 "Photo: AP")
How I met your new episodes
No longer must I worry about boring you with the latest episode of "My Dad is Better than Your Dad" or the television premiere of the MySpace show "Quarterlife." Television shows are finally starting to premiere new post-writers' strike episodes. This past Monday, one of my personal favorites came back on the air. "How I Met Your Mother" is one of the smartest, funniest sitcoms on today, next to "30 Rock" and "The Office." The writers not only craft hilarious joke-laden episodes but are also able to give the usual multi-camera sitcom formula a little post-modern kick in the pants. Through
narration and more flashbacks than an episode of "Lost," "Mother" is able to take the conventional sitcom and make it fresh. It also helps that the cast, including notables Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel, have ace comic timing and are willing to look as foolish as the writers wish. This week's episode, "No Tomorrow," featured Ted (Josh Radner) and Barney (Harris) hitting the town on St. Patty's Day and doing bad things, only to be rewarded for them (i.e., leaving their dates to get into a club full of drunk women, putting bottles of Dom on some dude's tab, doing belly shots ... that's actually not that bad I guess). Robin (Cobie Smulders) helps Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Segel) move into their dream apartment, which just happens to be tilted at a 20-degree angle. While not one of the best episodes (that title goes to "Slap Bet" from season two where the gang finds out that Robin's big secret is that she was a Canadian pop star), it was still a strong return from one of my favorite shows.
Misguided efforts
Tuesday night was the premiere of the ABC mid-season replacement "Miss Guided." Starring the wonderful Judy Greer, the show follows a high school guidance counselor and the wackiness that ensues in her office and around the campus. Greer has always been one of those actresses whom I thoroughly enjoy in her numerous supporting roles, and I anticipated her jump into the spotlight. From her turns in "Adaptation," "13 Going on 30" and "Elizabethtown," she's always on the cusp of breaking out. While Greer does a good job as Becky Freeley, the show itself is not all that wonderful. The style of the show is very jarring, jumping from regular old narrative scenes to ones where the characters break the fourth wall, almost in a confessional manner, "Real World" style. In a show like "The Office," the confessional aspect works because the show is meant to be like a documentary, whereas in "Miss Guided" it doesn't play at all. I'll stick with it for at least another episode mainly for Greer and Chris Parnell, who really makes anything worthwhile.
Go to 'L'
Sorry about this one's mediocre title, but I'm addicted to "The L Word" on Showtime. I like soapy, pulpy and raunchy shows such as "Nip/Tuck" or "Degrassi: The Next Generation." While "Gossip Girl" is still filming the rest of this season's episodes, I turned to the Showtime original series to get my fill of bitchy catfights. Not only does it have the plus of being about really good-looking lesbians, but plenty of strong characters and interesting arcs keep me coming back week after week. Sunday is the season finale, and whether it's your first episode or your 15th, "The L Word" is light, occasionally ridiculous and a hell of a good time.
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