Men of a Certain Age 212 Review- When It Rains, It Pours

Joe- "Take it easy. Guys can play in the rain."

Albert- "Not old guys."

The structure of this second season of Men of a Certain Age created some mixed feelings for me, but the finale itself was an entertaining end to the summer session, as "Hold Your Finish" featured suspense, humor and a whole lot of drama, making it clear why Men has been one of the underrated shows on TV.

It's not often that all three of the stories of our main characters work well. Let me rephrase: It's not often that the Terry story works, and therefore, it is impossible for all three to come together.

That changed here, as I thoroughly enjoyed Terry's decision to embark on a new creative outlet in life. I was ready to take the whole thing down a few pegs when it looked like he might decide to go back to selling cars. The realization that he needed to grow up and settle down has been made so many times that doing it one more time would have been irritating.

Thankfully, Terry made the final decision to pursue a career in directing, and asked Erin to give him one year to see if it works. The show didn't go around in a circle for the 18th time with this character, but I completely agreed with Owen on the fact that Terry should try to do it on the side for a while.

To read the rest of my review of the Men of a Certain Age season two finale, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 212 - "Hold Your Finish"
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Men of a Certain Age 211 Review- Tooth of a Kind

Joe- "How ya feeling?"

Manfro- "Like ass. I got cancer, remember?"

It may have taken a stint as a bookie, all of his employees to quit the Party Shop, his own bookie knocking his tooth out, and an awkward run in with an old flame, but in "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" Joe Tranelli finally got his focus back on his goal: make the Senior Golf Tour.

It has been a long journey, but he's kicked the gambling addiction for the time being. There was a moment there - when Bill came to Joe wanting to make another bet - that I thought he was going to fall back into it, but thankfully he didn't. This man continues to grow, even though sometimes it doesn't feel like that's true.

What made that growth, and made Joe's plot, so interesting this week is that it kept building on itself. After he pushed Bill and his money away, and then gave his employees the respect and cash they deserved, I thought the montage of everyone playing golf and having a good time at Joe's Party Shop was the end of that story.

They were all so happy that it seemed to be the climax of Joe's trek in making his way back to the top.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Men of a Certain Age, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 211 - "Whatever Gets You Through The Night"
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Men of a Certain Age 210 Review- No More Bets

Joe- "You gotta do it right? You can't let people take advantage of you."

With these words to Owen, Joe helped his friend take care of business at work, while convincing himself to lay down the law with his new bookie business. Thankfully for Joe, only one of those circumstances came true in "Can't Let That Slide."

It seemed daunting to come back with another great episode after "A League of Their Owen," but by continuing to give Ray Romano and Andre Braugher terrific material to do their respective things - and allowing Scott Bakula's Terry to find himself in weirder and weirder situations that make for comic relief - enabled Men of a Certain Age put forth another quality hour of television.

Joe's trouble in dealing with the fact that he had somehow taken on his own side bookie business with some of Manfro's customers came to a climax when his new client bet five grand on Kentucky. The story became that much more interesting because I could have seen it going in a number of ways. Joe could have lost, but we've seen that before.

So he won - the Dukies pulled it out for him - but the client wasn't paying up. So, following his advice to Owen about not letting people take advantage, it seemed the addict was ready to take what was rightfully his. Honestly, I wouldn't have had a problem if Joe had gone down such a dark path, but that's just now who he is.

To read the rest of my review of Wednesday's Men of a Certain Age, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 210 - "Can't Let That Slide"
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Men of a Certain Age 209 Review- A Freight Train

Jesse- "Bitch stole second."

From Hoosiers to The Mighty Ducks, and from Rudy to Ladybugs, underdog sports movies have a special place in many of our hearts. That place was brought back to the forefront in "A League of Their Owen."

The tale of a bunch of misfits getting together to take on the bigger, stronger, more talented, and better-dressed team has been around for ages. Men of a Certain Age certainly put its own twist on that same old story, and it made for my favorite episode of the summer season.

The hilarity of this episode begins with the fact that although Big Owen Thoreau was an NBA star, little Owen Thoreau has a difficult time dribbling a basketball without falling on his face. While many of his Thoreau Chevrolet softball compadres are not much better, at least none of them fell flat on their face running to first base.

Although his athletic heroics didn't occur until the final moments, Owen proved that even though he is not all that good at softball, his attitude and will were enough to inspire his employees. Yes, the Big O fell down as he attempted to reach first base, but as he so dramatically came to his feet, the rest of the sales and servicemen from Thoreau began to put in more effort for their boss.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Men of a Certain Age, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 209 - "A League of Their Owen"

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Men of a Certain Age 208 Review- Get It Together

Owen- "You can't take away a guy's sale because he's a d**k. Otherwise you'd still have zero."

Owen Thoreau has his life together.

