Bunky Bunk's "The Bunky Bunk thumbs up and down spectacular", Part III (aka My Returning Shows, Part 1) !

Greetings, people of SpoilerTV City. I come to you with the third part of my thumbs and spectacular, the last installment before the last two parts, in 6 weeks.

- Part I - My Summer (Saturday, November 5).
- Part II - My New Shows, Part 1 (Tuesday, November 8).
- Part III - My Returning Shows, Part 1 (Wednesday, November 9).
- Part IV, My New Shows, Part 2 (Wednesday, December 21).
- Part V, My Returning Shows, Part 2 (Thursday, December 22).

As I subtly implied in the title of the topic, I'm just giving my opinion, I don't hold back (this article is rated TV-MA) but however I never give away huge spoilers, in case people who have not yet started to watch a season of a show are interested in reading my opinion without having some twists ruined, like Jeff having sex with the Dean in Community (that's not true... or is it ?).

Here's my ranking of the new seasons of the comedies I watch on a weekly basis, and so far it's a fantastic season for many of them, I happily give three thumbs up to no less than 6 comedies :

: Parks and Recreation season 4, Bored to Death season 3, Community season 3, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 7, The League season 3 and Raising Hope season 2.

: Archer season 3, Modern Family season 3 and American Dad season 7.

: The Office season 8, TBBT season 5, The Cleveland Show season 3, Family Guy season 10 and Blue Mountain State season 3.

: HIMYM season 7.

And now, the detailed reviews :



Parks and Recreation season 4 (comedy, NBC, 22-25 episodes (6 aired)) :

Once again, Parks & Recreation is literally the best comedy of the season. I enjoyed the first 6 episodes of this season so much, so far it actually is even better than the amazing third season. The Office is no longer what it used to be but I don't think it was that good even at its peak (seasons 2 to 5) — although I may be overreacting to Parks & Recreation's awesomeness, it's been a while since I've seen the first 4 seasons of The Office and I remember enjoying them thoroughly (except season 1, of course, but I hated the first season of Parks & Rec as well and look what a magnificent show it turned out to be). I notice the writers try to make unusual pairs that they haven't really tried before : Ron/Ann, Ben/Tom, Chris/Jerry, etc, and it works amazingly, I love those new duos that we find quite often in episodes 4.01 to 4.06. So far, all 6 episodes are memorable (if I'm being picky, the premiere episode was very slightly disappointing compared to the following episodes which are all top notch). Leslie running for office is a great storyline that will be carried out throughout the season, and all the little adventures unrelated to that main event, whether it's the camping trip with the Pawnee Godesses or her trying to save Ron from Tammy n°1 by drinking a questionable alcoholic beverage, it's all good, we're off to a great, great start. Also, what's impressive is there are 10 cast members, which is more than most sitcoms, and yet all of them are fantastic, not a single flaw : Amy Poehler is fantastic but so are Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Rashida Jones, Retta, Jim O'Heir, Aziz Anzari, etc... they're all equally good. And it never feels like the writers don't know what to do with either of them, they all get screen time and no one is disappointing. Also, you feel the writers really care about their characters, the ending of episode 4.06 clearly proves that. It's just great, the cast of Parks and Rec is the best cast on TV, period.


Bored to Death season 3 (comedy, HBO, 8 episodes (6 are available)) :

A delight. Ted Danson, Zach Galiafianakis, Jason Schwartzman : they're perfect, they just are. They're once again at the top of their game, delivering those amazing lines constantly. This show is so unique and well written and the plots are so interesting, original and fast-paced, it just really is a treat, a real pleasure to watch each episode unfold before your eyes. The atmosphere is very important, too, whether it's the retro music, the fancy New-York setting, the film noir tone of the intrigues constantly playing along the lines of tribute or parody. Bored to Death displays some very enjoyable moments of pure hilarity, like Ray breastfeeding his son, George being super paranoid because he's super high or Jonathan's recurring nemesis Louie Greene getting all Newman on him (after all, like Jerry Seinfeld, Jonathan is a writer, his best friend is named George, he's jewish and he lives in New-York). Even more than in season 2, Jonathan Ames (the real one) really tried to have serialized elements connecting all 8 episodes, mostly with Jonathan's search for his real father (it'd be pretty funny if it's George), but also with George having a new restaurant and dealing with her daughter who has daddy issues. Each episode must be savored, first because there's so few of them (eight 25-minute episodes per year, that's not much, and time truly flies when watching this show) and also because the future of Bored to Death is really uncertain (it's getting crushed ratings-wise on Mondays at 9, Ted Danson is the lead on CSI now, I have to say I'm a little worried). Season 1 had very weak episodes but season 2 was brilliant and season 3 seems to be just as wonderful, perhaps even more, it would be a real shame to stop there. Curb your Enthusiasm excluded, it is without a doubt the HBO half-hour comedy I enjoy the most, next to the outstanding Eastbound and Down.


