Emmy Episodes: Baskets

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Baskets: Season 3, Episode 6 “Thanksgiving” (B)

Every year when I watch this show, I always think that there is something to it. It’s unapologetically strange, and the fact that Louie Anderson plays a woman is just something that happens. Anderson won this award on his first try two years ago and then lost to Alec Baldwin last year. He continues to be excellent even if his casting is bizarre and unexplained, and this episode provides quite the platform for him. Evidently much has transpired since I last checked into this show with the rodeo, and I honestly can’t remember what Christine’s involvement used to be. She still maintains connections to the people in her life even if she’s not with them for Thanksgiving, and video-chatting with those far away was one of her most poignant moments. I love that she called the police on Chip’s French clown friends thinking that they were there to try to sell her something. She instantly lapped up all of the attention, before experiencing a moment of sadness when she saw her late mother on the video. Ending with a celebratory trip to Arby’s was really sweet, and it’s hard not to feel sympathetic for Christine and to see how much she enjoyed introducing these people to something held dear. I enjoyed Chip showing up to Martha’s house when she clearly didn’t remember him and his comment about her needing to be more welcoming, hardly something I’ve ever found her to be in my limited experience with her on this show.

What I’m Watching: Me, Myself, and I

Me, Myself, and I: Season 1, Episode 9 “Thanksgiving” (B)

All three of these holiday-themed vignettes were relatively predictable, but that’s to be expected for a Thanksgiving episode that, as it would happen because of the show’s cancellation, ended up airing in July. Alex and Justin competing for Scott’s affection because they thought that it would win them points with Nori was ill-fated, and I like that Nori snapped at both of them because she thought they were trying to snag the tickets that she had been working so hard to get by sucking up to him. Maggie’s cooking did turn out to be just as bad as Scott accidentally suggested, and only cooking the turkey for an hour is reminiscent of a time my wife and I tried to make beef and broccoli in a slow-cooker in a very short period of time. I was delighted to see Sarah Burns, familiar from “Married” and “Enlightened,” among other things, as Lisa, the woman that Darryl and Wendy tried to set Alex up with on Thanksgiving. Their fake chemistry designed to get back at the couple for trying to force them together did turn into something real, and though we can’t imagine that it endures given that we’ve already seen the future, it would be nice if it went somewhere for a bit. Kelly and Eleanor meeting and really liking each other in the future was really sweet, and Eleanor admitting that she was a bit jealous was about as much of a victory as older Alex is going to get at this point.

What I’m Watching: Master of None

Master of None: Season 2, Episode 8 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

Between when I watched this episode and when I sat down to write this review, this episode earned two Emmy nominations, one for guest actress Angela Bassett and the other for writing duo Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe, who plays Denise. I’ve never found Denise to be one of the strongest characters on this show, though I did enjoy her “Stop what you’re doing, this is a citizen’s arrest” moment with Dev from season one. This episode was a very expository installment, one that started from a point in the past where Dev and Denise were just figuring out who they were. Casting Bassett as Denise’s mother was a strong choice, and it seems like it was a fun role to play. For however inappropriate Catherine was in how she reacted to her daughter’s sexuality, there was nothing more horrendously awkward than Nikki. Saying that she watched the news was a bad start, and Dev just made it even more unbearable by repeatedly asking her to say her Twitter handle over and over. Michelle was a much better fit, and it was sweet to see her offer to help with the cooking during Thanksgiving 2017, finally giving Catherine a sense of what it’s like to have her daughter find a great significant other. I didn’t love this episode as much as previous similar format installments, but it was still cleverly-done and a good showcase for the two writer-actors to pen their own lives and have a great time bringing it all to life.

What I’m Watching: Veep

Veep: Season 5, Episode 5 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

Thanksgiving was a more proper recovery for this show after its stumble with the death of Selina’s mother. Naturally, Selina wouldn’t pay any attention to the fact that Catherine was upset about her first Thanksgiving without her grandmother and wouldn’t bother to try to be there for the dinner she had set up with Andrew despite Catherine’s rightful assertion that the White House phone number probably wouldn’t come up on the congressmen’s caller IDs. Sue casually mentioning her husband and noting that she got married a year ago with 250 people but no one from work was pretty hilarious, just another sign that she is a preposterous enigma. Dan’s new position working for Tom James is a true adjustment, and getting kicked out of the mess hall by a vengeful Jonah was a low point. Having to get coffee for Tom and realizing that he’s on the same plane as Gary isn’t great, but the bigger problem is that he’s seeing and perceiving more than he should be and Tom isn’t happy about that. Jonah’s mom inviting Richard to Thanksgiving dinner was funny, but not as much as the fantastic new development that came from soldier and future president Ezra being abroad in the military. Jonah couldn’t even process that he was actually going to run for congress, and I can only imagine how entertaining and totally absurd his candidacy is going to be. On the guest star front, I liked seeing Jim O’Heir, best known as Jerry from “Parks and Recreation,” as Amy’s dad who doesn’t like Dan one bit.

