Without further ado, here are the final grades of the TV shows.
(I know this is more than three weeks late but I do not have that much time lately with all the stressful activities recently.)
NOTE: This blog obviously contains spoilers.
How I Met Your Mother
Season: 5
Season Finale Grade: B+
However, HIMYM Season 5 was easily the weakest of all their seasons. They had senseless episodes about a monkey mugging Marshall; and Barney crying after listening to a wedding song. My favorite sub-plot of Season 4 was shattered when the Barney-Robin tandem flopped big time. They just were not the right mix for each other. The silly Robin reactions became forced and Neil Patrick Harris seemed to be overacting a lot this season. Deviating from the Ted storyline also did not help the cause for this season. I know that it is essential for them to build up the supporting character storyline but Ted took the backseat a lot like Jack in Lost Season 5. Nevertheless, Blonde Ted was amusing.
If there is one consolation to the TV series that I declared the best of the decade six months ago, it would be the fact that I never got bored in any episode this season. Even their lamest episode (Zoo or False) had me laughing (…well their facial reactions were hilarious). I was sleepy when I watched it but I still ended up lively after the episode. For all its worth, I did not feel robbed this season. After all, they had sterling topics on getting hooked, perfect week (if you are a baseball fan), reacher-settler and smoking.
Notable Episodes: Double Date, Robin 101,The Playbook, Last Cigaretter Ever, Girls vs. Suits, Perfect Week, Rabbit or Duck, Hooked, Doppelgangers. Could have been more but I have to trim it down. HIMYM still has a strong batting average.
Season Grade: B. The show was in a long funk after the finale that it erased most of the momentum of the strong episodes.
Entourage
Season: 6
Season Finale Grade: B
Entourage Season 6 ended decently with big developments on the supporting characters. Vincent Chase took the backseat like Ted Mosby did. It was like the early 4th quarter in a basketball game where you have the starters seating and the bench doing the dirty work. Although I believe that Eric Murphy is the focal character in Entourage, the show lost some of its luster when it deviated from Vince’s struggles.
The great thing about Entourage is the fact that you watch it for the fun and coolness than the actual plot. The show does have a plot (it is unique and decent) but it usually lives in the shadows of Ari Gold’s relentless banter and the gang’s celebrations. If you are a guy, there is an 80% chance you will enjoy a senseless Entourage episode because it was cool.
The recent Entourage season was Lloyd and Turtle’s shining opportunity. Lloyd’s strong acting made him a star of this show. Johnny Drama also had an interesting plot that circulated with what he truly is – a guy who stands up for his principles whether it is unnecessary or not. And of course, we had the Eric Murphy love triangle where he dated the exact type of woman a guy does not want in a girlfriend. I am obviously talking about Ashley. For those who do not watch, Ashley was the over-protective, paranoid girlfriend of E. She doubted him over a petty thing like Rupert Pupkin calling Eric. Yeah, it was a code name but Eric already mentioned it was Vince/Drama/Turtle. Trust and understanding are essentials in a relationship, and Ashley just lost both when she started to become jealous of Sloan. Ashley should have been glad that Eric threw Sloan for her. It did not help Ashley’s cause that she was not attractive. And, that is why we have E marrying Sloan in the end.
The season finale could have been worse but because Ari got his revenge on Adam Davies, I upgraded the episode from a C+ to a B. Man, the clip of Ari shooting Adam with the paintball was awesome. I think I replayed it 452 times. And as for Lloyd, I am glad that he is back in Ari’s company.
However, the season’s central plot was weak and I cannot find a strong theme for the whole season. It actually had a huge potential at the start when Vince finds out that he is alone. But, they did not milk it that much. But still, Entourage is Entourage. It is the coolest show in the universe
Favorite Guests: Matt Damon, LeBron James, Steve Nash, Tom Brady, Mark Wahlberg
Season Grade: B-. It was one of the weakest seasons of the show.
Lost
Season: 6
Season Finale Grade: A
I think I have discussed Lost enough in my past blog entry so I will just give my rating for this season. All I can say is, this season would have been a B or a B+ because of its frustrating start. I was not a fan of the temple scenes either. They wasted my time watching the Japanese guy but since this season was able to knot things up, I think I am giving it an A. I also liked their philosophical content. This is easily the 2nd best Lost season ever.
