The HOUR of Power Recap OR So Long Stella!

Finally.

For the first time this season "How I Met Your Mother" finally feels like it has knocked off the rust from the summer hiatus, and I think we can now all agree: the show is officially BACK.

And I know I was leading the charge against Stella, but that's not even the main reason why I really, really liked last night's episode (I'm going to give it some time to marinate, but this might be a Top 5 All-Time Favorite Episode for me when it's all said and done).

It felt like the writers finally got back to the quality story telling that made the show great in the first place. There were unexpected and creatively crafted twists and turns, the comedy was top-notch (Ted's protein joke to Stella's sister and Marshall's Seattle Mariners joke were fantastic), and most importantly, the story was about something and carried some emotional weight.

You know what, I'm actually going to just disregard the first couple episodes of this season and count this episode as the season premiere (seriously, you're not losing anything if you just cut out those other eps).

That's how good this one was.

For the most part of the first three seasons, "HIMYM" has always had a very unique and creative ability to make the stories transcend traditional sitcom story telling and breathe like real life events (that's why we all struggled with the Stella story line - it never felt real).

That's what was made this episode.

They nailed the concept that we as self-centered humans tend to think of ourselves as the "lead" or central figure in life's stories, and that's not always the reality of a situation.

Ted thought Stella didn't want Robin at their wedding because he thought the story revolved around him. When we heard her dialogue again at the end of the ep (in the flashback sequence), the reality of Stella's own fears and emotional conflict hit me with a wave of season one goosebumps.

This story wasn't about Ted.

I don't think I even understand how amazing that kind of writing is (the ep was written by Chris Harris, another former "Late Show" staffer).

And that ending sequence was so powerful. It didn't just spoon-feed you the information (even though it was all obvious), it let you experience the situation with the characters. The cuts between Robin on the ferry boat to Ted finding the "Dear John" letter to having Marshall, Lilly, and Barney appear in the room with Ted and their individual reactions (for some reason, the group never seemed closer to me than in THAT moment) to Robin seeing Stella and her ex on the boat all made for griping television.

That's all you can ever ask for from a show.

OK, now what happens next? I've already seen a lot of the fansites and messages boards heating up with Ted and Robin rumors.

Really?

They might flirt with them getting back together but there's just no way.

Robin needs a place to stay now that she's back from Japan and we know she lives in Ted's apartment on his 31st birthday so that will be happening sooner or later. Sure, they might try to get us all going down the Ted and Robin path again, but I think as soon as we are going one way, that stupid yellow umbrella is going to sneak up out of nowhere (remember, it's currently in Ted's possession).

Plus, Ted was just engaged and was basically left at the altar. I can't even see him running into anything new any time soon.

How I love Single Ted!

One last note as we close the book on Stella: I give Ted credit. He was going to go through with it. He stood up to his friends and really felt like she was the one. He made a decision and stuck to it and now he's not the jerk in the end.

Ted's growing up, boys and girls. Sometimes it takes those kind of relationships to get you to the right relationship that you wouldn't have been ready for without those previous experiences.

So long Stella! Welcome back Ted.

Oh, and Sheldon couldn't get to work on "The Big Bang Theory" last night. Seriously, that's all that happened and we didn't laugh once.

Yawn.

- Josh Mahler

The Viewing Dilemma

So Tuesday night there was nothing to watch and last night (Thursday) there was too much to watch. When I think about how many viewing options I had to navigate through last night, it almost infuriates me that I blew a night this week watching a Jeff Goldblum "mockumentary".

The viewing schedule was heavily debated going into last night, but I'm proud to say that we pulled it off nicely.

I really wanted to check out the NBC premiere of "Kath & Kim" (starring one of my favorite "Saturday Night Live" alums, Molly Shannon - one of the greatest two first name names of all time, by the way) and the special "Saturday Night Live Primetime Weekend Update Thursday" (that has to be the GREATEST, nonsensical title in the history of television); but I knew they probably weren't going to make the cut, so I recorded them and will have to watch them sometime this weekend.

The real issue of the evening was the fact that Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series featuring my beloved Philadelphia Phillies was starting at 8:30PM on FOX and "The Office" was airing at 9PM on NBC.

