What I’m Watching: Ghosts

Ghosts: Season 1, Episode 5 “Halloween” (B+)

Of course these ghosts aren’t a fan of Halloween because it doesn’t accurately reflect their experiences, and I appreciated Sasappis jumping in to pretend that he had died on Halloween and he was actually an account named Mike wearing a costume. His later insistence that he had sex many times when he accidentally suggested that he was a virgin was also entertaining, and it’s good to see him get more of a spotlight after he hasn’t figured all that prominently into things yet. Trevor also got to be the one pushing a screening of “Ghostbusters,” only to realize how much less entertaining it is as a ghost, with Pete and Alberta also horrified. Isaac’s military strategy wasn’t so helpful when they ended up setting the gazebo on fire and then blamed the terrible kids for it. Sam taking the ghosts’ advice on how to deal with them didn’t go so well, and Sam and Jay both seemed equally horrified by Zack’s throat-cutting motion when his mom’s back was turned. The cops were not happy to discover that they were returning to the same home which had been engaged in an illegal fire on the river recently, and Sam suddenly remembering that she had been smoking and caused the fire didn’t help at all. Trevor standing with Pete on telling the truth was unusual, but coming clean didn’t ultimately lead to positive things for the ghosts, who got a taste of their own medicine when Jay lectured them, compared them to the children in this scenario, and then took away TV privileges for a week.

What I’m Watching: Married (Season Finale)

Married: Season 1, Episodes 9 and 10 “Halloween” and “Family Day” (B-/B+)

I wasn’t too into this show’s penultimate episode, which I felt got away from anything relevant on the heels of the show’s equally disappointing eighth episodes. Out of all of the characters on this show, I think A.J. is one of the weakest, entertaining in small doses but not as worthwhile when he’s taking up a greater percentage of the episode’s runtime. Sending him to rehab could have been something simple and didn’t need to take up the whole half-hour. I’ll spend more on a time, as a result, focusing on the show’s season finale, which renewed my faith in it by offering up a very intense and surprisingly dramatic setup that turned into something happy by the end. It was uncomfortable to see Russ and Lina fight as he talked about wanting to move to Costa Rica and travel the world and she obsessed over getting a third bathroom, and then things turned ugly by the time they were in the middle of A.J.’s opportunity to make amends. Lina snapping at and being rude to Jess was worrisome, and it’s a good thing that, when we checked in with them at the end, it seemed like all the tension had been rectified. Having them all talk about how they’re going to die was a fun way to end the season, and a fitting finale for a show that’s layered with sarcasm. I hope this show comes back for a second season since I did truly enjoy it and would embrace the idea of revisiting these characters.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Jenny Slate as Jess

What I’m Watching: The Mindy Project (Halloween Episode #7)

The Mindy Project: Season 1, Episode 4 “Halloween” (B)

After a two-week hiatus, this show is back with a decent installment with a good opening and a good ending, and a somewhat less secure middle section. The main problem is that the show has clear roles for Mindy, Danny, and Jeremy, but has no concept of how to use the rest of the supporting cast. Shauna, Betsy, and Morgan all have characteristics which, when highlighted, become too much to take, namely the accent, clinginess, and creepiness, respectively. Having them fawn over Mindy and obsess over her problems isn’t productive, and I’d much rather that Anna Camp’s more level-headed Gwen get some screen time, something more than just passing the phone to her daughter so that Mindy can mock her immaturity. Fortunately, the rest of the episode was great, particularly Mindy’s run-in with Tom, which was spotlighted just enough, and the development of Josh, who, unsurprisingly, emphasized the cost of his Inigo Montoya costume when he hadn’t even seen the movie. Danny’s trip to the DMV was extremely but also a lot of fun, and Jeremy is the perfect foil for him. Their conversations about how they were jealous of each other were terrific, and juxtaposing Danny’s dedicated, passionate guy with Jeremy’s laidback, carefree gentleman makes for a great comedic team that should definitely appear together in the future. Mindy’s interaction with and dismissal of Danny continues to be excellent, and I love how quickly Mindy jumped to look up Tom’s profile, ignoring the fact that Morgan talked about picturing her having sex.

