‘Chuck’ Season Two Finale: What the Chuck?!
Episode: Chuck Versus the Ring
Original Air Date: April 27, 2009
Was “Chuck Versus the Ring” a fantastic season finale or what?
First, Life, then The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and now Chuck. Many of my current favorite TV series happen to be sophomore Bubble Shows, and they’ve all ended their latest seasons with a bang so huge, it makes you wonder how they came to be endangered in the first place. Or, rather, it makes you wonder why more viewers aren’t checking out such great television.
The “ring” in the title of tonight’s Chuck season finale has a double meaning. All of us fans were assuming it referred to the ring that represents Ellie and Awesome getting hitched, but it turns out there’s also a new wicked player in town named — that’s right — The Ring, and Fulcrum just happens to be a tiny part of it. Translation: there are more baddies on the way during Chuck’s third season (and I have no doubt the show is getting one), and they’re waaay badder than the baddies we’ve already met.
Reno 911!: 6.01 ‘Training Day’
April 4, 2009 by Chandra
Episode: Training Day
Original Air Date: April 1, 2009
NOTE: This series and recap contain mature themes and language.
If you think someone’s going to explicitly tell you who died in the explosion at the end of the fifth-season finale during Reno 911!’s sixth-season premiere, you’d better think again.
The action begins with hot-shorted Lieutenant Jim Dangle’s exclamation, “Holy poop. I thought we got canceled.” I can’t tell if he’s happy or sad to have the camera crew back around, though.
Eli Stone: 2.01 ‘The Path’ Recap
October 15, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 14, 2008
On the season opener of Eli Stone, Eli is back, alive, and in a pretty foul funk. It’s been six months since the Season One-ending brain surgery on his aneurysm, and although the operation appears to have worked, removing all traces of the medical problem and the accompanying divine visions, Eli has clearly lost his “faith and prophecy” mojo as a result.
The episode begins with a stark change for Eli. As he walks down the street, he hears music for the first time since before his surgery. It’s Patti belting out Martha and the Vandellas’ classic party tune “Dancing in the Streets,” while every pedestrian in the vicinity provides backup dancing and harmonizing. Uh-oh — that’s not supposed to be happening.
Eli has been seeing seeing a therapist (Sigourney Weaver) weekly for the last three months. However, their relationship is far from smooth, as Eli repeatedly asks her to sign his “permission slip” — the recertification form for his law license — and she repeatedly ignores that request in favor of asking more deep questions and making more biting observations.
Chuck: 2.03 ‘Chuck Versus the Break-Up’ Recap
October 14, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 13, 2008
We’re just three episodes into the second season, and Chuck is holding up mighty darn well. It’s great to see a fairly new series keep getting better and better, which is definitely the case here. The cast, the acting, the plots, the guest stars — everything is still clicking and delivering.
“Chuck Versus the Break-Up” opens in 2005, with undercover partners Sarah and Bryce posing as Mr. and Mrs. Anderson during a dangerous mission in Bogotá, Colombia. Bryce is captured by one goon after a brief chase through the streets, but alert Sarah manages to shoot the man once in the head while he’s holding a gun to Bryce’s head.
However, at the end of the episode, Sarah freezes in a similar situation, with Chuck the one held at gunpoint, and fails to take the shot because of her feelings for Chuck. As Bryce warns his former college roommate after Devon finally breaks the news to him that Sarah is in love with Chuck, emotions are dangerous things for field agents to have because enemies like FULCRUM don’t act on or care about them.
Samantha Who?: 2.01 ‘So I Think I Can Dance’ Recap
Original Air Date: October 13, 2008
Goody for Sam! During the season premiere of Samantha Who?, our girl is on a high because she’s leaving her parent’s nest for the second time and returning to her own apartment. The only problem, as she quickly learns when she’s blissfully dancing around almost naked, is that she’s not alone because Todd is still there.
His last client, a bride, stiffed him on a wedding shoot because she didn’t like his work. So, it’s up to eager lawyer Andrea to, as she puts it, make the bride cry and kick him out of Sam’s apartment. She’s so thrilled at the prospect, she takes Todd’s case pro bono.
Meanwhile, Sam drops by her parents house for some last-minute forgotten stuff and finds them in the garage practicing for the Walnut Valley Club dance contest. The video of last year’s performance they’re practicing with is recorded over footage of Sam looking good dancing a Broadway routine during a long-ago recital. After she gets over the fact that her parents never bothered to give her the good news she can dance in the midst of their constant criticism, Sam gets pumped that she’s actually talented at something.
