From an argument over what the expectations should be for Modern Family (just jokes, or larger arc) to encomiums about Bert Cooper’s last day at SCDP on Mad Men, you had a lot to comment on this week. We picked out our favorites and highlighted them below; see if you made the cut.
Modern Family
This week’s commenters debated over whether Modern Family should be held to the standards of more narrative-driven shows.
“There is nothing at stake. This would be fine if MF was just another family sitcom, however it is supposed to be smarter and more ambitious than that. It’s weekly happy endings are dangerously trending towards being overly precious. The writers are painting themselves into a corner where they might have to turn to infidelity.
Also, Seinfeld actually had decent amount of plot arcs - Kramer moved to LA, George got engaged/his fiance died (spoiler alert?), Elaine’s on again off again Puddy relationship. The way it is going, Modern Family might turn into a real-life Simpsons where the story resets week to week.†—FoxconSox
“Am I missing the context of this review? I can’t tell if you’re serious about building to something or not. This show is not about building to anything. It’s celebrating the mundanities (that’s probabaly not a word) of family life. Last night’s was its usually laugh out loud self, while highlighting some character traits and quirks. Don’t think I need anything else†—Marc122
Glee
“The main problem I’m having with this season is that there is no cohesive plot through the last 3 episodes. Each episode stands alone, and it’s just annoying. It’s a serial choir show.†—ihearttomjones
“The negative tone of this review and basically every commenter confuses/surprises me. I thought the episode was touching and thought-provoking. This episode wasn’t only about religion, it was also about Kurt (and even some of the others) dealing with death/dying too, which no one has mentioned … I thought the Britney episode was absolutely atrocious. The only saving grace was the dancing. My favorite Glee episodes are the ones like this one, the ones that demonstrate that this show isn’t just about hearing your favorite songs worked into some soap opera-y storylines. The ones that show real issues (e.g., Kurt’s dad struggling with his homosexuality; Finn dealing with Kurt being gay and living together; Quinn telling her parents she was pregnant; Artie trying to accept he can never dance/walk, etc.) are the ones that garner my respect for the show and its writers.†—cundela
Dexter
“In no way do I want to absolve Fowler of anything he’s done, but when he talked about putting them out of their misery, I wondered if they were terminally ill or something. In other words, I wonder if we are supposed to think of Fowler like Dexter, a sick person trying to do the right thing. Perhaps that is why Stiles is involved. We’ll find out more about the kinds of women Fowler was targeting, maybe. Though I still won’t be surprised if Stiles turns out to be some little half-sister or something Dexter never knew he had. The show loves to do that. Or maybe his cousin.†—nelsphighberg
Mad Men
“I’m hoping Cooper isn’t gone for good–he may not serve much of a purpose at SCDP, but he’s a great character. Maybe he’ll try and pull a George Costanza/Larry David and just show up Monday morning like nothing happened. Or maybe he really will move to Montana to be with his beloved cattle (a spin-off I would watch).†—artgal987
“my obsession with figuring out why creepy Glenn is so creepy left me helplessly fixating on one thing: 92 (Glenn’s jersey number), 9-2=7. Sally hates 7s! DUN DUN DUN. (but seriously, Glenn is really freaking creepy.)
I think Betty’s moving announcement was the cattiest, most mean-girls strike and I loved it. if any adult woman ever needed a child psychiatrist, it’s Bets. her interactions with both the doctor and with Sally were some of the strongest examples of the conflicting child and adult sides of Betty that we’ve seen this season (which isn’t hard because we haven’t seen much of her). that childish competitive streak that leads her to order Sally to brush her teeth when she doesn’t need to, just to know that she CAN order her, is like a little girl playing mommy. Sally and Betty have been somewhat equal in their power struggle this season, but it seems like Glenn might be the tipping point. Sally pulling out his creepy little lanyard gift was definitely ominous to me. Part of me can’t wait to see if Glenn finally makes a move that pushes Sally to grow up just a little bit more and finally surpass her mom… but most of me is just really creeped out by him.†—sisterkaramazov
The Office
“S7’s off to a great start. It may feel like hollow attempts to some, but returning The Office to relationship-oriented subplots seems like they’re back on track and cognizant of what the show can offer at its best. I loved the group convening on stage at the end. It’s not common in real life, and something of an older TV cliche, but it still felt good.†—Chadams
How I Met Your Mother
“To continue the 70s female rock band theme, I propose this recap be renamed Magic Man in honor of Maury Povich’s omnipresence in last night’s episode - he was simultaneously on the bus with Ted and the train with Robin… Magic Man!†—yekaterina
Jersey Shore
“Ah, coke. Well that would explain his behavior. I had suspected ‘roid rage because it would NOT surprise me to know that Ol’ Mikey was really a juicehead after all….Did anyone catch that moment when Snooki was in the confessional (is that was they call it on JS or just on RW?) with her hair down looking sad when she thought Ryder wasn’t gonna make it? She looked… nice. She always looks so normal without the poof and a drunk face. Ah well.†—XoXoNH
How I Met Your Mother
“To continue the 70s female rock band theme, I propose this recap be renamed Magic Man in honor of Maury Povich’s omnipresence in last night’s episode - he was simultaneously on the bus with Ted and the train with Robin… Magic Man!†—yekaterina
Eastbound & Down
“This show is shaping up to be one I admire rather than like. I dig the truly bizarre direction it’s going in this season, there were moments out of David Lynch in last night’s show, but I don’t really find myself laughing or caring about what happens to Kenny. I do give the writers credit for nerve.†—NLM77
The Event
“I can’t wait to see what happens to the aliens when they eat meat! This show is growing on me!†—ArtStruck