Community season 3 (comedy, NBC, 22-25 episodes (6 aired)) :

Parks & Recreation may be the funniest sitcom on TV but Community is without a doubt the most creative one. Even though I may not think it's the very best comedy on the air, Community has a special place in my heart. If I have to be a 'fanboy' about a TV show then I'm a Community fanboy. I don't know, maybe it's because I love the show since I watched the pre-air pilot in summer 2009 (unlike the first season of Bored to Death and Parks & Rec which weren't good, Community started off on a fantastic season 1), maybe it's because I am in college and I wish it were as fun as Greendale's, maybe it's because of all the pop-culture references, spoofs and homages to genres or specific movies/TV shows throughout each season, maybe it's because of the perfect cast or maybe it's because Community is extremely original, self-aware and unpredictible. I think it's all that, and all these ingredients make it a very low-rated show, sadly (Community didn't need the low ratings to remind me of the masterpiece that is Arrested Development), but at least it's a very good one. Sure, it has never been and never will be a popular show the whole family will sit down to watch, but so far NBC has been nothing but supportive, let's hope they'll still stick behind the show for another year. From the minute I saw the pilot, how clever, crisp and special it was, I knew the show wouldn't go on for 7 or 8 seasons, this kind of comedy cannot be a hit and cannot last, but it does feature a study group going through college so I expect a senior year to have closure, a fourth and final season.

As for season 3 specifically, well, it's as good as the previous two seasons. Each episode is fantastic to me, I enjoy each of them thoroughly and cannot wait to watch them (whereas I can wait a day or two for Parks & Rec and Bored to Death)... but then again, I might not be objective, because like I said I might be a fanboy — I have all the symptoms, and it feels good ! I was reminded what it is I love about the show from the very first seconds of the season premiere : that musical intro was superb, and it perfectly defines what Community is about. They may get into crazy scenes, but there's always a not-so-hidden meaning behind it, they don't just do a random musical scene because it's cool to have a musical scene. This scene means that the show knows it is original, marginal, and it promises to change that by being kinder, friendlier... but that was all a dream (Jeff was snoozing), fortunately for us (for me anyway, I like Community's craziness and weirdness). The imagination of the writers knows no boundaries. This show can pay a tribute to something and go all the way with it, but they do it with a constant respect of the characters and their relationships with one another (I'll stick to the musical intro for examples : Britta promises to be happy (she's usually complaining about society and all), Abed promises to be more normal (he's usually... well, he's Abed), the dean shows up by the entrance door as a diva, Jeff/Annie announce they're gonna sleep together, etc, it's not a vain stylistic composition).

By the way, if you're reading this and haven't started the season (what were you waiting for ?), swap episode 3.03 and 3.04, Remedial Chaos Theory comes first, you can tell this multi-dimension episode was not meant to be followed by another puzzled episode (3.05, Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps) and this way, there's no Chang centric two episodes in a row (Geography of Global Conflict and Competitive Ecology both following Chang in his new position, which I like more than in season 2 where he was a disappointment, this season it's better, I really enjoyed his film noirish storyline in Competitive Ecology where he acts like a 50's detective). This year's Halloween episode was clearly not as good as last year's, but some parts were fantastic (Troy's, Pierce's, Abed's and Shirley's stories were hilarious). Not a big fan of the latest episode (3.06, Advanced Gay), although I liked the focus on Jeff's œdipal complex, plus I burst in laughs when the priest said "you're the worst" to Britta. But even a 'bad' episode of Community is extremely pleasant to watch.