What I’m Watching: New Girl (Halloween Episode #6)

New Girl: Season 2, Episode 6 “Halloween” (B+)

This extremely entertaining Halloween episode was a blast because it addressed the holiday and its costumes in a great way and also enabled each of its players to navigate a tricky romantic relationship. Nick hosting his college friend Amelia, played by Maria Thayer, a similarly sexually active part of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” as Jack McBrayer’s wild better half, was a disaster just waiting to happen after she made a move right away, throwing Nick off completely. Her aggressive kissing style was perhaps the most cringeworthy part of it all, but it still wasn’t wise for Nick to bring it up when she suggested they be honest with each other. Jess working at a haunted house as a zombie Woody Allen was a fun setting for her to contemplate whether Sam was actually a viable romantic partner, and I liked that Nick was forced to confront his fear of haunted houses to try to warn her, which, of course, resulted in him punching her in the face. Schmidt’s proclamation that every American thinks about Abraham Lincoln at least once a day was hilarious, and I loved that he insisted on all of his other costumes were for Purim, which is actually in February, not March, this coming year. I’m impressed that Robbie has become more than just an obstacle between Schmidt and Cece, and it seems that he and Schmidt actually get along. Schmidt sacrificing his costume was a big step, though I suspect that he’s not fully over Cece just yet. Winston’s best moment was when he was intimidated by a real police officer while in his Beverly Hills Cop costume. Shelby’s Reigning Cats and Dogs costume was pretty funny too.

What I’m Watching: Ben and Kate (Halloween Episode #5)

Ben and Kate: Season 1, Episode 6 “Scaredy Kate” (B+)

I think I’ve decided who my favorite character is on this show, and it’s Kate. Her intellectual spirit, which demonstrates itself in the costumes she creates, like the death of print journalism and Babe Ruth Bader Ginsberg, is charming, and she isn’t capable of simply putting in a little more effort in a given situation. She is someone who always goes way too big, as evidenced by her aggressive kissing of Steve, well likened by her to putting spicy mustard all over herself and acting like a BLT. Her latest obsession, trying to scare Ben, was met with much failure but ultimately succeeded in the fake blood in her mouth. I noticed Geoff Stults as a random neighbor early in the episode, and it was great to see him as a kindred spirit and potential new boyfriend for Kate, though I’d rather “The Finder” still be on the air. It’s good to see him rebounding on the same network in just a few months. BJ getting disturbed by the sight of slutty adult princesses provided an amusing impetus for her to have to be nice to Maddie and try to legitimize her annual theft of foreign beauty cream. Tommy accidentally eating the pot candy was most fun because of Ben’s willingness to meet him where he was, and I enjoyed the way that they both made fools of themselves together and then actually bonded when Tommy finally revealed his resentment about Ben leaving and then coming back, expecting everything to be the same as when he left.

What I’m Watching: Suburgatory (Halloween Episode #2)

Suburgatory: Season 2, Episode 2 “The Witch of East Chatswin” (B+)

I don’t usually love when Halloween episodes add a supernatural touch to otherwise normal shows, and as a result, I wasn’t entirely sure about how the Halloweening of this installment would play out. Fortunately, as tends to be the case with this show, it actually worked fairly well, and featured yet another “Saturday Night Live” alum, Rachel Dratch, in a fun role. Tessa has always been established as the only sane person in Chatswin, and therefore it makes complete sense that she would be a good candidate to receive the wisdom of the one feminist in the whole suburb. The flashbacks to the horrible, witchlike things she did to Sheila as a child were amusing, and the angry mob with Mr. Wolff at the head provided an entertaining if slightly terrifying image. Lisa was the best part of that whole plotline, playing into Tessa’s uncertainty with fantastic determination. The brief bit about Malik and Ryan wearing the same costume was funny, and I think just the right amount of time was spent on it. Noah dressing up as George for Halloween was hilarious, and, the voice aside, he definitely blew George’s Noah costume out of the water. Watching Noah’s George get treated differently at the bar was great, but the best part o George’s Noah was Dalia’s conversation with him, which prompted him to ask out a very pleased Dallas. I’m extremely excited to see where that relationship goes, and I’m sure that it will be a delight to see them give dating a try.

