TV Report Card: Week of January 8, 2012

Even though some of my shows were still M.I.A. last week, it was still hard trying to keep up with everything that was on, and it's just going to get even busier. I apologize if this TV Report Card lacks the umph previous ones did, but I still wanted to get something out, so here we go:

Sunday
Leverage: "The Radio Job"

Season 4 has been a mixed bag. One one hand, I've appreciated some of the risks the show tried to take, and on the other it lacked excitement when it was in its comfort zone. "The Radio Job" tried to be more than your typical episode of Leverage because it tried to link back to a bigger story arc, but I didn't think it had too much on an impact since it was sprinkled throughout the season so sporadically. I was glad to have Jimmy Ford back, the twist ending was refreshing, and I liked how the theme of family was used. In the end though, I wanted more of this kind of storytelling instead of all of the standalones that dominated Season 4. It was still fun to watch, but I was just expecting more.

GRADE: B

Monday
Castle: "Till Death Do Us Part"
I was glad that Rick and Kate didn't dominate "Till Death Do Us Part," and some of the supporting characters like Kevin, Javy and Lanie got the chance to shine a little. The actually case of the week, a hook-up artist tossed out of a window, didn't really captivate me, but the cases rarely do. Instead of caring about the dead guy, I was content with watching Esposito freak out about not having a date for Ryan's wedding, and the latter's big day jitters. What was even more refreshing was the fact that the writers really didn't push Caskett down our throats which could have been easy since it was a wedding episode. Overall, "Till Death Do Us Part" was fun but far from revolutionary which is perfectly fine.

GRADE: B-

Wednesday
Modern Family: "Egg Drop"

I think that I'm close to being done with Modern Family. After a lackluster Season 2, so far the show's third has failed to impress as well. Seriously, I cannot think of a Season 3 episode that blew me away ("Phil on a Wire" and "Treehouse" were good but not great), and the "best comedy on TV" churned out another subpar episode. Usually, I would've liked to learn more about Jay and Claire's bond, but it all felt counterproductive because of the fact that it highlighted some of their most unattractive qualities. On paper, I should've like the Phil/Gloria/Haley subplot because it combined two of the characters I like with Gloria, and watching Phil be all googly-eyed over her is worth a few laughs, but even this one didn't hit all of the right spots. As for Cam and Mitchell, I'm over them. I get why this show's still popular which could explain its complacency, but it needs to shake things up fast.

GRADE: C-

Happy Endings: "Meat the Parrots"

One show that's not in a rut (yet) is Happy Endings. While Season 2 peaked with "The Code War" which was followed up by some OK episodes, it was able to come back fairly strong last week and built off the momentum with "Meat the Parrots." Now, the Dave dealing with his dad dating Penny's mom storyline did run out of steam (I still blame Megan Mullally), but it was responsible for a few laughs. Thankfully, the Alex/Brad/Dave debacle the involved a racist parrot, The Wire and an alleged Kung Pao sex ring made up for the other story's shortcomings. Pretty much everything those three gave us was amazing. Happy Endings is at a crossroads though because it's starting to feel that things don't go as smoothly when the writers try to incorporate meaningful plots over rapid-fire jokes. I for one think they can strike a balance, but part of me also thinks they need to stick with what got them to the dance.

GRADE: B+

Thursday
30 Rock: "Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the Season 6 premiere of 30 Rock. While I did like Jack's role in the satire of reality singing competitions and as father, everything else around him didn't quite work. I should have liked Liz's storyline, but for some reason it felt like Tina Fey was going through the motions, but I did like that last scene between her and Jack although that had more to do with him than with her. I usually have a very low tolerance for Kenneth, so I did not like anything about his C-plot (except for the silly costumes), and everything about it felt lazy and cheap. I'm hoping that this stumble out of the gate is temporary, and 30 Rock will be able to rebound.

GRADE: C-

The Vampire Diaries: "Our Town"

I think I need to go back and watch previous episodes of The Vampire Diaries because I cannot for the life of me remember why Stefan and Klaus are fighting. Somehow it became about Klaus' family issues and Stefan's dislike for his hybrids, but I'm sure there's more to that but I cannot put my finger on the whys. Confusion aside, I was happy to have Caroline back, and I'm excited to see how things will develop now that Klaus saved her life. I just don't hope she's a hybrid now, but I don't know how all of that works. While I didn't particulary care for Elena this time around, I'm still happy that all of the tension between her and Damon's being addressed. Hopefully we can all move on now.

GRADE: B-

Friday
Chuck: "Chuck vs. Bo"

The last couple of episodes of Chuck felt like a victory lap as characters were getting some sort of closure, and I was starting to wonder how the show was going to keep the momentum going during the final stretch of episodes, and then "Chuck vs. Bo" happened. I was impressed that Chuck decided to change the game yet again by Intersecting Sarah and introducing another big bad into the mix. While I do wish that Nicholas Quinn was brought in early on during Season 5, I do think he has the potential to be a strong villain, so I'm hoping that he doesn't end up being a missed opportunity like Decker and Shaw. Either way, I'm genuinely excited to see how the writers handle this Sarah as the Intersect mini-arc, but I have a feeling that it'll be resolved by the next episode because that's how the final season has rolled up to date.

GRADE: B+

Nikita: "Sanctuary"

The last episode of Nikita had a "the band is back together" vibe to it now that Alex's staying with Nikita and Birkhoff, and Michael even came home to rejoin his team. While seeing the team deal Sean showing up to kill off Nikita to save Oversight, the real gem of "Sanctuary" was the mind games and coup that Percy was able to pull on Amanda although I could have done without the romantic undertones that were brought up. Having Percy back as the main bad guy has a ton of potential especially if it ends up being an epic, three-way showdown between Team Nikita, Oversight and Division. We'll have to wait and see how all of this shakes out, and I have a feeling that it's going to be crazy good. Now, it's time to start hoping for a third season.

GRADE: B+

Grimm: "Game Ogre"

Grimm finally returned from its winter hiatus with a pretty decent episode. "Game Ogre" did a decent job at letting Nick take a backseat to his two partners as we had the chance to see Hank deal with a serial killer who he had ties to. The obvious twist of having the killer being an ogre felt a little forced, but it did end up working within the world of Grimm. Plus, this episode gave us more Monroe (the awkward scene where Nick was caught in between Hank and Eddie was great), so I'm happy. I was also glad that we got more from Nick's boss, and they started to lay the foundation for Hank to find out that his partner has a secret. While "Game Ogre" didn't blow me away, it was able to push the story along nicely and gave some of the outlining characters something substantial to do. Win-win if you ask me.

GRADE: B-

Once again, no Supernatural (although I probably would've liked this week's episode), and hopefully I'll be able to catch up here in the next couple of days, and we'll have to see if I add it back to the TV Report Card. Next week's installment will be meatier since Being Human, Glee, New Girl, Justified, White Collar and Archer will all be back, and I might even toss in Syfy's Lost Girl. Yay TV!