After "The Pickup," though, the same cannot be said about either Joe Tranelli or Terry Elliott. At some points, the Big O was mostly laughing at the troubles of his employee, but at the end of the day he came through as a friend and helped pick Terry up by his boot straps.

Terry has never really handled adversity very well, but his antics here might have taken the cake. It's absolutely understandable to be in a funk after what Erin did to him. But going from melancholy, to adventurous, to stoned, to sexy time, to depressed, to mean and finally giving up... it sure isn't healthy.

That's not to say it wasn't fun watching him pick up the 20-something caterer at his own 50th birthday party. Nor was it less than hilarious seeing him wake up in what was most likely her dorm room, and even if it wasn't, then the magazine cutouts on her wall sure made it seem like one.

Terry's antics at work were also some of the funniest of the episode; from blatantly stealing Marcus' client, to sleeping in one of the cars on the lot, and finally losing it by backing a show car up into Marcus while he was trying to make a sale. The reaction from Marcus - punching Terry in the face a few times - was fantastic. Nothing like a little workplace violence.

To read the rest of my review of last Wednesday's Men of a Certain Age, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 208 - "The Pickup"
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Men of a Certain Age 207 Review- Just a Fling

Manfro- "I don't wanna hear this s**t my last night with hair."

The best scenes in Men of a Certain Age come when the three leads - Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher - get to interact with each other. While"The Great Escape" didn't give us a lot of that, the final moments with Terry and Owen listening to Joe's story in the diner was exactly what this show is all about.

It's three guys working their way through life at that "Certain Age" and having a couple of friends with whom to do it. As is the case most days, all three of had some heavy stuff going on, and it was really nice to see Joe's friends be there for him in the end.

As the title states, there was a lot of escaping going on. Owen is potentially escaping from the iron fist of his father, Terry escaped from what turned out to be a sham of a relationship, and Joe narrowly escaped making things extremely confusing between him and his ex-wife.

Romano is what has kept me loving this show, and that didn't change with his performance here. Between his inability to figure out what he wanted to do with the Sonia situation and his ability to help quasi-friend Manfro through his trying times with cancer, Joe was once again a joy to watch.

To read the rest of my first ever review of Men of a Certain Age, head over to TV Fanatic.

Men of a Certain Age 207 - "The Great Escape"
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Cable Fall Lineup Preview

Last but definitely not least.  So with the cable fall lineup I basically just put the shows that I watch or am looking forward to trying.  There is so much cable programming that I couldn't go over all of it, especially when a bunch of it (like so much broadcast programming) is bad.  I really like how the cable networks bring out their shows in waves.  It's a much better format.  Instead waiting for three weeks to see the seventh episode of a season in December or March, you usually get 13 eps in about 14 or 15 weeks.  Then the next set of shows comes in.  With HBO right now we have True Blood, Entourage and Hung.  Next wave is Boardwalk, Eastbound and Bored.  I'm sure after that we'll get more Treme, maybe Curb and Ricky Gervais.  It's a good way to work.

The other network that makes up most of today's list is FX.  They're really coming into their own here.  With one great comedy in It's Always Sunny, and one up-and-comer in The League.  One of my top three shows in Sons of Anarchy, and now adding a hopeful in Terriers.  Justified in the spring.  It doesn't get much better than this for cable.

Sunday
9:00- Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
If you aren't excited for this prohibition drama from Sopranos writer Terrence Winter, then you got some issues. Steve Buschemi in the lead, Omar from The Wire, it's gonna be classic.
9:00- Dexter (Showtime)
I'm really glad I got caught up on this. Apparently they're not going to have one 'big bad' this season, which will be a nice change of pace.
10:00- Bored to Death (HBO)
The trailer for season two makes it sound exactly like season one. That's fine by me...I don't need development in my comedies.
10:30- Eastbound & Down (HBO)
Danny McBride is rumored to be in talks for the new head gig at The Office. Does that spell an end to Eastbound? How many seasons could this shtick really work for?

Monday
10:00- Men of a Certain Age (TNT)
Andre Braugher is great and all, but if anyone deserved an Emmy nod from this show's first season it was Ray Romano.

Tuesday
10:00- Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Probably the show I'm most excited for a return. Number three in the current power rankings but I can absolutely see it gaining the new number one spot with a good start to season three.

Wednesday
9:00- Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo)
Doesn't sound all that exciting. I need a full meal to be satisfied. If it's not as good as the original, I might quit.
10:00- Terriers (FX)
I've been hearing good things about this private investigator show. I also am a big Donal Logue fan from his Grounded for Life days, so here's hoping.

Thursday
10:00- It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX)
If you're not watching this, you should be. Always listen to Joe Buddens.
10:30- The League (FX)
Here's a situation where the hate went too far. Sure the first couple of eps were terrible, but it did get much better as the season went on. The hate was multiplied by the fact that there wasn't enough fantasy football. Rumor is that the second season has much more fantasy.

