2012 Comedy Season Count-Down: Week #3!

Another week another bunch of comedy. From last Thursday to last night, here's the best of comedy on television!

----------

Ben and Kate (Season 1, Episode 3): 3/5

 Ben is having trouble coming up with a good idea for an invention and thinks he can get stuff done quicker than Kate. So Kate decides to re-live a scavenger hunt when her and Ben were kids to see who can really accomplish things the best. I liked this episode and it was the best so far. I'd been looking for this show to step up and they did this week. Kudos to them.

Animal Practice (Season 1, Episode 4): 3/5

Dorothy has to hire a new vet for the office. She turns to a very qualified woman that George doesn't like. So she makes George leave his night shift to Yamamoto to go get to know her. That night it turns out that Yamamoto has to preform surgery on the mayor of New York City's dog and it turns out George has sex with the vet candidate. This show, for me, has hit a good stride and I really like the comedy in each episode. It doesn't look like this will get a second season so I'll enjoy it while I can.

  

The Mindy Project (Season 1, Episode 3): 3/5

Mindy finds out that Shauna can get her into one of the hottest clubs in the city. It turns into an office night out as everybody is invited to the club. Danny dances, Shauna struggles to find her place that night, Morgan starts to set up as bathroom attendant for tips and Mindy gets invited to the VIP. I really like this show and it's been good from the start. Now they got more big appearances (Amar'e Stoudemire, Baron Davis and Danny Granger) and the comedy is there more than ever this week.

----------

Up All Night (Season 2, Episode 3): 3/5

Chris and Reagan are watching TV with dinner when it goes out. They decide to try and eat dinner without TV at the table and realize how boring they are. So they decided to spice things up by doing a trapeze act in the park. While this is going on Ava and Scott decide to have a garage sale since it turns out Ava is a hoarder. This was a very meh episode for me, but everything was good this week so it gets a pass. I still like this show very much.

South Park (Season 16, Episode 10): 3/5

To put this simply, Ike sees his parents having sex and they are role playing. Kyle walks in on Ike crying and he hand him a picture saying the UPS man is having sex with his mom. This spurs the men of the town to buy Bane masks and terrorize the UPS men delivering Amazon packages and Cartman to add home security and (In Security) to all aspects of this life. Solid episode, some good one-liners and I love the Bane mask aspect.

2 Broke Girls (Season 2, Episode 2): 3/5

The diner gets held up and Caroline pees her pants and puts Max in harms way before Han pulls out a gun of his own and saves his restaurant. In the coming days Caroline cannot live down putting Max in harms way and incidentally, peeing herself. They sneak into a movie one afternoon and they see Han. Hilarity ensues as they try to find out why he's there alone. I really liked this episode. Maybe cause it was full of puns and, literally, toilet humor but it made me laugh. That's what a comedy should do.

How I Met your Mother (Season 8, Episode 3): 3/5

Since breaking up with Quinn, Barney has decided to create Bangtoberfest to pick up women. Meanwhile Marshall and Lilly are having legitimate trouble finding a nanny for Marvin. All the while Robin and Ted are playing the one up game as they try to out-do each others happiness in their respective relationships. This was the first episode this season, for me, where all the facets of the story-lines worked and were good and funny. Bout time CBS kicked into gear with shows. I was worried.

30 Rock (Season 7, Episode 1): 3/5

Now I've never seen all the episodes of 30 Rock but I keep up with enough so I can pop in for premieres and such. This being the final season I decided to try and keep up with it. In this season premiere Liz is back at 30 Rock and finds out that Jack is trying to bring NBC down with bad shows and gimmicks. Also she must juggle a bachelorette party for Jenna. All while Kenneth and Hazel invite Tracy over for dinner. Hazel tries to seduce Tracy in order to get an acting job. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin have always had a winning chemistry and all the bad fakes shows to air on NBC were hilarious.