What I'm Watching: Married (Season Premiere)

Married: Season 2, Episode 1 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

This was one of my favorite new comedies last year, and I'm very happy to have it back for season two. This wasn't a hilarious episode but still served as a good reintroduction to these characters thanks to a field trip and a misguided admissions process. Starting the episode with Russ and Lina trying unsubtly to tell their daughter that she wasn't dressed appropriately paved the way for a much larger and more mature conversation about sex more towards the end of life. Lina's mother and stepfather were played by two familiar TV faces, Frances Conroy, who used to star on “Six Feet Under,” and M.C. Gainey, who I remember best as Tom Friendly on “Lost” and Bo Crowder on “Justified.” Discussing the fact that she believed her mother was being raped in front of the abundantly helpful facility employee didn't work out so well as their September Thanksgiving dinner was interrupted by an evaluator from the community, but, aside from their young daughter overhearing the word rape and asking about it, that whole mess seems to have worked itself out. Jess' biggest problem going in to her preschool interview at first appeared to be the fact that she was overcompensating for people perceiving her as a trophy wife and pushing too hard against those who weren't asking any questions. Ultimately, however, it was her dismissal of A.J. as a put-together person that nearly did her in, and I love that A.J.'s revenge was to pretend not to know them when he knew it would help them while he had actually already taken care of the recommendation without telling them so that he could make them sweat.

What I’m Watching: The Good Wife (Thanksgiving Episode #6)

The Good Wife: Season 4, Episode 9 “A Defense of Marriage” (B+)

This show certainly loves to tackle hot-button issues, and the subject of marriage equality is definitely that. This case was especially intriguing because of Jeremy Breslow’s determination to turn it into something more than an issue of innocence or guilt and to make an important stride in the fight for gay marriage to be recognized as equal to opposite-sex marriage. Having Owen be present during the trial added a layer of importance to the case, especially as he faced, and succumbed to, the prospect of perjuring himself in defense of his mother. While Dallas Roberts is pulling double duty on “The Walking Dead” in this hour, it was nice to see Bruce McGill from “Rizzoli and Isles” with a questionable accent as Breslow. Stockard Channing was the obvious choice to play a mother even nuttier than Peter’s, and I loved watching them interact in the kitchen and trade insults. Her flirtation with David Lee was superb as well. Peter’s response to Veronica’s passive-aggressive comments was particularly fantastic, as was Alicia’s subsequent move, to do something both to piss her mother off and to make herself feel good. I do wish that Kalinda would have seen Cary’s face and gone immediately to Nick to tell him that things were over for good, but I guess that would have been too simple. Having Cary go and have a conversation with him about he has friends in the State’s Attorney’s office was probably more effective, and it was refreshing to see him stick up for himself.

What I’m Watching: Apartment 23 (Thanksgiving Episode #5)

Apartment 23: Season 2, Episode 4 “It’s a Miracle...” (B+)

Chloe made a huge return to being awful in this episode, and June got to be wonderfully complicit in all, initially against her will but ultimately far more cooperative. Calling all of her married lovers while they were at home for Thanksgiving with their families was an evil start, and putting June in a wheelchair sent it all over the edge. Chloe’s crucial move is always leaving out some extremely important information, and that couldn’t have been truer in this episode with her fib about her mother knowing full well that June was the woman who slept with her father and threatened to break up their marriage. June’s obliviousness and gullible nature helped Chloe’s plan considerably, especially when it came to her touched reaction to her mother’s wheelchair-related kindness to her. Their staged fight was entertaining, and it was wonderful to learn that Chloe had actually conjured up the whole plan so that her parents would give her $2,000, half of which she planned to give to June so that she could go home and spend Thanksgiving with her family. James planning to volunteer at a shelter simply for the photo opportunity was a disaster just waiting to backfire, and it was fun to see him sweat when he was forced to return by the blackmail-inclined bouncers. His game-changing realization that, after his big day, he had lost two pounds on the fattest day of the year was a marvelous celebration of his shallowness, which this show has so fantastically showcased. James chastising Luther for improperly emphasizing his last name was very funny as well.

