THE GOOD WIFE: HOLY SMOKES, this show keeps blowin’ me away week after week. This week’s episode “Fleas” was one of the strongest ones yet and I have to give a shoutout to my friend Amanda Segel because she wrote the episode. There’s a considerable amount of upheaval going on at the firm and the scenes with Josh Charles and Christine Baranski were especially good. I also loved the scene in which Charles’ character Will schooled ASA Rivers by challenging evidence that hadn’t been included in discovery and then challenging the clearly preferential judge (played by Ana Gasteyer). Will closed the scene by saying to Rivers, “Do you have a map? I wanna show you where you live. That’s a Chicago defense!” On the home front, Alan Cummings continues his role as Eli Gold, a ruthless and smart campaign manager who is prepping Peter and Alicia for Peter’s return to public life. Cummings is perfection in this role and he had a scene with a nasty teenage girl Becca who’s dating Peter & Alicia’s son Zack and is tweeting intimate details about the family that Zack tells her. Gold had the most wonderful line about how she’d “get pregnant at 17, have an abortion at 18 and then marry an aging jock and become a dental hygenist.” The entire episode was strong and though I’ve been watching THE GOOD WIFE from the start, it kicked into overdrive in January.
LOST: I loved the Ben-centric episode but then, watching Michael Emerson as Ben is always a treat. Interesting to see his sideways story parallel his island story in that he had choices to make about power and if he should or should not seize power in both timelines. It’s also interesting to see Ben Linus as a caring, concerned teacher who sacrificed his own gain for that of student Alex Rousseau.
MODERN FAMILY: Shel Turtlestein, Flyza Minnelli and Zsa Zsa Gaboa. So many laugh out loud lines, I couldn’t stop laughing. Loved when Gloria said to Jay (or Yay if you prefer),”Flyza Minnelli?” and Jay replied, “I can’t believe I didn’t know that kid was gay.” Another favorite: when Manny declared, “I was made for the role of Tevye!” And of course, Cam’s shtick in the car when he made Mitchell say the words to “Shout (a little bit louder now)” and then waved to another car, “Go around, we’re trying to recreate a faux pas!” And here I thought Judy Greer would be my favorite part of the episode but as usual, the regular cast knocked it out of the park and made me smile and laugh over and over. Oh, and finally, I loved baby Lily in her duck hat.
PARENTHOOD: The second episode was good but it’s not a great show yet. It’s nice, it has some good moments. It feels like Lauren Graham is trying too hard and I wish she’s take a breath and relax so I could too. I like Peter Krause and Monica Potter a lot. Dax Shepherd is pretty good – much better than I expected. But the show as a whole doesn’t move me – maybe it’s because I’m not a parent but I don’t think that’s it.
PSYCH: The season finale was an homage to Hitchcock and it was nicely directed by James Roday. Lots of fun with a great guest performance by Jimmi Simpson.
HIGH SOCIETY: And I thought the CW reality show about the Amish kids going nuts was bad. This is bottom of the barrel reality programming. Tinsley Mortimer isn’t the worst of the lot, they’ve managed to find a couple of really gross “fauxcialites” in Jules Kirby, a trashy, foul-mouthed gal and Paul Johnson Calderon, a guy who gives rich and gay people a bad name. The show isn’t even remotely interesting, it’s just bad.
AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL: I only watched a few minutes here and there of ANTM because I realized Andre Leon Talley wouldn’t be on the show until NEXT week. I’ll tune in for ALT because he never fails to entertain and enlighten.
I’ll be watching the WHITE COLLAR season finale tonight because I haven’t seen it yet.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “Look What You’ve Done” by Jet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPb2HJl0Co&feature=related
Tonight’s rundown: all the NBC comedies are new new NEW episodes! Latenight note: Broken Bells are Jimmy Fallon’s musical guest tonight.
ABC: Grey’s Anatomy (repeat), Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice
On the new episode of GREY’S: “Owen recruits a fellow Iraq War veteran to be the new cardiothoracic surgeon, but Cristina questions the new surgeon’s abilities; Izzie returns with her high school mentor seeking treatment for dementia.”
CBS: Survivor, CSI, The Mentalist
NBC: Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock, Marriage Ref
Katharine McPhee guests in tonight’s episode of COMMUNITY. Yeah, the Katharine McPhee who was on AMERICAN IDOL. No, I don’t remember if she won or not.
On PARKS AND REC: tonight’s episode is titled “The Possum” – I don’t even need to know anymore. I’m in.
On THE OFFICE: Kathy Bates returns as Michael Scott tries to impress his new boss.
On 30 ROCK: Avery (Elizabeth Banks) returns with bad news about Jack’s business future. Liz tracks down the man of her dreams.
THE MARRIAGE REF: Madonna, Larry David and Ricky Gervais appear as guest panelists in tonight’s episode.
FOX: American Idol, Kitchen Nightmares
The IDOL kids perform a Michael Buble number tonight. The Top 12 finalists are revealed.
CW: Vampire Diaries (repeat), Supernatural (repeat)
A&E: The First 48, ManHunters, ManHunters: Fugitive Task Force (special)
Bravo: Real Housewives of Orange County (special, reunion, part 2), Real Housewives of New York City (time period premiere), Watch What Happens
I watched last week’s season premiere of RHONY and they’re still a feisty and pretty nasty bunch. I’ll be watching more.
Centric: Model City
Comedy: Important Things With Demetri Martin, The Sarah Silverman Program
FOOD: Ace of Cakes
FX: 10PM: Archer
GSN: Carnie Wilson: Unstapled (season finale), Instant Recall
HGTV: My First Place, House Hunters
History: Food Tech
ID: True Crime with Aphrodite Jones (series debut)
Lifetime: Project Runway, Models of the Runway
MTV: America’s Best Dance Crew, Taking the Stage
Planet Green: Renovation Nation
Science: Factory Made
Speed: Bullrun
TLC: Police Women of Maricopa County, LA Ink
TOON: Chowder, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake (series debut), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
truTV: Smoking Gun Presents: World’s Dumbest Brawlers 2, Hot Pursuit
VH1: 10pm: Celebrity Rehab Presents: Sober House (season premiere)
This edition of SOBER HOUSE has the residents arriving for the first day of sober living and meeting the returning house manager, Jennifer Gimenez. Jennifer finds an old speed pipe in Tom Sizemore’s bag and must drug test him. Dennis Rodman challenges Jennifer’s authority and refuses to sign the rules of the house and an argumentative Kari Ann Peniche is allowed to stay after testing positive for methamphetamine. Dr. Drew and Bob arrive and explain to the residents what they can expect over the next 21 days of sober living.
That’s a wrap for now.