New Girl (Season 2, Episode 4): 4/5

The guys are concerned that Jess isn't motivated in getting back to work and on with her life. This really reverberates with Winston as he tries to get a promotion at work. All the while we find out Nick spend inordinate amounts of time pulling intricate pranks on Schmidt. This is all going on as young hipster neighbors move in a gravitate to Jess cause of her using the "Did I do that" line by Urkel and ignore Schmidt trying desperately to fit in. This was a comeback from a lackluster episode with his one. Laughs through out and it really reminded me why I love this show.

Tosh.0 (Season 4, Episode 23): 4/5

It's hard to do an overview of a clip show. So all I'll say is that Tosh is the funniest thing going on Comedy Central and I don't think I've seen a more consistently irreverent and funny show. And its gotta be better than Seth MacFarlane hosting the Oscars.

The Office (Season 9, Episode 3): 4/5

I'll keep this short, Ellie lies to Andy about an ancestry report and being related to Michelle Obama. Jim and Darryl are growing ever dissatisfied with their standing in the company and Jim offers him a possible job at the sports marketing place he may be starting up.All the while Erin is being taught the Dothraki language form the Game of Thrones by Dwight in efforts to expand her horizons to impress Andy's family. Season nine of this fine series is still going strong.

Modern Family (Season 4, Episodes 2/3): 5/5

Due to the debates and shit, we got two glorious episodes of Modern Family last night. In the first episode Jay and Gloria is pushed by Manny to take a parenting class and Cam and Mitchell take Lilly to kindergarten for her first day. All while Phil and Claire take Haley up to college to move in. In the second half of this double header, Gloria is struggling with accepting the fact that she's bigger now that she's pregnant. alex is trying ot fit in the the wrong group of friends and Luke forgets his science project leading Claire into some less than flattering situations. All while Jay coaxes and eventually comforts Phil as he has to go get a vasectomy. Too man good moment in there too episodes to drone on. I'm really glad this show is back, it hardly ever disappoints me.

Parks and Recreation (Season 5, Episode 3): 5/5

Leslie has a new office with a private bathroom and Councilman Jamm is unimpressed and wants to use her bathroom to go number two. Leslie refuses and it costs her his vote in a bill she's trying to pass.  Chris, inspired by his therapist sets up a 311 line and asks the parks department to answer phones. Ron gets a call from a woman who wants a pothole fixed in front of her house and he takes Andy to help him. There is a definite connection between Ron and Diane, the woman. All the while back in DC, April and Ben decide to take an impromptu trip back to Pawnee, but get caught in a line waiting on the Presidential motorcade to pass and Ben is low on gas. This show is perfect if you haven't figured it out yet. Enough said.

2012 Comedy Season Count-Down: Week #2!

Week two is in the books as of last night. Wanted  to have this up by 7, but meh. I kicked the dead weight of shitty shows and I can now see what show I'll be watching in the coming months. Only one show receives a five out of five this week and it just proves that right now, this is the best show on TV.

----------

Ben and Kate (Season 1, Episode 2): 2/5

Ben is now living in Kate's garage. Meanwhile Ben is yelled at by Kate because they have to go in and talk to the principle cause Maddie is constantly late to class. She's late because they don't live in the district and Kate wants her to go to a good school.  Kate's scared of all authority figures and is scared that they will kick Maddie out, as an all out scramble to keep Maddie ensues. Another solid enough episode where I got a couple laughs, still waiting for a better episode though.

Animal Practice (Season 1, Episodes 2 and 3): 2.5/5

Totally didn't know that last week wasn't the pilot airing it was episode 2 haha. During both show I really got the vibe that this show was trying. There hasn't been a good doctor comedy since Scrubs and if this can get going, I think it has a slim shot. In episode 2 Doug brings in his dog and it turns out she needs surgery. He wants George to do it, but George has to fight personal issues and doesn't wanna hurt the dog. In this weeks episode, George tries to prove that he is a "kid person" to Dorothy while Robert overcomes a crippling fear of puppets.

