Moonlighting 5×05-5×08: I got a chance to watch some more Moonlighting episodes recently, so now I’m very close to finishing off Season 5 (and the entire series). It’s almost painful to watch these eps, though, because it’s like I can see the writers straining to provide the same kind of snappy dialogue that made the show so popular in the first place. It seems that every episode have David and Maddie talking over each other for no reason than just to exhibit that trademark simultaneous dialogue. But whereas this conceit worked in the first couple of seasons because of the underlying sexual tension, in this fifth season, it just felt like a tired ruse.

As for the episodes themselves… meh. I watched “Shirts and Skins”, “Take My Wife, for Example”, “I See England, I See France, I see Maddie’s Underpants”, and “Those Lips, Those Lies”, and none of them were memorable. “I See England, I See France” was a dumb Weekend at Bernie’s ripoff that featured a particularly ridiculous scene at the end where Maddie believes she’s in hell or something. “Those Lips, Those Lies” was pretty bad, too. Here again, it was as though the writers were simply reaching for something that worked in the past (in this case, an appearance by David’s brother Richard), but that fell completely flat when recycled.

At least I know the show was put out of its misery soon after these eps aired. Only 5 more to go now!

Castle 3×02 — “He’s Dead, She’s Dead”: This episode was a bit better than the premiere, but not by much. It still didn’t seem like Castle and Beckett were wholly comfortable with each other and back in that BFF mode like from the middle of S2. Perhaps that’s to be expected for another week or two.

The case in this one was OK. I enjoyed the way the supernatural elements allowed Castle and Beckett to do a Mulder/Scully impersonation (complete with Castle calling Beckett “Scully”), with Castle believing everything and Beckett maintaining scientific perspective. I was hoping for a bit more closure on that end, though. For instance, it would have been awesome to see Castle and Beckett sitting around the Ouija board at the end instead of Castle and his mom. Oh, the questions he would have asked it!

Incidentally, I used to have a Ouija board, and I loved it! I haven’t seen it in years, though. The last time I had it out, I think one of the questions I asked was what was the best way to lose weight after my pregnancy. The thing spelled “d-i-e” (which freaked me out) and then finally hit the “t”. Ha! I know my friend Janet totally did that on purpose, but she won’t admit it even to this day!

I can’t believe Castle and his ex-wife are still officially a couple. At least they’re not showing Gina to us, which would probably just piss me off. I need Castle and Beckett to start flirting again!!! Maybe next week.

I’m always looking for a good comedy to add to my regular viewing rotation. I’ve heard some very positive things about the NBC sitcom Community, which just kicked off its second season last week. It stars Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, and Alison Brie as a group of misfit students at a community college. The students are all at various stages in their lives and are such a mismatch for each other that it sure seems there would be a lot of comedic potential for the show.

My plate was so full last year that I didn’t have a chance to catch any eps, but now that the Community Season 1 DVDs are on sale at Buy.com for just $30.99 with free shipping, I think I might just roll the dice and order the set. After all, I attended community college for a year, so I’m well aware of the different issues that those students face (as opposed to students at four-year schools). The exploits on Community just might remind me of my days on campus all those years ago!

Anyway, I’ll start recording the season 2 episodes in case I end up liking Season 1 enough to want to continue. It shouldn’t take me too long to catch up!

Hawaii Five-0 1×01 — “Pilot”: I chose this show as my new one of the season, and have to say that it does have some promise. I’m not sold on Alex O’Laughlin quite yet because his wooden delivery made me think of Keanu Reeves far too many times, but I could probably get used to him. I was pleasantly surprised by Scott Caan as Danno. I have not liked Caan in anything I’ve ever seen him in, so I was fully expecting to hate him here too. But he was the best out of the core four cast members. It’s going to take some getting used to Daniel Dae Kim as anyone other than Jin, and the jury is still out on the woman (forgot her name). The plot was forgettable, but then again, few pilots are ever strong in that area. I’m willing to give this show half a season to see if I’ll stick with it or not.

Cougar Town 2×01 — “All Mixed Up”: I enjoyed this premiere — even moreso than this week’s Modern Family, to tell you the truth. I just really like the dynamic that this ensemble cast brings to the screen in every episode. In fact, the core group is so tightly knit that even a guest-starring appearance by Jennifer Aniston — whom I usually like — felt very awkward and out of place. I think the group works best when they interact with each other.