Season Grade: A
Glee
Season: 1
Glee is still ongoing but I will use this blog as my venue to discuss what has happened so far.
Last year, I gave Glee an 8.5/10 rating. I had mixed reactions on it but it was mostly positive because there is something enticing on it. A few weeks later, I actually loved Glee because of how it ended strong in the Sectionals. Glee had 13 strong episodes before it had a break. During Christmas vacation, I could not help but re-watch several Glee songs (most notably Don’t Stop Believing, Imagine, True Colors and Lean On Me). Glee always had a question mark hanging over its plot but when it delivered in December of 2010, I debunked all my doubts.
After months of waiting, Glee returned. The hype was huge with American Idol advertising it. I craved for it so I downloaded it as soon as possible. The first episode after the break showed some promise with the heartfelt rendition of Hello and the angsty delivery of Gives You Hell. However, just like how they sang Hellogoodbye, the first episode of the break was a flop. We had the lousiest love story transition of all-time when Rachel and Finn became girlfriend-boyfriend; Rachel switched to Jesse St. James; Jesse dumped Rachel. That was awfully and hastily written. They did not even put some time on highlighting the emotions. The Will-Emma love story also disappeared. Glee became the epitome of anti-climactic as it killed off the love stories that they hyped up before they went into the break.
To be honest, Glee was never strong drama or comedy-wise. However, its storyline was smooth in the past year. There was always something captivating on it. This year, Glee’s story is reaching Heroes’ Sucky Plot Level. The singing novelty is also dying because they are overusing and forcing it. I think they are averaging five songs per episode after the break. I know it is their specialty but it becomes less special if you use it too often. Ever wonder why wrestlers use their finishing moves only once or twice? It is because they want people to crave for it. I think Glee listened to their fans too much. Instead of developing their storylines, the show focused on themes. Madonna, Lady Gaga, Funk and Hello.
And, the worst? Sue Sylvester is not as fun and annoying anymore.
If Glee ends up disappointingly, I am quitting. As much as I want to follow the TV show, it should give me reasons for watching it. I have dozed off for three consecutive episodes (and those were supposed to be the lead-ups to the finale!). I made some tough comments on Glee last year with hopes of it improving. What happened after? It improved. Will lightning strike twice for this very popular show? Stay tuned.
On a single episode standpoint, the season finale was decent. It had inspirational and *gasp* even metaphysical views on one’s journey. It was cheesy in some points but it was just the right dose of cheesiness. The show needs to be cheesy in some ways. Like the usual Glee episodes, they throw out huge story changers on the spot and the sequence seems hastily done. I think they should have announced Sue Sylvester as the surprise guest judge in the episode prior to the finale. In that way, they could have milked the moment further. The sequence before the Regionals felt crammed. And of course, the biggest writing blunder was: how in the hell did New Directions manage to go to the hospital, wait for Quinn’s baby then return just in time for the announcement? Does the Glee cast now have a teleporting device?
However…
Glee’s season finale has several shining moments as well. The idea of cherishing their experience as a journey was brilliant. That is what Glee should be teaching its young audience – winning is just the icing of the cake; it’s the journey that matters. And speaking of journey… HOW DARE THEY USE THE DON’T STOPBELIEVING CARD?! Without a shadow of a doubt, the Glee cast’s performance of Don’t Stop Believing in the pilot is the most remarkable and captivating highlight of the season. It is just simple yet it speaks volumes of how talented they are. Whenever they sing in unison, it always jumpstarts me. The song is uplifting enough that it makes you hopeful – the same way I was hopeful that this finale would redeem the season for me. And the pinnacle of it would be its message – don’t stop believing. The song clearly describes their journey as underdogs. They may have had several issues on both personal life and talent but they still believe – and that’s what matters.
But still, I prefer the Pilot performance of Don’t Stop Believing more because it was stripped down and more emotional. Nice try in the Regionals though.
