And over the shark we go!
Sep. 22nd, 2009 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offbalanceThree shows. Three good shows. Three shows I usually make it a priority to catch ASAP. And, three shows I'm concerned are either about to or have just jumped the shark.
Firstly: How I Met Your Mother. Last night's episode made me want to pound my head into the wall.
1. Since when did Lily become so desperate to double date, take cooking classes, go on camping trips and be one of "those" couples? She tried that in "O.K. Awesome" in the first season and hated it so much she flashed a bouncer to get her and Robin into a club. I don't buy her eating ice cream and sobbing to Marshall about her rejection. Don't you have kindergarteners to browbeat? STFU, Lily!
2. Since when is it either Lily's care or concern how Barney and Robin classify themselves? I would have only accepted this if they'd framed it in the context of her being sick to death of hearing Robyn whining about Barney in one ear and the reverse in the other and finally snapped, but that was hardly it. She was sticking her controlling nose where it didn't belong and it was cringe-inducing. And boo hiss at Henpecked!Marshall. And the overarching theme about being "whipped."
The point being, Barney and Robyn were basically happy, and they didn't need anyone to force a classification on them that they didn't want. I would have rather the two of them solved things on their own terms, personally. The whole thing felt...stale. And I'm not used to HIMYM being stale. (Ted's teaching debacle and the whole "tuxedo night" bit were just dumb.)
As for Gossip Girl:
One of my very favorite things last season was Blair's evolution. She realized that being Queen Bee and "ruling" ultimately were empty pursuits and didn't matter, and it SEEMED as though she might be heading towards a different life when she finally landed at NYU. Maybe we'd see her in jeans and a t-shirt or something. Or she'd be an outcast becuase she couldn't relate to the "artsy" NYU crowd.
But last night? WTF? Did last season not happen? Did the last episode of her eye-rolling boredom with the whole Queen Bee race get forgotten over the summer? Instead we get an episode-long moronic catfight between Blair and Georgina that was implausible, even for this show. I like the idea of Dan and Vanessa finding places and fitting in better than Princess Blair might, but I'd rather see her be clueless and lost than trying to re-establish herself the way she had been at Constance and hi, was totally bored of. I would have rather watched her not knowing how to do things for herself without Dorota or not knowing how to relate to normal people, or even getting lost around the NYU campus because she never, ever leaves the UES. I would have liked a better identity crisis from the show, honestly. Last season she seemed to understand the fact that NYU is full of "ironic facial hair", so why would she now think that the whole rich girl act would work? *sigh*
Also, Serena needs to die. I'm so tired of her, and her whining.
UGH AND DAN AND GEORGINA? NO NO FAIL FAIL EVIL MAKE IT STOOOOOP. ANYONE but HER!
If I find myself wondering what Jenny and Eric are up to and wishing the episode spent more time on Vanessa, something has gone very wrong.
Then again, I long ago accepted that Michelle Trachtenberg's appearance on a tv show meant that the death throws were imminent.
Last but not least, Mad Men:
The only issue I had was with the lawn mower scene. That was completely excessive. Plus, I didn't realize that a lost foot was such an issue in 1963 - prosthetics weren't that bad still, were they? It's a foot, not the whole leg - I'm sure something could be done.
Also, Joan - please to be dumping your evil rapist husband. He's a doctor of fail, and you deserve way better. Yay for Peggy being noticed. I also am getting tired of how divorced from reality Betty is. "Babies get fairies to do things for them!" Wat. Sally was all "Bish, please. I may be 6, but I'm not stupid." Good on Don for actually listening and being there for Sally - we don't get to see him doing stuff like that, so I liked that.
But lawnmower? No. With a side of no. I'm concerned - it's a little over the top.
Firstly: How I Met Your Mother. Last night's episode made me want to pound my head into the wall.
1. Since when did Lily become so desperate to double date, take cooking classes, go on camping trips and be one of "those" couples? She tried that in "O.K. Awesome" in the first season and hated it so much she flashed a bouncer to get her and Robin into a club. I don't buy her eating ice cream and sobbing to Marshall about her rejection. Don't you have kindergarteners to browbeat? STFU, Lily!
2. Since when is it either Lily's care or concern how Barney and Robin classify themselves? I would have only accepted this if they'd framed it in the context of her being sick to death of hearing Robyn whining about Barney in one ear and the reverse in the other and finally snapped, but that was hardly it. She was sticking her controlling nose where it didn't belong and it was cringe-inducing. And boo hiss at Henpecked!Marshall. And the overarching theme about being "whipped."
The point being, Barney and Robyn were basically happy, and they didn't need anyone to force a classification on them that they didn't want. I would have rather the two of them solved things on their own terms, personally. The whole thing felt...stale. And I'm not used to HIMYM being stale. (Ted's teaching debacle and the whole "tuxedo night" bit were just dumb.)
As for Gossip Girl:
One of my very favorite things last season was Blair's evolution. She realized that being Queen Bee and "ruling" ultimately were empty pursuits and didn't matter, and it SEEMED as though she might be heading towards a different life when she finally landed at NYU. Maybe we'd see her in jeans and a t-shirt or something. Or she'd be an outcast becuase she couldn't relate to the "artsy" NYU crowd.
But last night? WTF? Did last season not happen? Did the last episode of her eye-rolling boredom with the whole Queen Bee race get forgotten over the summer? Instead we get an episode-long moronic catfight between Blair and Georgina that was implausible, even for this show. I like the idea of Dan and Vanessa finding places and fitting in better than Princess Blair might, but I'd rather see her be clueless and lost than trying to re-establish herself the way she had been at Constance and hi, was totally bored of. I would have rather watched her not knowing how to do things for herself without Dorota or not knowing how to relate to normal people, or even getting lost around the NYU campus because she never, ever leaves the UES. I would have liked a better identity crisis from the show, honestly. Last season she seemed to understand the fact that NYU is full of "ironic facial hair", so why would she now think that the whole rich girl act would work? *sigh*
Also, Serena needs to die. I'm so tired of her, and her whining.
UGH AND DAN AND GEORGINA? NO NO FAIL FAIL EVIL MAKE IT STOOOOOP. ANYONE but HER!
If I find myself wondering what Jenny and Eric are up to and wishing the episode spent more time on Vanessa, something has gone very wrong.
Then again, I long ago accepted that Michelle Trachtenberg's appearance on a tv show meant that the death throws were imminent.
Last but not least, Mad Men:
The only issue I had was with the lawn mower scene. That was completely excessive. Plus, I didn't realize that a lost foot was such an issue in 1963 - prosthetics weren't that bad still, were they? It's a foot, not the whole leg - I'm sure something could be done.
Also, Joan - please to be dumping your evil rapist husband. He's a doctor of fail, and you deserve way better. Yay for Peggy being noticed. I also am getting tired of how divorced from reality Betty is. "Babies get fairies to do things for them!" Wat. Sally was all "Bish, please. I may be 6, but I'm not stupid." Good on Don for actually listening and being there for Sally - we don't get to see him doing stuff like that, so I liked that.
But lawnmower? No. With a side of no. I'm concerned - it's a little over the top.