What I’m Watching: Modern Family (Halloween Episode #1)

Modern Family: Season 4, Episode 5 “Open House of Horrors” (C+)

This was hardly the best Halloween installment this show has produced. I’m trying not to let the overkill of Emmy enthusiasm for this show influence my perception of it, but I am feeling like the same plotlines are being recycled, and they’re not that funny anymore. We understand that Jay is both old and intolerant, and that Gloria’s moods are fueled by hormones during her pregnancy. Seeing it over and over again isn’t positive, and there’s not enough creativity in how it’s being showcased. As an older, talking character, Lily hasn’t proven as productive as she was when she was merely a silent baby. Thinking her mother was a princess and forcing Mitchell to scramble to hide that fact from Cameron weren’t entertaining, and that couple has hosted much more enjoyable parties in the past. It was nice to see Manny do his best to capitalize on his accidental antiestablishment action, attempting to earn a place in the cool kids’ crowd, but that plotline didn’t go nearly as far as it could have, and the angel and devil bit was too obvious. I did like the throwback to Claire’s excessive Halloween obsession from years past which resulted in her being shunned by frightened trick-or-treaters. It’s fun to see the usually more stoic Claire indulge her passion for messing with her husband, whose idea to have an open house on Halloween didn’t quite pan out as planned. Credit is due to Ty Burrell, whose facial expressions and speaking style enhanced his so-so material.

What I’m Watching: Suburgatory (Halloween Episode #1)

Suburgatory: Season 1, Episode 5 “Halloween” (B)

I’ve never been a big fan of comedy series that do Halloween episodes that are meant to be seriously creepy. I remember a “Boy Meets World” installment from years ago that freaked me out a lot. In any case, this episode started out like that with the whole Misty storyline, but fortunately, it all came to a clever and entertaining end. It doesn’t quite seem like Tessa to just put on some random girl’s clothes and wear them to school, but I suppose it does serve her purpose of mocking all of her ignorant classmates. Misty’s return during the exorcism was amusing, and only in these suburbs would it be easier to say she went to “a better place,” presuming that means death, than to a remedial school called “A Better Place.” George’s frustration with not being able to decorate his lawn for a scary Halloween is understandable, but it does seem that much of this show is just going to be George and his daughter trying to change the way things work in the suburbs. Fortunately, Dallas is a huge fan of his, and her efforts to get into the spirit of Halloween were decently commendable, though she really wasn’t so strong with the delivery. The return of her husband, played by the dependably despicable Jay Mohr, should throw for things a loop, especially since Dallas clearly doesn’t love him anymore. George did manage to get her to like Halloween, so something tells me he’s going to win this particular popularity contest without even having to try too hard.

What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 2, Episode 6 “Halloween” (B+)

Put simply, there’s little funnier in the world than the image of Mitchell trapped in a bathroom stall wearing a Spider-Man costume, although the sight of him climbing down the side of his building in true arachnid style comes close. It’s a brilliant, perfectly relatable plotline of Mitchell being misled by a small minority of people to believe that his office workers dress up in costume for Halloween. I loved the way Cam gave Mitchell the idea to scale the building by asking him rhetorically who would be the just the right person to get stuck in this situation. It’s about time Gloria’s incomprehensible accent was addressed, and I’m glad that her attempts to mask it only lasted the length of this episode since she’s far less entertaining without her signature pronunciation of words. Claire’s enthusiasm for Halloween was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed how her master plan of greeting trick or treaters kept getting messed up by Jay’s inability to perform his functions, Gloria’s efforts to hide her accent, and especially Cam’s speeches about his traumatic experience every time the cover was lifted. And of course the show decided to go out on a wonderfully sentimental, dramatic note, with the family performing admirably after Claire’s big speech, and Claire telling a very concerned Phil that he’s stuck with her. There’s only one complaint I have, and it goes against something I’ve said about this show in the past: while it’s good that guest stars don’t dominate the episodes, I suspect there’s a much better way to use Justin Kirk’s time.