything will be just peachy. 

Homeless Chic and some photographer have a conversation about his going to Afghanistan to pursue his dreams, and that's about that.

Then, one of the brunette girls (I know one is named Silver, but I get the girl from the beginning and this one confused. Until I learn their names, the one in the first scene is Brunette #1 and this girl is Brunette #2) walks down the street with some professor. He tells her that he's booked a table at a swanky restaurant because of "crabs" and his divorce. She tells him that his divorce is none of her business, and I start to think maybe she's just the babysitter for the kid in the intro (that's supposedly her birth kid???). Then they reference "our relationship," and he asks her to move with him. So I guess they're dating. If his kid really is her birth kid, that really does mean that there's drama a'brewing. If not, I'm really misreading things.

If that's not enough drama, there's a run in with Silver's (They named her! Now if they'd just mention Brunette #1's name.) ex, Couch-crasher, and his friend, the Comforter. These storylines are just starting to come together like an intricate tapestry! It's an awkward run-in, and even worse, it appears Couch-crasher vaguely recognizes the Professor. Maybe he just took his class or something, but because this is the CW, I'm thinking Silver's got a secret, guys. Maybe it has something to do with the kid drama.

"I wore my armless shirt in honor of this occasion."

Meanwhile, Lexi shows off her muscles to some guy. Okay, it was actually a tattoo. He wants the deets on it. She says it's a boring story. He wants to get to know her. She protests that she's a boring girl. This steamy flirting session is interrupted by Annie. Apparently, Some Guy is Annie's ex, and Lexi is the girl with the fake IDs. I guess this run-in with the ex explains Annie's midriff-bearing outfit. Annie threatens that Lexi needs to make like a banana and split, but I just don't think it's going to be that easy.

During a meeting with her boss, Naomi tries to make nice with Holly, but it just backfires on her. Poor Naomi, she just can't figure out how to mend fences with this girl.

Twelve minutes into the show, its theme song appears. I'd just about given up on it having opening credits. That was one heck of a cold open. At twelve minutes long, can you even call it a cold open? Anyway, the credits are totally unhelpful at telling me anything about the show. It's mostly just a bunch of random images like this.

I suddenly understand everything.

After the opening credits, we see Naomi working on her super-posh event. She gains points because I actually kind of like her dress in this scene (although the magically appearing bracelets that resemble rolls of duct tape aren't much my style), but she loses some for throwing out a humble brag about the stomach ache she's getting from all the movie stars, tv stars, and models that are attending the upcoming event she's working on. Homeless Chic (who's wearing a very similar sweater to the one she wore the day before) doesn't seem to mind the humble brag, but that's probably because she's trying to scam her photographer boyfriend (aka Nick) into a gig at the party. There's little drama there because Naomi quickly agrees.

No duct tape bracelets.

Duct tape bracelets!

Next thing you know, Holly's entering the kitchen in her best puffy shirt. Seriously, is there a rule that only one of these girls can look decent at a time? Anyway, there's some tension between the two which only escalates when Holly informs Naomi that her coffee contained a trip to the dentist, although she just refers to it as spit. Naomi's still desperate to make nice with Holly. So she gives her the all important job of transporting a VIP to the event. That sounds like a great plan, right?

There's a brief scene where we learn that shirtless guy has put on a shirt but is still down in the dumps. Annie's still obsessing over her ex's girlfriend. Based on the number of people who have told her that she's crazy, I'd say there's about a .05 percent chance that Lexi's not hiding something big. Brunette #1 tells her to chill, and what Annie gets from this is that she needs to do some serious Googling.

Meanwhile, Holly shows up to the party sans the celebrity, and her mom is not pleased. There's not that much to say about this scene other than to point out a mullet dress of note and for me to admit that Naomi actually looks really nice in this scene.

If Macgyver were a dress, he would be this one.

Coach crasher and Brunette #1 have a nice little bonding session where she talks about Maisy, the girl she gave up. I'm kind of bummed that it was her child instead of Silver's because I was hoping for the drama that would come with Silver dating the guy who adopted her kid. Oh well. 

