Tuesday

Hart of Dixie "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

       

      For a doctor, Zoe can be really stupid sometimes. It can be part of her charm, but when she treats Wade badly it drives me crazy. In this episode she makes a remark to him about not knowing what it's like to have a career. If that really bothers her so much I think she needs to move on. Or else she just needs to accept him for the sexy, sweet bartender that he is. 

      Annabeth keeps blowing Lavon off because she wants to tell Lemon before anything else happens, but she accidentally reveals to Lavon that Lemon might still be in love with him and when she finally tells Lemon things do not go over well. We see a little of the Season 1 Lemon that we all know and don't love so much. Even though she has her new man she doesn't want Lavon to move on and feels that she can't trust Annabeth. Poor Annabeth, she tries so hard to be a good friend to Lemon and can never seem to please her. She even told Lavon nothing can happen between them until Lemon can trust her again. I can't wait until the day that Annabeth stands up for herself and stops letting Lemon control her. Annabeth deserves some happiness. 

      Things also happened with George and Tanzy, and other Brelands but I will wait and talk about that when it catches my interest a little more. No new episode next week, this is really the only show besides TVD that makes me sad when it goes on break. I think I can handle one week though. 

-Avalon

      

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    New Girl "Table 34"

  After last week's New Girl excitement I saw lots of people tweeting that New Girl is soon to be the best comedy on TV, and I believe it. Maybe that's me being hopeful that it will stay great and keep getting better, but so far it hasn't disappointed me. LC, my Televisionista friend is a huge Zooey Deschanel fan and she gave up on New Girl mid season last year. I don't understand it, but don't worry I will keep pestering her until she watches it. That is my greatest talent, pestering people into TV watching. Sorry, that was off subject, back to the show now. 

      So this was the first episode after the big, I mean HUGE Jess and Nick kiss last week, and it was a little anti-climatic. I just want to see more Jess and Nick though. I do understand from a storytelling standpoint that this needs to be dragged out as long as possible so that we all go crazy and can't stop watching. It's never a good idea to give TV couples a happily ever after or even put them together too soon. Before you know it they will be Stefan and Elena and we will all be snoozing.  Jess and Nick both tried to hide their feelings for each other, but I don't think either of them are convinced. The strategy is working New Girl writers, I'm officially hooked now. 

      Schmidt was hilarious as always and he and CeCe hooked up again. I love them almost as much as I love Jess and Nick. This show is amazing, even if it isn't widely regarded as the best comedy on TV yet, I think it is my favorite. Sorry The Office, Parks and Rec, Big Bang and Modern Family. You're great and all, but that Jess and Nick kiss was too good. New Girl is giving you all a run for your money. 

-Avalon

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Hart of Dixie "Lovesick Blues"

        Flu season threatens the town of Blue Bell and Mayor Lavon Hayes initiates a quarantine to keep his constituents safe. I love the small town, quirky plot lines on this show. Lavon is so worried that Blue Bell will lose its strawberry tourists to a neighboring town because of a seductive commercial they are set to air, so he has George work on a strawberry commercial for Blue Bell. Lavon and Annabeth star in the commercial together and the chemistry between the two of them is undeniable. So much so that Annabeth feels guilty, says she is coming down with the flu and heads home. Lavon who was so intent on finishing the commercial drops everything to bring Anna Beth soup. The scene between them was really sweet. I feel bad for Annabeth. I know she is trying to be a good friend to Lemon, and I respect that but I do feel like Lavon is a grey area. He did have a relationship with Lemon, but it was an affair when she was with George. So I don't know if Lemon has much of a claim to him. Annabeth had feelings for him before she knew about the history he shared with her best friend.

      Lemon's new BF offers to cook her dinner and Anna Beth clues Lemon in on his likely plans. At fist Lemon is shocked because its only been eight weeks! But she decides she is ready and tries to make the night special and plan it all out. One thing that can really mess with your romantic plans however, is the flu. Luckily Walt is a stand up guy and spends the night taking care of Lemon.

      Anna Beth returns Lavon's soup pot to him and tells him nothing can happen between them and he kisses her! I was rooting for Lemon and Lavon but I think I have jumped ship! I'm excited to see what happens between these two. Lemon has a good guy right now and now is not the time for her and Lavon. 

