TV Report Card: Week of March 6, 2011

Since most of my shows were in repeat mode this week, it's going to be a pretty short TV Report Card:

Sunday
Breakout Kings: "Pilot"

Like I mentioned in my initial review of Breakout Kings, this was one of my most anticipated pilots in development for the 2010-2011 TV season, so I was glad that A&E picked up after FOX passed. The pilot episode did what it needed to do; it introduced us to the team, the concept of the show, and slowly started to build the universe. Was it a perfect pilot? No. Will Breakout Kings be a paradigm shifting show that will reinvent the police procedural? No. Kings fits in well with all of the other cop shows on TV right now because it doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but it could becoming something special like Leverage and White Collar, so I'm going to give it a few more episodes to find its voice.

GRADE: C+

Monday
Greek: "Legacy"

After four seasons, ABC Family's Greek finally came to an end. While "Legacy" wasn't a ground-breaking series finale, it was a very good one that hit all of the right notes. Due to the short episode order, the whole "Save the KT house" arc was very rushed and lacked some of the emotional umph that a longer season could have provided. That being said, I was still a little emotional when the bulldozers knocked down the house because I wasn't expecting them to actually do it so kudos for that one. Some of the endings for the characters were a little to "happy", and I was never on board with Rusty and Ashleigh, but overall it was a satisfying end to a fun show. Can't really complain.

GRADE: B+

Tuesday
Glee: "Sexy"

The show really could have veered into the after-school special genre after tackling both underage drinking and sex back-to-back. Fortunately (maybe), Glee really wasn't too preachy or took a definite stance one way or the other on these topics. "Sexy" was the triumphant return of Holly Holliday, who was the catalyst that caused characters like Emma, Santana, and Puck to lean more about themselves. Oh, and to make out with Mr. Schue. "Sexy" was subjected to the many pitfalls that this show has to endure: too many plotlines, too many musical numbers, problems with pacing and tone. Despite all of the flaws, this episode made me laugh more often than not and was able to work in some genuinely heart-felt moments. Overall, "Sexy" was a win in my book.

GRADE: B+

White Collar: "Under the Radar"

Maybe it's because I've started to tune out of White Collar, but I don't know what "Under the Radar" really accomplished. I'm wondering what the point of the music box was if the Adler already had the U-boat. I guess it was nothing more than a macguffin to move the plot along during the first two seasons, but I didn't feel there was really any payoff. I also wish we got more out of Adler before he was taken out by Peter. That being said, I really enjoyed "Under the Radar" because it had the right amount of tension, comedy, and romance. While, I'm not a huge fan of the idea of putting Neal in a possible triangle involving Sara and Alex, it was a decent (albeit cliched) move. The best part of the episode though was the end where Peter accused Neal of conning him the entire time to swipe the priceless art Adler has been after since day one. The final shot of Neal smirking amongst the booty was a great way to end Season 2 and set up Season 3.

GRADE: B+

So there you have it, a short and sweet TV Report Card. Hopefully things will pick up next week. NOTE: I may add my thoughts on Bones and The Big Bang Theory if I ever get around to watching the episodes, but it's not looking like that'll be happening anytime soon.