My Psych season 5 finale review

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE OF PSYCH. WATCH, THEN READ.

Am I the only one who thought Psych's season finale was disappointing? I went into it with high hopes, because the other two parts of the Yin-Yang trilogy were very creepy/awesome, and yet this one just fell very flat for me. Here's my thoughts on the episode:

- I was totally unimpressed by the reveal of Shawn's previous tie to Yang. Why wouldn't Shawn, the man with the infallible memory, not remember an especially odd encounter like his with Yang? And what was the deal about that shirt he wore? Was there a reason Henry didn't remember it? They made that out to be such a big deal, but in the end, he just forgot about that shirt? Surely Shawn didn't wear it only once.
- I'll admit, when Yang mentioned her and Shawn's "romantic history," I totally thought she raped him or something, and he didn't remember because it was traumatizing and he tried to forget. Please tell me someone else thought this and I'm not totally insane. I guess rape is too much for a comedy, though, especially when Shawn would be strapped with that emotional baggage for the rest of the series' run.
- Granted, she's the daughter of a serial killer, so she's allowed to be completely nutso, but was it ever explained why the heck Yang developed this weird obsession with Shawn and his family?
- The whole Yin/Yang father/daughter reveal was a little blah for me. I already thought they were married or something, so when she said "daddy," I was just like "Oh. That makes more sense I guess." But, if the reveal was done right, I should've been like "OMGWTF?!? AHH MY BRAIN JUST DIED!"
- There was no real sense of danger. They weren't going to kill Gus, so when Yin is ready to needle him, I thought he would inject it and it would turn out to be a placebo or something. I'm kind of sad this wasn't the case because it would've been kind of hilarious to see Gus in a situation where he should be dying but isn't. I can just imagine the subsequent banter...
- There were so few clues! The one in Shawn's bedroom, the bag of videos in the field, and the letter in the mailbox, which wasn't really a clue at all. I loved seeing Shawn solve those weird clues in the first part of the trilogy.
- I did like how Henry slipped up when describing Shawn's psychicness in front of everyone-- called it his "abilities" and then switched to "sense" or something, if I remember correctly. It was bound to happen some time.
- I LOVED seeing Mary (that was his name, right?) again! He wore a unitard. He was hilarious. I miss him. It made me miss the previous trilogy episodes.
- Shawn's mom (What's her name?? Aahhh I forget) was totally useless in this episode. All she did was reveal that she took a picture of Shawn and Yang, but other than that, why was she there? I would almost rather a neighbor had taken the photo, because it is kind of weird that she took the photo of them together but did not even vaguely remember her face or voice-- doesn't she have like perfect auditory memory or something? Wasn't that established? I'm sure she heard Yang when Yang captured her-- why didn't she remember then?
- I kind of wish Yin was someone we had met before, or at least someone closer emotionally to Shawn. Introducing a new character as the big bad villain of the entire trilogy just didn't give it any emotional gravity. It was just another crazy bad guy. He should've had some relation to someone other than Yang.
- I LOVE YANG. There, I said it. She's kind of hilarious and oddly sweet. And crazy, of course. I want more of her. I want her to start working with Shawn and Gus. They need a girl to make a round, classic protagonist/BFF/girl trio. But this time, the girl would not be a romantic interest for the BFF (see: Harry Potter) or the protagonist (see: Lizzie MacGuire with a gender reversal)

What did you think of the finale? Care to agree with me or present a counter-argument?

Emmy Noms: My Take

(image via here)

It's like my birthday! Why, you ask? No, it isn't my birthday.... but the Emmy nominations were just announced! I'm not crazy enough to wake up at 8:30 just to watch Joel McHale and Sofia Vergara announce them live, but it was the first thing I did when I got up.

And how did things pan out for my favorite shows? Not too badly! Here are some of my personal highlights and lowlights:

YAY: 30 Rock and Modern Family got the Best Comedy nod!

