TV Report Card: Week of September 25, 2011

Week 2 of the Fall TV Season is in the books, and while some shows had a better outing this time around, some did not. This was the week that was going to dictate which shows I give more time to, and which ones get ousted from the rotation, and I have the feeling that I'm going to be watching less TV this year:

Sunday
Pan Am: "Pilot"

The second of this year's Mad Men "rip-offs" debuted last Sunday, and all I can really say about is Pan Am was better than The Playboy Club. I went into this season intrigued by both Pan Am and The Playboy Club because for some reason the 60's seemed like a glamorous time, but both shows didn't sell me on the myth. The concept of Pan Am, stewardesses being a symbol of feminism, could be an interesting take on the genre, but none of the main characters really popped to me, and the extra elements like espionage and sex may not be enough to keep me around. I don't know if I'll watch Pan Am live, but I might add a Hulu subscription and catch-up when nothing else is on.

GRADE: C+

Monday
How I Met Your Mother: "Ducky Tie"

Damn you HIMYM! Just when I was ready to write you off once and for all, you had to give me an episode that made me give a damn again. "Ducky Tie" still had aspects that I did not care for, I need less Lily ASAP, but it also reminded me of why I liked this show to begin with. Victoria's return worked as she was able to get Ted back on track, and I'm intrigued by the Ted-Robin-Barney triangle but that's because I'm not giving up on a Ted & Robin reconnection (I know I'm crazy). All of the Lily's boobs stuff was sophomoric and it wore out its welcome, but Barney's masterful plan to feel her up was appreciated. I know that this show will just disappointment me again, but I'll be sticking around a little bit longer thanks to "Ducky Tie".

GRADE: B-

2 Broke Girls: "And the Break-Up Scene"

I know that I should give 2 Broke Girls a small break since its still trying to find itself, but I was not a huge fan of the second episode. In all reality, I wouldn't be giving this show much of a shot if it did not star Kat Dennings, but for now she's enough. Since it's still a feeling out period, the chemistry between Max and Caroline still needs some work, but there's still enough promise there to make up for the rest of the shortcomings. The actual story, which involved Max officially breaking up with her boyfriend felt a bit too broad, and wasn't particularly interesting, but there were a few laughs here and there.

GRADE: C

Castle: "Heroes and Villains"

After a less than stellar season premiere, "Heroes and Villains" was a classic episode of Castle that reminded me why I love this show. The Case of the Week, a costumed vigilante playing super hero, had just the right amount of nerdy goodness that was worth a few laughs, and even the Castle/Beckett charm was back. The definite highlight though was watching Rick deal with the fact that Alexis will be leaving for college soon and how he needs to come to terms with that momentous occasion. While the Alexis/Rick stuff was a tad cliche, the scenes between Nathan Fillion and Molly Quinn were as great as always. Just another fun episode of Castle.

GRADE: B

Tuesday
Glee: "I Am Unicorn"

The season opener of Glee wasn't a home run like it needed to be, but the second episode was substantially better and had many remembering the good old days when this show was about character and story. Now, there was a little too much story, but that's to be expected with this show. Most of Kurt's story, his run for class president and being threatened by Blaine's talent, was OK but it's already starting to wear thin. Shelby's return was the strongest part of the episode since it brought the spotlight back to Quinn and Puck as they try to be a part of Beth's life; I just hope they don't take this arc to overly-dramatic territory. Glee's still not back on track, but "I Am Unicorn" had me believing that it could be.

GRADE: B

New Girl: "Krytonite"

There's no denying that the New Girl pilot was full of quirky charm, but the second episode was going to be the true test, and I felt that it passed. I was happy to learn more about Jess as a character, and while she's still cute as can be, she started to feel like a person. Getting an idea of her ex-boyfriend and their relationship was also an effective way to get to know her. I was even impressed with how they introduced the new character, Winston. My only gripe with the show has to do with the fact that they're clearly setting up a Jess/Jake relationship and the writers are not being subtle about it. I'm not against a pairing, but it's so obvious that it's distracting. Other than that, it was a solid second effort.

GRADE: B-

Sons of Anarchy: "Una Venta"

I'm starting to realize that I'm more of a fan of Sons of Anarchy when they get out of Charming. All of the stuff going on in Tucson had me caring about the story again mostly because we got the chance to see another chapter. Much like SAMBEL, getting to see the goings on with SAMTAZ made the world more layered. It may not ultimately mean all that much, but it was a nice change of pace. I don't know if I'm too invested in the cartel story anymore or Gemma's shenanigans, but the time in Arizona kept me entertained.

GRADE: C

Wednesday
Up All Night: "Working Late and Working It"

Three episodes in, and I'm still really liking half of Up All Night. Once again almost every scene that Will Arnet was in had me rolling, and I even enjoyed Will Forte's guest spot as one of Chris' daddy buddies. Even the exchanges between him and Reagan that focused on reigniting the spark in their marriage were worth a few laughs. Heck, even Reagan dressing up and acting all fancy at breakfast had we chuckling. Unfortunately, once the show focused on Ava and her old boyfriend, I lost all interest. I know that workplace elements are not going away anytime soon, but they have to make me care about Ava fast. I just hope the showrunners realize that the family scenes are what work best.

GRADE: C+

Suburgatory: "Pilot"

My thoughts about Suburgatory's pilot can be summed up in my take on MTV's Awkward. since the two shows have a similar vibe to them. To be fair, Suburgatory has more of a fish out of water take on the hell that is high school, but the protagonist, satire, and humor are very similar to the MTV show. Some of the cartoonier elements like the inhabitants of the suburbs could get old fast, but I do think that there's potential for Suburgatory to be more than just another sardonic look at the life of a teenage girl, but we'll have to see how ambitious its willing to be. It didn't hurt that the main character reminded me of Emma Stone, so there's at least that.

