TV Report Card: Week of November 27, 2011

The television landscape is still a little sparse since we're in the post-Thanksgiving and Sweeps period, but I still wanted to put out a TV Report Card, so here we go:

Sunday
Leverage: "The Experimental Job"

I wasn't sure if I was going to add Leverage to the Report Card since it was off the air once the fall season started, but since there are slim pickings, I decided to add it to the rotation for now. After a three month hiatus, it was back to their grifting ways, and "The Experimental Job" was a nice way to get back into the swing of things. "Experimental" was not a transcendent episode of Leverage, but it was good showcase for Hardison, Eliot, and Parker, which will always be a score in my opinion. This week's mark was also especially slimy, so watching him be taken down a peg was entertaining. I was also glad that we didn't get too much Nate and Sophie this week, but I wold like a return to a larger story arc before the end of the season.

GRADE: B+

The Walking Dead: "Pretty Much Dead Already"
To say that the first-half of The Walking Dead's second season has been divisive would be an understatement. Some fans have been turned off by the lack of plot and character development and an overemphasis on long debates about inaction vs. action. Others still see potential and are willing to sit through some of the slower moments with hopes that it will some day reach the heights that they think it can. I'm somewhere in the middle. Some of the last episodes have been light on any interesting elements, but there have been a sprinkling of good moments to keep me invested for now. I do wish that we could see some actual characterization and less exposition, but I still wonder if AMC's decision to split the season is to blame more than the writers. Regardless, "Pretty Much Dead Already" started off as one of the drawn-out episodes that we've been asked to sit through, but the big twist at the end reminded me of how special this show could be. I'm not writing The Walking Dead off just yet, but I'm praying that something finally happens.

GRADE: B+

Homeland: "Crossfire"

The end of "Achilles Heel" had the opportunity to be a game changer, and I know that some are not quite on board with the twist (or non-twist) involving Brody, but at least we got a glimpse of his motivations during "Crossfire." Now, I personally thought that having him bond with Nazir's son was a bit much, and the jury's still out on whether that was actually his kid or just a pawn, but it was an effective way to get into Brody's head. There are still elements that are quite making sense (like the political office component), but those are made up by some great scenes like the ones with Carrie and the imam and his wife, and the fallout of the FBI's mistake might be more interesting than the traitor plot at this point mostly due to her drive and instability. Sure, there are still some hesitations about this show, and I agree that Brody can't keep jumping back and forth, but I'm still hooked for now.

GRADE: B+

Tuesday
Glee: "I Kissed a Girl"

I did not hide my displeasure with "Mash Off" because of how it treated Finn, but I was interested to see if the writers could (or would even be interested in) pull off any kind of damage control. For the most part, I felt that they were able to redeem Finn a little bit (although some people will never cut him a break) through his scenes with Santana. I thought that he was being caring, genuine, and showing true concern, but some thought he was being selfish and pushy which I don't quite understand. I'm not saying either interpretation is right or wrong since we bring ourselves into the moment, but I don't go in thinking that Finn's a horrible person which is why I'm willing to see the good intentions behind his actions. Everything else in the episode wasn't up to par. I don't care about Puck/Shelby/Quinn, and Rachel and Kurt's journey to New York's starting to feel contrived. The only other bright spot besides Finn and Santana was Beiste finally telling Cooter how she felt. I just hope she didn't have to do it because of Sue.

GRADE: C+

New Girl: "Bells"

I think I've hit my limitation with New Girl and Jess as a character. "Bells" wasn't a bad episode, but I did find myself being irked by Jess for the first time ever. Maybe it's because I really love the more carefree side of Jess, but I was put off when she was getting upset with Winston because of his competitiveness and ability to pick things up quickly. For some reason, her issues with him felt false and didn't ring true with my idea of who the character is, but that doesn't mean I'm opposed to her growing and maturing. I just want those moments to feel organic. On the other hand, I'm just glad Winston was given some more depth. The B-plot, Schmidt and Nick's feud over money, brought most of the laughs, but their prank war couldn't match up to Happy Ending's Code War, but I did respect the show's attention to the guys' relationship with each other instead of how they relate to Jess.

GRADE: B-

Sons of Anarchy: "To Be, Part 1"

Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy has had its share of ups and downs, and its effectiveness will rely heavily on the second half of the finale. "To Be, Part 1" did a decent enough job setting up the last episode, but I can also see how it could have been infuriating for some viewers. There's a camp out there that believes that Clay has to die and was upset that Opie's shots were not fatal. I don't fall in that camp, but I agree that something has to give. Predictions aside, I thought that "To Be, Part 1" was a strong episode of Sons with some great performances (Maggie Siff), and I'm also glad that we didn't get too many answers, but there were some parts that didn't work (pretty much everything that involved Tig). I don't know that I'm so invested in this season's narrative that next week's episode will make or break my allegiance to the show, so I won't leave if it doesn't go in the direction that I want, but I am excited to see how things end up.

GRADE: B+

Thursday
Community: "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism"

Community continued to walk the tightrope between being highly conceptual and more down to earth with "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism," and while this is the version of the show that I enjoy the most, not everything worked this time around. I didn't like the Jeff/Shirley/foosball plot as much as I should have because I just don't care about Shirley or how she relates to the rest of the group because the writers have not given me a reason to, and this inevitably hurt the characters' backstory. I did like the annoying Europeans though. While the Batman B-plot wasn't as "good" as the former, I did find myself enjoying it more mostly because I dig the Annie/Troy/Abed combination. Oddly enough, the more accessible form of Community should have aired during the big uproar a few weeks ago, but c'est la vie. I doubt it would've made that much a difference to begin with.

GRADE: B

Friday
Nikita: "Guardians"

I know that a show like Nikita cannot rely solely on spy action, so I get that the writers have to add some romantic tension to see it to the CW crowd, but this potential love pentagon between Nikita, Michael, his baby's mama, Owen, and Ryan could get out of control if they're not careful. That being said, Nikita and Owen do have chemistry. I just hope these "relationships" don't overtake the show. Since "Guardians" was the mid-season finale, we were in store for a big cliffhanger, but finding out that Alex's mother was still alive couldn't match up with last years when Nikita was captured by Division, Alex was promoted to field agent, and Thom was killed. I'd blame it on the fact that Alex's quest for revenge still isn't interesting, but I don't want to beat a dead horse.

GRADE: B

Supernatural: "Death's Door"

The end of the last Supernatural introduced the idea of a world without Bobby, and "Death's Door" picked up right where "How to Win Friends" left off. Maybe I'm dead inside, but I really didn't enjoy this episode because it was hard not to feel manipulated by what was going on, and I think this one would've played better a few seasons ago when the show was still establishing Bobby as a character. Jumping around in his head felt like the writers wanting us to care more about Bobby so his potential death would have a bigger impact. Now, I agree that we should be constantly learning new things about characters, but to me this approach felt lazy. With that being said, I'll admit that I got a little choked up at the end there, but I was miffed that we got ANOTHER cliffhanger at the end.

GRADE: C+