Here were the options:

1. Watch the game first and "The Office" (on DVR) afterwards. Plain and simple, I've been waiting 15 YEARS to watch the Phils in the NLCS again. I was 13 years old the last time they made it this far and I've been excited about the series all week. I couldn't shake the down side, however, that I knew I would want to watch "The Office" at some point last night and if the game went into extra innings, that could make for a late night (and there was no way to tell what my mood would be like at the end of the game).

That got me thinking about trying to pull off the second option:

2. Watch "The Office" first and then the game (on DVR). This was was obviously the more riskier of the two choices because I didn't think I could make it through the 8PM block and "The Office" without getting a text or call from someone or just randomly seeing the score on a random channel. But there was just too much up-side involved to ignore. If we watched "The Office" first, we could then catch up to the game in real time by skipping through the obnoxious pregame festivities and the commercials. The game would end at it's normal time and we would have seen both in the same amount of actual time.

We turned off our phones, threw in an episode of "Cheers" in the DVD player at 8PM to avoid seeing the score, watched "The Office" at 9PM, started watching the game at 9:30, and caught up to real time in the ninth inning.

It was a team effort, but we pulled it off and it made for a beautiful night.

Sometimes you just have to take the risk.

A couple quick notes about "The Office":

- Um... so yeah, it was AMAZING last night. Every time I get wrapped up in "How I Met Your Mother" or "Big Bang Theory", "The Office" slaps me in the face and says, "Nope, I'm actually still the best show on television right now."

I can't disagree anymore. After a lack-luster hour long premiere, they just went back to a solid half hour episode and it felt like a classic ep from season two or three. I appreciated the way they handled Jim's announcement of his engagement to Pam in the cold open ("The Office" has always done a fantastic job of refusing to dwell on a story line), we got treated to a meeting in the board room (where we found out just how little work everyone does), and Jim toyed with Dwight (the "Battlestar Galactica" conversation with Andy was the highlight of the night for me).

Like I said, it felt like a classic episode from the first few seasons that made the show great.

I read a lot of show recaps on other websites and I'm noticing that a lot of newer fans of "The Office" get frustrated with these kind of episodes. They want to see plots twists and turns, but I don't think they realize that in season one (it was only six episodes) there was no plot. None of the episodes were really connected - you could definitely tell that Jim had a crush on Pam, but beyond that, it was just one brilliant half hour of brutal awkwardness after another.

So, needless to say, I liked this one a lot.

And I love Holly. She is really opening up the show for me like Andy did with Michael and Dwight in season three. The funny thing is that I really liked Toby and was sad to see him go.

But after only two weeks, I'm now like, "Send us a post card from Costa Rica, Toby, Holly's filling in just fine!"

I can't wait to see where we go from here.

- Believe me, I'm not being cocky when I say this - only because no one is more pessimistic about the Phillies than me - but other than Manny Ramirez, I'm just not afraid of anyone in the Dodgers lineup. I never thought I'd feel confident with Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton pitching Games 2, 3, and 4 of the NLCS, respectively, but I kinda am.

Paulie called it last night: as soon as the Phillies hitters stopped swinging at Lowe's low pitches and taking them for the balls that they were for the first four innings, he started leaving them up and Utley and Burrell each saw something they could drive out of the park. That's why I love baseball. It just comes down to easy fundamentals sometimes.

Have a great weekend and GO PHILLIES!

- Josh Mahler

Another Redbox Testimonial

If you have no life like me, you will know that there was absolutely NOTHING on television last night.

Sorry, I consider myself a responsible, well-informed citizen but I can't get into the presidential debates (the candidates just try to maintain the status quo without screwing up too badly), so there goes the network channels and there were no interesting games on because all of baseball's first round playoff series had already been decided (ESPN was running poker tournaments - thanks guys).

Beyond that, as you can see from the bar to the right, there really aren't any new DVDs worth renting either (Adam Sandler got my money once for "Zohan", I'll never let that happen again).

So I used last night night as one of those rare opportunities to find something new, something I wouldn't normally watch or get into.

