The Middle 6.23: “Mother’s Day Reservations”

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Brick knows how old he is. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/05/07/the-middle-season-6-episode-23-recap-m

New Girl 4.22: “Clean Break”

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This episode was no mistake, Coach. Winston likes to know more about the cast and crew. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/05/06/new-girl-season-4-finale-recap-clean-b

Community 6.9: “Grifting 101”

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Community_Grifting-101

Community, “Grifting 101” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

“Grifting 101” is the first fully themed episode of “Community” Season 6. The typical Greendale shenanigans have been present this year, but not quite in a way that has overwhelmed everything for a half hour. The pop cultural references have also been there, of course. Just last week, “Intro to Recycled Cinema” took inspiration from “Star Wars” and its schlocky knockoffs, but it was not a full-on pastiche. Greendale was making a space movie, but it had not become a space movie. “Grifting 101” actually was a con man story that purposely mimicked the genre’s tropes. The elements lifted from “The Sting” – the hand-drawn chapter title shots and the ragtime version of the theme song – ensured that this is still a show that can be ambitious in this fashion.

 

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Bob’s Burgers 5.18: “Eat, Spray, Linda”

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Should they call the hotel ahead of time to let them they’ll all be pooping? http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/05/04/bobs-burgers-season-5-episode-18-recap

SNL Recap May 2, 2015: Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa

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SNL: Wiz Khalifa, Scarlett Johansson, Cecily Strong (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

In the time between her last and this (her fourth) hosting stint, Scarlett Johansson has had quite the career bump, carving out a niche of otherworldly, occasionally robotic, often kickass heroines. Still, she has never been that strong a fit for the demands of “SNL.” With this episode, she was more confident than ever, though not especially accomplished. But the cast and the concepts were better-than-average, with some routine-busting sketches providing the highlights.

Mayweather/Pacquiao Fight – The biggest match in decades has revealed the surprising number of people who are legitimate boxing fans. “SNL” cleverly latched onto that widespread fanaticism with this sketch that playfully conceded the show’s relevance on this particular night. Normally, admitting your own shortcomings is inadvisable, but that was overridden by such a strong commitment to the second-rate aesthetic. The narration acknowledging the obvious artifice here made the sketch fluid in a way unusual for “SNL.” B

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What Won TV? – April 26-May 2, 2015

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In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Mad Men
Monday – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Tuesday – Community
Wednesday – Arrow
Thursday – Louie
Friday – Comedy Bang! Bang!/Childrens Hospital
Saturday – SNL was the best show on Saturday, and everyone was like, “Umm, okay.”

VH1’s The 20 – 5/2/15

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Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
2. Nick Jonas – “Chains”
3. Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
4. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
5. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – “I Want You to Know”
6. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
7. Taylor Swift – “Style”
8. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
9. Tori Kelly – “Nobody Love”
10. Sam Smith – “Lay Me Down”
11. Echosmith – “Bright”
12. Meghan Trainor – “Dear Future Husband”
13. George Ezra – “Budapest”
14. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
15. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
16. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – “Outside”
17. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good.”
18. Nate Ruess – “Nothing Without Love”
19. Ryn Weaver – “Octahate”
20. Young Rising Suns – “High”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Style
2. Outside
3. Talking Body
4. I Want You to Know
5. Nobody Love
6. Want to Want Me
7. Chains
8. See You Again
9. Lay Me Down
10. Shut Up and Dance
11 Love Me Like You Do
12. Nothing Without Love
13. Budapest
14. High
15. Octahate
16. Worth It
17. Sugar
18. Dear Future Husband
19. Honey, I’m Good.
20. Bright

The Middle 6.22: “While You Were Sleeping”

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It’s the episode of The Middle we’ve all been waiting for: Mike and Frankie keep falling asleep! http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/04/30/the-middle-season-6-episode-22-recap-w

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