Excellent work
I appreciate your style of analytic criticism, Simon. Thoughtful breakdown of the theme you proposed dominates CB last week. I wish more review/recap writers took such an approach.

Watch for Houses/Homes
VERY MINOR SPOILER IN 2ND PARAGRAPH

Modifying:
My first impression of the presumably end-of-season-coming wedding was that of Barney and Robin, mostly because Ted and Marshall are both wearing what appear to be identical suits as members of a wedding party might wear. I have to broaden that to include the possibility of a Barney/Nora wedding. Just…

Simpsons Intro
Now includes two more weekly gags, the opening "cloud gag" over the show's main title, which I think originated with the theatrical film, and a "billboard gag" that zooms past before we get into the window to see Bart at the chalkboard.

It has been noted
Marshall and Ted are both wearing the groomsmen suits in the premier wedding. Not saying the finale wedding ISN'T Punchy's, but I think tonight's moving forward of the obvious Robin and Barney reunion (seemingly every moment one gets is shared- often exclusively- with the other) makes THAT…

Let's reminisce!

For the record
I'm pretty much right there with you on the premiere, which disappoints me a bit. I was sort of hoping to find something closer to VH1's "Bands on the Run" (still a criminally underrated one-season wonder) than "The Amazing Race" (which I just don't think you can replicate with food trucks running…

Saying that Tom is coded as feminine and therefore the show is misogynistic is like saying that Riley is coded as a black stereotype and the show is racist. That The Boondocks is sympathetic to its characters (these characters anyway) is evidence of a more nuanced and well-rounded study of a broader culture that WOULD…

Of all the ways that The Boondocks is arguably misogynistic (and there are several) calling Tom "feminized" is by far the laziest one.

I'll agree with every sentiment shared above (especially about doing reviews for the first two Boondocks seasons- maybe next summer?)

Alright.
Leonard, I've been digging your coverage this season to be sure, and you made me think twice about some pretty rough stuff in this ep (which, overall, I think was a fine installment), but I will fight you tooth and nail over "A Date With the Health Inspector" being amongst the show's very best episodes. Not…

Riley's not gay, hip-hop kind of is. That's the joke.

Re: Homophobia
I think they did great work in drawing out the confused sexuality of Perry's universe (which, cards on the table, I also think is extremely warped by the religious elements in Perry's universe that the show is critiquing) in a similar way to how they have touched on the homoeroticism/contradictions…

I get how plausibly they couldn't move him (it's their science fiction show, they can make the rules as they please) but I think it was poorly blocked and didn't work 100% for me. It's one of those things that the show whiffs on execution-wise with a little too much regularity that makes it…

So…
I think Rory's death (sad spoiled for me as well) is a terrific moment both for these characters' and the arc of the series, and I do like how artfully they're playing with the crack in time. However, am I the only person who didn't get why Amy and the Doctor couldn't have grabbed Rory's body to prevent the light…

I got it
But I still don't think that it was successful in pulling off its commentary (the real life joyriding kid isn't a crucial contextual point for the satirical portion of the episode- you "get" what he represents, even without having seen the viral vid). I completely agree that the ep was, tonally speaking, a…

I dug it…
But can somebody explain to me why Robin is hanging out with the group again in the ending? Didn't we JUST do a "dramatic tension" episode where she says she needs time away from the group? Calling Lilly makes total sense (and that she took the call on-air was a good reveal) but was it at all a cheat to not…

"Oppressively adorable"
Hit the nail right on the head. I have to confess that I loathed a lot of the easiness of the sketches last night (it doesn't help that I was never a Molly Shannon fan and don't really find thinly-veiled vagina euphemisms any funnier than I do thinly-veiled penis euphemisms.)

I can't help but feel like that's sort of intentional too. Drama comes from having some chefs out of their element and out of their depth. I'll be the producers liked the "random bullet" aspect of who was going to comprise the final 8.

Well
I understand that last year's Masters series took FOREVER to get out of the preliminary rounds and into something that resembled Top Chef-proper, hence the 2 winners in every ep beginning to this season. But Todd aptly points out that the high stakes quickfire was totally arbitrary (the only one of the first 4…