The Game: 3.02 ‘Mel-odrama’ Recap
October 12, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 10, 2008
Everything comes out in the open during this episode of The Game as the three main characters gather for an afternoon swim. As a result, they all learn that Kelly is divorcing Jason, Melanie’s man Derwin has a baby on the way with Janay, and Tasha is sleeping with Rick Fox (couldn’t they have given him a fictional name? — I feel weird writing that).
In fact, it’s Tasha who speaks up and refuses to go along with Melanie’s immature plan to sabotage Janay by dragging her name through the mud. A single black mother herself, she knows that’s no way to do another woman when life is hard enough for unmarried mothers and black women as it is. Amen.
Yet, after that opening nonsense and Tasha’s voice of reason, childish Melanie remains determined to pick a fight with Janay. While Janay is nowhere near my favorite character on the show, I thank the writers for her response to Melanie’s silliness, which is basically, “I’m pregnant, the baby is Derwin’s, get over it and get on with it already.” Amen again.
Everybody Hates Chris: 4.02 ‘Everybody Hates Cake’ Recap
October 12, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 10, 2008
There are many standout moments during this episode of Everybody Hates Chris, first and foremost the scenes featuring former Martin co-stars Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell Martin. Tisha plays Peaches, a recently released ex-convict (she unintentionally aided and abetted her thieving boyfriend by sitting in the getaway car and not running away when the cops came) who also happens to be the mother of Tasha, Chris’ first and former crush from the building.
Despite Rochelle’s initial disdain for loudmouthed Peaches and her brash ways — such as barging in on the Rocks for a meal … with her man … uninvited … over an hour after they already ate — the two mothers end up having some thing in common. That would be their mutual disrespect for meter maids, as the funny scenes with them abusing their neighborhood version in identical manners show.
Meanwhile, still trying to get used to high school at Tattaglia without his best friend Greg there, Chris quickly realizes the only fellow student he has a connection with is Caruso, who still abuses him whenever possible. At least he can be happy about Home Ec, where all the girls look like they’re from Victoria’s Secret and the classroom always smells like biscuits.
Worst Week: 1.02 ‘The Bird’ Recap
October 6, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: September 29, 2008
I’m sensing possible issues ahead for Worst Week because the second episode is nowhere near as funny as the series pilot. Hopefully, the difference is just a fluke.
Realizing he’ll probably never make any headway with her father, Sam decides to focus all of his energy and charm on Mel’s mother Angela instead. The idea is to get her to like him so that her approval will somehow rub off on her husband Dick. First things first, though, such as getting over the vomit in the vase incident (Mel’s morning sickness) and walking in on Mel’s sister Sarah while she’s using a breast pump.
After he clears those hurdles, Sam makes the fatal — at least for the pet — mistake of feeding Dick’s beloved pet birds the avocado he can’t admit to Angela he hates. So, instead of just coming clean when she serves him an omelet loaded with the stuff, he decides to pretend to like it and sneak the food to the birds later.
Two and a Half Men: 6.02 ‘Pie Hole, Herb’ Recap
October 6, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: September 29, 2008
The plot of this episode of Two and a Half Men scores extra points for simplicity.
Out of cash one day and too lazy to hoof it to an ATM, Charlie borrows some money from Alan in the amount of $38, all Alan has, although Charlie actually wanted a couple of hundred dollars. Alan is ultra uptight about Charlie paying him back, going so far as to enter Charlie’s room the next morning where Charlie is in bed with his latest conquest (the reason why he needed the money, incidentally).
When Charlie finally indicates he has no intention of ever paying Alan back, especially since Alan has been living with him for six whole years, Alan gets dirty, literally. He siphons most of the gas out of Charlie’s tank, leaving his brother to get deserted in the middle of nowhere.
How I Met Your Mother: 4.02 ‘The Best Burger in New York’ Recap
October 6, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: September 29, 2008
Still unable to find work as an environmental lawyer after many interviews, Marshall becomes obsessed with the best burger he’s ever eaten in New York when the gang tries out and approves of a lesser burger at the bar.
The legendary burger haunting Marshall from eight years ago also happened to be his very first burger in New York, back when he was a fresh-faced 22-year-old newly arrived from Minnesota. According to him, the burger was at a hole-in-the-wall he stumbled on when Ted, tired of him moping around the apartment and acting afraid to venture out, encouraged him to take a walk. Since he was new in town, though, Marhsall could never retrace his steps back to the restaurant.
That changes in this episode of How I Met Your Mother as Marshall drags everyone all around Manhattan in search of that burger, which even Regis Philbin, in a guest cameo, confirms is the best. In a twist, it turns out later that Reege’s best burger comes from an entirely different restaurant.