 The Mindy Project (Season 1, Episode 2): 2.5/5

We open the second episode with Mindy and Danny on the subway to work. Mindy recites her romcom fantasies and Danny doesn't care at all. While at the book store Mindy meets a guy (Seth Meyers) and uses the book he's buying with her two to get a free tote-bag. Afterward they go out for frozen yogurt, Mindy changes her mind three times before getting a pretzel. Meanwhile at the office Mindy and Chris have to learn to work as one and hire a new nurse while Jeremy is having trouble firing the other one. Another fun episode with a few good laughs. I'm glad I gave this show a chance.

----------

The Big Bang Thoery (Season 6, Episode 1): 2/5

I used to adore this show. The first three seasons are great mix of "nerdy" trendy comedy that worked well. But once the fourth season hit everything started to seem stale and forced and trying too hard. We open this season after Howard and Bernadette get married and Howard goes up to work on the space station. The three arch's starting off the season are Howard not being able to get his new wife and mother to get along. Sheldon and Amy are having trouble communicating as Sheldon invites Raj to their anniversary dinner. All while Leonard tries to smooth things over with Penny by inviting her over to watch sports. Few laughs that weren't Sheldon induced, while he's the only one keeping this alive for me. Kaley looks amazing, and that's a bad thing because a positive about comedy shouldn't be the beauty of an actor. This show used to be good, what happened?

How I Met Your Mother (Season 8, Episode 2): 2.5/5

I'm happy that HIMYM hunkered down and go onto one page with a story line  Not a huge fan of having multiple arch's in an episode. This weeks main point is Quinn complaining to the other girls about a pre-nup while Barney defends it to the guys. Again another week of one-liners sprinkled in that got me but nothing other than that besides Bob Odenkirk. Dude is legit funny in my opinion. There's always a few episodes I love in a HIMYM season, hopefully one hits us soon.

2 Broke Girls (Season 2, Episode 2): 2.5/5

Another solid enough episode. This is the kind-of show, for me at least. Where Kat Dennings has a ton of good pop culture one-liners and the rest of the comedy is stagnant for me. This week Max and Sam decide to go to Martha Stewarts offices to remind her about their cupcakes. Last season they met her in a bathroom at an event and she tried a cupcake and took their card. Now Max is mighty impatient and really wants the business to get up and running.

Up All Night (Season 2, Episode 2): 2.5/5

I really like this show, but this is one of those weeks where it was only okay. Though I found Applegate particularly amusing, and cute haha. Chris is now working out of the home and must learn to keep out of Reagan and the baby's lives while Reagan has to learn about the delicate eco-system the neighborhood is living under. All while Ava and her old friend who had a falling out attempt to record a TV ad jingle.

South Park (Season 16, Episode 9): 3/5

Quite a steep drop from the opener but that's fine. I don't expect all SP episodes to be good. Especially when the open is very strong. This was only okay. To put it simply, this week Cartman finally comes to the realization he's fat and starts driving around on a rascal. Token decides to cash in a make a reality show about Cartman. Kyle wonders why the bar for society is so low after watching Honey Boo Boo all the while James Cameron is deep sea hunting for said bar.

Tosh.0 (Season 4, Episode 22): 3/5

Not much to say about Tosh.0 this week. I love his monologues, but the real treat for me was Krispy Kreme, the now famous internet rapper, got a 60 Minutes style interview from Tosh. Also he debuted a song and video with Tosh as well. If you don't catch anything else from Tosh this week. Check the Krispy Kreme segment out.

New Girl (Season 2, Episode 2): 4/5

I really wanted to like this episode, and while it was hilarious, the moments between Nick and Jess felt far too forced for me. Even though I laughed heartily throughout, that just irked me. Schmidt's character is one of the best on TV and he tends to take the best moment just by having small scenes in an episode. This week Nick comes to the realization that he is Jess'  boyfriend who does everything for her yet reaps none of the rewards. All the while Schmidt is trying to pick up women pretending he's a Romeny boy. Winston hasn't has sex with Shelby in awhile, so every girl he sees, he immediately pictures being with in his mind. 

