The Office 903 Review - You're Not Jim!

When I first saw the cold open as a promo for "Andy's Ancestry," I laughed my face off. When I saw it again, it was still hilarious. By the time this episode of The Office aired, the joke had lost most of its punch, but that doesn't mean it wasn't one of the best openings we've seen in a long, long time.

What a prank! Jim and Pam took some pretty great strides to get Dwight's goat with this one. Between informing their actor friend on the ins and outs of Jim's job, getting him Jim's voicemail password, Pam kissing him straight on the mouth and taking the time to shoot a brand new family portrait, I'd say this one might have taken the most planning ever.

Once the heart of the episode began there were a number of plots going on at once. The one that worked best was Nellie and Pam's bonding intertwining with Jim and Darryl's bonding. I know readers have taken issue with Nellie in the past, but I continue to enjoy her style of comedy. Her being a terrible driver...not funny. Nellie taking joy in lying to Andy...very funny.

To read the rest of my review of this week's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 701 Review - Tanking It

The seventh and final season of 30 Rock began this week, and "The Beginning of the End" started the abbreviated run out with a bang. Classic one-liners and references were joined by a hilarious plotline that ended with Jack and Liz teaming up to tank NBC.

The idea that Jack - and now Liz as well - wants to tank NBC so that Hank Hooper will sell the company to the guy who makes the only successful Easter Egg dyeing company in the world is funny in and of itself.

It also creates an atmosphere rich with opportunities for humor, like Jack coming up with ridiculous new shows for the network. God Cop may have had the most play here, but Homonym may have been funnier, and Tank It was certainly more idiotic.

To read the rest of my review of this week's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

The X Factor 208 Review - Don't Forget the Lyrics

They are just racing through these eliminations on The X Factor, as Thursday's Boot Camp Battles seemed to be the final test before cutting the 60 remaining contestants down to 24 for the judges' houses.

Other than speed and efficiency, this season of The X Factor also seems to be doing a much better job at finding talent...or at least showcasing it. There was a wealth of it on display tonight, so let's recap what all went down with The Good, The Bad, and The Judges...

The Good

Tara Simon vs. Jennel Garcia: Both sounded good, but Simon hated the song choice of "Landslide" because it was too mellow. It's really not fair to some that another contestant can bully them into a song, but that's how the game is being played, and life isn't always fair.  Even though Jennel wasn't comfortable with the performance, I think she has done enough to make it to the next round.

Carly Rose Sonenclar vs. Beatrice Miller: I don't remember seeing Beatrice before but she started "Pumped Up Kicks" with a nice tone. Yikes, when Carly jumped in though, the game was completely changed. For a 13 year-old girl, she has such great tone, power, and style.

To read the rest of my review of this past Thursday's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings

This is really half-assed, but the rankings have to come out...

Rank. Show (Last time, Highest ranking) green = moving up, red = moving down

Honorable Mentions

30 Rock (16, 2) Thursdays on NBC

Ben and Kate (-, -) Tuesdays on FOX

Boardwalk Empire (14, 12) Sundays on HBO

Go On (-, -) Tuesdays on NBC

Key and Peele (-, -) Wednesdays on Comedy Central

The L.A. Complex (-, -) Mondays on The CW

Last Resort (-, -) Thursday on ABC

Nashville (-, -) Wednesdays on ABC

New Girl (-, -) Tuesdays on FOX

The Voice (-, -) Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC

Top 20

20. Shameless (18, 16) Sundays on Showtime

19. Cougar Town (20, 19) Unknown on TBS

18. Sherlock (17, 17) Sundays on PBS

17. Survivor (19, 14) Wednesdays on CBS

16. Dexter (-, 9) Sundays on Showtime

15. Mad Men (13, 3) Sundays on AMC

14. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC

13. Big Brother (-, 7) Summers on CBS

12. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW

11. Fringe (10, 10) Fridays on FOX

10. Wilfred (12, 10) Thursdays on FX

9. Sons of Anarchy (9, 3) Tuesdays on FX

8. Curb Your Enthusiasm (8, 1) Sundays on HBO

7. Game of Thrones (7, 2) Sundays on HBO

6. Happy Endings (6, 6) Tuesdays on ABC

5. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (5, 5) Thursdays on FX

4. Homeland (3, 3) Sundays on Showtime

3. Community (2, 2) Fridays on NBC

2. Breaking Bad (4, 2) Sundays on AMC

1. Justified (1, 1) Tuesdays on FX

Survivor Week 3 - Snuggle Time's Over

Champions League

Jack

Artis (Tandang) -69: W3 (+4)= -65
Russell (Matsing) -71: Votes (-4), W3 (+4)= -71
Roxy (Matsing) -20
Zane (Matsing) -60