I am glad that Glee executed its Regionals performance masterfully. Whatever the show lacks in writing, it makes up in their performances. Faithfully was very sincere and heartfelt and man, Lea Michele has awesome hot vocals in it! That was the highlight of their Journey medley, but the other two songs were also strong. What made it great is that they made their performance believable. We all know that they are supposed to be green in terms of performing. So even if they sang it remarkably and with amazing harmony, we can clearly see that they are still raw in uniform movements. It was very evident that their actions were very candid with less emphasis on the angles of their hand actions. It might be imperfect but you can feel that their effort was heartfelt with their liveliness.
You may ask, how dare I try to judge how amateur-ish New Directions were in their Journey medley? Of course, I based it from their rivals’ performance. Vocal Adrenaline’s performance was just flawless. It easily trumped everything that New Directions did. Vocal Adrenaline’s actions and placing were well-planned. Even before Bohemian Rhapsody ended, I was already thinking that the only way the show can pull it off is to make New Directions lose (if they won, I would surely quit watching). Other than the fact that their rivals beat them performance-wise, it was just appropriate to make New Directions lose. Why? Because they are underdogs! How can they be underdogs if they just plow through the rest of the competition? The show teaches its viewers a valuable lesson in life – winning is not easy; you have to earn it. And with earning comes failure and struggles.
Besides, it would be unfair if they won using a medley that they practiced in less than a week, right?
No matter how cheesy the idea of an underdog getting crushed in the early stages is, I think that it is the only way to play the underdog perspective. It brings empathy and relatability. It makes the people root for them. For once, the Glee writers got it –wait for it – right.
Great writing did not stop there. The idea of making Sue Sylvester put New Directions as her top pick made all the pussy-fying of Sue in the recent episodes justifiable. They are humanizing Sue. I am not exactly sure if that is the best thing to do for the MVP of the show but I am sure that it is still a step towards a good direction. It shatters stereotyping and it could lead to other potential character developments.
All in all, Glee’s strengths outweighed its weaknesses. I actually thought that killing off Quinn in the finale would have made the finale outstanding (yup, even if she is the only hot chick in the show… anyway, she has lackluster acting skills). It will be depressing but it would be interesting to see how they bounce back from it. Nevertheless, I am still very happy with how the season finale unfolded. Glee just proved that it is excellent when it comes to the pilot and season enders (which is contrasting to their finale message of the middle of the journey is what matters). For me, Glee’s season was redeemed by a decent finale. It is not their best episode but it connected the questionable storylines of the season nicely. I am also happy that they stayed away from the gay storyline (I think that was the major downer of the season for me). If they will continue the gay storyline next year, can we have a lesbian storyline instead? Something like Quinn-any other girl lesbian love? Hahaha!
Glee redeemed its lackluster season when it was on the line. Final grade? One letter grade up!
Favorite Performances: Don’t Stop Believing, Imagine, Poker Face, Hello, True Colors, Gives You Hell, Halo/Walking on Sunshine, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Lean on Me, Faithfully, Bohemian Rhapsody
Season Finale Grade: B+
Season Grade: C+
American Idol
Season: 9
Season Finale Grade: B-
And the finale? It was low-key compared to the previous season ender. I was supposed to write a retro diary about it but because nothing interested me, I decided not to waste more hours for that one.
Even if Crystal deserved to win, I actually rooted for Lee. The season was just so effed up that I just wanted to be right on one thing: predicting the order of elimination. Since Didi’s elimination, I was confident that Lee would win. I even declared him Mr. American Idol when he performed Hey Jude. The demographics of the show just made the outcome highly predictable. Thus, I stopped ranting on how stupid America was. Instead, I hoped for the ending that would serve as an eye opener to the producers. No offense to Lee fans though. I think he is talented and current. It’s just that there is a huge discrepancy of talent between him and Crystal.
Prediction Order (as posted last April 5): This is how I see the eliminations happen: 9) Tim 8) Katie 7) Some guy 6) Siobhan or some other guy (Siobhan gets saved) 5) Siobhan 4) Michael/Aaron 3) Crystal 2) Casey 1) Lee. You can interchange anyone in the Top 3 since I think Crystal has a shot in going to the Finale. Result: 8-1. #5 elimination automatically becomes a guy because the save did not exist in #6.