The Office (Season 9, Episode 2): 4/5

 Jim and Pam are invited to Roy's wedding and are surprised to find out he has he life together. All while Dwight and Nellie argue over Nellie's mandatory charity initiative and Clark hits on Erin, while Andy can't seem to put two and two together. This was all around a great episode for me. It introduced Clarke Duke and the other new guy (haha) into the rotation well as well as keeping all of The Office involved in the over-arching themes of the week. The open where everyone was throwing out charities was a riot.

Parks and Recreation (Season 5, Episode 2): 5/5

Oh man, this week. Leslie is about to vote on her first proposed tax, on soda, to help with Pawnee's obesity problem. While this is going on in Washing ton Ben is having trouble controlling his temps and tries to "be cool" to get on their good side. All to April's amusement. Finally back in Pawnee, Andy is starting training, with the help of Chris and Tom, to go into the police force. Andy training was gold. The soda people talking to Leslie was gold. Ben trying to be cool was side-splitting. Just another week where everything on this show was perfect.

2012 Comedy Season Count-Down: Week #1

Well I've decided to do a run down, each week of all the comedies that I watch on the ole television  I figure since my first full week of watching them ended last night with Modern Family's premiere I'd rank all the ones I watched.  Both new and old are on this list. Season one premieres have their own little section compared to established shows. Rating are on a scale of 1 to 5 and blah blah. As shows premiere such as Big Bang Theory, Community, It's Always Sunny, etc, they will be added to the next weeks blog post. I hope to have these up Wednesday nights or Thursday afternoon each week.

----------

Guys With Kids (Season 1): 0/5

Literally, in the 4 minutes I watched of this I hated all the characters and didn't even smile. I never wanna see this again. Anthony Anderson used to be fat and funny. Now he's skinny and not. I highly dislike this show.

Partners (Season 1): 1/5
This has Sophia Bush, which is good. But this show, about a straight man and his gay best friend (and their subsequent PARTNERS), just isn't funny. While I saw Sophia in yoga pants, that's not enough to get me to watch again.

Ben and Kate (Season 1) 2/5

The first new show I tolerated and chuckled at at times. Ben and Kate follows the story of Ben and Kate. Durr. They are brother and sister. She has "grown" up and had a kid, while he's still struggling with life. Now Ben is back home and dysfunction ensues. It got a few laughs out of me. This is a very shaky show and can easily drop to one I won't watch.

Animal Practice (Season 1) 2/5

Justin Kirk is a delight on Weeds and was always pretty funny. I like the concept of this show about a dysfunctional animal hospital. It follows the story of a head doctor at said hospital with a woman coming in to co-run the company. There's a doctor who's a monkey and Nick Swisher's hot wife. I laughed a bit at this.

The Mindy Project (Season 1) 2/5

I've been watching The Office since season 1 and I think that's partly why I gave this show a chance. I'm glad I did. Mindy Kaling is quite funny in her show where she plays a doctor struggling with patients, life, and self image. Cameos by Bill Hader and Ed Helms made my night when I watched this. Also the main cast has some truly laugh out loud moments.

----------

Two Broke Girls (Season 2, Episode 1): 2.5/5
If you're not familiar with Two Broke Girls, it's about a brash waitress and her friend (also now a waitress) who just lost all of her fortune. They decide to work together to try to start a cupcake business and get on their feet. In the season premiere we finally get to meet Caroline's father who is in prison, with Max unintentionally liking someone upon first meeting. Kat Dennings is usually the only one to get me with one liners and there were some good ones this episode.

How I Met Your Mother (Season 8, Episode 1): 2.5/5
Do I even need to run down the plot of this veteran show? In the season premiere, Barney has to deal with Quinn finding out that he used to date Barney, Ted is dealing with breaking up a marriage for an old flame, and Lily and Marshall are dealing with no sleep and their new born baby. A lot of dealing I'd gander. I tuned out after Barney's 52 second tale of him and Robin. Lily and Marshall kept me interested too. Solid return.

