How I Met Your Mother/Mike & Molly/Castle/Hawaii Five-0/Men of a Certain Age

How I Met Your Mother – The Mermaid Theory

     Kyle MacLachlan’s character The Captain made me laugh a bit.  I like him because I am not sure if he is a good guy or a scary guy.  Obviously the characters had the same difficult time figuring it out, since the bottom of his face is good guy, but the eyes and brow is scary guy.

     I also liked that Ted was really confused about the Lily/Barney story this week.  It’s always been kind of a weird plot point that he would remember these stories so well when relaying them to his children in the future, so it’s always fun when he gets confused.  I didn’t like that the Lily/Barney story is a “future story” where Lily is all pregnant and emotional.  I get that she and Marshall are trying to have a baby, and that it was probably an inevitability, but that doesn’t mean I want to see it happen.  I hate when babies are born into shows and the entire chemistry of the show changes.

Mike & Molly – Carl Gets a Girl

     I laughed during the teaser, which is usually a good sign.

     The whole scene between Victoria and Mike, talking about aliens and big foot really made me laugh.  It was one of the first times Victoria has really made me laugh, and I think it was more because of Mike’s reaction to her than because of anything she said.  Although the line about camping without weed being just sleeping outside did make me laugh.  I know a few people who probably feel the same way.

     It was nice to see Mike bond with Joyce (Molly’s mom) as well.  I don’t like Vince, I think he is a nice guy and I do think Joyce could do better.

     I really liked Mike giving a key to his apartment to Molly.  When she said she wasn’t ready to give him a key to her place, I was shocked:  I didn’t see the joke coming at all.  Well done, show.  Molly is absolutely, positively my hero.

Castle – Last Call

     This show just makes me happy.  I loved seeing how excited Castle got when they went to the bar, and how much he loved the old, neighborhood, backroom bar.  He loved it enough to buy it, so I would guess we will start seeing the cast out of the office and away from work a bit more often, which should be fun. 

     I always enjoy when the team thinks they have proven Castle wrong, only to themselves be proven wrong.  Castle’s reaction to being right is always fun to see, with a look that says “I knew it” while somehow trying to downplay his being right. 

     My favorite part of this episode was the end, when all five of the main cast members decided to take some time for themselves together, and walked out of the precinct arm and arm, on the way to Castle’s new bar, singing Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.”  It made me very happy and, since I am a sap, a bit teary. 

Hawaii Five-0 – Palekaiko

     Ehh.  This was a fine episode for what it was, but it didn’t really hold my attention, and I didn’t particularly enjoy it.  Having just been on a cruise, all cruise ship happenings seemed a bit unrealistic.  If I could afford a single cabin like the serial killer had, if such a single cabin even exists, I would be REALLY happy.  This guy must have had money to be able to take these extended cruises in luxurious cabins once a year. 

     I was pleased that Steve told Chin about what his father left for him, and that Chin was able to find some information in that regard.  I am not pleased that it leads to the suspicion that Steve’s mother’s death was not an accident, but murder.  It feels like so many cop shows have done this before:  it’s tired, and lazy. 

     Speaking of lazy writing, did we ever see Steve’s sister again after the one episode she was in, and did they ever say she had gone back to the mainland?  She doesn’t appear to still be at Steve’s, waiting for him to come home, since he was there with Chin in tonight’s episode.  Maybe they did say where she is at some point, but because this show really doesn’t hold my attention, maybe I missed it.

Men of a Certain Age – If I Could, I Surely Would

     I really enjoyed this show last year, and am glad it’s back.  Let’s see how long that lasts.  I had the opportunity to meet Scott Bakula (who I am about 90% sure was driving behind me in Santa Monica today) and Andre Braugher at an event last year, and they were two of the most gracious, sincere, pleasant people I have been lucky enough to encounter at an event like this.  That goes a LONG way for me, and even if this show has a weak season I will continue to watch because I want to support a couple of guys who were really nice to me, and to all the other fans that attended the even last year.

     This was a good second season opener.  It picked up right where last season left off, and treated the audience like we already know these characters.  We got enough background to remember what was going on last year, without having so much exposition that we felt like it we could have just watched this episode instead of season 1 and known everything we needed to know.

     I like that all three of our guys are in positions in which they aren’t comfortable.  Owen is the boss now, Terry is actually trying to work in a real job AND working for Owen, and Joe (it’s still hard from me not to call him Ray) is in a new home and trying to become a pro golfer on the senior circuit, a dream he gave up on when he was younger.  It’s all going to lead to a fun season, I think.