Season Grade: C
Modern Family
Season: 1
Season Finale Grade: B
However, Modern Family’s season finale does not stand out as compared to other TV shows. I think the main weakness of this show is its capability of coming up with an astounding episode. The great thing is, it has no mediocre episode. The season finale was still heartwarming and would have scored a B+/A- if it was a regular episode. But on its context, it was lacking some oomph. I felt that it was lacking further conflicts and references from the season’s episodes (although the bad stair step was a decent reference). Nevertheless, the Kobe cameo was great and the family portrait was a good way of capping the show.
All in all, Modern Family is the second best TV series this year. On a singular season standpoint, it is the best. The characters are great and the mockumentary worked perfectly for the show. If a TV series features gays and I still end up liking the series, it just shows that the series is good. I am not planning to be politically correct here but I admit that the two gays were a major turn-off at the start.
OK, too much raving from me. Why is this show great? Aside from the wit, the show always ends up with important daily lessons about families. Having one big family reuniting is also a heartwarming plot in the present time. The essence of a large family degrades lose some family values through the years. On the Filipino context, connecting with your relatives still happens a lot but the show is made for American audiences. It was also good that they explored on three types of family. I still love the traditional family the most (the Dunphys) because that is where I relate the most but it is refreshing to watch the stories of the Pritchetts and the Pritchett-Tuckers. The show maybe light but it is also intelligent as there is a lot of context when dealing with the trophy wife and gay couple.
I think the only disappointment that I have is the huge similarity of the Dunphys to the Hennessys of 8 Simple Rules. Well, both shows were aired in ABC. Aside from Claire Dunphy and Cate Hennessy, the rest of the characters are similar in some ways. You have the funny, trying-to-be-cool dad. There is the hot, narcissistic, dumb eldest sister (I don’t find Haley hot but she is portrayed to be hot). The middle child is a dork girl with a tinge of sarcasm (Kerry Hennessy is more whiny, pessimistic and sarcastic though). Then the youngest is a male. OK, the dorky, sneaky Rory Hennessy is different from the reckless, mentally slow Luke Dunphy. Other than which, the show is superb.
Favorite Episodes: Pilot, The Bicycle Thief, Coal Digger, Great Expectations, Fifteen Percent, Game Changer, Airport 2010, Hawaii, Family Portrait. Choosing the awesome episodes was actually difficult because there was no bad episode.
Season Grade: A
Grey’s Anatomy
Season: 6
Season Finale Grade: A
Days before watching the season finale, I read Bill Simmons’ tweet about how shocking it was to watch a doctor get shot in the head in the episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Thus, I was expecting it to happen. I initially thought that it would be a guy and it would happen at the end of the episode. By the start of Episode 23, I was in a calm-mood-let’s-see-how-this-rolls-out mode. Just like any episode of Grey’s Anatomy in 2010, Episode 23 started low-key. It was a normal busy day in the hospital with the narrative voice of Meredith Grey discussing the sanctuary theme. We have an old guy asking around for the chief but was ignored by the doctors just like I did as I was busy eating my newly cooked noodles then. Old Guy asks Dr. Reed where the chief’s office is. I just finished my midnight snack so I started to have 100% attention to the show. Reed impatiently shuns him like she would do then BAM! Old Guy shoots Reed in the head. Holy Shit! I did not see that happen so fast. As Reed’s blood flows, Old Guy shoots Alex. What the F**k?! In less than ten minutes into the show, I was speechless. I expected a doctor getting shot but I did not know it was Reed and for that to happen this early?! I was not prepared.
It was actually funny seeing Nora Zehetner’s name in the opening credits by the ten-minute mark. Her character is already dead so we are not expecting to see her further on. The opening credits usually spoil you on which actor would be guess starring. This time, it was different. This was the anti-spoiler.
Back to shell-shocked mode…
Boring Old Guy has become Mr. WTF Gunman now. He continues asking and people continue to shun him off. Things got worse when he shoots a nurse in public. I was startled. Dammit! This guy is insane. He may take more lives. I know that the characters’ lives have been in peril in previous episodes but this was the most unpredictable. Anyone can die and you have no idea who. Remember the bomb episode? Meredith might have been in danger there but you know she won’t die. With this gunman, he could appear next to anyone and kill off that supporting character.
