Category Archives: Best Thing on TV This Week

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (1/19 – 1/26)

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This was a thoroughly entertaining week in the world of television. Sunday started the week off on the right foot with two great NFL playoff games. Monday’s Castle finally gave us the end of Alexis’s relationship with Pi as well as a very public engagement confirmation from the very private Beckett. Tuesday’s FOX comedies had an excellent week: Brooklyn Nine-Nine introduced us to the term “gymfiltration,” New Girl reminded us all why Nick Miller is the best boyfriend ever, and The Mindy Project‘s midseason finale was sealed with a kiss. Wednesday’s Nashville showcased the great chemistry between both Rayna and Deacon and Juliette and Avery. On Thursday, Parks and Recreation introduced us to Johnny Karate and introduced Ron to the iPod. And Saturday Night Live used Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio to reenact Titanic‘s most memorable scene.

When all is said and done, though, there’s only one moment this week that I’ve watched and re-watched an embarrassing number of times—only one moment that changed the entire direction of a show and had me screaming at my TV, “WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL APRIL AFTER THAT?!” And that was Danny and Mindy’s first kiss on The Mindy Project.

I’ve been hoping for Mindy and Danny to get together ever since he showed up to her Christmas party last season with a gingerbread house and helped her through her cheating boyfriend crisis. They have the kind of relationship all the best romantic comedies are made of: the bantering, the bickering, the challenging, and, ultimately, the influencing each other to be their best selves. As Danny told Mindy so beautifully, that’s how you know someone is right for you—they force you to be your best self. The beauty of Mindy and Danny’s relationship is that neither is actively trying to change the other, but they still push the other to be their best. Danny grounds Mindy, and Mindy brings life and passion into Danny’s world. Danny makes Mindy more of a realist, and Mindy makes Danny more of a romantic.

Mindy wants to live in a romantic comedy, and Danny gave her the ultimate romantic gesture when he found her in the back of the plane and kissed her like I’m sure many of us watching have always wanted to be kissed. There were so many things to love about that kiss: the way Danny’s thumbs grazed Mindy’s cheekbones when he pulled away, the way Mindy shyly nodded to give him permission before he kissed her again, Danny’s hands as the kiss went on (thank goodness for full-body shots!), and the fact that these two passionate people kissed each other for the first time with such surprising tenderness.

If you ever want to remember that Danny Castellano is hotter than we ever imagined he could be, watch this again and again.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

 

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (1/12 – 1/19)

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This week in television got off to a strong start on Sunday night with a Golden Globe Awards ceremony that featured plenty of laughs, more than a few surprise winners, and plenty of fun courtesy of hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. On Monday, Castle’s father made a reappearance and and a wedding date was finally set on Castle. Tuesday’s FOX comedies were all strong, as Peralta and Santiago went on the best “worst date ever” on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jess tried to bond with Coach over basketball on New Girl, and the gang from The Mindy Project traveled to LA. Nashville returned from its winter hiatus on Wednesday with new drama for all its characters, and Thursday’s Parks and Recreation opened the door to many new beginnings. Finally, the week ended on Saturday with a SAG Awards ceremony that gave us three of my favorite award-show speeches in recent memory: Jared Leto’s eloquent tribute to his mother, Lupita Nyong’o’s articulate expression of gratitude, and Rita Moreno’s reminder that there’s no one in Hollywood—past or present—who has her sense of style and class.

Overall, this was an excellent week in television. But it was hard for anything that aired this week to top the way it began. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s monologue at this year’s Golden Globe ceremony might have been even funnier than last year, and their hits just kept coming as the night went on. And as a fan of Poehler’s work for years, nothing was better than watching her finally get rewarded for her work as Leslie Knope. Poehler’s warmth came through in her genuinely surprised speech, and it proved what I’ve always believed to be true of her: She’s a living example of the fact that you can be nice and still be successful; you can be kind and still be strong and respected in your field of work. To see her finally get recognized for playing a character defined by her ability to be both unfailingly sweet and uncompromisingly strong was very inspiring for me as a young woman who looks up to both Leslie Knope and the woman who brings her to life.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (1/5 – 1/12)

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After taking a couple of weeks off as I waited for holiday hiatuses to end, it’s time once again to take a look at the best of the past week in the television world. Sunday gave us a hilarious and entertaining look at the last five years of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Castle returned on Monday with one of its most emotional hours ever. Tuesday’s New Girl presented a charming look at the careers we choose, and The Mindy Project continued to enable my Danny Castellano obsession. Finally, Thursday’s 100th episode of Parks and Recreation served as a reminder of everything that makes that show so special—it encourages us to dream big and love big.