      Zoe tries and tries to get in touch with Wade, and is quite concerned. Partly because of the flu and partly because he is staying with his ex. Turns out he broke quarantine and was home sick. When Zoe figured it out she broke in and tried to take care of him. This wasn't the sweetest Zoe/Wade interaction we have seen but Wade finally understood that they need to take care of each other. Especially that he needs to stop being so stubborn and let his doctor girlfriend help him. 

      The best part of this episode was Annabeth and Lavon, which maybe is why it wasn't so spectacular to me. I didn't get my Zoe and Wade fix that I was looking for. But I still liked it, this show is always fun to watch. 

-Avalon

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Go On: "Pass Interference" 

This episode was really endearing. I always love the moments where we get to see Ryan talk to Janie. Even though she's a ghost and it's a little weird, I think it's sweet. He spends a lot of the show being the cool, popular, funny guy, so I love seeing his vulnerable side-Janie. And while I will admit that I don't like him with Simone (he's supposed to be with Carrie!), I thought they also had some sweet moments. I loved at the end of the episode when he got down on one knee and asked her to be crazy with him. I think we've all felt crazy at times, and can appreciate when someone is there for you when you're crazy rather than turning and running in the other direction. And of course there was the goddess party. I'm all about female independence but I love weddings, so I thought this was the perfect combo of the two! It was fun to watch the Fausta, Yolanda, Sonia, and Anne celebrate the fact that they can be happy on their own.

Favorite quote: 

Sonia: "I even wore my good underwear today!"
Anne: "You're an adult, you should only have good underwear."

PS. Did anybody else think that Simone was Kristen Cavallari at first? I was 99% sure it was her for awhile!

-LC

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Parenthood "Because You're My Sister"

     

      So normally Andrea is the official Parenthood blogger, but I am pleased to substitute this week because I absolutely love this show. This season has been by far my favorite! No other show makes me laugh and cry so hard within one episode. It's just so real and so well done. I can't believe season four is already over, it's only January! Why do you always end so soon Parenthood, why?

      Kristina's story line this season has been heartbreaking. Every story this season has been great, but Kristina's cancer has been the one that has really kept me hooked. Seeing Kristina and Adam deal with this has been so beautiful. They have had some truly rough moments but they have also found joy and happiness together. I just love their relationship. And I am so happy that at least for now she is cancer free and they are enjoying themselves in Hawaii.

      Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.... Seems like her love life is always a mess and when she almost pulls it together it falls apart. I was undecided as to who I wanted her to pick, Hank or  Mark. Mark is so sweet and stable and in so many ways he is what she needs, but they are in different places in life and I don't think ultimately they want the same things. Hank on the other hand, isn't sweet. He's kind of a jerk in fact. But there is something about a guy who comes across so cold and detatched finally falling in love. It feels like he wouldn't fall for Sarah unless there was something really special there. This was really the only cliff hanger we were left with this season. Will Sarah move to Minnesota to be with Hank or will she admit she was wrong and try to get Mark back? We'll have to wait and see. But if she moves to Minnesota I will miss her too much, so I hope that doesn't happen!

      The kids on this show all do such a great job. I'm always so impressed. I loved the interactions between Sydney and Victor in this episode. It was so sweet when he asked Syndey to come to his court hearing and told her he wanted her there because she's his sister. Victor is so lucky to be a part of the Braverman clan and I'm glad he finally realizes that and realizes that he is truly loved. 

      Crosby and Jasmine are pregnant! I don't have a lot to add about that, but it is exciting! They didn't have very important story lines this year so maybe season 5 will focus more on them and their new baby! 

      Amber has grown into such a strong young woman. It's great to see her in a healthy (Well hopefully now, anyways) loving relationship and to see her be the strong put-together one. I'm so happy for her and Ryan and I think that there is so much to explore within that relationship, I can't wait!

      Drew is going to Berkley! I'm glad he will be close by! Speaking of which, is Hattie ever going to be a part of the main cast again? I know college is important and all, but there's gotta be another way. 

Drew's goodbye scene with Amy was really great. I think they both got some closure and were able to share some good news and hope with each other after a really difficult time. It's looking like we won't be seeing much more of her any time soon. But I'm happy for Drew that he has a whole world of opportunity ahead of him. 

