The first season actually did have some depth & the Hank character even had some heart. The character quickly became two dimensional as the series devolved into softcore porn in the ensuing seasons, however.

As I said, Cheers was still a funny show after Long left— maybe funnier than ever— but it lost its soul. Still a great comedy, but at its height, the show was more than just a comedy— it was comedy with some emotional depth and real character development. “The Boys in the Bar” is a fine example of this. We can see how…

The series really should have ended with Sam & Diane back together in the final episode. While the Rebecca years were still funny, the show was spinning its wheels, artistically, during that time. The true arc of the show was always Sam and Diane's relationship.

“Not content with throwing back brewskis and catching up with his pal, Sam has arranged to turn their reunion into a media event, with reporters and photographers there to record the moment”

I don't mean to keep giving every episode an A. I know there had to have been one or two weak ones, but we must not have gotten to them yet.

Thank you for speaking from a position of some knowledge, unlike basically everyone else here. There was an article a year after she left, in New York magazine I believe, where Garafolo detailed the hell SNL put her through. That article actually forced some noticeable changes on the show, particularly in how it…

My greatest hope going forward with this series is that Nucky is haunted by what he's done even worse than Ebeneezer Scrooge was on Christmas Eve.

It's 1921. Margaret's not getting half. It's her knowledge of his criminal dealings that give her any leverage at all over Nucky at this point.

I'm thinking the same thing. I mean, I'll come back as a viewer but I don't know who I'm supposed to sympathize with. Nucky is a soulless monster at this point.

Bingo. We, the audience, may see Gillian as the aggressor in their incestuous relationship, but last week made it clear that Jimmy blames himself for it. He's been wracked with self-loathing and seeking death ever since.

The mental/emotional scars of war never go away. It's not something that anyone moves away from— anyone who claims to have done so is in denial.

He didn't bury that corpse— he just helped get it in the car. I don't think he even knew who it was. Eli did the burying iirc.

Better: perhaps he'll ditch the mask & start randomly determining his actions with the flip of a two-headed coin as he tries to seize control of the Atlantic City underworld from Nucky.

I didn't see this last night, but the review is a bit confusing. There were a couple things Sims seemed to like (the short, Kalle) and a whole bunch else he picks apart. And that rates a C? The review made it sound like a weaker-than-average show to me.

Kidding aside, I gave this a B+. While this would be an A for any other current sitcom, it gets knocked down a bit on the Community scale. Very good & very funny, but I think the Glee-skewering started to overshadow the character beats as it went along. The best Community episodes give us both in near-equal measure.

Not when it's Alison Brie doing the sexy.

Possibly, but I would think it would call back to something more specific than this, based on Chase's normal modus operandi. TooMuchTime might be on to it— I haven't watched Chinatown in quite a while; I might have to go back and give it another look.

"Thurl Ravenscroft" is somebody's real name?  GTFO!

The Chinatown thing is a stumper. I think it's entirely possible Chase put it in there just to add some random dream-weirdness to the proceedings.

Plus he's responsible for killing Donna. (I knew I was forgetting someone.) Like I said, just too much.