There were a plethora of excellent moments on TV this week—from Danny’s pop culture inspirations for Mindy’s workouts to Leslie and Ben’s trip to Paris. But my favorite moment of the week came from Monday’s episode of Castle. The episode’s final scene, with Ryan and Esposito reuniting with their loved ones, including Ryan’s new daughter Sarah Grace, was filled with a warmth that went straight to my heart. There was something incredibly moving and beautiful about the image of Lanie and Esposito, Ryan and Jenny (and Sarah Grace), and Castle and Beckett so happy together. It reinforced the idea that Castle is a show about the family we create and the people we choose to love far more than it’s a show about mysteries and murders.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (12/15 – 12/22)

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I apologize for the slight delay in getting this post finished. I hope all of you had a happy weekend of pre-Christmas festivities! 

With Christmas fast approaching and many shows on short or painfully long hiatuses already, this was a relatively uneventful week in the world of television—with a few major exceptions, of course. Sunday’s midseason finale of Once Upon a Time was every bit as compelling and emotional as a series finale, with only its final moments serving as a reminder that there’s plenty of fun in store for us once March 9 rolls around. The rest of the week was filled with Christmas specials and classic films (from It’s a Wonderful Life to The Sound of Music), and it concluded with the hilarious hosting performance Jimmy Fallon provided on Saturday Night Live, proving that his beautiful bromance with Justin Timberlake is creative comedy gold.

I don’t think it should come as a surprise that my favorite television moment of the week came from Once Upon a Time. “Going Home” was one of the show’s most powerful hours to date—from Rumplestiltskin’s climactic showdown with Pan to Regina’s gorgeous character growth; from the Charming Family’s final hug to Hook’s last promise to Emma. But in an hour of incredible emotional highs and lows, nothing was better than the sequence of Emma and Henry driving away from Storybrooke as the town disappeared under the purple cloud of Regina’s magic. Everything about this scene was perfect—the music, the lighting, the editing, and the subtle but effective acting by Jennifer Morrison with just her eyes in the rearview mirror.

I got choked up when the new curse engulfed Henry’s storybook—that symbol of hope and connection between mother, son, and the world of fairytales they were leaving behind. But I completely lost it when Emma chose to hold baby Henry in her new memories. Although it’s not real, whenever Emma gets her old memories back, she will still have the belief that this new memory represents—the belief in the possibility of her having a happy ending as a mother. To see Emma’s entire character arc reflected in this change from the inability to believe in her role as a mother to her acceptance of this role was truly touching. And the way Morrison showed—just in the slight crinkle around her eyes—Emma’s new sense of peace and happiness as the new memories took hold was wonderful.

The final scene of the episode was worth all of the emotional exhaustion that came before it. Hook’s arrival in Emma and Henry’s world was a most welcome surprise for me as a viewer, and it gave me such hope for the second half of this season. I’m hopeful that Emma will get back her old memories while still getting to keep the ones of her happy life with her son. I’m hopeful that she’ll have someone by her side who crossed realms to find her after she was supposed to be gone forever. And I’m hopeful that Emma will be able to accept and be with people who accept all that she is—the savior, the mother, the princess, the lost girl, and all of the other facets that make her the kind of character such great episodes are based around.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (12/8 – 12/15)

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This was a slower week than usual in the world of television, as many shows had already begun their winter hiatuses. However, there are still some shows that are getting into the home stretch for this first half of the season, and they’re approaching these last few weeks with great dramatic flair. For example, Sunday’s Once Upon a Time set up a winter finale that is sure to be emotionally gripping and filled with intriguing twists. Wednesday’s Nashville put tears in my eyes with a beautiful but heartbreaking near-confession of love from Juliette to Avery, and it made me gasp in its final moments. Thursday featured two excellent winter finales: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland ended with a twist I never saw coming, and Scandal was an intense as ever, allowing the most seasoned acting veterans among its cast to do what they do best.