Last week: -220, Now: -216



Me

Malcolm (Matsing) -197: W3 (+4)= -193
Angie (Matsing) -151: Votes (-12)= -163
Dana (Kalabaw) +6: Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= +18
Abi-Maria (Tandang) +2: Found Idol (+10), W3 (+4)= +16

Last week: -340, Now: -322

Mags

Pete (Tandang) -149: W3 (+4)= -145
Dawson (Kalabaw) -59:  W3 (+4)= -55
Carter (Kalabaw) -114: Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= -102
RC (Tandang) -39: W3 (+4)= -35

Last week: -361, Total = -337

Jaydon

Michael (Tandang) -149: W3 (+4)= -145
Jonathan (Kalabaw) -99: Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= -87
Jeff (Kalabaw) -89: Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= -77
Katie (Kalabaw) -139: W3 (+4)= -135

Started at: -476, Total = -444




Developmental League

Larry

Pete (Tandang): W3 (+4)= +4
Dana (Kalabaw): Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= +12
Russell (Matsing): Votes (-4), W3 (+4)= 0
Abi-Maria (Tandang): Found Idol (+10), W3 (+4)= +14

Week 3: +30, Total = +54

Marsh

Malcolm (Matsing): W3 (+4)= +4
Jonathan (Kalabaw): Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= +12
Roxy (Matsing)
Carter (Kalabaw): Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= +12

Week 3: +28, Total = +48

Tippy

Michael (Tandang): W3 (+4)= +4
RC (Tandang): W3 (+4)= +4
Katie (Kalabaw): W3 (+4)= +4
Angie (Matsing): Votes (-12)= -12

Week 3: 0, Total = +32

Rizzo

Jeff (Kalabaw): Immunity (+8), W3 (+4)= +12
Denise (Matsing): W3 (+4)= +4
Dawson (Kalabaw): W3 (+4)= +4
Zane (Matsing)
Week 3: +20, Total = +25

The X Factor 207 Review - The Whitney-Off

For weeks now, The X Factor has been improving on not only its own mistakes from last season, but also the bad habits that American Idol has developed over the years. That didn't change this week, as the first night of Boot Camp was short and sweet - and nobody got hurt.

Well... the 60 or so contestants who were eliminated were certainly hurt, but because The X Factor decided to just show us some of the highlights, some of the train wrecks, and then get to the first round of cuts, the viewers at home were left unscathed by the boring middle rounds that these singing shows have forced on us year after year.

Boot Camp started with around 120 contestants. We are already down to half that amount, and it will end with just 24 hopeful acts. Let's take a look at who impressed us, and who had us looking away with The Good, The Bad, and The Judges...

The Good

Diamond White: She is just a complete professional. She was so girly and friendly while talking, but as soon as that music started it was go time! She put a nice little spin on "I Have Nothing," which is a song that everyone says you shouldn't sing.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Voice 308 Review - Had Me at Thang

The extended teams of 16 may end up paying dividends down the road in the third season of The Voice, but for right now, they just seemed to make the blind auditions last much too long.

All four coaches added their final two team members on Monday night, which means next week we move onto the Battle Rounds. The superstars had some funny bits and the performers had some serious talent, but Carson Daly's awkward behavior was definitely the highlight of the night.

Between his "I knew it!" when the coaches turned for Nathalie - clapping like he's Brendan Fraser - and the look of such concern when he uttered "Come on Cee Lo!" when the coach wouldn't turn around, Carson made for a bunch of unintentional comedy on this final night of auditions.

Most of us were watching for the singers, though, so I digress. Let's take a look a how the coaches rounded out their teams, who has the best squad moving into the next round, and which was the most successful at securing performers throughout the season...

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Voice, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 201 Review - Locations, Locations, Locations

Between the critical acclaim, its abundance of fans and one of the most impressive nights at the Emmys ever*, Homeland is coming off of one of the best seasons in television history. That's a lot to live up to.

"The Smile" did an astounding job, not only at returning with the excitement, suspense and heart we were used to from last fall, but also at sidelining some of my worries that the idea of season one was so good that the writers might not be able to re-imagine the magic a second time around.

* Homeland was the first show since Cagney & Lacey in 1985 to win four out the big five drama awards (Garnering series, actor, actress and writing, but failing to earn directing honors). There have been a lot of great series over the last 25 years or so that failed to accomplish what Homeland did at last Sunday's Emmys.

The season premiere wasn't in-your-face impressive in the way most pilots have to be in order to grab our attentions. Rather, it dropped us back into this world with characters that we grew to know, love and/or hate last season. Most of them were in new situations, but because all of them were strongly written and acted, everything felt very familiar.

To read the rest of my review of last night's season premiere of Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.