Back at the local bar, Shirted Guy is listening to some more country music. Listen, I'm not buying the idea that this country music correlates with his depression. I mean anyone who owns a denim shirt such as this probably listens to country music regardless of the mood he's in. 

Couch surfer decides to pay Silver a visit, but it turns out that her boyfriend is the only one there. There's some awkwardness, but then this happens.

According to her dad, this child is a cell-phone using, Angry-Bird playing child prodigy. 

I guess I wasn't so crazy for thinking that the Professor is Maisy's dad after all. Sure, I got a little confused about which brunette was which, but I was closer to the truth than I thought. I apologize for my disappointment a few scenes ago; this storyline is pretty juicy. Apparently, Silver is well aware of her boyfriend's connection to Maisy. More importantly, Brunette #1 is revealed to be named Adrianna (or "Ade" as her non-friends like Silver call her), Couch Crasher is Navid, and the Professor is Greg. They're just throwing these names out there like crazy.

Going back to the Holly/Naomi storyline, they manage to find their VIP at his hotel, and he's drunk with a capital D. Could this be good news for their friendship? After all, nothing brings enemies together better than co-managing a drunk celebrity.

In the Lexi/Annie's ex's storyline, we finally find out what Lexi's big secret is: she hit him while he was on his motorcycle or something like that. I'm assuming this secret is relying on some knowledge from previous episodes because I'm little bit fuzzy about the accident. The ex acts like it was a pretty serious accident, but the only evidence of it I see is a small scar on his face. Anyway, Annie appears post-confession to share the secret with her ex. He calls her a crazy Google stalker, and he returns to the girl that marred his face.

Look at that hideous scar.

Naomi's event takes a turn for the worse when the drunk VIP throws up in medias carpet. Holly's mom starts to chew Holly out, and by now, you'd think Naomi would have learned to just let well enough alone. Instead she tries to take all the blame and goes on a self-righteous tirade about how she was attempting to repair Holly's relationship with her mom. Holly's mom is not having that nonsense, and she fires Naomi. If Naomi gets her job back, I sincerely hope that she'll learn to just mind her own business and not play the part of smug family therapist.

"Basically, I'm a saint."

Homeless Chic and Annie have yet another conversation about how crazy Annie is. Then Annie decides  she's going to mind her own business until everything comes crashing down around her ex. Then she'll be there to pick up the pieces because that totally sounds like the plan of a sane person. Some of the conversation is also devoted to Homeless Chic being worried about her boyfriend becoming a war photographer, but that's much saner stuff and therefore, kind of boring.

I feeling like Torrey DeVitto should be playing this character.

Guess what? Naomi's dumb family therapist plan actually kind of worked. Holly and her mom bond, presumably over their mutual hatred of Naomi. Now that she's taken over Naomi's job, Holly feels like she can afford to show some kindness to Naomi and gets her a possibly client, the drunk VIP. Naomi becomes smug once again and starts rambling about having her own company.

Homeless Chic's brush with true insanity (aka Annie) scares her into apologizing to Nick. Both of them acted fairly rationally in this storyline, and therefore, I'm not that interested. Still, good for her.

Finally, we reach the last scene of the episode. Navid's back in his natural habitat, the couch. This time, however, he's plagued by Silver's secret rather than country music. He tells Adrianna to take a seat and prepares to tell her the secret.

I honestly have to give 90210 props for not dragging that secret storyline out, and I feel like it's going to bring some drama on the next installment.

I can't say I'm going to add 90210 to my TV viewing schedule, but it was somewhat entertaining to watch for an episode. There were a couple of things I was confused about, and I'm sure some of my speculations were wrong. Still, I thought it was pretty easy to follow. All in all, it wasn't a bad pick for In Medias Res.

90210 fans, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the episode, my review, or even just the show in general. If you're not a fan, but just stumbled upon this review, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. As always, feel free to leave a comment.

