Eleven quirks to celebrate in tonight’s Modern Family
Modern Family continues to be one of my favorite new shows. It balances the tongue-in-cheek with the tender, and we never, ever forget just how quirky the characters are.
And they added another quirkster tonight, in the form of Shelly Long’s guest appearance as DeDe, Claire’s and Mitchell’s mom and Jay’s ex-wife.
Modern Family, how did I love your quirks in tonight’s episode? Let me count the ways:
Cougar Town’s land boat and the best dad talk ever
“You can’t use the same person for both things. One’s a gardener and the other’s an artist.” – on waxing eyebrows and the bikini area
There was a lot to appreciate about last night’s Cougar Town. From the shout-out to The Clash, to the high-pitched voice of the man-lie (both from Travis and Josh), I laughed a lot. But for me, Courteney Cox didn’t steal the show last night — last night, it was all about the boys.
Modern Family does smart physical comedy too
How can a show be so smart, yet do physical comedy so well? I never thought about physical comedy being smart. Granted, I’m the first person to break into hysterics when somebody trips, but really, it’s just a gag designed to get a chuckle. You don’t have to be smart to get it, and the writers don’t have to be clever to put it in a script.
Or so I thought. Modern Family sure had a different twist on physical comedy in last night’s episode, when Phil gets walloped in the face with the remote control airplane, courtesy of Jay.
Cougar Town rocks out Single Ladies to Glee standards
“You know, people can’t unhear the things you say.” – Grayson to Jules
I would be the last person to call myself a fan of Beyonce’s (although Destiny’s Child’s version of the Bee Gee’s “Emotion” is stellar), yet I find myself giddy that her song “Single Ladies” is being used in some of my favorite new shows in such a fun way.
A few weeks ago, we heard “Single Ladies” on the football field over at Glee headquarters, with Kurt kicking to it and the rest of the team confusing its opponents with their joyful dance during the game. Yeah, it was a little hokey but so cute and the absolutely perfect song to accompany the antics.
Mercy’s Callahan needs to make up her damn mind
Mercy is far from a perfect show, but I am enjoying it so far. Michelle Trachtenberg plays naivete probably better than anyone on the planet. Jaime Lee Kirchner’s character still needs a bit more rounding out, but I like Sonia’s style. And frankly, I’m way into Taylor Schilling’s Veronica Callahan. Well, all except for one little thing.
In general, Callahan is a pretty darn good character. Sure, the its not the first time we’ve seen the affected war vet come home and find the little things in their lives different, but here there’s a difference. How often is that story told about a female soldier? I think it makes for an interesting character dynamic, and I believe these types of stories should be told more often. Again, though, there’s just one problem with her….
Seattle Grace has merger fever with no cure in sight
Sure, I did a little bit of whining in last week’s post about Grey’s Anatomy’s “ripped from the ER-scriptroom” approach with this whole merger business, with reason; it’s not the first time Grey’s has seemingly borrowed from the medical show gold standard. We even already had a preexisting tag called “grey’s anatomy rip-off er” before I could create a new one. That being said, I’m actually interested to see how the whole thing plays out.
Everyone is feeling the effects of the upcoming merger. And by “feeling the effects” I mean scared out of their minds that they’re going to get laid off. Cristina has found her own brand of crazy, Lexi is rushing through the hallways, and the Chief is locked in his office giving away nothing. Most of the senior staff is calm, though, with world renowned McDreamy and McSteamy. And Hunt, because really … war vet worried about a lay off? Not so much.
Castle – Strangers on a boat
Last week, Debbie talked about how the sidekicks were getting a little more play. That trend continued this week, and hopefully that means she’ll learn that their names are Esposito and Ryan (I kid). The dueling murders, complete with a bet, were the perfect setup to give the two of them more of the spotlight. Also, I have to give bonus points for the case of the week. The Strangers On A Train story is certainly nothing new for a TV crime show, but the Grovener misdirection had me going. Read the rest of this entry »
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