shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2014-02-13 08:04 pm
shallowness) wrote2014-02-13 08:04 pm
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Nashville and Parks and Rec return
Last night, I caught up on Nashville and Parks and Recreation - having mistakenly thought the latter was airing on Wednesday night. For once, it was nice to be wrong.
Nashville 2.1
Mixed bag, I suppose. Juliette came out as the most compelling character - but in fairness, Rayna was pretty passive for most of the episode ;) - trying to be a scheming bitch and not feel, but failing a little. I loved that Rayna’s eldest got to her (but yikes! of all the people to confide in, and yet, Juliette could understand a little) and Juliette’s responses to Scarlett’s plea were completely credible.
Don’t be mean to Scarlett! is still a kneejerk response for me, then, apparently. Obviously she said no to the proposal, and if it took a burnt sofa to get Gunnar to start to see why and that he needs to work through his feelings – fine. And I was almost delirious that they got to do a duet, even if I thought there was too much mike, because guh! when they sing, I am liable to forgive the latter half of the first series.
The flashbacks cum memories mostly didn’t work due to a combo of bad wigs and wondering how Deacon could remember a conversation he couldn’t have overheard or if it was Rayna processing. And I’ll tell you what else didn’t work, pacing-wise, was the final two scenes. Couldn’t they have ended the episode on Rayna waking up? Yes, the revelation about their father being involved in their mother’s death was a Shocking Twist that tied into some of what had happened, but it just sat weirdly as an ending. I do love it when Tandy is a mostly good family member, though.
There were lots of little things I didn’t really remember from the end of the first season – like I was vaguely aware that Deacon hadn’t been driving, but the main point of his behaviour was that he was blaming himself for everything. I'm glad that they’ve expanded the cast – it makes sense given that most of the characters were regulars. But has Emily the PA/only person Juliette could ask to be her bridesmaid really gone?
I’ve been spoiled that Juliette/Avery is happening. I’m curious to see how serious it is (I’m biased, but I tend to think, given the duetting, that Scarlett/Gunnar is where the show’s at and Juliette and Avery were basically playing Rayna and Deacon in her song so it could last longer than Juliette's 24 hours with her new PA). Still, I would have liked to see Juliette/Liam be a thing, because she irritated his muso soul and he literally took none of her sparkly bull PLUS there was the Rayna history. It might still happen...
Parks and Recreation - 3.1 Go Big or Go Home
Hee hee. I would like to study the Ron Swanson pyramid of greatness in greater detail! Thank you, internet.
Look, I started giggling at the Previously and was very excited that there was new footage in the credits.
Apart from the laughing, I thought that the episode did a fairly good job of reminding us of who everyone was (though I was kind of whelmed to underwhelmed on April’s return after the with-holding) and integrating the new guys – Ben is extremely sympathetic because Chris forces him to be the grown-up (except when he had to do the exposition about the child mayor thing) and he so had Leslie’s number on the attempted sneakiness. Except she is a FORCE. I wanted to say for positivity, but look what she made Ann do. Tsk.
Ep 2 Flu Season
I may have laughed less, although I marvelled at the make-up for the flu victims. It weirdly makes sense that Leslie would still be perky when stricken by the flu. (And Ben being so taken at her pulling off the speech, aww. I am already rooting so much for those two. Seriously.)
I think there would have been more laughs if they hadn’t gone for her and Tom being surprisingly competent under the circs. But it got an aww.
Ron Swanson loving Andy being really bad as his PA, (but not in as brilliant a way as April) and that weird father-son male-bonding thing ‘You had me at meat tornado’/cheesy grins = LOVE.
That was a strangely empty hospital given that it was supposed to be overstretched by a flu epidemic.
Nashville 2.1
Mixed bag, I suppose. Juliette came out as the most compelling character - but in fairness, Rayna was pretty passive for most of the episode ;) - trying to be a scheming bitch and not feel, but failing a little. I loved that Rayna’s eldest got to her (but yikes! of all the people to confide in, and yet, Juliette could understand a little) and Juliette’s responses to Scarlett’s plea were completely credible.
Don’t be mean to Scarlett! is still a kneejerk response for me, then, apparently. Obviously she said no to the proposal, and if it took a burnt sofa to get Gunnar to start to see why and that he needs to work through his feelings – fine. And I was almost delirious that they got to do a duet, even if I thought there was too much mike, because guh! when they sing, I am liable to forgive the latter half of the first series.
The flashbacks cum memories mostly didn’t work due to a combo of bad wigs and wondering how Deacon could remember a conversation he couldn’t have overheard or if it was Rayna processing. And I’ll tell you what else didn’t work, pacing-wise, was the final two scenes. Couldn’t they have ended the episode on Rayna waking up? Yes, the revelation about their father being involved in their mother’s death was a Shocking Twist that tied into some of what had happened, but it just sat weirdly as an ending. I do love it when Tandy is a mostly good family member, though.
There were lots of little things I didn’t really remember from the end of the first season – like I was vaguely aware that Deacon hadn’t been driving, but the main point of his behaviour was that he was blaming himself for everything. I'm glad that they’ve expanded the cast – it makes sense given that most of the characters were regulars. But has Emily the PA/only person Juliette could ask to be her bridesmaid really gone?
I’ve been spoiled that Juliette/Avery is happening. I’m curious to see how serious it is (I’m biased, but I tend to think, given the duetting, that Scarlett/Gunnar is where the show’s at and Juliette and Avery were basically playing Rayna and Deacon in her song so it could last longer than Juliette's 24 hours with her new PA). Still, I would have liked to see Juliette/Liam be a thing, because she irritated his muso soul and he literally took none of her sparkly bull PLUS there was the Rayna history. It might still happen...
Parks and Recreation - 3.1 Go Big or Go Home
Hee hee. I would like to study the Ron Swanson pyramid of greatness in greater detail! Thank you, internet.
Look, I started giggling at the Previously and was very excited that there was new footage in the credits.
Apart from the laughing, I thought that the episode did a fairly good job of reminding us of who everyone was (though I was kind of whelmed to underwhelmed on April’s return after the with-holding) and integrating the new guys – Ben is extremely sympathetic because Chris forces him to be the grown-up (except when he had to do the exposition about the child mayor thing) and he so had Leslie’s number on the attempted sneakiness. Except she is a FORCE. I wanted to say for positivity, but look what she made Ann do. Tsk.
Ep 2 Flu Season
I may have laughed less, although I marvelled at the make-up for the flu victims. It weirdly makes sense that Leslie would still be perky when stricken by the flu. (And Ben being so taken at her pulling off the speech, aww. I am already rooting so much for those two. Seriously.)
I think there would have been more laughs if they hadn’t gone for her and Tom being surprisingly competent under the circs. But it got an aww.
Ron Swanson loving Andy being really bad as his PA, (but not in as brilliant a way as April) and that weird father-son male-bonding thing ‘You had me at meat tornado’/cheesy grins = LOVE.
That was a strangely empty hospital given that it was supposed to be overstretched by a flu epidemic.