The multi-dimension episode, however, was outstanding, the best of the season so far, and it gave me a wild idea (the pot I just smoked may also have contribued to this idea) : what if, at the end of the season, the paintball episode consists in a battle between the study group and the Evil study group ? Anything is possible on Community and since Dan Harmon is not afraid to push the envelope, it could happen. Let's face it, the Dean cannot possibly want to have another paintball showdown. But we've all seen the hilarious ending of episode 3.04 with the Evil study group (and their evil goaties). This timeline exists, the evil versions of the characters exist, and it would be marvellous if, from time to time throughout the season, we had some episodes with a last scene consisting in seeing a slightly different version of a key scene from the episode we've just seen, and also seeing Evil Troy and Evil Abed trying to create a portal to our universe (maybe Inspector Spacetime is Evil Abed's new favorite show as well). At the end of the season, they find out how to create a bridge, the whole Evil study group crosses over and they come to our universe to fight their other self with extra powerful paintballs, because they're crazy, because they hate themselves, simply because they're evil. Yeah, I couldn't come up with a solid reason why they would invade our world, but it'd still be fun, right ? I would develop that story on a three parter, episodes 3.24/3.25/3.26. It could all take place on one night, where the Evil Study group has trapped the regular study group at Greendale. There would not be any prize, our study group would be caught off guard and would have to fight back to stay alive/avoid huge bruises and send back the Evil versions to their universe. It would have a raw, dark, gritty style to it, far from the western/sci-fi from last season (although I admit the story contains a big Fringe-like element). And this year again, Pierce could be saving the day (since he has no evil alternate version, but he could also want to be with the Evil group since he's kind of evil). What do you think about that ?

You see how much I drift and imagine things, that's the fanboy in me going on and on about the show. I hope Community will always stay as unique, brilliant and imaginative as it is right now.


It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 7 (comedy, FX, 13 episodes (8 aired)) :

This season, may not the best of the show, but it is nonetheless fucking awesome. Sure, episode 7.01 and especially episode 7.05 were not really funny. But even an average episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is better than most comedies (there's a reason why this show is one of my favorite comedies ever), and that's why I give three thumbs up to this season. Besides, episode 7.02 (at the Jersey Shore), 7.04 (with the audit and the dead dog), 7.06 (with the storm) and 7.08 (with the shusher) were hilarious, high-quality comedy. I was laughing so hard I had tears during the funeral of Dee's "baby" in episode 7.04 (it's appropriate to cry for funerals but not in that way), one of the funniest moments of the entire series. Plus, there's this thing with this show, like with The Game of Games (7.07), it's that this episode may not have been the funniest this season (a little redundant, that's the risk with such a story) but it was filled with great ideas — I'll try the Chardee Macdennis during Christmas break, it sounds like a game for the whole family. And that's the thing with this show, they may not always have hilarious episodes but they always have the most incredible ideas.


The League season 3 (comedy, FX, 13 episodes (5 aired)) :

Terrific start for this new season. Plenty of very funny ideas, the cast is still great, I don't have anything to complain about. I notice that this season, the writers (there's pretty much only two of them, Jeff & Jackie Schaeffer, they write almost every episode, congrats) make an effort in having serialized elements from one episode to another : the porn movie shot at Andre's in episode 3.01 is accidentally shown at the suck… sukkah in episode 3.02, the jewish woman in charge on the kindergarten baby Jeffrey was supposed to go to was there, causing Ruxin to hire an au pair in episode 3.03 to look after baby Jeffrey, except she's weird and starts dating Pete, so Ruxin tries to get rid of her in episode 3.04. And I bet the ending of episode 3.05 will have a direct impact on episode 3.06. It's not much but there wasn't anything of that kind last season, and most sitcoms don't even try to have such continuity (for instance, Sunny never tries), so that's good. If you like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia you'll like this show, guaranteed, it's the same vibe, with this bunch of guys + 1 girl having these crazy, original ideas. And last week, I don't know if the writers coordinated or if FX did it on purpose but both shows dealt with social networks in the funniest, most truthful way : by showing how stupid/useless they are.


Raising Hope season 2 (comedy, FOX, 22-24 episodes (6 aired)) :