I stopped by the nearest Redbox machine and was completely open to anything. There really wasn't much that I haven't seen or knew I wouldn't like but for whatever reason, the Jeff Goldblum movie "Pittsburgh" caught my eye. I've been to Redbox many times over the past year and I never noticed it before yesterday (it was released in 2006) and even though I've never been a big Jeff Goldblum fan ("Jurassic Park", "Independence Day"), I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It definitely wasn't amazing but it definitely wasn't bad at all. More than anything, "Pittsburgh" plays with your mind as it completely blurs the line between fiction and reality.

It's filmed in the mockumentary style of the Christopher Guest "Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", etc. movies only Jeff Goldblum is playing himself and everything he does is completely real only it's completely fake...

Or is it.

Basically, he's playing himself and he wants to help his Canadian fiancee (actress Catherine Wreford playing herself) stay in the country by getting her some acting work and he agrees to join her in a local theater production of "The Music Man" in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

Here's the thing, Jeff Goldblum actually played the lead role of Harold Hill in a local theater production of "The Music Man" in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA for the show's two week run in 2004 - you can read an article about it from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here (This movie debuted at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival).

So everything that happens is technically "real" but it's only real because of the fictional pretense.

It's actually kind of brilliant, especially in the context of our current day and age of "reality" television.

The film had no rating, but it's pretty clean and while I'll wouldn't recommend it on a night when one of your favorite shows is one or you actually have something worthwhile to do, it was bizarrely fascinating and a good option on a boring Tuesday night.

The HALF Hour of Power Recap

Oh, that's right, "How I Met Your Mother", you heard me.

This weekly recap will be referred to as the "HALF Hour of Recap" until Stella is gone and I laugh at something more than just Barney (I will admit that Marshall's rant about New Jersey at the end of the episode last night was pretty funny, but still).

You know what, I'm actually going to start with "HIMYM" today.

I'm not officially panicked or even worried about the state of the show but my concern grows with each clunker they have trotted out this season.

I'm starting to think that this is just part of a greater "EFF You!" to CBS for almost cancelling the series the past two seasons. Comedian Chris Rock once did a bit about how your girl can keep running her mouth at you and there comes a point when she crosses the line and you both know that you have every right to punch her in the face, only you don't because you're an evolved, civilized human being; but here's the key: once she knows that you're not going to hit her, she just unleashes on you because now there's no fear of any consequences.

So my theory is, the "HIMYM" producers blew all of their creativity the past three seasons trying to keep the show alive and now that they know CBS isn't going to cancel them, they're almost taunting the net by churning out crappy episodes.

Just like "Family Guy" did when Fox brought them back from the dead.

Wow. I'm turning into the Oliver Stone of sitcom conspiracies.

OK, now that I got that out of my system, here's what I really think is going on: We've all been there. We've all had that best friend that gets real serious with someone that we think is bad for them. The relationship change your friend's personality and lifestyle and you would be fine with it IF your friend seemed happy in the process (because we all want what's best for our friends).

Does Ted really seem happy to you right now?

I think not.

And, just like I can't believe we had an entire episode about hamburgers last week, I can't believe we had to sit through the charade of an actual debate about New York and New Jersey.

Here's all you have to know: If you're debating about living in New York or New Jersey, than I can guarantee that New York doesn't want you. That's like if you were looking to buy a really nice, big mansion but then told the real estate agent that you were still considering moving into the dumpster out back.

The agent would make that decision for you.

So while "HIMYM" is displaying some very real Shark Jumping symptoms, I'm not giving up hope. I know we have to go through Stella's sister wedding in November (the father of Stella's daughter returns as a complication) and I think that should be the beginning of the end for Ted and Stella.

And then you know what we will be rewarded with?

Not in a Relationship Ted!

Not in a Relationship Ted episodes are my favorite because Ted is always more fun when he is chasing the unicorn than when he thinks he has caught it. And I really believe that this Not in a Relationship Ted will actually lead to the relationship we have all been waiting for.

I have been wrong before, but it's just a hunch.

Oh, and Robin is not going anywhere permanently. Remember that she has to be living with Ted on his 31st birthday because of the "goat" story. And that's another reason we know Ted and Stella don't work out - there's no way Stella would let Ted have an ex-girlfriend move in with him AND he is still in the apartment in New York when the goat story happens, not New Jersey.

