FTW vs. WTF: The TV Week in Review (September 28–October 4)
This week, three of your trusty TV.com editors left the Best Coast for a business trip to New York City, and while we were there, we saw all of the Big Apple's most famous sites. We visited that tall building that appeared in all those How I Met Your Mother episodes and that Lily compared to sex—you know, the Umpire State Building or whatever it's named. We walked through the place where all the subway trains go and where everyone passed out except for Gary in the Season 2 finale of Alphas, leaving us with a huge, unresolved cliffhanger; it was called the Grand Center Station or something or other. And remember that big arena that Seinfeld's Jerry and George were riding home from in a limo home when they got mistaken for Neo-Nazis? Madison Sphere Gardens? We dropped by that one, too! Apparently New York City has other stuff besides backdrops for television shows, but we didn't really bother with it because we like to focus on more important details... like the highlights and lowlights of the week in TV! Read on to find out what made this week's list...
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't finished watching this week's new episodes (of Person of Interest, Sleepy Hollow, The Bridge, etc.), we suggest that you hold off on reading this story until you do.
FTW:
The Simpsons' kicked off Season 26 with an awesomely bizarre couch gag
Even though the way-too-overhyped major character death didn't quite connect, the long-running 'toon opened big with a weirdo couch gag by Don Hertzfeldt (the man behind the Oscar-winning animated short Rejected), who put together one of the strangest intros the show has ever done. It was glorious. Rub some on your flippers and get this in your eye hole!
FTW:
Hey, the Family Guy/Simpsons crossover was actually pretty good!
We went in a little nervous, but we came out pleasantly surprised.
FTW:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back!
And just like Jake said when he reunited with Capt. Holt in the surveillance van, we've "missed this." Also: How are we all feeling about Boyle and Gina's little secret?
FTW:
Phineas and Ferb get Lost, with some expert help
Damon Lindelof has had a long and complicated relationship with the, um, "divisive" response to the Lost finale. So perhaps it's not surprising that the story he contributed to the Phineas and Ferb episode "Lost in Danville" (written and storyboarded by Eddie Pittman and J.G. Orrantia) was contained more meta-jokes about that response than direct parodies of the show itself. Still, a mysterious capsule that threatened to unravel the universe for… reasons… was a perfect fit for the boys' backyard, as was Terry O'Quinn as Doof's laconic new foil Professor Mystery. And yes, a polar bear showed up with Lawrence's voice, because why not.
FTW:
Sleepy Hollow's newest monster is a baller
Originally created by Benjamin Franklin and enchanted by Katrina's coven, the titular creature of Monday's "The Kindred" rivals the Horseman in both power and badassitude. After Ichabod and Abbie raised him, he simultaneously took on the Horseman and Henry's SuperSuit... and he made it look easy. Sure, his whereabouts are currently unknown, and it's not a given that he's actually "good," but holy sh*t that dude is cool.
FTW:
The boys nearly ruin Schmidt's big opportunity at work as New Girl continues its early hot streak
We're as into Jess and Nick as anyone else, but boy has New Girl rebounded without the central romantic pairing dragging it down. This week's episode separated the group according by gender, as Schmidt tried to use Nick, Coach, and Winston to land the prestigious sponge account at work, and with very entertaining results. Winston and Coach are still lovable goofballs, but the first few episodes of Season 4 have done great work in reestablishing Nick and Schmidt as best friends/polar opposites, and New GIrl is better for it.
FTW:
Samaritan asserts itself on Person of Interest
What started out as a simple "save this random troubled person" episode of CBS's techno-procedural evolved into a fantastic, mythology-heavy hour as the enemy artificial intelligence began recruiting genius youngsters to do its bidding. And just to make things even creepier, Samaritan also began devouring its rival super-smart computer systems. All that and the team found a new subterranean clubhouse! That's two great episodes to kick off Season 4 in what could be the series' most ambitious and serialized arc to date.
FTW:
The Bridge closes out a fine second season with a cool finale
One of the summer's best dramas wrapped up a much-improved sophomore run in wonderful fashion. Marco got his man in Galvan, Sonya got her woman in Eleanor, and the scummy Agent Buckley got his. Of course, the drug trade will go on; let's hope The Bridge does, too.
FTW:
Space Dandy didn't save anime, but it did manage to save itself
The series' rough first season (or kūru, if you prefer) relied too heavily on parodying space adventure tropes that it executed in lazy, half-assed ways. Also, too many lame sex jokes. But the show found a groove toward the end of Season 1, and Season 2 continued the trend by evolving from a collection of space adventures into a showcase for up-and-coming writers, animators, and directors in Japan. Each one brought his or her own unique sensibilities to the wacky world of Space Dandy; the results included everything from a mash-up of 21 Jump Street and Glee to an exploration of happiness, sadness, and death to a trip through the literal dimensions of love. The show became an unpredictable delight, and while finale wasn't the its strongest episode, as a way to wrap up the season as well as a not-so-subtle needling of Neon Genesis Evangelion, it was more than enough.