I hesitated with giving Raising Hope 'only' 2 thumbs up, but last week's hilarious episode (Killer Hope) and yesterday's fantastic episode (Jimmy and the Kid) convinced me this show is on the same level as the aforementioned comedies. Raising Hope was last year's best new sitcom and possibly the best new show on network TV (tied with The Chicago Code), a great surprise that I didn't see coming. And so far, season 2 is just as good as season 1, I'm not disappointed one bit. Episodes 2.01 (with young Jimmy as a prodigy pianist) and 2.03 (with Burt "kidnapped", that's another flashback episode) were brilliant, episodes 2.02 (with Sabrina's folks) and 2.04 (at Vegas) were just very good, but all in all it's always fun watching the Chances. Garett Dillahunt deserves to get some praise for his work, as Martha Plimpton rightfully got with an Emmy nomination. And Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman) always cracks me up, the writers come up with crazy ideas for her since she's a little coo coo, and she's often hilarious, like when she runs after her slipper getting away when in fact it's a raccoon. Also, Jimmy & Sabrina are the Jim & Pam of this decade. Basically, the whole cast in fantastic, there's not a single flaw, and when you have a perfect cast and a smart writing, what can possibly go wrong ? Also, what I love is the very fast pace of the jokes, plus their nonsense and absurdity remind me of 30 Rock, in a completely different environment. To illustrate here's a quote from Barney in episode 2.05 : "Sabrina is right, nurture is everything. My parents were lesbians but I'm not a lesbian. I do like women though. Uh, tricky math on this one". That kind of humor, among other things, is why I love Raising Hope. Watch that show !


Archer season 3 prequel (animated, FX, 3-part special assignment) :

It's tricky to talk about an animated show, I don't really have much to say except I like what the writers are trying since the middle of season 2 : they have recurring storylines, like Archer's cancer or now his murdered girlfriend, which directly leads to the premise of this 60-minute special event. Patrick Warburton's voice is great and it was really nice having David Cross (aka Dr Tobias Funke in Arrested Development, the world's first analrapist) as a guest, both their voices are pretty recognizable. This trip on an island with pirates was refreshing, you don't see that sort of situation every day on the show. Plenty of hilarious moments, like Archer's obsession to play with his Lacrosse team because they made it to final even though he's escaping from the island (in the end all his midfielders got torn into shreads with the helicopter riffle, that's a shame). It's rare but sometimes a few supposedly funny moments just fell flat (most of the time Duchess is involved), that's always been a rare yet recurring problem for me on Archer but it's okay since it's a very small portion compared to the ones that do work and are funny. The humor on this show has always been inventive and 'studied', if you will, and that's the risk with an humor entirely based on rich dialogues, they are sometimes very long, awkward and filled with obscure references, so it might flop but it generally doesn't. If you love spy action and comedy, Chuck isn't the only show covering that, there's also Archer, my favorite animated sitcom on TV, next to Futurama and American Dad.


Modern Family season 3 (comedy, ABC, 22-24 episodes (7 aired)) :

It's so rare nowadays to have a network TV series that is both extremely popular (whether it's the audience, the critics or the Emmys, Modern Family is getting praise from everyone) and actually genuinely great ! One of the major changes this season is regarding Lily : they changed the actress, she's 3-year old and now she can talk. That was a smart move that pays off every time she gets to have screen time (the episode where she expressed her anger towards a new adopted baby in the house was fantastic). Also, maybe it's me but I think Claire has particularly good storylines this season, whether it's when she wants to prove she is right and everyone else is wrong or when she hangs out with a gay dude who in fact was straight, it was some very funny stuff. We get to see more Alex/Haley scenes this season and they all work out well. Whether it's Phil, Jay, Manny, it's as brilliant as during the previous two seasons. The season started off in the best way possible (the season premiere at the cowboy camp was hilarious) and I've never been completely disappointed by any of the following episodes. Why only two thumbs up then ? Well, I'm not fond of the inevitable moral lesson at the end of each episode, preferably as a monologue in voice-over which applies to every group of characters, and I'm not a big fan of Gloria and Cameron either, their over the top style is sometimes annoying. But it's a family show, that's why it's successful and that's something you just have to cope with in such a show.


American Dad season 7 (animated, FOX, 18-24 episodes (3 aired)) :
The Cleveland Show season 3 (animated, FOX, 18-24 episodes (3 aired)) :
Family Guy season 10 (animated, FOX, 18-24 episodes (4 aired)) :

