It was an awfully busy week for me this past one, so I got caught up this morning on what little shows have returned from their winter hiatus.
First on the docket was ABC’s half hour comedy, Splitting Up Together, starring Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. Sometimes I love this show, and other times it’s just blah. I’m a little unsure if there’s enough meat and potatoes for this show to go on for too long, but perhaps I’ll be surprised in the future. This show last left off with Lena getting over her brief fling with foreign contractor, Vlad, and Martin getting cozy with a delightfully bitchy Ali Larter (Heroes R.I.P.). It only makes sense that this return episode would start off with a wet dream where Martin unsnaps Lena’s body suit. Lena is so moved by this dream that in an attempt to cover for starring she slams her face straight into the refrigerator. At the dentist to get her tooth fixed, she accepts an unknown pill (Mary Jane) from an unassuming old lady in the waiting room. The rest of the episode focuses on Martin trying to get his high ex-wife safely to parent night at the school. On a lame side story, Lena’s annoying sister Maya asks the most unfortunate waiter out for a date. The supporting cast for this show does absolutely nothing in terms of story line or plot, but maybe that’s intentional. Right now, both Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson are funny enough to keep me watching. Although I have a feeling this could be the next The Good Place for me.
Next up was the return of Brooklyn Nine-Nine! Praise the television gods that NBC picked this up. One of my favorite comedies on TV right now, this episode left off right where FOX ended it – on a cliffhanger! After Jake and Amy’s wedding at the bar, Captain Holt received word if he was going to be the new commissioner. He was!…until he read it back with the word “not” in there. Jake and Amy headed off for a very intimate and tropical honeymoon with some wedding insurance money. When they get there though, they run into the deeply depressed Captain Holt! In order to get him out of their hair they decide to include him in all of their activities so he’d cheer up and head home early. It worked in the only way this show would make it work – Captain Holt was going to quit the police department! Cue Santiago getting real PG angry at him, in which he then had a change of heart. Jake and Amy were then able to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon role playing at Melvil Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal System) and Holly Genero from Die Hard, respectively. Meanwhile in the office, Gina’s mom left Boyle’s dad, so naturally Boyle badgers Gina into getting to the bottom of it – her mom was cheating! Elsewhere, Sargent Jeffords was having difficulty helping Rosa with a dilemma. In searching for Holt’s handbook for if he became commissioner, he found out that there were no specific instructions since he trusts Jeffords completely. Chock full of jokes, this was a great premiere episode on a new network!
Like I promised, here is my review of Gotham’s second episode of the final season, “Trespassers”. Picking up almost essentially where last week left off, the orphan reveals there are other children being worked to the bone for a group called the Soothsayers who are powered by smoke (?). Jim and Harvey are off to find their whereabouts after bargaining with Barbara into borrowing a large truck. With a little scuffle, they find the kids and get them all loaded to head off to a safe location except for three of them. The kids along with Jim and Harvey find a sketchy house and head in for protection. They got more than they bargained for when they run into “the mother.” She was certainly creepy – and a cannibal! While trying to escape, Jim gets in the middle of the Soothsayers and another painted-up gang both bickering over who gets the kill shot for Penguin’s ransom on Jim’s head. Barbara steps in to end it, with Jim’s help, too, and all is fine in the world of the children and most of the remaining citizens of Gotham. Meanwhile, we revisit the Riddler who wakes up to find himself chained to a bed. Satisfied that he’s stopped Ed from taking over while he sleeps, he heads into the bathroom only to find a gang member tied up! That Street Demon gang member leads him back to his boss, who also happens to be killed. On the wall in spray paint says “Penguin was here,” which means Ed framed Penguin to start a gang war. The biggest revelation of this episode was Bruce finding “the witch” mentioned in last week’s episode. That witch ended up being Ivy, who gave Bruce a seed that would help cure Selina of her paralysis. Although Ivy warned that it will change her. After taking the seed, Selina is able to walk again, but we see her eyes shift to the legendary cat eyes. What happens next week remains to be seen, but I’m excited!