Chuck - Chuck Versus the American Hero, 3.12

Dear Chuck,

Thanks for being the most amazing show ever.

• "You're like the Picasso of creepiness." - Lester
• Jeff recording in his log Shaw's possible "sexual encounter."
• Awesome living in a bubble -- reference to 30 Rock's Drew?
• I will always love the original Team Bartowski, but this mission of Team Save Chuck's Love Life (as I am naming it) was AWESOME. Casey + Morgan + Awesome is the funnest combo ever. I smiled so much during their "mission." I'm really liking Casey as a civilian, and it was such a good idea to have both Morgan and Awesome know about Chuck, because they're the perfect addend duo to this mission. I hope there are more!
• Adding Ellie to Team SCLL. She's the cutest.
• Wasn't it proven really easy to unlock all the doors of Castle by just pressing a few buttons inside an individual cell? Ha. Sarah. But apparently you can control the lighting system of the Buy More from inside Castle too. So it works out either way.
• LOVE it when BuyMorians inadvertently (but perfectly, story-wise) get caught up in spy business. Delightful! Go Jeffster.
• There is no reason for Shaw to have a car like that. But of course he does. Of course he does.
• OH HEY Romo Lampkin/Badger/Cecil Lively. Thank you for appearing in so many of my favorite shows!
• Wow, Schwartz & co. really channelled M. Night with that twist! Very nice.
• Watching terrific episodes like this, I almost feel guilty about voting for Better Off Ted in E's Save One Show poll.
• Alex Patsavas' awesomeness strikes again with this stupendous song choice over Chuck's "I love you" speech + kiss.
• Sometimes this show is just perfect. And this episode is one of those times.
• Adam Baldwin has never looked better, by the way.
• Oh, NSA. You and your incompetence makes me laugh.
• After watching the promo for next week's ep and Alan Sepinwall tweeting that it's the best of this season, I'm pumped!

Breaking Bad - Caballo Sin Nombre, 3.2

• The Cousins excite me more than I care to admit. My strange infatuation with them can be attributed to, in part, their image so far as the absolute perfect villains in terms of 1) air of badassery, 2) appearance (as badasses), and 3) coldhearted, murderous, merciless, personas. We haven't even seen much of them yet, but I love them already. Did you see how they didn't even flinch as they walked away from the exploding truck? And their metal skull-tipped boots? Perfect. They are obviously capable of some terrible shit, and I'm so excited to see it all go down this season.
• Come to think of it, Tuco was awesome too. Vince Gilligan is great at creating villains.
• Seeing Jesse sad makes me sad. I love Aaron Paul. I hope he gets nominated again this year.
• VG, John Shiban, 10:13pm. The minute I pay respects to TXF.
• LOOK AT THIS. The Cousins in a fucking old persons' home. The juxtaposition makes my brain scream. With delight.
• WALTER WHITE. Holy shit. Tio's bell ringing. And then ringing again and again and again, what a buildup, what a climax. See? So far, all Cousins scenes have been absolute perfection. They haven't even uttered one word yet. They truly define what it is to be badass. I'm in love. Thank you, Vince Gilligan and writers.
• Jesse had to leave his aunt's house because the family that lived there sold it. But I guess BB and crew struck up a new deal with the new owners.
• White, Pinkman, Goodman. White and Pink, both colors not necessarily associated with villains. Good man -- a joke, pretty much. Saul is as slimy as they get.
• Eyeball continuity. I dig it.
• SO GOOD. I can't even stand it. That entire last bit with the Cousins entering Walt's house. Silhouetted in the doorway. Seen behind baby Holly's mobile. Axe swinging between them. Slowly picking up the eyeball. They are perfection, period.
• I'm also digging the Spanish episode titles. Hope that will continue.

The Office, 30 Rock

The Office -- Happy Hour, 6.21

As I watch, still:

• Kevin's pantomime is like a less funny version of Keith's (UK), which was masterful.
• I find Pam shrill and annoying. She looks cute though.
• Okay, Kevin's shrillness is funny though.
• I'm glad Isabelle shows up every once and a while, if only for the Dwight interaction.
• Is Date Mike related to Prison Mike? Hope not.
• More Kelly and Ryan!
• What is this place anyway? It looks like Dave & Busters or an adult Chuck-E-Cheese.
• Why doesn't Pam or Jim just tell Michael to stop? Annoying.
• Andy and Erin are the cutest couple ever. I say that every Office post, I know.

30 Rock -- Floyd, 4.16

• First of all, I am SO excited for this episode. I adore Floyd. And only about 30% of that is my crush on Jason Sudeikis. By far my favorite of the LL exes.
• Oh no, his fiance's name is Kaitlyn (or some variation thereof). Jealous forever.
• What happened to The Pranksmen? They should strike back against the Silver Panthers.
• I love this show's score.
• Liz's date haircut makes her look like Megan Mullally.
• She considers her relationship issues. One of only a few serious moments in the show, if I'm not mistaken.
• So this is not the end of Floyd episodes! He's also getting married. Sigh.