Memphis Beat- I'm Going to Graceland

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's series premier of Memphis Beat, 'That's All Right, Mama'. So watch the ep, turn on your boob lamp, and read what I had to say.

Charlie White- "He may not always do things by the book, but I for one have learned to trust Dwight when he's got one of his feelings."

One of the problems I have had recently with watching new tv series is that it is almost impossible for me to go in with a blank slate. Whether it's some review or a bunch of tweets, it's terribly hard to not hear a bunch of people's opinions of a show before it even airs.

Take Memphis Beat for example. Going into my viewing of the series premier, I knew that all the critics said it was nothing more than garbage. The Chicago Tribune's Mo Ryan tweeted the above quote complaining about how the writing was terrible. Now, on the one hand, this does help me and others figure out which series to give a shot and which to skip. But, on the other, sometimes I'd like to go in fresh and come up with an opinion that is completely my own. So even if I end up liking the series premier of this TNT drama, I'll be asking myself it is only despite said critics.

Well I tried my best to form opinions of my own here. I think the first ep was decent to good, as far as procedurals go. I've always liked Jason Lee. From his roles in the Kevin Smith movies, to his quick stint in romantic comedies, and most recently in My Name Is Earl. If Memphis Beat is going to work, he's going to have to carry it. And I think he pulled it off, for the most part. Going from a sitcom to a drama seems to be an easy transition, and his comedic chops help to build up the charm of his Dwight Hendricks.

The writing was a bit sloppy in parts, and some of the supporting characters don't appear to be too promising, but other than that I don't see many negatives (other than the fact that it's going to be a straight procedural). As far as the supporting roles go, Dwight's partner Whitehead seemed pretty useless in the premier. Then there was the Alfre Woodard sighting. After killing it as Butch McCray's mom in Blue Chips she has had quite the sketchy tv run. First she was brought on and sent home in Desperate Housewives. Then she was a part of two short-lived misfires, in My Own Worst Enemy and Three Rivers. This is not a good sign for the Beat.

If this show is about something other than Jason Lee's character, it is the city of Memphis and his relationship with it. I can't remember exactly what I read about the series's portrayal of Memphis, but I know it was negative. I wanna say I heard someone complain about it seeming like the city was just Elvis impersonators. Well I've been to Memphis twice, and that is almost it. There were the run-down dumps of the city and there was Elvis land. I thought this first episode did a good job or showing that.

I'm still considering whether or not to stick this out for a whole season. Jason Lee deserves the love, but I don't know if TNT can be trustworthy enough. I guess we'll see what happens.

A few more notes from Beale Street

-I liked some of the editing styles used, like the transitions that brought Jason Lee's voiceovers to the next scene.

-The bad guy's name was Ray Pruit? And he was beating on someone? This sounded all too familiar. I was just waiting for this dirtbag to break into an acoustic version of 'Hold On.'

-There was some good music in this premier, especially the montage with Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come.'

-Dwight is already getting commended by the big bad boss in the first episode? Isn't that something we need to work towards throughout the season?

-Nice ending with Dwight performing Elvis's 'If I Can Dream' in front of all of his co-workers. What a great song. Justin Gaston needs to get his act together if he's gonna let Jason Lee show him up like that.

Men of a Certain Age- Romano Gives Series Promise

Here's the thing...Why did I go into this series premier with such high hopes? It's a drama on TNT. Oh that's right, because it had Andre Baugher and Scott Bakula in it. I never was a big fan of Everybody Loves Raymond so the fact that Ray Romano was also a lead didn't get me too excited. After the episode ended, my first thought was that Romano was easily the best part about the show.

Men of a Certain Age is a drama about three guys that have been friends since college and are now getting through life in their later years. Romano plays Joe. He's in the recently divorced or in the middle of a divorce, owns a party store, and is addicted to gambling. Braugher plays Owen. He's married with kids, has some health issues and works for his father at a car dealership. Bakula plays Terry. The playboy type, somewhat of an aspiring actor that temps in the meantime.

Throughout the first episode we see the three guys go hiking and eat together, but we also see them dealing with the stresses of their daily lives on their own. While every moment Romano was on the screen it was enjoyable, every Andre Braugher scene was disappointing. I never really watched Homicide, but always heard great things, but I loved him in Passing Glory and his recent short stint on House. I know it was only one episode, but he only had one moment where I enjoyed his character. It was the hip check to the young salesman, knocking him into the water cooler. Hopefully that will be where the character heads in the future.

Although it was interesting and a bit funny at times, the drama was lacking and it was pretty slow moving. If it weren't the series premier I can imagine I would've been a bit more bored. Instead I was continually curious as to where it was going to go. I guess there are some positives to a pilot episode. Anyway I'm going to continue to check it out since we are getting into the holiday television break, but I was not seriously impressed.