CMI on TV

The toughest part of comedy on television is the dichotomy between making the audience laugh while simultaneously developing character in each of the various roles. A comedian on stage just has to make you laugh for one night. You aren’t going to watch him every week. (If you do, you might need to see someone about that.) However, to keep a TV audience returning week after week, the audience not only has to be amused, but also needs to identify with and come to care to some degree for the personalities in the show.

(If you are huge fan of Anchorman 2 and find the above paragraph absolute rubbish, let me know in the comments. Be forewarned; I may still ignore you.) 

I thought that this third episode of “Enlisted,” Pete’s Airstream, weaved both tasks well. We learn something new about every single role in this episode that makes each more unique, if not enduring. It elicits chuckles and the occasional guffaw, while elegantly introducing the complex,...

"Honey, you can't tell me that there's not one shred of doubt, one shred that wonders..."

And with that, Elizabeth Keane scuttles the potential adoption of a baby with her husband.

Far be it from me to claim expertise on the female psyche, but the logic of this baffles me. If I operated with the mindset that a shred of doubt should decide big decisions, I'd be curled up in the fetal position on my bed. I can't remember the last decision that I made that didn’t have at least some doubt.

Doubt arises from uncertainty, from an inability to know. Whether it is a failure to know all the facts before a decision needs to be made or questions about the ramifications of a decision, doubt constantly plagues the human condition. If you deny...

I have one word for Thursday's premier of Rake on Fox... disappointing. Much like main character Keegan Dean's, played by Greg Kinnear, case, the potential for a big payoff was there, but in the end, this episode just didn't pan out.

Going into this episode, I thought this show would be right up my alley. I enjoy lawyer dramas, main characters with a dynamic and edgy attitude, and clever one liners. While there is still room to find its stride, Rake's premier only partially followed through on the previews' promise of those characteristics.

On being a lawyer drama, the show succeeded. Sure, it would have been a shock on the level of the Miracle on Ice if it hadn't, but Rake still came through on that point.

On delivering clever one...

Apparently Sean and Gus aren't the only ones scared of Lassiter. Timothy Omundson guest stars on this latest episode of Supernatural as someone that even Crowley is terrified of: Cain.

As per usual, Supernatural takes liberties with the Biblical record of events. In this version, Cain is actually the hero -- sort of. He only becauomes evil in order to save his brother from an eternity in Hell. Although, as far as taking liberties with Scriptural accounts, Supernatural has done worse. And, as usual, Omundson is phenomenal.

Meanwhile, the Winchester relationship is still fracturered, and continues to be the underlying theme of the season. While Castiel tries to help Sam overcome his bitterness against Dean, Dean is reminded that hunting with Crowley means always having to watch your own...