Torchwood: Children of Earth

After a lengthy absence, the highly popular but critically maligned Torchwood returned with a stunning mini-series event that finally established it as a dramatic force to be reckoned with, something that can no longer be easily dismissed as a snickering schoolboy idea of “adult” Dr Who.  Spoiler filled discussion coming up after the break.

The Office 5.7: “Business Trip”

I don’t like to mix politics and TV talk, generally, and that is why I maintain a separate blog for all of my non-television related blogging.  That said, I’m going to just glance a little bit on politics for a brief moment just to explain why I haven’t been a big fan of Ed Helms for the most part.  It’s probably unfair.  I don’t like The Daily show, and I hate smug liberals.  Since Ed came from The Daily Show, I’ve assumed he was probably a smug liberal and disliked him accordingly.  See?  Rational.  Also a side not to any liberal readers:  I said “smug” liberals, so I probably don’t mean you, okay?  Okay.

But that’s not important, really.  What’s important is that I’ve finally grown to appreciate Andy Bernard in the latest season of The Office, and thanks to tonight’s episode in particular, I’m even borderline loving him. It was probably inevitable because the show has been almost unbearably mean to him all season, and I can’t help but feel for an underdog, even an underdog who’s kind of a doofus.

How I Met Your Mother 4.7 – “Not A Father’s Day”

Okay, so for some reason my “How I Met Your Mother Posts” are by far the most popular things on this blog.  I don’t really get why that is, unless my readership is mainly a buch of pervs looking for spanking material.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s fine, I suppose.  What I don’t have to witness only makes me stronger.

The Shield 7.11 – “Petty Cash”

As much as I love The Shield, it’s getting so tense and ugly and awful that I can hardly bear to watch these final episodes.  I’m completely spoiler-free (and intend to remain so, so no spoilers in the comments, please, or I’ll find you and do things to you.  Bad things.  Vic Mackey bad kinds of things), but it’s clear that almost everyone except maybe Dutch, Claudette, Julian and Billings (of all people) is heading toward a bad end.

Everyone else is compromised:  Ronnie is a murderer.  Vic is now a drug dealer (sort of).  Acevedo is an over-reaching little bitch who’s ambition for political power is nakedly self-serving.  Shane is a thug.  Mara is an armed robbery accomplice (pregnant and with young child in toe — oh how awful).  Even Corrine may not get out of this unscathed, not to mention the long-range damage likely to result from being Mrs. Cop Killer (even ex-Mrs. Cop Killer).

Doctor Who 4.1 – “Partners In Crime”

And so another series of Doctor Who begins thanks to the magic of the Internet and bit torrent software! Spoilerphobes beware, because I consider information up to and including this premiere episode to be fair game!

Battlestar Galactica 4.1 – “He That Believeth In Me”

Resuming the story quite literally right where we last left off, the “best show on television” comes roaring back onto our screens with an intensity that…doesn’t quite sustain the dramatic and emotional heft of the outlandish and outrageous third season finale, which saw both the delirious return of Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck and the revelation that four long-running characters, including at least two fan favorites, are Cylons.

It was nice to see Katee Sackhoff’s name returned to its rightful place in the credits following Edward James Olmos and Mary McGovern. This was no surprise, but seeing it was so had the effect of restoring some of the equilibrium that had been thrown out of whack after Starbuck’s “death” late last season.

How I Met Your Mother 3.5 “How I Met Everyone Else”

Last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother was so good that I think maybe I’ve been too easy on other recent episodes.

Numerous first rate gags on hand this time, from Robin’s sixteen “no’s” in reaction to Blah Blah’s insinuation that she and Barney were a couple (protesting so much, in fact, that I think an eventual Robin/Barney pairing is now inevitable), to the running jokes involving Ted’s bad kissing habits and the technique of saying “come on” in a low key but condescending tone to get people to admit sexual secrets.