I heard Mike is making an appearance in the next episode / interested to see how that compares to the way Kate (remember her!) was hand-waved away (a season too late but still)

I'm a pretty unabashed fan and I think this show does what it does very well (more coherent than Twin Peaks, much better flow than Desperate Housewives, much darker commentary on teens, texting and privacy than Gossip Girl, plus Hitchcock allusions!) but the show occasionally has wheel-spinning episodes like this that…

This episode was way too light and the stakes felt too low - Emily has been through way too much for me to feign interest in whatever A is trying to do to her mom especially when something is clearly up with Ashley; like much of the episode whatever was going on with Ella felt like necessary but inelegant…

I believe the bird's name Tippi, which kind of makes sense because I had heard there was going to be an homage to The Birds this season (also this show's Hitchcock allusions - Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest - are so well-crafted and, more to the point, WHO DOES THAT). All too typical how the bird was humming a…

thirtysomething

I liked the way they set up the Jack/Ashley alliance.. excellent use of the masquerade to have him overhear how Conrad was talking to her. I was kind of hoping the show was going to reveal Jack and Emily had been secretly been working together (the time jump, plus what Jack said to Victoria before she saw the man in…

I think Revenge has rebounded nicely as it heads into its final few episodes, though I think it's revealing that the best episodes so far (IMO) either featured significant plot developments (Forgiveness, Sacrifice) or Season 1 revenge-action (Power, and now Victory).

I've been watching Deception (or, rather, I fell behind and then got sick and decided it might play well as marathon viewing - which it did), interested to see what the AV Club thinks, I thought it has come around somewhat from its truly mediocre, derivative pilot

Has anyone at The AV Club discussed doing selected reviews for Frasier? I imagine 11 seasons is daunting but I could think of, say, 20-30 episodes worth covering (though my list would include every door-slamming farce because those had a rare theatrical quality you rarely see in TV comedy)

Hahahahahaha as a consistent reader of most of your coverage I'm especially flattered you appreciated this. I just re-watched this episode a few weeks ago after coming across it late at night, and Frasier's rendition of "Buttons and Bows" has been stuck in my head ever since.

Oh yes I've heard that too, that's an understandable enough constraint (though they covered up Shelley Long's pregnancy in S3 a lot more effectively); other than that, seasons 8 through the first half of 10 were still weaker

Very important, here are the lyrics

Even though I'm a Cheers diehard, I feel like you understated the problem.. Robin Colcord (whom, even if you liked, felt superfluous at least a half-season before his storyline wrapped up), increasingly cartoonish storylines (remember the floorboards?), and, of course, Sam and Rebecca's contrived plan to have a child…

It's a shame he was so underused on 30 Rock considering he was consistently hilarious. Second to Grizz & Herz, I wouldn't mind a spin-off about the Jenna Maroneys (Mickey Rourke can guest star during sweeps)

Why no mention of Jenna's husband, Mr. Jenna Maroney? It felt especially strange considering they showed her going off to L.A. (even if she had to shut it down)

Same, the first season had some of my all-time favorites that I'd love to have an excuse to quote (Jack-tor, Tracy Does Conan, Up All Night, Hard Ball, The Source Awards, Fireworks) but it had a lot of uneven episodes too and I think that's where I would find the discussion most interesting.

Any chance you guys will go back and do reviews of season one? I think looking at it from a distance might even be more interesting, especially as you know now how the show settled into its formula

Any chance you guys will go back and do reviews of season one? I think looking at it from a distance might even be more interesting, especially as you know now how the show settled into its formula

I feel like it would have made more sense (and I still would have found it shocking even though I've entertained the idea for some time) for Ashley to have been an Initiative mole rather than Padma.. I'm interested to see where it goes but it also feels contrived - I hope we get a backstory soon before I begin…

I enjoyed how Amy tried to entice Tyler by talking about how he could be on the cover of Time magazine as Person of the Year like the year of the corporate whistleblowers (2002 I believe) . . . in the office . . . loud enough so the woman next to them can hear. While I agree that Amy is right, the ways in which her…