Last night’s new episode of How I Met Your Mother was called “The Best Burger in New York”, and it was — of all things — a filler ep! Right at the very beginning of the season! What was that all about? There was nothing about Barney and Robin, nothing about Ted and Stella, nothing new with Marshall and Lily… I know these fillers are standard fare in the grand scheme of the entire season, but to throw one out there as the second installment? Not a good play, IMO.
Ted/Barney/Robin/Lily/Marshall: There was just one storyline in the entire episode, and it involved the whole gang. Basically, Marshall has been losing his self-esteem because he can’t find a decent job. He lounges around the house in his underwear because he has no reason to put pants on, and eventually, his “underwear radius” starts extending to public places like diners.
The one thing that would get him back on track (besides a job) would be to find an obscure hole-in-the-wall burger joint where he had the best burger of his life the year he first moved to New York. He hasn’t been able to find the place since, but has been looking for it all this time. The rest of the gang realize that Marshall needs to have that burger experience again, so they go from place to place until they find it.
My Reaction: While there were a couple of funny parts in this episode (Robin licking the glue on the ATM deposit envelopes because she was so hungry), it mostly fell flat for me. Marshall-centric episodes rarely hit the right note, and this one was no different. The main storyline was kind of dumb (why hadn’t he ever put that much effort into finding the burger joint before that night?), and seemed like an unnecessarily elaborate way to let us know that Marshall is going to take a soul-sucking position at Barney’s bank. Yawn.
Also, while Robin’s extreme hunger did lead to a laugh with the envelope glue, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one ever offered her a bite of their burger since she was practically starving. Maybe she had a special order and that’s why it always took so long, but still… couldn’t they have offered her a fry? Give me a break.
This was probably one of my least favorite HIMYM episodes of all time. I’d like to just forget it ever happened, so next week’s ep can’t get here fast enough!
Desperate Housewives is one of my regular TV shows that is on the bubble with me this year. It hasn’t really been all that interesting since the beginning of Season 2, but I’ve been hanging on because a few episodes here and there have reminded me of how good the show can be when the scripts are right. Therefore, I decided to hang in for at least the first handful of episodes in Season 5 to see whether the 5-year time jump hurts the storylines or helps. If the premiere is any indication of what we can expect, it looks like we could be in for a good season!
As expected, the $100 million Shia LeBeouf/Michelle Monaghan thriller Eagle Eye was tops at the box office, opening with a weekend haul of $29.2 million. Despite generally negative reviews at its laughable, implausible plot, Eagle Eye beat out a slew of other new releases to claim the No. 1 spot. 
I’ve been a film buff for a long time now, and one of the questions I’m most frequently asked is whether or not I collect movie memorabilia. You know, framed prints, photos, 
I’ve wanted to go through Toni Morrison’s works for the longest time, but up until recently, had only read Beloved. I really enjoyed that novel, and was confident that I’d like Morrison’s other famous works, including The Bluest Eye, which has been on my “To Read” list for years. Well, I finally got around to reading that one, and it was indeed a thought-provoking story.
I finally finished the third season of Boston Legal, and I have to say that I have mixed feelings about the show now. While I still appreciate the witty, intelligent dialog, I’m getting a bit bored with other aspects. For instance, how is it possible that Alan Shore wins every single one of his cases? Scratch that, it’s not only Alan who wins; it’s the entire firm. These guys just don’t lose, which certainly takes away most of the suspense during the courtroom scenes. In fact, I barely even pay attention to the arguments anymore since I can guess the outcome anyway.
The Season 5 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy aired last night. It was an hour-long episode called “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, which I guess refers to A) Meredith’s dream that Derek died in a car accident; B) Cristina’s dream of her and Meredith as old ladies; and C) Izzie’s dream of Denny. Yeah, that’s right. Denny Du-freakin-quette.
Bones 4×01, 4×02, 4×03, 4×04, and 4×05: Yikes, five Bones episodes in here! This show started at the beginning of September, with a two-hour premiere, so that’s why there are so many. Eps 4×01 and 4×02 were called “Yanks in the U.K.”, and involved Booth and Brennan visiting England for various lectures and getting involved in a murder investigation. It was fun to see the different location, but many of the jokes felt forced, and the ep had such a different tone than the series usually has. Also, Angela and Hodges broke up, and Bones will have a rotating assistant of the week. Meh on both fronts.
House 5×01 and 5×02: The season premiere was called “Dying Changes Everything” and dealt with the aftermath of Amber’s death several months later. The big event in this one was that Wilson resigned from Princeton-Plainsboro and told House that they can’t be friends anymore. Other than that, there was WAY too much 13, which was highly annoying.
Entourage 5×01, 5×02, and 5×03: These episodes, called “Fantasy Island”, “Unlike a Virgin”, and “The All Out Fall Out”, respectively, mostly showed how Vincent Chase is coping with his new-found status as a box office bomb. I like how he’s now willing to play the Hollywood game (schmoozing and pandering the to right people in order to get a gig) instead of sticking with his whole “I don’t care” attitude. This new Vinnie seems much more realistic, so I hope the writers continue developing him this way for a while.
While I usually find precocious young actors to be supremely annoying, I think Abigail Breslin is a refreshing exception to that trend — which is actually a bit odd, since she almost always plays a too-smart-for-her-age character. The reason I’m so accepting of her probably has to do with the fact that she looks like a regular kid instead of a typical child star, and the fact that she actually has some acting skills instead of getting by on cuteness alone.
Barney/Robin: Barney confesses his true feelings about Robin to Lily, and engages her help in trying to get Robin to see him in a new way. Lily sets up a dinner for the whole group, but then bails out at the last minute, leaving Barney and Robin on their own. Barney tries being sensitive and “normal”, but that just serves to freak Robin out. He tells her that he has a nice side, which he exhibits the whole night. Robin is so impressed that she acts as Barney’s wing woman to hook him up with a hot waitress — right before Barney has a chance to tell her that he’s in love with her.