TV Report Card: Week of November 21, 2010

Here is this week's abbreviated TV Report Card due to Thanksgiving:

Sunday
The Walking Dead: "Vatos"
After the phenomenal "Tell It To The Frogs", The Walking Dead took a tiny step backwards with "Vatos" mostly because said vatos were pretty much your stereotypical Mexican gang bangers that we've all seen before...at first. Admittedly, I did not see the twist involving the second camp of survivors coming, but I should have because it was such a by the books move. Thankfully, most of what was going on back at camp was interesting. What really made "Vatos" enthralling was the ending when we got our first glimpse of how much danger is facing the survivors and how they are susceptible to loss.

GRADE: B

Monday
Chuck: "Chuck vs. Phase Three"

Apparently, I must have missed it when Schwartz and Fedak were passing out Kool-Aid during "Chuck vs. Phase Three" because I think I'm the only person who did not anoint it the best episode of Chuck ever. Honestly, I thought it was sub-par because Glambo Sarah was too over the top, Chuck's mind-wipe was a wasted opportunity, and I couldn't stand Awesome and the Buy Morons. I can definitely see why so many people were won over by "Phase Three"...I just wasn't one of them.

GRADE: C

How I Met Your Mother: "Blitzgiving"

People love to take shots at Glee for its overuse of stunt casting, but I've always claimed that HIMYM is by far a worse offender, and this week's "Blitzgiving" was a prime example of my argument. Jorge Garcia was brought in for a one-time spot just to spout off LOST references. I'm not saying that he did a bad job, but his character did not add anything to the HIMYM world, and I doubt he ever will. The actual story about Ted's goal to host Thanksgiving, but was thwarted by Zoey wasn't very interesting, but all of the shenanigans he missed once he became "The Blitz" had their moments. This year's Thanksgiving episode was nowhere near as good as say "Slapsgiving", but it was better than "Slapsgiving Two", so at least we're getting some improvement.

GRADE: C+

Tuesday
Glee: "Furt"

Initially, I was really torn about "Furt" because I thought the show runners were turning Finn into another Will by making him unlikeable, but after rewatching the episode I realized that I just felt bad for him. Sure, Ryan Murphy insisted on focusing on how Finn's too selfish to be a leader, but the way everyone piled on him made him more sympathetic. Kurt's continued bullying arc felt like it had a natural progression, and the Glee wedding was fun (although the Kurt Lovefest was a tad bit too much). Sue's B-plot was too outlandish to go into, so I'll skip it. "Furt" also planted the seeds for some new arcs like Finn vs. Sam, Santana's isolation, and Kurt's transfer. Who says Glee cannot tell interesting stories?

GRADE: B+

Wednesday
Modern Family: "Mother Tucker"

I was a little surprised that the episode before Thanksgiving didn't involve the holiday at all. I guess that could be a bold move, but it just felt like yet another miss. As always, the Dunphys dealing with the fallout from Haley's break-up with Dylan was the funniest/most interesting story line, while the Cam/Mitchell plot involving the former's mother was mediocre. Once again, I couldn't have cared less about Jay, Gloria, and Manny. Hopefully this show will break its cycle of blahness soon because I'm getting tired of writing the exact same thing week after week.

GRADE: C-

Cougar Town: "When the Time Comes"

At least Cougar Town did have a Thanksgiving episode, but too bad it made me dislike Jules even more. Her entire storyline about hosting a "romantic" Thanksgiving in order to coerce Grayson into saying he loved her was petty and selfish, and the fact that she wouldn't let it go even after she poisoned him was deplorable. The fact that she forgot how he was allergic to oysters the second he said it was an example of how horrible she is as a character. Laurie and Ellie's plot to emotionally beatdown Andy was mean-spirited but luckily he made the whole thing watchable. Oddly enough, the brightspot of the entire episode was Bobby's gibberish and Kevin. "When the Time Comes" did not make me want to jump off the bandwagon, but I might have to if Jules continues to be this insufferable. I swear a Manther Ville spin-off cannot get here fast enough.

GRADE: C-

As you can see, a pretty short TV watching week, but I'm totally fine with it. I do have catch up on Hawaii Five-0 and No Ordinary Family, but they can wait for now.