A Letter to ABC: Save the Eye Candy

Warning: This post contains spoilers about television deaths and extreme levels of silliness and shallowness. You have been warned.
 
Dear ABC,

You've done some things right lately. Your shows were among the first to return after the winter break, and I appreciate that. I've also really enjoyed two of your new shows: Revenge and Once Upon a Time. Additionally, the Wednesday lineup of Modern Family, Happy Endings, and Revenge is just amazing scheduling.

You've also generated some controversy lately, but you've dealt with it. Work It was kind of a flop, but you wisely cancelled it. Cougar Town fans wanted their show back after it was held in limbo for a while, and you finally announced a return date. But neither of those two things are what I want to speak to you about.

My problem is something more serious. It's affecting many of your viewers, and it needs to be addressed before it gets worse. This problem is the trend of your shows killing off the hot guys.

For example, there was Sheriff Graham on Once Upon a Time. Sure, he wasn't the most well-developed character, but he was really cute. Plus, we finally were getting to see a glance at his intriguing back-story. I appreciate that his death helped move the plot forward, but I miss him and his adorable face.

Speaking of Once Upon a Time, you also killed the brother of the character we now know as Prince Charming (who actually was the original prince). This wasn't really a big deal because Josh Dallas is still on the show, but it was still quite a shock to see him die.

Then, there was Henry on Grey's Anatomy. Oh Henry. He was so charming and so cute, and you just had to let him die. The whole "marrying someone you don't love for alternative reasons and then falling in love once you're married" plot is the stuff of Lifetime movies, but it worked with Teddy and Henry because Henry was so delightful. But now he joins George in the group of dead characters from Grey's Anatomy that I miss. Why couldn't you have just taken Derek (It's not that Patrick Dempsey is unattractive. I just really hate Derek.) instead?

Luckily, there's still hope for my last example, Daniel from Revenge. He's gorgeous, sweet, and basically perfect. So what happens to him? He was supposedly killed in the opening scene of Revenge. I say supposedly because his face is never shown. It's weird that the characters would assume that a face-down dead body is Daniel without good reason, but I'm certainly hoping that they're wrong.

ABC, there's still time to save Daniel and countless other hot guys on your network. If you don't take preventative action, who will be the next victim? Happy Endings' Brad? Once Upon a Time's Prince Charming? Castle's Castle? So I'm begging you to please do so. Don't let another hot guy die for the sake of drama and ratings. It's not worth it. Save the eye candy.

Signed,
A Concerned Viewer

Link Roundup: Volume 11

Recently, one of the writers on Community, Megan Ganz, did an IAMA on Reddit. She gave some really interesting answers, and Community fans should check it out.

Suri's Burn Book has been around for a while, but I just started reading it a couple of days ago. It's a hilarious, albeit sometimes cruel, look at celebrity kids.

Youtuber Chelsea Gill asked Jason Segel out via song, and this was his response. Some of his castmates from How I Met Your Mother commented on the issue at last night's People's Choice Awards.

I'm really intrigued by the upcoming movie Chronicle, and these clips are only stoking my curiosity.

I doubt I'm alone in thinking that Revenge was amazing last night. For a limited time, you can download the final song of the episode, Gem Club's "Red Arrow," from the ABC Music Lounge.

My favorite Vampire Diaries recapper, Price Peterson, has rounded up five of the best twitters feeds from the point of view of Vampire Diaries characters.

Deputy Leo and Veronica Mars Reunited?: 4 Other TV Reunions I Would Have to Watch

I watched the pilot of New Girl, but I didn't find the show compelling enough to keep watching. Recently, New Girl's Max Greenfield talked about wanting Kristen Bell to appear on an episode of the show. As a huge Veronica Mars fan, there's no way I'd miss a Deputy Leo/Veronica Mars reunion, and I'd definitely be suckered in for an episode. This made me think about other reunions that I would be compelled to watch.

