I don't think there's been another television protagonist I've wanted to punch in the face as much as Bill Henrickson. Not Don Draper. Not Sookie Stackhouse. There's something about Bill's smug obliviousness in the face of the sheer misery he inflicts on others nearly everywhere he goes that makes me wish I could physically reach into the television and smack him. And like many of the episodes in the fourth season, this premiere didn't offer enough of a balance of other characters and plots to make him slightly tolerable. I'm trying to be optimistic about the writers bringing it all to a good close this year, but that idiot is testing my patience.
Skins
- I don't think I realized quite how many times I'd watched the original Skins pilot from the UK until I watched MTV's take. Because the mirroring of shots and dialogue was seriously jarring and the lived-in quality that the young British actors brought to their characters was largely absent. I'll keep watching, mainly because I'm interested to see whether the show can forge an identity that's unique, but right now I'm mostly doubtful.
- So, if you're going to completely reshoot your first episode with an entirely new cast, why on earth would you keep what is easily its worst subplot? Not only were the scenes with the drug dealer still tonally inconsistent with the rest of the material, but they completely botched the play on words with his name. Of all the slang they elected to keep in that's distinctly and obviously British, they change that?
Parks and Recreation
I don't really have much specifically to say about this particular episode, just that having Parks and Rec back is like a soothing balm for the soul. And I wish I could have the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness in poster form. Get on it, NBC store!
Also Watched: How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, Greek, Lights Out, The Good Wife, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Off the Map, Top Chef, Community, 30 Rock
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