I find it tricky to talk about animated comedies, so I decided to regroup all the animated shows that I watch this fall into one paragraph, and as it turns out all of them are Seth MacFarlane's shows (it was just a 3-week special event for Archer) and I represented them above with their talking 'animal' : American Dad (left), The Cleveland Show (middle) and Family Guy (right). As if it wasn't already hard enough to talk about what I like about them in more than 5 words, very few episodes of these 3 shows have been broadcast so far this fall, so it's gonna be a general appreciation based on previous seasons. I'm going to start with American Dad, which has always been my favorite MacFarlane show, and it still is to this day. Klaus doesn't have much screen time but he's good every single time, Roger has reached a cult status to me (as iconic as Stewie on Family Guy) and Stan's the man. By the way, it may be an odd comparison but everyone loves and watches The Daily Show and Family Guy, yet me I much prefer the underdogs, the shows evolving in their shadow : The Colbert Report and American Dad, I find them much more extreme and in both cases they poke fun at the republicans by having a right wing main character (although that's not the real purpose of American Dad at all, this parody aspect was more important at the beginning of the show). Anyway, I love AD. Now, from Langley Falls to Stoolbend. I didn't like the first half of the first season of The Cleveland Show, but then it became good and today it has no problem being better than the show it is a spinoff of, Family Guy. By the way, last season's Family Guy Star Wars special was pretty epic, much better than most episodes of the show. Also, Family Guy has one particular quality or flaw, it's that sometimes there are very long jokes and the humor is based on that length (whether it's obscure references or random stuff you don't expect to see in its entirety, but you do), or the fact that they focus excessively on a minor detail. It's 50/50 with me in these situations (that we find at least one time in almost every episode) : half the time I like it, the other half I don't. Both The Cleveland Show and Family Guy are not memorable, it's rare that I truly laugh out loud watching either of them but I generally smile often during an episode, and it's always 21 minutes well spent.


The Office season 8 (comedy, NBC, 22-25 episodes (6 aired)) :

I really hesitated with 2 thumbs up but based on the first 6 episodes, despite episodes 8.04 and 8.06 having fantastic moments, and since I cannot give 1.5 thumb up (that's proposterous, you can't have half a thumb, there would be blood all over the place, until it's dry) I can sadly only give 1 good thumb up. I never doubted The Office would be able to recover from Steve Carell's departure (and the last 9 episodes of season 7 were amazing), but now I'm starting to think the show is lacking something. I was excited to see James Spader would have a recurring character this season, since I thoroughly enjoyed his scenes in episode 7.25, but his weird craziness didn't live up to the hype, except one line or two in each episode but that's not enough to fill the void left by Michael Scott. Plus, Ed Helms doesn't have enough charisma to be a lead or have an important position in the office, imo. He started to be irritating and annoying in the previous two seasons whereas I actually loved his character in seasons 3 and 4 (pre-Hangover) when he was just a supporting actor on the show. A small dose of Ed Helms is fine, but this season there's just too much of him, even more than in seasons 6 & 7. And his shipper relationship with Erin for the past 2 seasons is just bland… I love Erin, Ellie Kemper is amazing but the writers better make a move quickly on the Erin/Andy situation because the scenes between them are more frustrating and dull than anything else (e.g : the Halloween episode is a perfect example of that). I'd rather like to see a new series regular coming in and take the job away from Andy, I think that's the only way to restore the balance in the office, right now it just doesn't feel right. BUT it is still The Office, I once was a huge fan of the show and even though the show isn't as good as it once was, it is still moderately funny. The whole supporting cast is still strong and there are still very funny moments, if I'm picky it's just because this show is capable of so much better. Nonetheless, The Garden Party (episode 8.04), set outside the office, was absolutely hilarious (there were some really epic Dwight moments). But overall, based on the first 6 episodes, this season doesn't shape up to come close to the level of quality of seasons 2 to 5. I didn't miss Michael in the last third of the season 7 and I thought maybe the show could remain just as fun without him, but now, after a slow start of the new season, I do realize there's something missing and something has to change rather sooner than later.


The Big Bang Theory season 5 (comedy, CBS, 22-24 episodes (8 aired)) :

I don't know how to explain it but this season I feel tired of TBBT. Maybe it's the multi-camera format which induces repetitivity and which I've never really been a fan of. Maybe it's because Amy is getting seriously annoying and yet we see more and more of her. Or maybe it's just the show is going round in circle, has reached its peek in season 2 and now is slightly declining (I'm always happy to watch a new episode, it's just not as laugh out loud funny as it once was). The dialogues are still well written, the comedic timing and talent of Jim Parsons always do the trick no matter how inspired his storylines are. The episode with Sheldon's arch nemesis Will Wheaton (5.05, The Russian Rocket Reaction) was the best of the season so far, and Raj has been more interesting than ever, I particularly liked his storyline in episode 5.04 where he has a deaf girlfriend, that was just a terrific idea and my only regret is that they wrapped it up in 20 minutes, I feel like they could have kept this storyline and developed it on a few episodes, the writers were really onto something here, and given the way things ended between Raj and her, she's not going to be back anytime soon, unfortunately.