Here's how it will go down: Robin moves to Japan, Ted and Stella break up, it doesn't work for Robin in Japan but now she has no apartment to move back to so she moves in with Ted.

You're welcome.

With that said, "The Big Bang Theory" is blazing right now. This was the first basically Sheldon-centered ep that didn't drag and - oh, my gosh - there was an actual misunderstanding comedy bit (when Leonard could hear Penny and Sheldon talking behind the door of Sheldon's bedroom). The bit was short and kind of predictable but it was snappy and funny.

More importantly, it was there!

Like I've said before, Kelly Cuoco does such a good job with keeping Penny grounded that it's not unbelievable that she would get so wrapped up in nerdy online gaming. That's another reason why I've always said the predictable route for the show would be Penny and Sheldon hooking up (thus creating obvious conflict between Sheldon and Leonard because everyone knows that despite their differences, Penny and Sheldon would make for a better couple), but that's what I've appreciated about "Big Bang" so far - it hasn't gone the predictable route (yet) in terms of story arc.

But if it did, I think it would be handled properly.

They always keep everything really understated on that show. Our TV Group could not believe it when last night's episode was over; it felt like it was just beginning to build towards a climax and then - boom - done with little-to-no resolution.

I like that a lot.

I also have to mention that the best part of the night had to be the fact that we now get to enjoy our HALF Hour of Power in beautiful HD. Like me, Paul has DirecTV and up until last night, he never had the network HD channels; but they inexplicably came in about an hour before our shows aired.

The sad part was that we got so excited about the thought of Sheldon being funny in HD that our buddy Chris had to remind us of Penny.

Ugh. I am getting old.

What did you think of the HALF Hour of Power last night? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

- Josh Mahler

PS - Speaking of "Big Bang Theory", for all of you TV industry nerds out there like me, check out this article by Zap2it.com's Rick Porter about how some of the sophomore shows are doing this season after making it through the writers' strike and summer hiatus. Interesting stuff.

Weekend Recap

OK, I'm still in a weird state of mind from the joy and jubilation of watching the Phillies clinch a trip to the NLCS for the first time in 15 years while at the same time watching the Eagles get man-handled by the Redskins and drop to 2-3 in a very tough NFC East (thanks again to Paulie for showing both games on two screens at his house yesterday!).

And I'm still a little bitter from "The Office" getting preempted by the VP debates last Thursday only one week into the new season.

Priorities, people.

Needless to say, I'm a little tapped out this morning so I'm going to mail this one in with a couple of videos!

Like I mentioned last week, The Killers were the musical act on "Saturday Night Live" (Anne Hathaway hosted). Typically, I've never been a big fan of the "SNL" band performance (I don't know if it's the size of the stage, the acoustics, the hype, or what; it just never comes off right) and I really didn't like when The Killers debuted "When We Were Young" and "Bones" on the sketch comedy show back in 2006 (both performances fell flat).

With that preface (just so that you know this isn't me gushing as a fan), they actually kinda... well, killed with "Human" and "Spaceman" the other night (I freaking love "Spaceman" - the lyrics are bizarre but it's going to be an awesome radio/rock-out-in-the-car song). And it's not just me, I've been reading blog reviews all over the Internet and I'm not the only one (maybe people are going to like "Human" more than I thought?).

Decide for yourself and let me know what you think. I'll be back tomorrow with the Hour of Power recap!

"Human"



"Spaceman"



- Josh Mahler

"Iron Man" DVD Review

PASSING THOUGHTS

I haven’t actually bought a DVD in a long time. Usually I just use RedBox when I do reviews, and it’s very rare for me to buy the DVD if I hadn’t given it much attention when it was in the theater.

When I saw “Iron Man” back in May, I earmarked funds for the DVD release date, and yesterday I went ahead and bought the 2-disc version.

Why am I telling you this?

Eight weeks later I saw the much anticipated “Batman: Dark Knight”. It was a good, solid movie, but I don’t plan on picking up a copy when it comes out. I asked myself, “Why?” They’re both well-made comic book adaptations, they were both well received, and their protagonist and supporting characters closely parallel each other in many ways.

