Thursday Night: "Grey's Anatomy," "The Office," "Survivor," "CSI," "My Name Is Earl"
Posted September 28th, 2007 by Rich Heldenfels
Notes and spoilers if you haven't watched yet, in series alphaetical order, after the jump …
"How many Emmys do you get for treating a deer?"
Well, I fudged a little with "CSI," fast-forwarding to near the end to see if Sara bought it or not. And it's a testament to William Peterson's acting that I still felt a tug of emotion as he looked at Sara in the helicopter. But that may not mean she's going to be around long; TVGuide.com is reporting, based on sources, that Jorja Fox still doesn't have a new contract with the show and she will be gone in November. And TVG's Michael Ausiello is chummy with Fox, and has an interview with her online — although Fox is coy about her future in the formal interview.
"Grey's Anatomy" was a disappointment in almost every way. One diehard fan told me this morning that she may not be back for more. I did like the milder tone (that is, no one died in this episode), and I'll always watch Bailey and the Chief, and Cristina with her interns was fun. Also, Alex's smirk after he told his interns not to complain. But let's look at some of the big gaffes.
Starting with three words for Izzie: CALL A VETERINIAN!! She has time to sit and study deer anatomy online, but doesn't think to call a vet? She's an idiot, and still poison for George.
Another gripe: Meredith's sister has been to med school, and doesn't know that introducing yourself in the middle of an ER crisis is a bad idea? Another: They're doing an Addison on Callie, taking a formerly strong character and making her soft and weak. And obviously there's more punishment to come for Callie, what with George being a complete idiot about Izzie.
Speaking of George, if the intern gossip has included Izzie's killing a guy, don't you think someone would know that he's repeating his internship — and he's married to the chief resident? Anyone? Anyone?
Too much aggravation.
"My Name Is Earl," which I had seen before telecast but didn't get around to blogging about, was a sturdy show. And it did a nice job of maintaining the issue of the list while keeping Earl in jail. Lots of comic possiblities there for the future. And the present included such delights as Joy's rubber band and Randy's car theft.
And how very funny was Ben Foster?
Two connective thoughts about "The Office": Between it and "Grey's," it was not a good night for animals. Between it and "Earl," we saw that an hour of a sitcom is plenty manageable, even when those hours are structured so they can be neatly split into two half-hours for syndication.
And, while there have been weeks when I found "Earl" to be funnier than "The Office," this was not one of them. "Earl" was sturdy. "The Office" was creepy-brilliant.
Meredith hit by the car. Kevin and Oscar studying the mating habits of Jim and Pam. Jan threatening Pam.
Here's an episode I would like to see: Jan suspecting Angela has her eyes on Michael. What a throwdown that could lead to.
More goodies: The deep blush on Jim when the documentary makers show them the car footage. (That was one of several reminders about the docu crew; there was also the doctor eyeing the camera.) Dwight, Angela and Sprinkles. This was really creepy in my house, where one of our cats died not long ago, but still funny. And I should note that the actress who plays Angela has been on the cover of at least one cat magazine.
I read them at the vet's.
Creed's creeds. The guys' escaping the 5K. The way the route wasn't in a circle. Michael's knowing the "nurse." It was just nonstop funny.
Finally, "Survivor." Goodbye, Ashley, fangs for the memories. Mildly entertaining but I'm not yet feeling must-see about it.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
During The Office, when it became increasingly obvious what Dwight had done to the cat (and the moment Angela asked him to give the cat its medicine, I turned to my wife and said "Dwight's going to kill the cat."), I swear that both of our cats perked up their ears, turned, and stared at us as if to threaten our lives if we ever attempted to do that to either one of them . . .
September 28th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I love "The Office" premiere too! Lots of laughs while setting up the season nicely. It's great to see that the show continues to take, in its own little way, brave strides. I'm sure the writers could have kept Jim and Pam apart longer if they had wanted, but I'm glad they didn't. It'll be interesting to see how the writers manage their relationship from here onwards. Jan versus Angela would be great! Throw Kelly in the mix and we would have the fight of the year
It's great to have "The Office" back, and I look forward to the subsequent episodes!
September 28th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
As the owner of a very suspicious cat, I completely believe what happened to you, Gus. And the more I think about the episode, the more I like it, _bales. In fact, I'm watching it again. One qualm: Shouldn't they put images of Ryan with his new look in the opening credits? More joys: Pam defending her celebrity video order: "It all happened so fast!" " 'Stitious." Phyllis's "I'm a Lutheran and Bob is a Unitarian. It keeps things spicy." (And Angela's response: "That's why we're cursed!")
October 5th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
So many shows so little time! AHHHHH