The incredible acting talent on display in this week’s episode of Scandal made that winter finale the best thing I saw on television this week. From Kate Burton’s incredible work in the episode’s horrifyingly tense opening scene to Jeff Perry’s tortured performance throughout, this episode showcased the way great actors can make even the craziest stories feel compelling. But the MVP of this episode has to go to Joe Morton. Rowan’s complete and total verbal smackdown of Fitz was the most satisfying thing I’ve seen on television in a long time. The writing was perfect (“You disappoint me as a suitor for my daughter’s hand.”), but Morton’s delivery made those excellent lines feel even more pointed. (Every time he called Fitz a boy, it was like you could feel the condemnation dripping from his mouth.) Never has brutal honesty been so brilliant.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (12/1 – 12/8)

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This week in television began on Sunday with an episode of Once Upon a Time that answered some important questions (How did Regina come to adopt Henry?) and raised some even more important ones (What kind of havoc will Peter Pan wreak upon Storybrooke in Henry’s body?). That was followed by an episode of The Good Wife that featured one storytelling and emotional highpoint after another. Tuesday may have been without a new episode of New Girl, but a great new episode of The Mindy Project (with special appearances from wine bras, a gingerbread Monticello, and dancing Danny Castellano) more than made up for it. Wednesday’s Nashville featured a father/daughter duet that made me weepy, and Thursday’s Scandal had so many twists that I think my head is still spinning. Thursday also featured NBC’s live TV production of The Sound of Music, which I actually thoroughly enjoyed, for the record.

There were some amazing TV moments this week: Will preparing to question Alicia on The Good Wife, Maddie and Deacon singing together on Nashville, the last 10 minutes of Scandal…But nothing I saw on television this week—heck, maybe nothing I’ve seen on television this year—was better than Chris Messina showing off his dance skills on The Mindy Project. A lot of shows threw a lot of twists our way this week, but was any twist more entertaining than Danny’s Secret Santa gift to Mindy being a perfectly executed dance routine to Aaliyah’s “Try Again”?

It was such a great twist that I had to deviate from my regular posting schedule to talk about it with a fervor that scared even me. 

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (11/24 – 12/1)

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This holiday week gave us a lot to celebrate as fans of great TV. With Once Upon a Time taking the week off, I also took a break from TV on Sunday night, but I was greeted on Monday with a great group of final performances on Dancing with the Stars and one of the most entertaining Castle episodes of the season. Tuesday saw a new champion crowned on Dancing with the Stars (Congratulations, Amber Riley!) and a rustic Thanksgiving celebration on New Girl. On Wednesday, we were treated to a look behind the scenes at the making of NBC’s live production of The Sound of Music, and Thursday featured the classic Thanksgiving combination of the Macy’s parade, the National Dog Show, and plenty of great football. Finally, the holiday weekend wrapped up with two great movie marathons: the Harry Potter films (on ABC Family) and both Star Wars trilogies (on Spike).

With so many great options to choose from, it was difficult to pick just one that was the best. Instead, I picked one TV personality who stood out above and beyond the rest this week (and really every week, if I’m being honest). From dancing and singing with the Sesame Street cast in the Macy’s parade to performing another classic holiday parody medley with Rashida Jones (and special guest Carrie Underwood), Jimmy Fallon made me smile so much my face hurt this week. His enthusiasm and sense of joy are unrivaled and infectious. Fallon makes me smile like no one else on television, and he does it just by being his happy and charming self.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (11/17 – 11/24)

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With Thanksgiving right around the corner, there was plenty to be thankful for this week in the world of television. Sunday’s Once Upon a Time gave us one of the best twists in the show’s history and ended on one heck of a controversial cliffhanger. That hour was followed up by another stellar hour of The Good Wife. Monday gave us our first glimpse of this season’s Dancing with the Stars finalists as well as a terrifically terrifying Castle episode no one will be forgetting anytime soon. Tuesday’s New Girl introduced romance back into the lives of Coach, Cece, and Winston, and The Mindy Project featured another funny showdown between the doctors and the midwives. Wednesday’s Nashville reminded me why I love the idea of Avery and Juliette getting together someday (and reminded me why I hate “fake baby” stories). And last night’s Saturday Night Live made me love Josh Hutcherson even more than I already do.

It was difficult to choose the best of the best, and in any other week Tamala Jones’s excellent work in Castle‘s “Disciple” episode would have taken the cake. However, the reveal of Peter Pan’s identity on Once Upon a Time was so shocking and yet so right for the characters and the story that nothing else on TV this week could compare. “A child can’t have a child” may go down as one of the most chilling and perfect lines ever said on Once Upon a Time, and the way that one revelation affected so many of the relationships on this show was astounding. It also allowed for the brilliant showdown between Pan and Rumplestiltskin where everything was finally laid on the table. Watching Robbie Kay and Robert Carlyle go toe-to-toe has been a treat for this entire season, and they’ve never been better together than they were here.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (11/10 – 11/17)

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After a great weekend of adventures in New York City with some of my favorite Nerdy Girls (more on that will come later this week), I’m ready to get back to business! 