      All in all it was a great episode. Didn't leave us with a cliff hanger, but that isn't always necessary to make a good finale. I'm really going to miss the Bravermans, but I'm sure I'll find something else to do with my Tuesday nights. Anybody else excited for Smash? 

-Avalon

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New Girl: "Pepperwood"

So this weeks episode was so funny! Let's start off with the "Pogo's". The roommates discover that they all talk about each other when the other is not there about a characteristic that is odd, gross, or annoying, that each roommate has. It started out with Winston bumping into Cece in the morning and his penis (they nickname Pogo) ran into her. Schmitt told Winston they talk about him and his "pogo" happening a lot when he is not there. This started a chain of reaction when each roommate wanted to learn what their "pogo" is.

Here are the Pogo's:

Winston- Penis always bumping into everyone

Schmitt- His gross long toenails

Jess- Know-it-all

Nick-They are concerned he won't survive without them (they put vitamins in his drinks and put cash in his pockets before they go in the washer)

Also in the episode Jess thinks she makes a breakthrough with one of her adult writing students. Nick however thinks his writing is crazy and wants to kill her. He goes undercover to her writing class as "Pepperwood" to prove to Jess the student is nuts. They follow him to his house where they see him putting a huge duffel bag in the garage. They get spooked and run off. Later "Pepperwood" goes back to the garage and gets trapped while he is in there an older lady hits him over the head. Jess and the student make it back to his house where Nick and the older lady is. In the end they discover the student is not a killer.

I love how Nick is always at Jess' rescue. I think their friendship is important and I like how the writers are taking their time with it and not rushing them into a relationship.

Private Practice: "In Which We Say Goodbye"

Private Practice is over for good, and my feelings are bittersweet. Bitter because this is one of my favorite shows on TV right now, and sweet because the finale was just so good. I loved how everything came together and all of the different characters were able to find their happiness. 

Let's start with Cooper and Charlotte. I have always loved Charlotte's feisty don't-take-shit-from-anybody attitude, but even more I've loved seeing her soft side come out as she's become a mom. We've seen her pregnant for the majority of the season, but this was the first episode where we really got to see her be a mom. It was really endearing. And watching Cooper be a dad has been great too! I always knew he would be a great dad since he loves kids, but it's fun to watch him struggle through the shocks of being a new parent. I love the little family him and Charlotte have with the triplets and Mason, it's a strong, unique family. They've both grown up a lot and been through so much together. It's great to see them in such a good place at the end of the series.

Then there's Amelia. Besides Addison of course, Amelia is my favorite character on the show. She's strong, brilliant, independent, and feminine. In my opinion she's had the greatest heartbreak on the show, so seeing her find her happiness with James was the biggest triumph of all. She deserves a really great guy, and I think James is that guy. I wish we would have had a chance to see the two of them get married and have babies, but I'm still happy that they ended up together.

And then Sam and Naomi. The big shock of the episode! I knew that Naomi would be coming back for the finale when I saw Audra McDonald tweeting about it, but I never would have suspected that her and Sam would have ended up getting back together with a baby on the way. It's a little weird that their granddaughter will be older than their daughter, but I still love it. I was never a fan of Sam and Addison together, but I love Sam and Naomi together, so I'm really happy that that happened. They may have had a lot of bumps in the road, but I think they are the ideal couple.

Sheldon....who doesn't love Sheldon? As the season started to draw to an end, I was getting worried that they would make him end up alone, which was really sad to me since I think he is the most date-able guy on the show. Then when they got him together with Miranda, I was really worried that she would die at the very end, which was even more sad. With her stage 4 cancer, it's inevitable that she did die, but I'm glad that rather than end his story with that, they ended it with them sitting on the beach together. It was a really happy moment despite the sad situation.

Violet Violet Violet. Violet is another character who has been through a lot on the show. I had been hoping she would find someone else to be with now that Pete is gone, but I have to say I liked this ending much better. We got to see her help one last patient and write a new book with a hopeful message. As Violet said, "it's about joy." And that's what I feel her life is about at this point in time. She's at a happy place and really experiencing joy for the first time in a long time, despite the fact that she isn't with someone. And I thought it was absolutely brilliant that she decided to name her book Private Practice. It was the perfect way to tie everything together.