1) Hart of Dixie: Seth and Summer

I like Rachel Bilson, and I really wanted to like Hart of Dixie. I watched the pilot plus some of the third episode. Honestly, it was kind of boring, and the acting was pretty bad. I did, however, watch all four seasons of Rachel Bilson on The O.C. as Summer Roberts. So if Adam Brody were to appear on Hart of Dixie, there's no way I would miss it. Adam Brody even acknowledged the possibility in this interview with Wetpaint Entertainment, but the suggestion was sadly made in jest.

2) Ringer: Pretty Much Any Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion

I'm kind of cheating by including Ringer because this is already happening. I'm also kind of cheating because I've actually been watching Ringer. But I'm not really attached to it, and an increase in the number of Buffy reunions might fix that. I've seen several different online comments that have suggested that Charisma Carpenter join the show by playing Juliet's mom (including one on the following link), but sadly, that's not happening. In any case, the more Buffy reunions that take place on Ringer, the happier I'll be. Since Jason Dohring is on Ringer as well, I'll also gladly accept any Veronica Mars reunions.

3) Hawaii Five-0: A Massive Lost Reunion

Hawaii Five-0's promos have made me well aware that both Daniel Dae Kim and Terry O'Quinn are on the show. As much as I love Lost, I have zero interest in Hawaii Five-0, and I'm going to need a little more than that for me to watch. I wouldn't be too picky about the who, but I'm talking several main characters (and no Kate please). This is kind of a ridiculous request, but this is also kind of a ridiculous list. Make it happen, CBS.

4) Pretty Little Liars: Any American Juniors Reunion

Back in the summer of 2003, American Juniors was my show. I was pretty much obsessed. I watched every episode (even taping a few of them on videotapes), fantasized about appearing on the show one day, followed the contestants careers via the internet, and bought the two CDs associated with the show. I honestly thought it was just about the coolest show ever. So when one of the contestants, Lucy Hale, began to appear in various roles, I instantly recognized her. Nowadays Lucy Hale is most well know for her role as Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars. I know a lot of people love Pretty Little Liars, but after two episodes, I just gave up on it. However, if there were to be some kind of American Juniors reunion on the show, I would totally watch. Or you know, at least watch the appearance on Youtube later.

Now that I've shared four TV reunions I'd love to see, I want to hear what reunions you're hoping for. I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

Link Roundup: Volume 10

Josh Radnor's movie Happythankyoumoreplease had a pretty limited release, but it's now available on Netflix streaming. For what my opinion's worth, I thought it was a bit pretentious and not a standout but cute and a nice effort from Josh Radnor.

I will always love Full House, but Full House Reviewed, which is full of loathing for the show, is my new favorite blog. In the past few weeks, I've read the entirety of the blog. No regrets.

Three of my favorite shows, Modern Family, Happy Endings, and Revenge, are returning with new episodes tonight. Find out here when other shows are returning (and premiering).

This video is so old, but I couldn't help but share. Check out this hilarious prank interview between Dominic Monaghan and Elijah Wood.

28 Netflix Streaming, free Hulu, and TheWB.com TV Recommendations: Part 2

It's time for part two of my Netflix Streaming, free Hulu, and TheWB.com recommendations. I hope you all enjoyed my first 14 picks in part one. Here's a reminder as to how to list is set up:

First of all, Netflix Streaming recommendations have red text next to them, Hulu recommendations have green, and theWB recommendations have blue. Secondly I've put parentheses next to each suggestion with the available seasons and the total number of seasons. For example, if it says (2/5), that means that season 2 is available and that there are five total seasons. That does not mean that the first two seasons are available. Lastly, the second set of parentheses is either (sc) for series complete or (ca) for currently airing.

Quirky

These shows are all creative and somewhat offbeat. While they all lasted at least at least two seasons, none lasted beyond three. After watching one of these picks, you can join the legion of fans who are outraged at its cancellation.

1. Arrested Development (1-3/3) (sc) Watching Arrested Development will allow you to understand a much larger percentage of references on the Internet. This off-beat show is loved by many, and if you give it a shot, you'll likely join in on that love. It's funny on many, many levels and is ridiculously witty. Even after watching the series and reading some trivia lists, I'm sure there are plenty references and jokes I've missed. The show centers around Michael Bluth, a man dealing with his crazy family and trying to keep their family business afloat after his dad lands in jail. There's much more to the show, but it's best if you just discover it for yourself.