Parks and Recreation - Summer Catalog, 2.20

As I watch!

• Nice cold open! I wonder how much of that Aziz improvised.
• Is that sex offender in the photo Mike Schur?
• "Can you photoshop your life with better decisions, Jerry?" - April
• Pitch meeting reminiscent of The Camel episode. And I dig that picture of Tom. "I bet he's wondering why his cup's so small." - April
• Anndanowitz. I like it.
• "I only had one breakfast." - Ron
• Leslie, unlike Michael Scott, is a good role model. I love how she always sticks up for her beliefs.
• Oh no. April obviously thinks this is a date.
• Tom paired with the Boring Couple was a good idea. I don't know if I'll miss Mark at all when he leaves. "We do look miserable." - Mark. Foreshadow!
• Aww, Andy when he realizes how young she is. This is sad.
• Five bucks says Ron's "usual" is a breakfast plate.
• Yup.
• Apparently Leslie loves breakfast too! Cute relationship.

Community - The Science of Illusion, 1.20

"I don't even deserve this buddhist meteor wand!" - Pierce

Community has such a firm, down-to-earth grip on its characters. This is a testament to the intelligence of the writers and creator. Because it's a comedy, it can use outlandish situations and dialogue to point out, for instance, how much of a buzzkill Britta is. It wouldn't exactly be categorized as meta, I think, particularly because of the more blatant meta-comments Abed typically makes. But the fact that the show is so open about exploring and exploiting the naturally occurring idiosyncrasies of each wacky, offbeat character, is what makes Community so fun to watch on multiple levels.

I loved this episode for its references to buddy cop shows and amphibian-Chang mystery. Abed's perspective, as always, provided the meta, jumping in only to play the much needed black boss stereotype. It was rewarding to watch this episode after finishing Veronica Mars today - the mysteries, albeit much more complex, are admittedly similar sometimes (though VM is truly the most innovative of the mystery programs!). And I appreciated the black boss character Abed affected (The X-Files, Grey's Anatomy, FlashForward, so many more).

Another golden moment was near the end when the group cried together. And the tag: Troy and Abed in the morning!

FlashForward - Revelation Zero, Pts. 1 & 2, 1.11-12

FlashForward is so dumb. I love it.

The primary basis for an FBI investigation on a worldwide supernatural phenomena? A public website where civilians post their experiences. Don't remember parts of your blackout? Just take a drug, you'll remember it all.

Discrepancies include:

• Simon being inducted into the FBI
• Mark being given a second chance, even with therapy
• Is the occurrence of the FlashForwards a factor in the future one sees? The window washer saw himself as a successful speaker, which he only began to pursue solely because he saw himself as such. Mark's primary leads on the case are from his future cork board collage.
• Concerning the last point, as further inquiry: Bryce doesn't commit suicide because he sees a happy future. Yet he doesn't pull the trigger because he sees this fate. This leads me to believe the FlashForwards' future(s; Simon brings up that each is only a possible future, and each person could foresee a separate, individual future) are reliant on the FlashForwards themselves. However...
• ...I may not be thinking this through clearly enough, but I believe this presents a paradox. Maybe I shouldn't think too hard about FlashForward in general. I watch it more as a comedy. It's just another installment in my Thusday comedy night.

I noticed while watching the credits that Paul Rabwin works on FF. Interesting. It's a step down.

The Office - New Leads, 6.20

Another Office reminiscent of the golden, olden days of earlier seasons! Since I've had a busy week and I'm still studying, some brief points:

• A rare Toby talking head! How I've missed Toby and his endearing-turned-creepy love for Pam. Good 'ol seasons three and four.
• "Pam texted back saying we could give them all iPods." Christmas Party much?
• Michael and Dwight talking about their former relationship, another throwback. "Hope grows in the dump."
• I'm absolutely loving the Andy/Erin tags we've been getting recently. Cutest office romance since PB&J. However, the cinematography on their kiss was inconsistent with the documentary we're supposedly witnessing... It used to be what made The Office unique, but now that Modern Family and Parks & Rec use it (among others?) and it isn't part of the story anymore, it seems pretty useless. It's mostly used now as ModFam uses it - only for talking heads and an organic, handheld camera feel. No more interacting with the cameramen, nor any indication they actually exist. I liked it better when they asked the tough questions in asides, or were shut out of private meetings (though they're the reason, I assume, we didn't witness Cecelia's birth firsthand), or meddled in employees' love lives. Oh well.
• We actually got some Kelly/Ryan banter too! Good episode. Good throwbacks. Keep it up, Office!