GRADE: C+

Modern Family: "Phil on a Wire"

One of the reasons why last season of Modern Family was hit or miss for me was because the episodes usually split the family into three groups and the stories do not work as much with this structure. "Phil on a Wire" once again had took this approach which was probably why I only liked about a third of the episode. As always, I enjoyed almost everything that involved the Dunphys. The Claire/Hailey/Alex story was decent enough, but Phil and Luke plot about Phil walking a tightrope was gold. I'm a big fan of the father and son duo, so the more of them the better. The less I say about the Jay/Gloria and Cam/Mitch stories the better.

GRADE: C+

Happy Endings: "Blax, Snake, Home"

By conventional thinking, I shouldn't be writing anything about the Season 2 premiere of ABC's Happy Endings because it probably didn't deserve a second season based on its ratings, but I'm glad the Alphabet brought it back. "Blax, Snake, Home" did a good job at relying on what the show does best. Penny and Max were the comic MVPs, and Jane and Brad were also solid. Even Alex and Dave had some moments that made me laugh, so it was a nice return for Happy Endings.

GRADE: B-

Thursday
The Vampire Diaries: "The End of the Affair"

I know that every one has already said it, but "The End of the Affair" brought the diaries back to the show. Having a flashback episode can always be tricky, but The Vampire Diaries made it work because it gave us more information about Klaus and his past connection with Stefan which added another twist to the narrative. As always, Elena was a tab bit too insufferable, but her final scene with Stefan was heartbreaking. Now she can move on to Damon and get it over with. Also, Candice Accola proved that she and Caroline are the best parts of the show, and I even warmed up to her relationship with Tyler. I know that the Emmys will never take a CW show seriously, but if any show could change their minds it would be The Vampire Diaries.

GRADE: B+

Community: "Geography of Global Conflict"

Grr, I don't know what to think about Community. Sometimes I can see its genius even if I'm not laughing at the jokes, but other times I cannot get past its smugness. "Geography of Global Conflict" should have been an episode that I liked because it revolved around Annie, but it felt uneven. Most of the Annie A-plot worked in spite of the Jeff/Annie ickiness, but the episode was derailed by Britta and Chang's B-plot. I just cannot stand Chang's character, and I was disappointed that he was the albatross strapped around Britta's neck. For now, I'll still watch Community but it's going to take the backseat to TVD.

GRADE: C

The Big Bang Theory: "The Pulled Groin Extraploation"

Much like Modern Family, about a third of this week's The Big Bang Theory worked. The Leonard and Amy scenes were OK although her deadpan shtick can be a little annoying, but the payoff of Sheldon showing some form of jealousy was worth it. Speaking of Sheldon, most of the laughs came from his minor sub-plot about model trains. The only character I hate more than Chang is Howard, so anytime an episode focuses on him it will automatically be docked a full letter grade. He's not funny, and I feel bad for Bernadette (and more specifically Melissa Rauch who has to carry Simon Helberg). "Pulled Groin" also suffered from not enough Penny, which made it a clunker.

GRADE: D

Parks and Recreation: "Ron & Tammys"

I know that I'm in the minority, but I'm usually not a fan of the Ron and Tammy episodes. I know that they really give Nick Offerman the chance to shine, but they are usually too wacky even by Parks and Rec standards. Tammy One was a dud of a character for me, and the fact that Ron's mom was also a Tammy was disturbing but not unexpected. While I wasn't a huge fan of the Ron story, most of the Entertainment 720 and Chris/Anne moments were worth a few laughs. Many have said that "Ron & Tammys" was one of P&R's best episodes, and I cannot agree with that statement, but it was still entertaining.

GRADE: C+

Whitney: "First Date"

I'm going to ahead and admit it: Whitney is not a good television show. Most of the jokes fall flat, and the supporting characters are excruciatingly bad. It's deserving of all of the negative reviews that it's gotten and it probably shouldn't be long for this world. That being said, the relationship between Whitney and her boyfriend can be charming every once in a while. I don't think that's going to be enough to keep me around, but it's at least something positive that this show can work on.

GRADE: D

Friday
Nikita: "Falling Ash"

The second episode of Nikita's second season pulled back the reins a bit because it didn't focus as much on the Nikita and Alex showdown, but continued the mission to take down Oversight. The Mission of the Week was classic spy-fi that had a Manchurian Candidate feel to it as one of Oversight's projects created sleeper assassins. "Falling Ash" was also the return of Owen which probably should have been more momentous than it turned out to be. Ulimately, it was a good episode of Nikita, but "Falling Ash" felt more like filler than anything else.

GRADE: B-

Supernatural: "Hello, Cruel World"

"Hello, Cruel World" should have been a pivotal episode of Supernatural since Castiel's body was destroyed by the Leviathan, but for some reason I cannot remember all of the details. I remember watching Sam deal with the hallucination put in his head by Lucifer, and the Leviathan possessing people via black ooze, but that's about it. My inability to remember all of the plot points to the episode is not a sign that it was bad, but it does point to one of the aspects of the show that can be both a good thing and a bad thing: sometimes too much is going on. Fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural shows can get too twisty and turny, which is why they can alienate casual viewers and Supernatural is no different. Honestly, I'll probably have to watch "Cruel World" again to give it an accurate grade, but I remember thinking that the episode was adequate enough.

GRADE: C

So there you have it, Week 2 of the TV Report Card. Overall, it was an average enough week of television with more hits than misses.