2. Better Off Ted (1-2/2) (sc) After you watch all three seasons of Arrested Development and are in the process of waiting for its new episodes to appear on Netflix, you can watch this gem to tide you over. It's not quite as good as Arrested Development, but it reminded me a lot of it. It has that quirky feel and it features Arrested Development's Portia de Rossi. Better Off Ted is a strange, satirical show about an evil corporation, Veridian Dynamics, and a single father and fairly-nice guy Ted Crisp who works there. I'll be honest, it took me a couple of episodes to really get into Better Off Ted, but once I did, I breezed through its short list of episodes.

3. Eli Stone (1-2/2) (sc) Eli Stone has one of the most ridiculous premises I've ever heard of: a lawyer with a brain aneurism begins have hallucinations (often in the form of a song) that lead him to help people. Yet somehow it manages to be a pretty great show. It's been a while since I've watched an episode of Eli Stone, but I remember really enjoying it. If you're looking for a quirky show, this one definitely manages to bring the quirk, along with some fun musical numbers.

4. Pushing Daisies (1/2) (sc) Pushing Daisies has to be one of the cutest shows about murder ever created. The show centers around Ned, a piemaker with the ability to bring the dead back to life with a touch. He must touch them again, taking that life back, within 60 seconds or someone else will die. Once he reawakens his dead childhood sweetheart, they and Ned's grumpy friend Emerson Cod use Ned's power to solve murders. There's a surreal fairy tale atmosphere to the show, and visually it's stunning. Each episode is truly a unique treat.


Foreign

These shows all come from either the UK or Canada. So, check oot what they're all aboot, and grab a cup of tea as you watch these blokes. No, that previous sentence wasn't forced or full of blatant stereotypes at all.

1. Downton Abbey (1/2) (ca) Downton Abbey is very much like a Jane Austen novel in television form. It follows an aristocratic British family and their servants in the early 1900s. It took me a while to warm to the series, but once I did, I was hooked. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the Crowley family's and their servants' drama. This is the kind of show that the phrase "clutching my pearls" is perfectly fitted for. I've yet to watch the second season of Downton Abbey, but if it's anything as good as the first, I know I won't be disappointed.

2. Doctor Who (revived series) (1-5/6) (ca) Doctor Who is about a time lord from another planet who travels around time and space in his TARDIS. Typically he brings a human companion with him in his travels. It's a show that can be pretty cheesy, but it's almost always fun. After hearing a lot of hype about it, I first tried watching Doctor Who last summer. To be honest, I thought it was pretty stupid. I was expecting some cheesiness, but I decided I just couldn't take it after watching three and a half episodes. Many months later, I thought I'd give it another shot and watched a highly-praised season three episode, "Blink," and I actually enjoyed it. So, I started with season two and found myself quickly sucked into Doctor Who. Plenty of people actually like Doctor Who from the beginning, but if try it and don't, you may want to try watching it in my order.

3. Being Erica (1-3/4) (?) Like Doctor Who, Being Erica features time travel; however, it's really more of a drama than a sci-fi show. The show begins with Erica running into therapist Dr. Tom after a terrible day. Unlike most therapists, Dr. Tom has time-traveling abilities and sends Erica back into different moments in her past to try to fix her regrets. Being Erica could have easily strayed into saccharine territory, but the lessons she learns almost always manage to seem fresh. Plus, time travel is always fun. Being Erica is a cute, sweet, and enjoyable Canadian gem that you shouldn't overlook. The series seems to be completed, but I can't find any definitive word as to if it is.

Comedy

I feel like I should have come up with a funny way to introduce these shows, but if you really want to laugh, that's what these are for.