Tosh.0 (Season 4, Episode 21, Fall Premiere): 3/5
Daniel Tosh is always a riot. I don't think I've ever seen a Tosh.0 show or any of his stand-up that doesn't bring a smile to my face or makes me laugh. This episode Tosh gives his opinions of a gorilla eating a giant green shit, gives a Web Redemption to a white kid that wore black face for a Martin Luther King project and trans his staff for the rest of season four.

Up All Night (Season 2, Episode 1): 3/5
Entering it's second season, Up All Night is a show that I really like. Maya Rudolph is a hilarious person, just look at her SNL days. The always great Will Arnett and the lovely Christina Applegate have a great on-screen chemistry. In the premiere we find out that the Ava show has been cancelled, that Reagan has to decide what do with her life now and that Chris and Reagen's brother Scott, are going into business together.

Modern Family (Season 4, Episode 1): 3/5
At this point Modern Family is God-tier for me. I've invested three years into a family I've grown to love. Entering it's fourth season, I'm hoping the best show on ABC can keep it's magic. A big development kicks off this year as we find out that Gloria is pregnant and hasn't told Jay. Cam and Mitchell are dealing with Lily wanting a little brother and/or a cat named Larry. Also Phil must kidnap Jay for a day out and Claire must teach Haley that her boyfriend Dylan can't live with them at home. This was a solid enough opening. A couple of hilarious moments. I hope it kicks into a better gear though. Needs more Luke and Phil moments, and knowing the writers, we'll get them.

South Park (Season 16, episode 8, Fall Premiere): 4/5
I don't always watch new South Park episodes, but I happened to catch this weeks fall premiere. Oh God am I glad I did. Randy is angry because the school is taking away the kick-offs from the football games so students don't get hurt. He sarcastically tells the school's staff at a PTA meeting of a game called "Sarcastaball" and they take him seriously. Now we have what may be the worst sport ever, led by a completely sarcastic Randy Marsh, and what (unfortunately) leads to Butter's Creamy Goo. From what I already mentioned to a Jim Rome cameo and Butter's learning about erections. This episode was a complete riot.

The Office (Season 9, Episode 1): 4/5
Another veteran show I have no need to explain. The Office is entering it's final season and the last year at Dunder Mifflin is primed to be a riot. They've added the hilarious Clarke Duke to the cast as well. We start the final season with Kevin trying to save a turtle he ran over, Andy is back at boss and we get to hear this behind the scenes (for the first time) of the people filming talking about what they want to continue to do. I like the start. This is one of the shows that can do no wrong in my eyes.

New Girl (Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2): 5/5
Oh man, this show has me hooked. I love every character and it's a rare first season show that go a full schedule and did great with every episode. Zooey Deschanel is also damn adorable. If you're unfamiliar it follows the lives of four roommates, Jess, Nick, Schmidt and Winston, living in LA. Jess' best friend, Cece, who is also a model is always hanging around too. We start this season with Jess losing her teaching job and Schmidt getting his penis cast removed and throwing a reintroduction party for it. In the second part of the premiere Jess meets up win someone who mistakes her for his blind date but also agrees to go out with someone she met at Nicks bar. Also Winston's sister, mom and WNBA team is in town and Schmidt is determined to hook-up with Winston's sister. I love this show and I was laughing throughout both episodes. A fantastic season two start off.

Parks and Recreation (Season 4, Episode 1): 5/5
Parks and Recreation is easily the best show on NBC, and I think on-air right now. With the same style as The Office, it's primed to take over once it ends this season. Amy Poehler has really grown into Leslie Knope and over the last three seasons everyone has grown into their own. There isn't a character I don't like and people like Ron Swanson and Andy Dwyer make this show a comedy riot. In the season premiere Leslie and Andy take a trip to Washington DC to meet up with Ben and April who have been working there for awhile. Meanwhile back in Pawnee Ron is put in charge of hosting the annual employee appreciation barbecue. I don't think there was a scene that didn't have me laughing at multiple things. Between New Girl and this, it was a good week for comedy.