Midseason Progress Report: Wednesday Shows

***Updated 15 December 2011 8:18am*** Real life happened yesterday so I only got a chance to write a partial post. I’ve now updated this with the rest of my Wednesday shows.

Up All Night – C+

NBC's new hit comedy stars Christina Applegate and Will Arnett as a couple dealing with the transition from carefree professionals to new parents. I've had friends drop this series because it is too "precious." Well, to me, IT'S NOT PRECIOUS ENOUGH!!! Just. Kidding. It is plenty precious. And the two lead characters sometimes get on my nerves (Applegate's Reagan for sometimes being a condescending know-it-all and Arnett's Chris for being super emo). Essentially, what I am trying to say is that Up All Night is the NBC equivalent of How I Met Your Mother. I'm not into the premise, most of the characters annoy me, but since the show is only half an hour it isn't a big enough commitment to warrant dropping. Plus, there is a special someone who holds my interest. In the case of HIMYM, it's Jason Segel. And in the case of Up All Night, it's Maya Rudolph! Her quasi-Oprah character Ava is the truest of true delights. She is neurotic, absurd, and charming. I would say that, on average, my enjoyment of an episode of the show is 90-95% Ava and 5-10% anything else that happened. So, I will continue watching Up All Night, but I know it will never become one of my most beloved comedies.

Suburgatory – A+

Speaking of beloved comedies, Suburgatory is still going strong as one of the smartest and funniest new sitcoms of the season. I just paused and tried to think of actors and characters from the show to highlight, but my brain instantly overloaded because there isn't a single person on the show that doesn't deserve props. Jane Levy as the uprooted urban teenager Tessa and Jeremy Sisto as her father George, who moved the two out to the suburbs in order to have a more wholesome family life. Both are just spectacular as they waver between too-cool-for-this sarcasm and pessimism to moments of suburban indulgence. Then there's secondary characters like Cheryl Hines' trophy wife Dallas, which ranks at the top of her list of funniest roles, and Carly Chaikin as her deadpan (or dead inside?) popular daughter Dalia. I could go on and on, honestly, but instead I will just say this: I love Suburgatory. I want it to be around for years and I want it to get mad Emmy props next year because the writing and acting are truly great.

Harry's Law – A+

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this season of Harry’s Law. The show’s abbreviated first season (12 episodes) started off very strong. I was in love with all of the characters, they told compelling case-of-the-week stories, and it had all the trademark things that made it a David E. Kelley series without feeling like a copycat of any other David E. Kelley series. But then as the weeks passed and the ratings never really exploded, I started getting nervous. With NBC being the network of rare chances, I was sure that Harry’s Law was not going to make it to a second season. I started distancing myself from the show while I watched. So, I don’t have fond memories of the last few episodes of the first season. But it was renewed and it is doing so well this season. I was nervous about all of the changes—two of the original cast members left, a big setting change, new series regulars—but there is not one thing that hasn’t worked out for this series. I think the biggest improvement during this second season has been the addition of Mark Valley to the cast. He plays a macho high-powered litigator who joins Harry’s practice as a partner and says things like, “You wanna take it outside?!” anytime someone disagrees with him or pisses him off. Sounds like he would be ridiculously annoying, but now. Valley gives him life, humility, charm, everything. And the reason why Valley is such an amazing addition to the cast is because his superpower as an actor is that he slips into character so well that you absolutely cannot imagine anyone else in the universe ever being cast in his role. That suits the David E. Kelley world very, very well. As you can see, I really could go on about this show forever. So I will end it with a recommendation to check it out sometime if you haven’t already. It’s more than a quirky legal drama! It’s a show with real heart and amazing characters. Fini!

Modern Family – A-

Confession: The minus in the grade of A- is for selfish reasons. Namely, that I need MORE. STELLA. Other than that, Modern Family is still one of the most smart, lovable, and vibrant sitcoms on television. I am not surprised that it was just nominated for several Golden Globe and SAG Awards, including Ensemble Cast of a Comedy Series. One of the things that stands out to me this season is that they haven’t gone overboard with guest stars and one-off character appearances. It’s really been about the family this year and it’s been great to be able to focus on those dynamics. I really have nothing else to say. This show is just on a roll!

Law & Order: SVU – C

Here’s another NBC drama that underwent numerous changes this season, and I think SVU is faring almost as well as Harry’s Law. Of course, you have to factor in the reality that SVU is tired. So basically any change is going to do it some good. But how the show would do after the loss of Christopher Meloni’s Stabler was a big question mark heading into the fall. They also added two new cast members and are still rotating between different ADAs so no one really knew what to expect. I’d say the show is pretty much the same. The stories aren’t all that original anymore, the humor is being repeated almost as much as the stories, but I can say that the two new cast members—Danny Pino and Kelli Giddish—are completely fine. Do I love them? Naw. But I don’t suspect I will spend ten years watching them either. But I think I like Pino’s Nick Amaro better than Giddish as Amanda Rollins. Neither one is grating or makes it nearly impossible to enjoy the show the way some past ADAs have, but Amaro has been given some more personal story time than Rollins so I’ve gotten to know him and have reasons to care about his life. I do hope they give Rollins some more time during the second half of the season so we have the same chance with her. Anyway, I still think it’s time to put SVU to bed, but it’s fine to watch for an hour each week. I do want to give shoutouts to the Treat Williams episode about sports injury related dementia—that was the standout episode of the season so far. Someone’s gunning for a Guest Star Emmy!

Psych – A

I love Psych. I love Shawn and Gus. I just love Psych. It was really difficult to deal with the delay for the new season. Typically, Psych airs during the summer, but this year it didn’t start until October. I much prefer watching it during the summer because it’s a comforting tradition for me, but I got over it. This latest season of Psych, which just wrapped last night, has been great as per usual. Fun times and crazy antics were had by all. And I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how little the fact that Shawn and Juliet have finally slid to the “will they” side of the will-they/won’t-they spectrum has impacted the dynamics of the show. Of course, the big tension now is will Juliet find out Shawn has been lying to everyone for years about being a psychic and, if she does, what will happen? I’m too scared to think. But like I said, this season has been great and I look forward to more new episodes to come in 2012.