This week in television started strong once again, with Once Upon a Time‘s return to Storybrooke and another excellent outing for The Good Wife. Monday’s Dancing with the Stars featured some great surprises, and Castle reminded us all of the great story Castle and Beckett are writing together. Tuesday’s New Girl brought all of the cast together in some very fun ways, and The Mindy Project had one of its best episodes of the season. Nashville brought some serious emotion to Wednesday night, with Deacon and Maddie finally getting to bond as father and daughter. And I’m eagerly anticipating devouring the episodes of Parks and Recreation and Scandal I have saved on my DVR from Thursday night.

For another week, Sunday set the bar incredibly high in terms of the quality of the television shows on display. Once Upon a Time proved that Emma is more than just a prize at the point of a love triangle—she’s a mother whose journey to save her son is more important than any journey towards romance. So when Hook reassured her without any doubt that she would get her son back, “I’ve yet to see you fail,” suddenly became one of the most romantic lines this show has ever had. Emma’s role as a mother is all she can focus on right now, but it’s interesting to note that Hook was the one she let her guard down in front of when she began to doubt her ability to fulfill all that role entails. And his complete lack of doubt is exactly what she needed. Emma Swan isn’t used to people believing in her with that kind of sincerity, especially not in her as Emma rather than the Savior. But Hook gave her that—unconditional belief in her ability to save Henry, in her strength as a woman, as a mother, and as a fighter.

Yes, all the stuff about winning her heart was swoon-worthy (mainly because of Colin O’Donoghue’s gift for being completely sincere and sexy at the same time), but Once Upon a Time is a show about belief even more than it is about romance. And in this scene, Hook’s belief in Emma gave new depth to one of the most interesting relationships to develop so far in Season Three.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (11/3 – 11/10)

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My TV-viewing week got off to a great start on Sunday with another fantastic one-two punch of dramatic television, as game-changing secrets were revealed on Once Upon a Time and the tension continued to rise on The Good Wife. Monday gave us the pure entertainment of “Cher Night” on Dancing with the Stars and a Castle episode that began to pave the way for Beckett, Castle, and Alexis to form their own unique family. Tuesday featured the return of Coach on New Girl and another episode of The Mindy Project that had me screaming for Mindy and Danny to just get together already (and I mean that in the best possible way). Thursday’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland built on the great reveal of Anastasia’s identity, and Scandal forever endeared Lisa Kudrow’s Josie Marcus to me with a brilliant speech on sexism in the political world (and in the media in general). 

This week featured many fantastic acting moments (Kudrow on Scandal, all of the men of New Girl, Christine Baranski on The Good Wife), but no one scene showcased the phenomenal talents of its cast the way the “Echo Cave” scene did on this week’s Once Upon a Time. The entire premise of the scene was brilliant, allowing some of the most emotionally complex and moving relationships on the show to take center stage in way that moved the plot along while being emotionally satisfying as well. 

Each secret packed a huge emotional punch: Hook revealing that Emma is the reason he now has hope that he can love again after 300 years of living in the darkness he clung to after Milah’s death; Snow’s confession of wanting another baby because her relationship with Emma is unique but not what she wanted; Charming finally coming clean about not being able to leave Neverland; and Emma telling Neal that she’d hoped he was dead so she could finally move on from all of the pain associated with their relationship. But what made this scene so compelling and moving was the way each actor gave everything to make us feel the weight of those secrets as well as the impact each one had on every person in that cave.

Colin O’Donoghue made Hook’s vulnerability truly feel like it was coming from a man who hasn’t opened his heart like that in three lifetimes—from the way he was visibly steeling himself before sharing his secret to the way his eyes never left Emma throughout the rest of the scene. Ginnifer Goodwin made me believe Snow was gutted by having to share her secret in front of Emma, her voice strained with emotion as she struggled to come to terms with just how much the curse is still affecting her family. Josh Dallas’s warmth and earnest line delivery once again broke my heart. Even Michael Raymond-James made me emotional in his brief moments on screen; his “You can tell me anything,” was delivered with perfect sincerity.

And then there was Jennifer Morrison. Her work as Emma Swan this season has been nothing short of incredible, and this scene was another highlight. Each word of her secret hurt because you could feel how much it hurt Emma to have to look into the eyes of the man she will always love and tell him she is so broken by their relationship that she’d hoped he was dead. Emma Swan is such a beautifully human character, a fairytale princess whose life has been anything but a fairytale. And in this scene perhaps more than any other, Morrison made us feel the extent of the pain this broken woman has lived with every day since the day Neal let her go to jail. This scene needed to happen; it was cathartic, and every emotional beat it hit was earned.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?