We missed you last week, but don’t think we forgot about you as we crammed our faces with mashed potatoes and had awkward conversations with our long-lost cousins. We still watched lots of TV, and now we bring you an overstuffed edition of Swell-o-vision vs. Hell-o-vision. We even threw in some Thanksgiving leftovers for you to chew on!
Swell:
Community‘s foosball antics
Shirley was the Pele of foosball, making the rock dance like Baryshnikov and bounce like Shakira, and the flashback to young Jeff and young Shirley was hilarious, but it was guest-star Nick Kroll as a human foosball player (.gif above) who really scored in this great episode of Community. Also, that .gif will never get old. Ever.
Raising Hope‘s Wizard of Oz ending
The wacky yet poignant reveal outed Patton Oswalt’s character as the man behind the curtain, playing a “fake” Andrew Dice Clay. And each member of the Chance family walked away with a renewed sense of courage, heart, etc.
Survivor‘s Cochran teasing Jeff Probst at Tribal Council
When explaining to Jeff why he can’t talk strategy with Brandon he said, “Talking strategy with Brandon is like talking to you about shirts that aren’t blue. He just doesn’t comprehend it. It’s not in his vocabulary.”
Suburgatory‘s Thanksgiving episode
The whole neighborhood dressed as pilgrims and greeted each other with the phrase “Gobble gobble!” And Dallas named her new dog Yakult, after her “favorite probiotic drink.”
American Horror Story‘s apocalyptic intentions
For a show that trafficks in the ludicrous, this week’s episode really upped the ante of crazy with the new revelation that one of Vivien’s unborn babies is indeed the anti-christ, and that its birth will hasten the end of the world. And p.s. this is a secret known only by two people: a local Craiglist medium named Billie Dean and THE POPE.
The Walking Dead does its midseason finale right
Tempers flared, secrets were revealed, and the final minutes of the episode showed us what this series is capable of when it stops talking about the same things over and over. An outstanding way to head into break.
Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein let someone Put a Bird on It
After IFC’s legal team took down one crafty woman’s satirical homage to anti-corporate sketch show Portlandia—a bag featuring one of the show’s slogans—stars Armisen and Brownstein personally made an effort to see that silly copyright infringement didn’t a thing of the past. It’s nice to know that some people get it.
Parks and Recreation‘s romance
The last two episodes have excellently balanced the show’s own brand humor with good old-fashioned Party Down?)
Hell:
Piers Morgan’s research skills
The CNN host, in talking about the recently deceased comic Patrice O’Neal, repeatedly referred to to him as “she.” Oops. Way to be a news reporter, Piers. R.I.P. Patrice, we know you were the MAN.
The extended flashback on Homeland
We get that it was important to explain how Brody became who he is, but the lengthy peek into his bonding with a little boy came off as overly sentimental and ended up draining much of Homeland‘s tension and mystery. Hate to say it, but the more backstory we learn, the less interesting things become.
Dexter‘s “surprise” “twist”
[Spoiler!] As many viewers had surmised for, oh, about six weeks, an important villain was revealed to be the figment of someone else’s imagination. Considering the revelation wasn’t that shocking, what did it leave us with? Frustrating, tension-free episodes as we waited for the truth to come out. Come on, Dexter, you’re better than that!
The new “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” commercial
It’s no wonder she got sick! She ate her volleyball trophy!
Depressing reality-show eliminations
Two out of ANTM‘s three finalists are very difficult to root for because their personalities just seem awful. And it seems like Top Chef Texas has broken our hearts several weeks in a row now. Why do all the nice contestants have to get sent home?
This trailer for TLC’s Virgin Diaries, which airs this Sunday
The show follows adult virgins, and one story centers on the couple above, who saved their first kiss for their wedding. Now, about the video: Wait for it, waaaaait for it, waaaaaaaaaaait for it. Ewwwwww.
What made your list of TV love and hates this week?
