Survivor and More Quick TV Show Thoughts

Survivor tonight was another wild one, and did its part in continuing to form one of the better seasons in a while. I also realize there were a few other shows that recently laid out some major happenings, and so I wanted to throw in my (spoilery) comments on them as well. But first we'll start with. . .

Survivor One World: Tarzan is magnificent. I just wanted to throw that out there. The man is absolutely hilarious, and he is such a non threat that there is a chance he could go deep. I also fear there is a chance he'll rub someone the wrong way and be sent packing rather soon. The man is so clueless when it comes to playing the game, but he makes tribal council incredibly entertaining. I love how he completely confused Probst, and then tried to be all secretive because the game was afoot.

I was right about the tribal swap, and you really couldn't have created more mismatched teams. We could be looking at another blow out. It seems like the shake-up didn't hurt Colton's standing, because he seems to be correct in believing he is playing with morons. I have no clue why Alicia so quickly aligned with Colton, and essentially gave more strength to the men's alliance. I also not sure why Christina was so shocked by Monica's exit, because by now people should know they can't trust people that were once their opposition. Colton is doing an amazing job manipulating his tribe, but he's not making the best use of his power. Why did they get rid of the one smart and athletic person in their tribe? I still think Colton is getting too cocky and flaunting his power too soon, and it is going to lead to an epic crash. Or maybe I'm just giving his tribe mates way too much credit.

I'm loving the personalities this season. It isn't the brightest bunch. Many of them are playing awful games, but they're so over the top and creating a bunch of drama. It is a mess, but an entertaining mess. Next week looks like another crazy episode. Colton continues to be an asshat and someone get carted out on a stretcher -- which I assume is unrelated to Colton's asshattery.

Once Upon a Time: I loved the Red Riding Hood twist. This show does such a fantastic job of re-imagining the classic fairy tales. I also liked the little wink to Peter and the Wolf, but sad to see it was a less than happy ending this time around. This was the first time we really got to know Red and Granny, and Granny is definitely a new favourite character. She can start doing action films with The Rock and Stallone now. I wonder if they can film an extra scene in the new Expendables movie.

The Kathryn mystery is developing nicely too. I loved that there was the box containing the heart -- can we say a clear shout out to the Snow White fairy tale? Clearly this is the evil Queen's plan, and she was willing to murder her apparent best friend. Right now, all the evidence points to Mary Margaret, and this controversy should make for an awesome next episode. I am also looking forward to learning more about bad ass Snow White that they show in the preview. This show is really clicking right now, and the disappearance/murder of Kathryn should be a solid plot that will lead us right to the season finale.

The Walking Dead: Alright, I called Shane's death the moment he started going off the deep end. I knew he wasn't a character that could stick around. But I was totally thrown off by Dale's death. It was really sudden. I wonder if the actor actually wanted to leave the show, because the character seems to have so much more to add to the series. The Dale death was important to shake up the characters and start creating more panic.

The Shane showdown was pretty satisfying. His turning into a walker brings up an interesting question. In this new world, do the dead automatically turn into walkers even if they aren't bitten? Or has Shane been carrying something due to a scratch from his last encounter? I'm thinking there is a virus that maybe all the characters are carrying, but it doesn't get triggered until death. It is now a new thing for them to worry about.

The second half hasn't been as strong as the first half of the season. The last episode was a little dull until Shane tried to kill off Rick. And the Lori character is really regressing and becoming the most annoying character in all of television. I am not even sure if that is the point or not. But the finale looks amazing, as the crew needs to guard the farm from a pretty epic walker invasion. I'm expecting we may see a few more long term characters take a gory exit from the series.

Parks & Recreation: The show just had its "winter finale" because it will be on hiatus for a few months. I am saddened one of the funniest shows will be taking a break, but it also means Community is coming back. That is a show I miss more. But the finale was a good way to send off the show for few weeks. Ron Swanson is becoming one of the more deceivingly complex characters on TV. He is the manly outdoorsy caricature that devours three steaks in a row then beds strangers, but then he has this sweet side where he helps Andy with his college course or shows sympathy to Chris. I also loved seeing Jerry become a machine as he whips through the packing of the envelops -- then has to do it again after packing the wrong material. The Leslie storyline was sweet, as the airport employees "lost" the tape as a way to show support for her. I hope she wins the election, because it opens the doors for fresh storylines next season. Series likes this fear shaking things up too much, so we'll see where this story arc ends up going.

The Office: I loved the Dwight and Jim stuff this last episode. Jim proves he actually cares about Dwight and gets beat up to "help" Dwight keep his job. I also loved how Andy kept using verbiage that made all his employees think Dwight was dead. Toby and Darryl's battles for Kevin and his cookie craving was a fun little storyline too, and I like it when Toby actually gets some time devoted to him. I like him far more than Michael Scott does. All in all, it was a pretty strong episode. If they keep it up, I may have to stop dreading the show's renewal.

Modern Family: Claire wanted to add her kids to Facebook, but then sees her mistake when an old College photo surface. Jay and Gloria are afraid Manny is being used, but then it is revealed he is using the "cool kid." Of course, there was the epic clown battle to finish off a pretty funny episode. The show always has so many storylines going on, but somehow they can effectively weave them together and avoid making things too hard to follow. It was a strong episode in what is turning into their funniest season.