What I’m Watching: The Mindy Project (Thanksgiving Episode #4)

The Mindy Project: Season 1, Episode 6 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

Against all odds, the relationship between Mindy and Josh is working, and I love how it’s progressing. His retreat during the fire and Mindy’s refusal to stop having their exclusivity conversation were funny, and I especially enjoyed their phone conversation later when Mindy mocked Josh’s praise of the cell phone reception in the strip club by saying that the reception at the strip club she was at wasn’t as good. It was fun to see Ed Helms again in a less self-assured state, completely helpless to the manipulative charms of Mindy. This episode was most notable for its first productive – and quite fulfilling – usage of Anna Camp’s Gwen, innocently hosting a party that Mindy decided she just had to disrupt. Seeing her go nuts on Mindy and get ready to take her out was hilarious, and I do hope this is a sign that we’ll see more of her in the near future. Jeremy’s trip home with Betsy wasn’t exceptional, but it did have its moments, and it’s hard not to love Jeremy’s effortless, and mostly less than genuine, charisma. Danny embracing the empty office and eating Thanksgiving dinner alone with a rat was rather sad but indicative of his loner nature, and I liked how he got looped into the rather dramatic and sweet photo-sending chain at the end of the episode. Though it doesn’t necessarily need it, it’s nice to know that this show has heart in addition to funny characters and great scripts that give them funny stuff to do.

What I’m Watching: New Girl (Thanksgiving Episode #3)

New Girl: Season 2, Episode 8 “Parents” (B+)

This show did a fun Thanksgiving installment last year, and this episode was just as well-conceived and entertaining. Casting Rob Reiner and Jamie Lee Curtis as Jess’ parents was great, and they were both terrific as the warring spouses of our spunky young lead. I love that Jess was trying to “Parent Trap” them and that she had done it so many times before. The best part was that it worked, signaled in the bathroom and then confirmed by the intimacy they started to engage in while the elevator doors were closing. Nick bonding with her dad about sports and then discussing his “Twilight” rip-off was great, and I like how he fell for Jess’ mom so blindly and quickly when Jess assigned him to flirt with her to make her dad jealous. Her mom’s hatred of Cece due to her scratching her van and her giving of drugs to Jess was very funny, and it was nice to see Cece in two older contexts: as a longtime friend of Jess and as a former romantic partner of Schmidt. Rob Riggle was the perfect Big Schmidt as his cousin, and Winston’s bored suggestion of a manly contest for the One True Schmidt was brilliant. The whole thing was funniest not for the ending kiss with Winston but for the absurd competitive spirit it fostered in both Schmidts, highlighted by Schmidt’s arguments about emotional honesty and other true defining characteristics of a real man and Big Schmidt’s impressive display of culinary competence with his superb chopping skills.

What I’m Watching: Ben and Kate (Thanksgiving Episode #2)

Ben and Kate: Season 1, Episode 8 “Reunion” (B+)

It’s no surprise that this hometown show would feature a Thanksgiving high school reunion which would directly involve Ben, Kate, and Tommy. Kate’s long-standing anger at her role competitor who nicknamed her “Junk Face” was entertaining, as was Will’s enthusiasm for having her compete, abruptly suggesting a sing-off as if it was the logical solution to any problem. Tommy’s grand entrance on roller skates was perfectly timed to create another “Junk Face” situation that was funny but didn’t take too much focus from the rest of the episode. That was devoted to the sham marriage between Ben and BJ, which makes sense on a lot of levels. Ben’s concern at her finding out and subsequent overwhelming desire to tell her was amusing, and I like that it all came out because BJ felt the need to call Kate a sister, prompting her to suspect that something was up. Ben’s reaction to BJ’s matter-of-fact explanation that it wasn’t actually a green card marriage was priceless, and BJ does a marvelous job of revealing life-altering facts like her Texas birthplace in completely casual ways. Maddie had a fun role in the events of the episode as well, most memorably in her suggestion to Tommy that he lose the afro. I enjoyed his deep concern with making a big entrance, something that I might have expected Ben to be equally invested in if he weren’t already so popular and he had less on his mind than revealing to his sister that he was married to her best friend.

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

Suburgatory: Season 2, Episode 5 “The Wishbone” (B+)

The major development of this episode was a long time coming, and it didn’t end up being a letdown. It was difficult to watch Tessa and her grandmother wait for her mother to show up when all evidence indicated that she wasn’t coming at all, and having her show up at George’s house in Chatswin and run in to hug Dalia was a real shake-up. Malin Akerman was a great choice to play Tessa’s mother Alex, who was exactly what was expected based on the descriptions Tessa had from finding her stuff and from George. Her pretending to fall asleep on the floor while Tessa was talking about her life was a highlight of their interactions, and it was good to see Tessa not letting her completely off the hook for being so absent from her life. It’s no surprise that their closeness bothers George, and I’m sure that her staying the night won’t lead to a serene morning. Dallas firing Alan because she wanted to cook dinner with George was entertaining, and I like how George ended up inviting him over and then having to hire him to help him. Events at the Shay household were rather dramatic, with Sheila inviting Malik and causing Lisa extreme agony. They got much worse when Sheila accidentally saw Malik naked and they both went to great lengths to justify its normalcy – my favorite was Malik’s defense, repeated by Fred, that he was born naked. It’s a shame that this incident seems to have caused the end of Lisa and Malik, but I’m hopeful that there’s plenty more sarcastic romance to come in their future.