FTW:
Scarlett and Gunnar are writing again on Nashville and all is right with the world
Maybe it was only one song, and maybe Scarlett decided that she can't get back into this thing with Gunnar again, but for a few minutes this week, it was nice to be reminded of how great those two are together—as musicians, and as a couple.
FTW:
FX renews You're the Worst
FTW:
Star Wars Rebels is a new hope for Star Wars on TV
After the unfortunate but not unexpected shuttering of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the issue of whether Star Wars Rebels would be any good was something of a question mark. Well, rest assured that Rebels is a charming and fun new entry to the Star Wars franchise. Since it's not as tethered to the films as its predecessor was, the series boasts a litheness and freedom to the series that previously only peaked when The Clone Wars was at its very best.
FTWTF:
Netflix signs an exclusive deal for FOUR Adam Sandler movies
The streaming service made another big move to expand its brand, grabbing exclusive rights to a quartet of films produced by and starring the guy who made up a Hanukkah song. Yeah, he's mostly been in decline since Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, but his flicks still make money, so this may end up being a huge step forward for Netflix as it continues to redefine what an internet video company can be.
FTWTF:
Virginia bets big on herself and loses it all in Masters of Sex's Season 2 finale
Look, anytime that you start to believe that the best way to maintain custody of the children you barely pay attention to in the first place is to give them up and then wait for a CBS news report to highlight your sex study, you should probably reevaluate your decision-making skills. Poor Virginia, but we can't deny that Masters of Sex ended on a high note.
WTF:
The Lottery never turned out to be a winning ticket
Despite the promise in its premise, The Lottery was an uninspired and dull mess. The show's scientists were more like Keystone Kops, investigating the cause of the infertility crisis that the president ended up being responsible for. Somehow? The layers of "intrigue"—from the First Lady trying to nab a lottery entrant's baby to a presidential assassination plot to a group of rebels looking to overthrow the government—ended up reminding us of that line from Community's conspiracy theory episode: "When you conspire with everyone you come across, you're not really conspiring with anyone. You're just doing random crap."
WTF:
TV reaches a new low point with Stalker
One of the worst new broadcast shows of the fall makes all the other iffy/bad shows look better by comparison. Stalker is tone deaf, exploitative, and more interested in setting people on fire than it is in actually examining the societal ramifications of stalking.
WTF:
Bad Judge should be held in contempt of everything
NBC's Kate Walsh comedy feels like it's been Frankenstein'd together from pieces of failed pilots; the show is a total mess, thanks to an unlikable central character (a hard partying judge!) and an odd attempt to add depth via an underprivileged kid. Walsh is great, and she deserves much better.
WTF:
So now The Vampire Diaries is now going through True Blood's dirty laundry
It's nice to have Alaric back this season, but TVD devoted too much of its Season 6 premiere to Elena and the magical, mystical drugs that allow her to see a version of Damon that exists in her subconscious. As a coping mechanism, it got old kind of quickly, and since we don't really want to see her just mope around until Damon ultimately returns from wherever it is that he and Bonnie are hanging out (what's with the plaid, Damon?), we were relieved when she tried to give it up. But when she asked Alaric to compel away her love for Damon in the episode's final moments, the first thing that came to mind was that True Blood did the same thing with Hoyt and Jessica several years ago (only to have him return for a poorly done final-season arc). Apparently The CW's vamps got tired of reusing their own storylines and decided to try HBO's.
WTF:
Carlton Cuse says Lost will probably be rebooted one day
The former Lost co-boss has said this kind of thing before, and he's almost certainly right—corporations don't let valuable properties just sit there, after all. But the world isn't ready for a Lost reboot, a Lost spin-off, or a Lost anything else. Twitter isn't ready. Please no.
WTF:
John Rocker lives up to type on Survivor
Look, you don't cast noted racist, homophobe, and all-around lame-o John Rocker unless you expect him to show up and act like a douche. Survivor producers got their wish in just five days, when Rocker lost a competition to his current girlfriend. Naturally, America's protector of traditional masculinity, Jeff Probst, poked Rocker about the loss, and Rocker explained that he wasn't just mad about losing—he was mad about losing to a girl. #NotAllMen, right?
WTF:
Frozen sends a chill (the bad kind) through Once Upon a Time
Once upon a cha-ching! Disney, a.k.a. the lord overseer of ABC, just had to add a Frozen storyline to its fairy-tale drama. And it wasn't that good, nor was it needed. Also it involved an enormous CGI snow monster. OUAT is confusing enough as it is, and shoehorning in more corporate synergy just made it even more bloated.
What's on YOUR list of TV loves and hates this week? The series premieres of A to Z, Selfie, Manhattan Love Story, or Gracepoint? The Season 2 premiere of Reign? Meredith and Maggie's showdown on Grey's Anatomy? Ray Donovan's fatal Season 2 finale? Share your own FTWs and WTFs in the comments!