BOO: So did The Office, Glee, Nurse Jackie, and Curb. I guess I can't complain about Curb because I've heard it's very funny, but seriously, Emmy people? Parks and Recreations was deemed by many a critic to be the best of the NBC Thursday line-up this year. And while I disagree in favor of 30 Rock, P&R > The Office this year. And what about Community? Sure, it wasn't stellar this season, but it was better than Glee, which is a clever and innovative show, but not nearly as funny as it needs to be to get a Comedy nod.

YAY: Alec Baldwin was nominated!

BOO: No Joel McHale? No Community love AT ALL? Especially when you evil Emmy producers had him announce the nominees next to Sofia, who was nominated herself and had her show nominated! It was incredibly awkward near the end of the announcements where the big producer guy told Sofia she got a nom and then turned to Joel and was like "I'm sorry you didn't get nominated, but you've very talented blahblahblah." Joel, if you need a hug, I'm here for you.

YAY: Chris Colfer, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet, and Jesse Tyler Fergueson got Supporting Actor nominations! Gotta love all the Modern Fam love!

BOO: No Nick Offerman for the stellar Ron Swanson? Or Aziz Ansari for the lovable doofus Tom Haverford? Or, speaking of lovable doofuses, Chris Pratt for Andy? Danny Pudi for the best character ever, Abed? Danny Glover for the consistently funny Troy? Jack McBrayer for Kenneth the page? Ah, screw it-- there were too many potential nominees this year.

YAY: I can't complain about the Supporting Actress choices-- especially Jane Lynch, Jane Krakowski, Kristin Wiig, Julie Bowen, and Sofia Vergara.

BOO: Wait, yes I can-- no Aubrey Plaza for the dead-pan yet poignant performance as April this year? WTF?

YAY: Can I get a "Hell yea" for the Guest Actor noms? Burt Hummel, Bryan Ryan, Drew Baird, Frank Dunphy and (especially) Devin Banks? HELL YEA!

BOO: I don't care about that Nurse Jackie guy... I would gladly replace him with John Oliver AKA Professor Duncan. Ah well, you can't win 'em all. EDIT: Wait. Just realized something. No Michael Sheen as Wesley Snipes?!?! What the what? He was better than Jon Hamm/Drew Baird! Wow, that's really upsetting.

YAY: Guest actress noms-- yay for Elaine Stritch, Tina Fey, Betty White, and Kristen Chenoweth!

BOO: No Elizabeth Banks for Avery Jessup? I guess I can't really complain about Julianne Moore-- that Boston accent murdered her chances.

YAY: Did you know Psych got nominated?!?! I know, I can't believe it! Granted, it was for Oustanding Music Compositon for a Series.... but hey, baby steps!

So there's my take on the nominees this year. Overall, a solid list with some glaring oversights (P&R and Community). Leave your opinions below!

30 Rock 4.10 Recap

30 Rock, Season 4, Episode 10, Black Light Attack!

Tongue girth! Quidditch! Black lights! Gossip Girl! Such were the topics discussed on this odd, crazy, ridiculous Thursday half hour that is 30 Rock!

Realer than dying of old age at 41:

- I love how they're acknowledging that Danny's not really a real actor-- hence his characters, Robot Lorenzo Llamas, Robot Ryan Seacrest, and David Hassel-bot. Plus 4.

- I don't watch Seinfeld, but even I knew Lutz was wearing the Bro!

See? Plus 3.

- This is my 3rd time watching this episode, and I just now noticed that when Toofer is talking about Quidditch, Frank is drinking a... tub? of beer. This show gets better and better with each watch! Plus 2.

- "Skankovitch" just replaced "non-pillow" as my new favorite 30 Rock insult. Plus 2.

- For some reason, I love men imitating women in high voices (especially Shawn from Psych), so Jack's imitation of "the new girl" gets a plus 1.

- Another thing I totally missed the first time? Pete's "Oh, I love that show!" after Jenna mentions her audition for Gossip Girl. Oh, Pete. Plus 1.

- Jack's face as he realizes Danny's secret rendezvous it with Liz... plus 4.

- Tartine and Wainwright are two of the alleged Gossip Girl names. Just the right combination of weird and preppy! Plus 3.