What I’m Watching: Suburgatory

Suburgatory: Season 1, Episode 8 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

This holiday-themed episode proves to be probably the show’s best and most consistent outing to date, featuring some excellent character interactions and a decent amount of unexpected supplementary drama. This was a brilliant showcase for Cheryl Hines as Dallas, spouting off a number of terrific lines, including “Even if I’m not doing something fun, it’s probably fun” and “That kind of hair is all wrong for a dead body.” Offering to take her to lunch anywhere if she got her hair straightened was a nice gesture, and it prompted some immense cleverness on Tessa’s part, garnering her a trip to New York City. It’s been easy to forget that Manhattan is really not that far away, yet it just seems like that because Tessa has been banished to the suburbs. Dallas’ excitement about buying counterfeit bags and shoes off the street in the city and her desire to buy the painting in the museum were quite hilarious. George being in Manhattan with some woman was a huge surprise, and it definitely irked Tessa more than anything, ultimately earning her a trip to Manhattan for some traditional black-and-white milkshakes. That was considerably more bearable than the suburban obsession with this “Gobble, Gobble” festival, which proved uncomfortable and ridiculous. I enjoyed seeing a brief snapshot of Noah’s family, with Gillian Vigman as his spiteful wife and his daughter Jenna, who was born prematurely so that they wouldn’t have to cancel their cruise, and I’d love to see more of them. At the Shay home, Lisa’s naked attempt at defiance was very funny, and one of its most memorable moments was Ryan’s somehow comprehensible pep talk about Ace Ventura.

What I’m Watching: New Girl

New Girl: Season 1, Episode 6 “Thanksgiving” (B+)

I had a feeling that it might just take some time to get into this show, though the initial enthusiasm bestowed upon it by so many made me doubt that. At this point, however, the characters have become endearing and the plotlines creative despite a somewhat limiting premise. It’s hard to pull off a novel Thanksgiving episode since there have been about 684 of them produced in the history of television, and I have to give this show credit for crafting and entertaining and decently inventive half-hour. The introduction of Justin Long’s character Paul is fun because he really is a male version of Jess, and it’s fun to see the guys react to the sight of the two of them together. Of course the guys would be planning a laidback, effortless Dudesgiving, though they weren’t so into Schmidt’s name, and therefore would be thrown for a loop when Jess suddenly decided they had to put something together because she invited Paul over. Hanksgiving turned out to be a blast, and not in a good way for our resident apartment-dwellers, as the dryer got broken thanks to the brilliant idea to use it to thaw out the turkey and there was too much smoke to be able to stay in the apartment. Jess’ anger with Nick over his attitude towards Paul was another great instance of their complicated yet seemingly still platonic relationship. What I really loved was how Cece realized that she was into Schmidt, but only when he was mean to her, which resulted in her getting over the crush because he started apologizing and being nice again.

What I’m Watching: Heroes

Heroes: Season 4, Episode 11 “Thanksgiving” (F)

I have a few questions for the writers of this show. First of all, why does this show need a Thanksgiving episode? The holiday seems so insignificant when compared with the heroic potential of these characters. I don’t know why the lonely, family-less Tracy wasn’t invited to the carnival Thanksgiving dinner, but then again, this show has never, even when it was good in its first season, had any sort of sense of focus or continuity. Hiro’s obsession with Charlie is becoming almost as tiresome as his drive to save the copy machine-prone drone at his father’s company, and it’s especially obnoxious because the lovely Jayma Mays already has a job acting on another series (“Glee”) and could therefore never realistically rejoin the show (and why would she?). Hiro’s quest is doomed to fail, and even if he finds Charlie he’ll be only fleetingly reunited with her. Samuel should stop wasting time trying to weed out the traitors in his midst and focus more on using his monumental powers. Letting Hiro distract him from watching his precious video is a time-wasting mistake. Moving on, why do we care about Noah’s love life? Sandra’s stupid boyfriend Doug does not belong on this show. He’s unbelievably comic and idiotic, and would be much better suited for a spot on a sitcom. No one cares that Claire is thinking about dropping out of college, and she’d just as well do it as not. Gretchen’s use of the term “feeling low” is perplexing to me – I think it’s “feeling down.” The Petrelli family dinner is lit in such a dark way that doesn’t make any sense because Angela has all those servants who can help to bring her lavish plates of food and would surely be more than able to shed some literal light on their meal. Nathan’s internal war with Sylar is hardly interesting anymore, and the only thing that’s clear from their meal is that Sylar really, really needs a haircut.