And last, but certainly not least Addison. It's no secret to all of my friends that I want to be Addison when I grow up. Despite her many flaws, I love her character and think she's a strong, talented, intelligent, independent woman who anybody can look up to. Like I mentioned before I was never a fan of her and Sam together, and ever since Jake entered the picture, I've been team Jake all the way (some of my fellow bloggers gave me some crap for that at first, but they eventually came around ;). Jake is sweet, smart, and handsome-everything a woman wants in a man. And he loves Addison unconditionally and really fought for her. I think he really deserves her, and she deserves him. I was so thrilled when she picked him, and I loved being able to see them get married and have their happily ever after :) and of course, she looked gorgeous. As always.

-LC

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Ben and Kate "Girl Problems"

      Tommy introduces his new girlfriend Lila to the gang, which seems a little uncomfortable. Guessing that Lila feels uncomfortable because Tommy has been in love with Kate for the past 10 years, Kate feels she should try to befriend her to make her feel more at home with the group. However (big surprise), that turns out to be a bad idea. Kate spills the beans about Tommy's feelings that Lila wasn't aware of, and also tells Lila that is is in love with her. awkward. Tommy and Kate team up and straighten things out with Lila.

      Ben is trying to get financing for his latest business venture "Rail Mall" which is like Sky Mall but for trains. The bank won't lend him the money, even with his surprisingly high credit score, without an experienced CEO. So Ben heads to the country club in search of his CEO and finds Vera who seems quite interested, but really is just interested in Ben. But BJ convinces him not to give up and he goes to Vera and convinces her that Rail Mall is a great idea.

      This episode was good but they left out one of the best parts...Maddie. She is so great in this show and this episode really didn't showcase her at all. I hope we get to see more of her in the next episode. 

-Avalon

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Go On: Gal Pals

So I'll be honest. Before this episode, I hadn't really given much thought to the Ryan/Carrie relationship. But now I am LOVING it. I think this episode really did a good job of focusing on their relationship and bringing forward the idea of them possibly having a romance down the road. I love that they were "girlfriends" in this episode. Let's face it-every girl wants a gay best friend. But a straight gay best friend who's Matthew Perry and might secretly be in love with you? Even better. Seeing their close work relationship that has a good balance of flirting and banter actually reminded me a lot of Pam and Jim from The Office. If this series stays on the air long enough (which I really hope it does, because let's face it. I need my Chandler fix), I could totally see Ryan and Carrie becoming a new Pam and Jim. Now they just need a good couple name....Rarrie? Caran? Caryan? Well there's plenty of time to figure that out :)

PS. Did anybody notice who this week's guest star was? Nazanin Boniadi played Barney's girlfriend Nora on How I Met Your Mother! Just a nice tid bit of trivia.

-LC

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The New Normal "Stay at Home Dad"

      Bryan and David try to hire a nanny, but after interviewing 11 perspectives decide they would rather have one of them stay home with the baby, the only problem is who? You would think both David (a doctor) and Bryan (a successful television producer) would have a hard time giving up their careers, but as it turns out they both want to stay home. So they decide that they with give Goldie a week long spa vacation in Sedona (which is in Arizona, not Mexico BTW) and they will take care of Shania.
      Bryan takes the first swing at things, which gets a rough start because it turns out when it's 7:30 am that doesn't mean three more hours of sleep. it means time to get up! After finally getting Shania to school, he gets a call that she is sick and then goes crazy trying to make her comfortable! After a long day he isn't so sure he is ready to be a stay at home dad and David takes his turn...
      David wakes up bright and early, fixes Shania hot chocolate and breakfast and leaves plenty of time to go over some homework.  Shania gets to school with time to spare but... it's Saturday. All Shania has to do is have a party with some girls from school, which to say the least is exhausting. David and Bryan have all but given up by the time Goldie returns and encourages them to keep trying. They realize they don't have to do everything on their own, they have each other and they make a great team. This was a fun episode, maybe not the funniest of the season but it was still quite cute.
-Avalon

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Cougar Town "I Need to Know"

     
      This was pretty much your typical Cougar Town episode. Jules is the clingy, dependent mother who can't get enough time with Travis, who is trying to grow up and gain some Independence. And Ellie is controlling everything Andy does. Nothing new here, but it still manages to be entertaining.

