Redemption? Maybe. Also, possibly, spiraling the drain

[jlh]

You know, one of the things I really don't like about LJ is that if you post on the weekends you don't get comments. Anyway, despite lack of interest, on with the television:

I'm sad that the last two weeks How I Met Your Mother has descended into hackneyed sitcom plots like "the gang misses the Super Bowl because they have to attend a funeral" and "a series of mishaps happen to the gang due to an unlucky penny." But the show almost redeemed itself by reminding me of its baseline premise: because Ted didn't get the job and didn't move to Chicago three months later, he meets, well, his children's mother. Now that he's dating Robin, the women he wanted since the pilot episode, and who we know is not the mother of the title (in his "present-day" voice overs, he refers to her as "Aunt Robin" to his kids) I wonder how it will be handled? Well, there are only five episodes left this year so we'll soon see, as I think this teaser indicates that he might be meeting her around season finale.

Okay, seriously, what the hell was that? Matt having some bizarre drug-induced flashback/hallucination about himself as another person? Matt clearly having been an ass to Harriet from the get go, and also the Matt-Luke thing dating that far back? And did Danny not work on the show back in the day? (He was mentioned, but did not appear.) Ugh, can we all just move on please, and can we also not have a whole Albie is a druggie plot arc? Because as tiresome as this show often is, that would make it so much more tiresome.

Meanwhile, while I didn't enjoy that Jordan ended up talking to Danny when he was so busy, I liked that he was able to actually have a conversation with her, which she used, which didn't totally tell her what to do, but respected her authority and intelligence at least to some extent, and then she got to stick it to Reality Chick. That said, I have no idea what planet Sorkin is on if he thinks that anyone other than cable is doing reality shows like the one at play (apologies? whatever). Reality is competition and game shows, not confessionals. Get your head out of 1997, okay?

Also Studio 60 is being yanked a week earlier than planned for a midseason replacement that they want to try out in March right after Heroes. This is likely because despite the high ratings for the Christmas episode, Studio 60 came back from hiatus to pretty bad numbers. Not that I thought a second season was likely, or even something that I would want to watch, but damn.

Veronica Mars, meanwhile, somewhat redeemed itself this week. Solid progress on the Dean's murder. An interesting MOTW that continues next week. Wrapping up the Dean's murder in two more episodes. Lots of Weevil. A tease of Wallace. A subplot in which an 11-year-old girl, in a totally age-appropriate manner, humiliates Logan out of moping in his bed. I was going to watch until the end of this season anyway, but this episode made me think that it won't be a torture to do so.

Top Design is no Project Runway but Todd is still delightful and Goil is still awesome.

OMG Ugly Betty! I love the somewhat realistic treatment of Alexis's return, particularly the mean boys at the bar, even if one of them was played by the actress's real life boyfriend. I also loved Betty's reaction to the bad things Daniel had done, and that Daniel didn't exactly reform. I really hope that Santos continues to step up for Justin, and also teaches him how to fight so he can kick people's ass. Poor Henry though. I wonder if Betty will ever get her accountant? (That said, who thinks things will work out with his ex? That sort of thing almost never works.)

CSI was really creepy tonight. I'm thinking our miniature killer will keep going all season.

Comments

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking I should try to watch How I Met Your Mother, and I keep forgetting to actually do so. It sounds really cute, though. So does Ugly Betty. Hmm. Supernatural is going on a mini-hiatus for the next few weeks, maybe I'll try to catch Ugly Betty that night for a while.

ran I pparently wanted to get out somewhere

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I actually turned off Studio 60 ten minutes in or so. I knew I had no interest in seeing more of this awful relationship, but honestly, it might at least have something if they made sense. The scene I turned it off after was Harry's "confession" that she was Christian.

First of all, why does this woman always seem to kind of share Matt's attitude towards her own faith? Why is she saying things like "don't you wish [the things you don't know about me] were about drugs?" As if connects her faith to being an embarassing thing to admit? I did know one person who referred to herself as "coming out" as a Christian, but this person was also a total lefty, p.c.-extreme person so she at least had some connection to that attitude--and even so, for her referring to "coming out" was just like most other Christian's attitudes about it. The only reason she pretended it wasn't something she didn't want to talk about all the time was because she was setting herself up as oppressed by the non-believers. (Not that this attitude is universal to all Christians at all--I'm just saying that in my experience when a religious person does talk about their faith as if it's something to be ashamed of, it's a criticism of other peoples' attitudes and not their own.) I suspect part of it is just ignorance again, but sometimes it seems like part of it is making sure Harry's always just a punching bag for Matt so she can look wounded.

Meanwhile Matt is not only just an idiot in the way he approaches the subject but as usual he makes no sense. First he's supposed to be completely shocked--shocked!--that there are these people called Fundamentalists and Evangelists who vote on something they call "values." As if the religious right as a very obvious political force has been around most of his life. He's only noticing it in 2000. (Unsurprising, since he seems to have just found out Christians actually exist in this century.)

Then he throws in "68% of Americans believe in angels!" as if that's exactly the same belief. And you know, I remember George Carlin did a joke on that same poll (probably where Sorkin got it). He said, "Sixty-eight percent of people believe in angels. What are you, fucking morons? How about pixies? How come nobody believes in them. What about zombies? You never hear about zombies anymore--and when you do, it's negative shit!"

Only with Carlin it was funny because his act has always had a relationship to religion. He's criticizing what he thinks is a fuzzy view of it, he doesn't talk about Christianity itself like it's crazy.

So when Matt starts babbling about making Charlie a radio host who answers questions based on what it says in Revelations, with publicity people having to hold off viewers who are demanding to know why she hasn't had an angel for a guest yet it's just...Matt, all you're showing is you are too ignorant about religion to make jokes about it. Fundamentalists and Evangelicals are two different groups, who are also not the same sampling as the 68% believing in angels. There are *actual* talk show hosts who answer questions based on Revelations and it's not particularly funny. It's just basing your life on the Bible as the revealed word of God. And none of these people would ever expect an angel as a guest because believing in angels does not mean you believe they are people who are guests on talk shows any more than believing in ghosts means you expect them to show up on talk shows.

Arrrgh! Such an idiot!

Re: ran I pparently wanted to get out somewhere

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I am so very close to hating Matt Albie right now, and the only thing keeping me from being all "my god get off my screen" is my love for Matthew Perry who is doing some great work even keeping me in there despite Sorkin. The comments about Christians are cheap shots, which make me particularly hate that Albie is Jewish—I mean, come on. You are so spot on here: Matt, all you're showing is you are too ignorant about religion to make jokes about it. Which is sort of the same as saying, Sorkin is too ignorant.

What I want to know in all of this is why Kristen Chenoweth dated him in the first place, particularly if she had to put up with any of this nonsense. And since then, as Harriet's being based on her is widely known, she's had to distance herself from things on the show, particularly the weird statements about gay marriage. I wonder if she wishes she hadn't given Sorkin permission to base Harriet on her. As if Matt/Harriet wasn't creepy enough, one always has a sense of Sorkin trying to work something out so he can be right (because Matt seems to always be "right" in the stream of the narrative) which is just vile and selfish and jesus, go get therapy because I don't really want to watch it.

Ugh. This show should have been good.

Re: ran I pparently wanted to get out somewhere

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

The woman must be totally amazed at the stuff that comes out of "her" mouth. It's ridiculous he's even saying it's based on her. Harry's career isn't even the same.