- "What did he do to the back of your knees?" Plus 3.

- "I threw them in the deep end of the pool... to help with their fear of sharks."

1. What did Tracy do so as to incite a fear of sharks in not one but both of his children?

2. Does Tracy have sharks in his pool? I bet he does.

3. Plus 4.

- The callback to CHiP's Larry Wilcox (when Danny wears the uniform and wig), Liz's first crush. Perfect. Plus 5.

- Liz's happy whistling is... bad. Loud and not in tune. Which just makes it more hilarious. Plus 3.

- Don't know if that high-pitched/low-pitched youth/adult tone thing is legit, but either way, Jenna's reaction to it makes it worth the lie. Plus 1.

- "Well I had a porterhouse for two, alone, I am very angry and sleepy." Nice subtle joke in an otherwise crazy episode. Plus 1.

- "She has really thin lips but she makes up for it with tongue girth." The perfect combination of OMGLOL and Ew. Plus 5.

- Liz named her mustache Tom Selleck. Plus 4.

- Tracy thinking Liz is the "nice man" coming to take Sue is funny... but not at all funny enough to make up for the unfunny Tracy/Sue plot this week. Still, plus 1.

- Jack and Liz's fake love story line has been done before (at the ball to make Bianca jealous, in Jack's office to make Kathy Geiss jealous), but I love it every time (not because I'm a Lack shipper. Ew). Plus 6.

- Gossip Girl would SO make someone die of old age at 41. Because after that they get, like, boring, you know? Plus 4.

- P.S. Did anyone else notice that Jenna's character's deathbed is a living room couch? I could totally see a lame TV show doing that, just so they don't have to build another set for the bedroom. Plus 2.

- Oh, Tina Fey. You will embarrass yourself by dancing like a nerd and letting thousands of people watch it, and that is one of the many reasons I love you. Plus 2.

Total: 61

Faker than Jack's attraction to Liz:

- To answer your question, Toofer: Because if they didn't, it would just be a two-person game, and that's no fun. Or else there would be over a dozen people smacking into each other, trying to grab the Snitch. Duh. Minus 1.

- Ok... is it just me or does that neon yellow drink in Liz's cup look... gooey... like a smoothie mixed with highlighter ink. Ew. Minus 2.

- Is it weird that I kinda like the idea of Danny and Jenna together? Denna? Janny? Either way, it's better than Diz... or Lanny (more on that later). Minus 3.

- Danny came onto Liz?! No.... just no. Although the other way sounds almost equally weird. Minus 5.

- The "Madonna"-face Liz makes... kinda weak. Try harder at pretending to creepily cling to youth. Minus 2.

- Everything about the Lanny/Diz fling just... doesn't work. Why would Danny go after Liz? Is Liz really attracted to Danny? It just doesn't work for me at all-- even for a fling! Minus 20.

- Wait a second... a power struggle over a guy Liz is "dating" and Jack is friends with? It's Floyd all over again! Minus 3, because in most comparisons between Danny and Floyd, Floyd would win.

- "Scrumpnugget"? WTF? Not funny, just... stupid. Minus 2.

- The whole entourage= family, Tracy= father, Sue= teenage daughter thing is way overdone. Minus 14.

- Just realized that the description for this episode on Hulu says: "Danny reveals to Jack he's having secret make-out sessions with a TGS writer." I know we discover pretty early that it's LL, but if you're watching this episode for the first time, you assume it's a girl (because I don't think 30 Rock would commit to the gay thing, especially for such a main character), and the only girl writers are Liz and Sue. And if you've heard or seen anything about the episode, you know that Sue already has a plot line. So, secret's out. Minus 4.

Total: 56

So despite some major plot line no-no's, 30 Rock prevailed yet again this week, thanks to their always abundant stash of one-liners.

Smoke Up, Johnny

Today, I understood two allusions to The Breakfast Club on Family Guy because they had previously been alluded to on Psych and Community.

It just goes to show that TV can teach you so much... about movies.