Anyway, getting back to the ep. There were a couple of quotes that had me laughing out loud. First, this one from Laurie: “I don’t miss people, I dismiss them!” and from Jules, “It’s like saying ‘I hate you’ without all the mean words.” Ha! Loved the Travis/Laurie interaction, and thought the guy were funny as usual when they were together. Plus, wine-drinking for no reason, Grayson’s movie game, and 2pm siestas… this was a great ep! Oh, and I loved the “Still” in front of “Cougar Town” on the title card (a reference, of course, to how there was talk that the show should change its name since it’s not really about CC being a cougar.)

Criminal Minds 6×01 — “The Longest Night”: Hmm, I have to say I didn’t really enjoy this episode, which is odd because I liked the first part. I think the main reason was that Tim Curry and the girl Ellie were featured so prominently — and I found both to be extremely off-putting. The Curry character turned my stomach for obvious reasons. Kudos to whomever decided to fuck his teeth up like that because it just made Billy Flynn even more disgusting. But Ellie was troublesome as well. Was it just me, or was she smirking/smiling an awful lot for someone who is a hostage and who just helped — albeit inadvertently — kill an innocent man?

As to everything else… meh. Morgan being a jerk, JJ calling on her “gifts” as a mother, Dave being detached, Reid being Reid. This show is on the bubble with me for a reason. I’m going to give it five more episodes before deciding whether to dump it or not.

Modern Family 2×01 — “The Old Wagon”: It was great to have Modern Family back last night! This is the one show I was truly looking forward to seeing again after the long summer hiatus. I think my expectations might have risen to outlandish heights, however, because I somehow felt a bit let down by the premiere. There were some funny lines, including Jay’s, “That was my Vietnam… and I was in Vietnam” and Phil’s, “They don’t make these anymore,” (aside) “For legal reasons!” But other than those two lines and Phil’s “Iron cross!” as he tried to get his bicycle down in the very first scene, nothing else stood out for me.

The Manny/Sophia (I’m totally blanking on the character’s name for some reason) storyline felt forced, as did the Dunphy family with their old station wagon. The Princess Castle was the best, but not exactly laugh-out-loud funny.

Well, most shows are slow to get off the ground when the new season starts, so I doubt this is anything to worry about. Modern Family will find its rhythm soon!

Glee is something of a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m not completely sold on the show, as many of the storylines are utterly ridiculous, but there have been plenty of great moments as well. I usually enjoy the performances, of course, and anytime Jane Lynch is on the screen, I’m pretty much assured of a laugh-out-loud moment.

Even though I’m undecided about the show as a whole, there’s no questions that I want to buy the Glee Season 1 Blu-Ray set. Who wouldn’t want to be able to watch that amazing rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” from the pilot or any of the other memorable numbers? I can play them over and over again to my heart’s content. Plus, I can skip right past all the ridiculous stuff, like Will not knowing that his wife was faking her pregnancy or Finn believing he got Quinn pregnant just from sitting in a hot tub with her.

The biggest selling point has got to be all the extras included in the set, such as interviews with cast members, a sing-along karaoke feature, a dance tutorial, and more. That totally sounds like a Gleek’s dream come true!

Anyway, the Glee Season 1 Blu-Ray set is on sale right now at Buy.com. It’s just $49.94 with free shipping, which is a pretty good price for Blu-Ray. I’ll have to order this as soon as I can… and in the meantime, I better go watch the Season 2 premiere, which has been sitting on my DVR for a few hours now!

Castle 3×01 — “A Deadly Affair”: Well, I was really looking forward to the Season 3 premiere of Castle, but was a bit disappointed in the episode itself. Sure, I loved seeing all the characters again, but the entire hour seemed “off” in some significant way. Clearly it was because everyone had to pretend to be mad at Castle for not calling, so the usual joking and bantering were nowhere to be found. I guess that was to be expected, as Castle was gone all summer and neither Beckett nor he knew where they stood with each other anymore. Admittedly, it would have been less believable if they just got right back into their old routine like nothing ever happened, but still… let’s hope this awkwardness doesn’t last very long.

The case itself wasn’t that great. I’m glad they didn’t go the “Breaking Bad” route, especially after mentioning the show, and thought the counterfeiting seemed feasible. (I’ve actually heard about washing old notes clean in order to print them with higher denominations, as that was in a book I read.) I did like that Beckett let Castle win (though of course he had to otherwise there would be no show). I guess she does want him around!

Can’t wait til next week!