The suspense heightened when Mr. WTF Gunman went to Bailey’s room. The shooting spree that Bailey witnessed was horrifying. It seemed real. And because I have watch Bailey’s character develop through the years, I felt horrified for her. Seeing her in peril was like seeing one of my acquaintances in peril. Actually, I had a shooting spree nightmare some years ago and I just cannot get over that freaking nightmare. It happened in Ateneo (SEC Walkway) with military guys making people lie face down and shooting at burst fire on those who do not follow. None of my friends were killed on my nightmare but there were some acquaintances who died (getting burned by a flamethrower in a chemistry room). Sorry for the graphic description but that was how traumatizing it was. Thus, that nightmare flashed back when I saw Mr. WTF Gunman killing anyone he sees at will. And when he pulled Bailey out of her hiding place, I was mortified.
He did not kill Bailey but Mr. WTF Gunman disturbed me enough that I had to hug a throw pillow for the rest of the episode. He was appearing at every scene where a main character is. It was so intense that I was literally panicking in front of my TV set by requesting Meredith Grey to shut the eff up when Mr. WTF Gunman was passing by their room. Episode 23 ended with Derek Shephard getting shot and I was mortified enough to watch another episode. I was initially planning to watch the season finale of Modern Family but I decided against it. No happy episode would erase that shooting spree incident. I do not even need to mention Grey’s Anatomy in my YM status message (Just watched the most horrifying TV episode ever) but my buddy Kevin already recognized it.
Episode 24 of Grey’s Anatomy still gave me the chills but the effect was less (since I waited one day for it). I was nervous for Lexie Grey and Richard Webber but since they ended up alive, I was relieved. It would be too depressing if they were killed.
Why was Episode 23 the most horrifying episode ever? The main reason would be watching a gunman kill people quickly. Guns are scary. Shown below is one reason why:
I can still remember attending a party five years ago. A car collision occurred a couple of blocks from the party house. One of the people in the party who recently left drove the car that crashed. Since she drank alcohol, backlash from the friends of the family in the other car was possible. Since we were in the party, we had to hide all the liquor in the place as it could be used as evidence for the horrible incident. We had to go inside because the friends of the family in the other car might be questioning us. While we were inside, a mature guy (probably the security guy of the house) went to the entrance door. And on his backpocket, we could clearly see a gun. An effin’ gun! My thought process was something like these then: What if he went into a confrontation and had a gunfight? What if he gets crazy and attempts to shoot all witnesses? It was a crazy scene and I was fortunate that nothing serious happened.
(The ironic thing was, I did not personally know who the party host was. I just tugged along with my buddies for that party.)
And because of this, I fully understand why it was stupid of Gilbert Arenas to bring a gun in an NBA stadium. I know that it is scary to see a loaded gun. And it was why it was horrifying to watch (in Grey’s Anatomy) someone go crazy with his pistol shooting innocent people in his path. The solidifying reason why the episode was scary was because the characters grew from year to year. I have become accustomed to watching them that seeing one of them dying would be heartbreaking. The main reason why the Season 5 Finale of Grey’s Anatomy was shocking was the fact that they killed off George unexpectedly. This season, they had the potential for multiple George-kind-of-deaths with Mr. WTF Gunman going nuts.
Other than the shocking episode, Grey’s Anatomy was actually lackluster since the premature New Year episode. I can bear with it because the show has the best batting average when it comes to awesome season enders. There were still remarkable episodes like I Saw What I Saw and Give Peace a Chance but the season lead-up was lousy. They had a lack of strong storylines and the conclusion of the season was regarding a patient’s husband seeking for revenge. Of course, we had Cristina’s love triangle, Callie and Arizona’s baby story, Alex-Lexie-Sloan love story and the Shephard-Webber conflict.
Nonetheless, congratulations to Grey’s Anatomy for pulling off the horrifying finale. I never really saw it coming.
Season Grade: B-
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