1. How I Met Your Mother (1-6/7) (ca) If you've never watched How I Met Your Mother, you might be kind of turned off by its name. It's true, the series uses the framing device of father explaining a long winded story to his kids about how he met their mother. Besides that, it's pretty much a Friends-eque "group of friends hanging out" comedy. It's kind of ridiculous how much I love How I Met Your Mother. I've seen every episode at least once, but I've seen the episodes in the first four seasons a ridiculous amount of times. It's got a great cast and plenty of hilarious moments. I could gush about How I Met Your Mother for paragraphs, but I'll just leave it at this: watch this show.

2. Parks and Recreation (1-3/4) (ca) I'd probably say that Parks and Recreation is my favorite comedy currently on television. It had a bit of a rough start; season one was uneven and was too similar to The Office. However, season two and onward have been hilarious. Parks and Recreation is about the Parks and Recreation department in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. The main character is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) a go-getter with high ambitions for the departmen, but Parks and Recreation is one of those shows where every character is so likable that I just can't choose a favorite. I just want to smile the whole time that I'm watching it.

3. The Office (U.S.) (1-7/8) (ca) Go ahead. You can laugh at me for including The Office. I feel like 99 percent of television-watching people have seen at least part of an episode of The Office at some point. In fact, there's probably no reason for me to include a short synopsis, but for those of you who haven't seen it: it's a mockumentary about an inappropriate boss, Michael Scott, and the paper company he works at. Anyway I'm including The Office for two reasons. One, I wanted to make those who are big fans of The Office aware that it's available on Netflix. Two, if you've only ever casually watched The Office, I'd recommend marathoning at least the first few seasons in order. There are definitely some good episodes in the later seasons, but there's a freshness in the early episodes that works well for episode-marathoning.

4. Raising Hope (1/2) (ca) I've previously written about Raising Hope in more detail, but I'll briefly talk about it again. Raising Hope follows the Chase family as the son, Jimmy, raises the daughter he received after a one night stand with a serial killer. The show gets a lot of humor out of the Chase family's tackiness, but it always manages to laugh with them rather than at them. Plus, the babies who play Hope are among the cutest tv children I've ever seen.

Reality

This list is really short because a lot of my favorites aren't available on Netflix streaming or for free online.

1. Solitary (1-4/4) (sc) I think the fact that I enjoy this show says something disturbing about me. The premise of Solitary is that nine contestants are placed into individual pods with only the voice of Val, a computer companion, as company. They are forced to undergo uncomfortable situations and challenges during their time in this solitary confinement. I almost feel bad for enjoying this show, but it's pretty fascinating.

2. Primetime: What Would You Do? (2-5/5) (ca) I've never been able to figure out the pattern for when Primetime: What Would You Do? airs on television. My sister and I would just set it to record on the DVR and be pleasantly surprised when it appeared in our recordings. Primetime: What Would You Do? is a show where actors act out various situations such as a boyfriend speaking abusively towards his girlfriend or a shop owner showing racism. Then the show documents various people's reactions towards the situation. The situations are not necessarily the most accurate social experiments and the show has a tendency to villanize bystanders, but the show is interesting and enjoyable.

Short-lived

This really should have been placed in the previous list with the others in the short-lived category. However, I had only watched one episode at the time I posted my last list. Since then, I've managed to watch all 13 episodes. I can now say with certainty that it deserves its spot on my list.

1. Terriers (1/1) (sc) When I first read about Terriers, I took one look at the name and thought "thanks, but no thanks." Weeks into the show, however, I read an article that compared it to Veronica Mars. If you read part one of this list, you know that I adore Veronica Mars. So I checked Terriers out as soon as I saw it had been added to Netflix streaming. Terriers focuses on Hank and Britt, two unlicensed PIs who become involved in a scandal that's much bigger than they initially realized. It's not Veronica Mars, but it shares some similarities and is an enjoyable detective show.

Well, that marks the end of my list and my realization that I watch far too much television (okay, maybe that's more of a reminder than a realization). Hopefully, you found something interesting to check out.

If you want to share your thoughts on any of the shows in this list or add another suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment.