Sunday, March 18, 2012

What were the top entertainment moments of the week of March 11?


For not being a sweeps month, it was a pretty exciting week in entertainment.

First off, CBS announced the renewal of 15 shows – some of which probably should be cancelled, but that’s a different discussion.

Then Oprah Winfrey announced the cancellation of Rosie O’Donnell’stalk show on the struggling OWN network – something that apparently took O’Donnell by surprise because she was trying to move her show to New York in recent weeks.

And, finally, cable news turned Rush Limbaugh’s comments about a university student into a war with Bill Maher – a move that seemed to confuse Maher and everybody else – but still managed to keep the controversy front-and-center.

As far as scripted television goes, this week featured two big deaths and one profoundly cheesy (and yet exhilarating) beat down.

So, without further ado, the top five entertainment moments this week were:

5. One Tree Hill – This show is not even remotely grounded in reality. It never has been. This week was a hokey hoot, though, when the always riveting Paul Johansson’s Dan Scott took a sawed off shotgun through a warehouse full of thugs to reclaim his son (who was kidnapped by rival basketball recruiters – totally stupid I know). The slow motion scene was hilariously bad – and yet totally entertaining. The fact that it was juxtaposed with Chris Keller and Julian as his backup and Brooke running from another Tree Hill stalker that was ultimately tased into submission was just icing on the cake. If only they’d drop the ridiculously boring Quinn and Clay storyline – but that’s a whole other rant. This week’s episode makes it look like Dan Scott dies from the bullet he took to save his son. I think the show is trying a little too hard to redeem Dan. Fans like him just fine as a villain.

4. Supernatural – This show has had a rough season. Actually, it’s had a rough two seasons. The one thing that has never failed, though, is the chemistry between Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. This week’s episode wasn’t especially well written, but it did have a hilarious few moments when Ackles’ Dean is tempted by some cursed ballet slippers. The actual magic of this show is in the brotherly bond. Nothing else really matters. That being said, anyone who saw next week’s previews (and who keeps up with spoilers) has to be excited for next week’s episode which features the return of Misha Collins’ popular Castiel. Hopefully the recent upswing in episodes prove that Supernatural is back on track – now if they could only resurrect Bobby, too.

3. Life’s Too Short – I love Ricky Gervais. I don’t care what anyone says, the guy is always funny. This little known HBO gem doesn’t get a lot of attention, but I laughed out loud this week when Steve Carrell did a guest shot on the show. Carrell and Gervais have a funny public “feud” regarding the British version of the office and the American version of the office. This parody was a takeoff of that, with Carrell saying he’d only consider a role on Gervais’ new project. Gervais’ deranged rant about Carrell is funny, but not as funny as when he realizes the video chat is still on and Carrell has heard everything he said. Funny stuff.

2. Desperate Housewives – The show runners at ‘Desperate Housewives’ must be so ticked the Nicolette Sheridan trial outed what was supposed to be the surprise death of Mike Delfino. Everyone knew it was coming, which is really too bad. Had it remained a surprise, I think there would have been a lot of people in denial over the shooting and it would have given the show some buzz in its final season. Instead, everyone online was aware he was really dead – so there was no debate about him surviving. That being said, the montage of Mike and Susan moments was truly heartbreaking – even if I can barely stand any of the women on this show anymore.

1. The Walking Dead – People are probably sick of this show getting the number one spot two weeks in a row, but topping the gruesome Dale death from a week prior earns AMC’s sophomore hit the rare accolade. Shane’s death was long overdue, but the way the show did it was inspired. In the end, Shane was clearly coming off the rails, turning into a cold-blooded murderer and a guy who was willing to kill his own best friend to claim his son and wife. Shane’s devolution was intense, and you knew something big was going to happen the minute he took Randall for a walk in the woods. Anyone who read the graphic novels isn’t surprised by the twist of Shane rising from the dead – even though he wasn’t bitten – but the really shocking moment came when Rick and Carl attracted the attention of a whole herd of zombies – all of which are following them back to the farm. I guess all the haters can get over the fact that they haven’t left the farm yet – because that’s obviously happening tonight.

Honorable mentions go to:

Modern Family: In an episode I didn’t actually find funny, the usually sound ABC comedy did make me remember why I hate clowns. Sadly, I never find them funny – only creepy.

Psych: While not one of the show’s best outings, this week’s episode did have one hilariously perfect moment. It came at the end of the episode when the “bachelorette” in the fake dating show commented on the homoerotic nature of Shawn and Gus’ relationship – complete with B-roll of Gus paddling a boat behind Shawn and the bachelorette when they were supposed to be on their romantic date. It’s about time someone pointed out that aspect of Shawn and Gus’ relationship.

Ringer: I can’t keep up with who is good and who is bad anymore. One minute I think Siobhan is the devil and the next minute I think she had to run because of Andrew. Either way, Andrew saving Bridget’s life by jumping in front of a bullet shows that even if he is a bad guy – he’s not evil. Since I don’t think this show is going to get a second season, please let them wrap up the central mystery this season. It would be a shame not to know what is really going on.

What do you think? What were this week’s top entertainment moments?

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home