: Blue Mountain State season 3 (comedy, Spike, 13 episodes (9 aired)) :

This show is never going to get any kind of awards or praise, but it's just fun to watch. The stories always manage to be crazy and funny, and you'd think the writers would be lazy on such a show but they try to keep things fresh and that appreciable, we're in season 3 and I don't get bored at all, if it were always the same stuff over and over I would have stopped a long time ago. The other show that I watched evolving in the same area was Workaholics, but I stopped at episode 2.04 last month because I didn't care much about the cast/characters, even though there were sometimes great ideas, maybe this type of comedy is constricted when set in a workplace environment. On BMS, there's no workplace (unless you consider football fields and parties as workplaces), the cast is great and the show is fun, you cannot expect much more. Thad is my favorite character, he really embodies all the craziness and stupidity of most of the storylines on this show. If you want smart, subtle writing with character development and real acting performances, you should check out the first 9 shows of my list. But if you want stupid, harmless humor where football, alcohol and pretty ladies are key words, then give a shot to Blue Mountain State (and it comes from someone who hates all the American Pie crap and I know it doesn't look like it but BMS has much more to offer than that).


How I Met Your Mother season 7 (comedy, CBS, 22-24 episodes (9 aired)) :

I was gonna give two thumbs down to this first third of the season, but then I decided to watch the latest episode (7.09, Disaster Averted) and it turns out it is, by far, the best episode of this season, I genuinely laughed at multiple times, so in my generosity I grant only one thumb down to HIMYM. I mean, I don't give a rat's ass about the big ending 'twist' in the taxi (who ever doubted that, seriously ? From the moment we saw Barney was about to get married It was just obvious Robin would be the bride, or else it's Nora but Barney is gonna walk out at the last moment to be with Robin — mark my words, something like that will happen) but all that matters is that the episode was funny, and truly enjoyable to watch. Or maybe I really liked episode 7.09 because I watched it right after episode 7.08 (the Halloween episode) which was fucking awful, I don't know. Now, let's see what I liked about the first 8 episodes : Nora is cool, I guess that's something, and Barney's storyline in the Ducky Tie episode (7.03) was just great. Other than that, I draw a blank... I couldn't care less about the identity of the mother, and the writers clearly care even less than me, but they would be wise to tell us who she is and stick with her as a recurring character until the end of the show. It's gonna be like comparing apples with oranges but think of the cliffhanger of the third season of Lost : the show did more than okay after the pivotal, essential question of the show since day one (will they get out of the island ?) was resolved, and it gave a whole new dynamic to the show. Well, if they reveal the identity of the mother and not make us wait until the series finale, I think it would give a much-needed kick to HIMYM, shake things up a little bit. Because the lazy, one-dimensional writing is exasperating, the show needs a game-changer now more than ever and such a twist could do the trick. When the show was good (I draw the line at episode 4.06 (Ted's failed marriage with Stella) — there have been good episodes since then but not many and not nearly as much as there were before), I could get past Josh Radnor's or Allison Hannigan's inability to act, but now it's annoying. Well, for Radnor it's not an acting problem as much as it is a charisma problem, he's quite transparent, perhaps they cast the wrong guy for the lead of the show — hey, I'd be totally cool if Bob Saget took over from now on, Ted is getting old after all ! But despite my criticism I'm still here, watching the show because I'm not gonna stop after 6 seasons when we're so close to the end (it better end in season 8) and it's only 20 minutes a week, but I'd be lying if I said I'm genuinely happy or eager to watch this show anymore. If I get one or two smiles per episode (most likely thanks to Barney) then it's a good episode, and I'm glad when I see an exception with a great episode every now and then (episode 7.09), that has become my standard on HIMYM for the past 3 years, sadly.


And in my mid-December review, I will talk about the new seasons of Boardwalk Empire, Braquo, Call Me Fitz, Chuck, Dexter, Fringe, How to Make it in America, Hung, Nikita, Sons of Anarchy, The Good Wife, The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead. I haven't seen anything yet, I'll watch those half seasons (for 6 of them) or full seasons (for 7 of them) during the upcoming weeks. For now, I bid you adieu but I'll be back in 6 weeks with Part IV : My New Shows, Part 2. And now, I'm off to watch the first episode of The Fades.