      Bobby gives Ellie some marriage advice. He says that he used to yell at Dog Travis all the time and then he started just rewarding good behavior with treats and it has worked much better for them. He suggests she try this technique on Andy. When Andy responds to this technique by doing exactly what his wife wants Bobby doesn't like it and tells Andy what Ellie has been doing. He is initially upset and insists that he isn't a dog and then shakes his beer drenched mustache (did I mention the guys grew mustaches?), just like a wet dog. But don't worry, Andy doesn't stay mad, he loves Ellie exactly the way she is, controlling and crazy.

      Jules tries to give Travis his space and tells him to come around when HE wants to, well after nine days she starts to lose it! She acts like a girl in a new relationship and asks Ellie to take her phone so she can't call him, call him and "acts cool", and keeps saying things like that she wants to be "friends with benefits" with Trav and that she is "In love" with him. Obviously not using those terms correctly, but her relationship with him is so dysfunctional that they are almost actually accurate. In the end she realizes that Travis needs to move on a little but he still loves her.

      My favorite quote which I believe was in one of the promos is:
Travis: "Why is it the second you start treating girls like crap, they can't keep their clothes on?"
Jules: "If I could answer that you might not exist."

-Avalon
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Parenthood: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back was a great set up for the season finale next week. It continues to add suspense to the story lines that have grown since this season has premiered and moved a few other story lines backwards, which gets you thinking about how exactly this season will end.

This episode in particular highlights the struggles between Joel and Julia and the tough decision they have to make about whether or not they are going to finalize Victor's adoption. The writers do such a great job of making this story line so relatable even if you have never been in a similar situation. What really drove me to love this story line was towards the end of the episode when Crosby tells Julia how he has looked to her as the perfect example of a what a parent should be in the past. I don't know about you guys, but that is what makes the show so real, so likeable, they do such a wonderful job at potraying a tight knit family, and coming from such a close family myself, I couldn't help but think that would be something I would say to one of loved ones. And with one heart felt motivational speech from Cros, Julia gets the push she needed to feel like she can go ahead with the adoption and really make Victor her son, and even though Victor pretends to be nonchalant when Julia tells him the news, if you look close enough you can see that he is suppressing a smile. Clearly this is the start of a great relationship between Victor and Julia. I am not saying that there might have it's up and downs, but they will become a real family, with real problems (which is what the show is about). 

Another story line that gets more suspenseful is the love triangle that is forming between Sarah, Mark, and Hank. Of course Sarah decides to tell Mark about the kiss she and Hank shared while she was still engaged to him, uh oh... can you say drama? Sure Sarah feels better once she gets that off her chest but that comes to an end quickly after Mark confronts Hank about what he did calling him "manipulative" and letting him know that he will be fighting for Miss Sarah Bravermans affection. At the end of the episode Hank tells Sarah about how Mark is not quite ready to give up on her, and how he is "into this", which is followed by him turning the tables and letting her know that she has to choose, and walking away. So that leaves us with the question of who will it be? Will she choose Mark or Hank? Or will she end up alone, like on the previous seasons? Guess we will have to stay tuned to find out!

-Andrea

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The Mindy Project: Bunk Beds

I suppose there was a little more to this episode than just "Bunk Beds", although to be honest not a whole lot happened this episode, I did enjoy that we got a little more insight on Dr. Danny Castellano. "Bunk Beds" starts with Danny calling Morgan, Shauna, and Betsy in to work a Saturday, they do anything they can do avoid working from terrible pranks that fail horribly (all of them Morgans ideas) to finding a People magazine which just so happens to be in Danny's desk next to a letter that was never mailed out, addressed to his ex-wife. Naturally, being the snoops they are they read the letter and find the root cause of Danny's bitterness of people and the world around him. After reading this they all begin to send texts to Danny letting him know how much they care about him, so much so that Morgan feels the need to help Danny, he mails out the letter, and to no avail is not able to get it back. I found this to be a very exciting cliff hanger because it could open up a whole new story line and even potentially bring a new character to the show (perhaps someone's ex-wife?!) 

-Andrea