What I Watched This Week: 4 Oct 2015

NEW SHOWS
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “The Funeral” (A-)
Great work as usual from Dean Winters as “The Vulture,” who serves as the new captain in the wake of Captain Dozerman’s (Bill Hader) heart attack. This show is notorious for throwing a wrench into things and then working them back out over the course of a few episodes. That would be a complaint, but unlike most sitcoms in recent memory, I was ‘shipping Jake and Amy so, so hard. I hope Archie Panjabi makes a few more appearances, and isn’t just being used as Boyle’s vegan(!) hook-up partner.

The Mindy Project – “The Bitch is Back” (A-)
A near-perfect episode that combines the physical comedy of someone getting breastmilk squirted in their face with the real-life drama of deciding whether to be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. Garret Dillahunt is great as the sexist Southern gentleman doctor, though I prefer his work as a buffoon. The office is getting a little crowder, but hopefully the show finds the right tone if Mindy decides to stick it out without her practice.

The Muppets – “Bear Left Then Bear Write” (B)
The weakest of the episodes so far, but still consistently funny. Kermit lying about Fozzie’s writing ability is old, old sitcom stuff, but the jokes still keep it from seeming too old hat. Though the Piggy-Christina Applegate rivalry doesn’t quite do it for me. If they’re going to make her hate every female celebrity, this is going to get tired very quickly. What I won’t get tired of? Celebrities playing asshole versions of themselves (see Nick Offerman and Liam Hemsworth in this episode).

OLD SHOWS
The Simpsons (Season 9) – “Das Bus” (B+)
This was one of my favorite episodes as a kid, for obvious reasons. As an adult, Homer’s Compuglobonet subplot is pretty dumb, but at least the whole episode’s not devoted to his latest hair-brained scheme. The Lord of the Flies material is probably the show’s best extended parody, and the U.N. jokes still slay today.

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