The answer came to me in a vision of two stone tablets sitting next to a burning bush. The tablets were titled: “Ten Reasons Why “Iron Man” Is Funner To Watch Than “Dark Knight””. Chalking the poor grammar up to sloppy shorthand, I pondered the comparisons and found there to be truth to them. Mind you, these aren’t reasons why Iron Man is better than Batman—in many ways the characters are knight and day, and it’s not fair to compare two different worlds. These are just the reasons why I actually want to watch “Iron Man” again—why it works as a DVD rental and not just a theater experience.

I. Better Butler
Batman has Alfred: An aging, fatherly figure who brings Bruce his meals and provides sentimental advice with a British accent. Iron Man has Jarvis: A state-of-the-art computer system that takes care of his mansion and doubles as the interface in the Iron Man suit. Bruce leaves Alfred behind when he goes to work, but the snazzy British accent accompanies/assists Tony, even when he’s in the heat of battle.

II. Behind Every Great Man…
Bruce has Rachel: An independent and self-assured professional who berates and judges him incessantly and ends up inhibiting Batman by making herself a target. Tony has Penny: An independent and self-assured professional who stands by him with unwavering loyalty and saves his life twice.

III. A Man’s Home
Bruce lives in a lavishly drab, contemporary, gothic mansion in one of the most depressing cities in the comic book universe; Batman operates out of a spartan cave with a leather chair and a PC. Tony lives in Malibu in a stunning cliffside mansion-of-the-future, complete with waterfalls and holographic windows; Iron Man works out of an immense lab with vintage cars, sentient robots, and what can only be described as one of the most elaborate computer systems seen onscreen.

IV. Public Speaking
When Batman talks, he sounds like he’s an avid smoker of 80 years—almost like a mix of James Earl Jones and a post-Scarface Al Pacino. When Iron Man talks, his voice is crisp and digital with a hint of inflection; a mix that represents a merging of man and machine.

V. Villain Velocity
When Batman hits someone, they crumple to the ground. When Iron Man hits someone, they fly through the air as if they have a propulsion system of their own.

VI. IQ to Shame Einstein
Bruce Wayne is a clever detective, able to follow clues and track down colorful villains. He also has the intelligence to utilize previously-invented technology for his cause and spray-paint it black. Tony Starks is a certified genius who built his first engine before puberty and who escaped from a cadre of terrorists using nothing but a paperclip, a blowtorch, and a few spare rocket parts.

VII. Radiant Centerpiece
Batman’s chest is adorned with a black bat that blends in with the rest of his ensemble and does little for his overall appearance. Iron Man’s chest is adorned with a miniature arc reactor that glows with the brilliance of 6 giga-joules per second.

VIII. Fire With Fire
Batman combats deadly force with fisticuffs and grappling hooks. He refuses to use guns, though he apparently has no qualms with packing a full arsenal on his vehicles. Iron Man combats deadly force with deadly force: big guns, little guns, even guns with laser-guided bullets. …And don’t forget the flame thrower…

IX. Best Dressed
Batman wears armor that costs approximately $300,000 that provides limited protection. Iron Man wears armor that costs $22 million (average cost of a fighter jet) that protects him from everything except bigger versions of himself.

X. For His Own Good
Batman is willing to sacrifice himself to spare the life of a mass murderer. Iron Man is willing to sacrifice himself to end the life of a mass murderer.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you like action, superheroes, seamless CGI effects, engaging characters, and relatively straightforward plots that don’t require too much emotional or intellectual investment. In terms of comics-to-film, this is close to “Spiderman 2” and the “X-Men” franchise.

Steer Clear:
If you don’t like sci-fi or fantastic physics. If comics strike you as lame or uninteresting, this may not be worth a look. Also, “Iron Man” angles more towards the fun, visually-pleasing elements of the comic book genre; it doesn’t have the social and human exploration that “Batman: Dark Knight” does.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
This is a superhero movie, so it’s going to feel like many of the other superhero movies out there. There’s no new twist to take it in totally different direction, though the Iron Man character itself has never been presented like this before.

Buy or Rent:
BUY. Unless you’re pretty sure this isn’t your type of movie and you want to rent it just to see what the hype is about, you’ll probably want to watch it again. It doesn’t have the weight or length of an epic, so it’s easily something you could pop in and watch on a whim. There aren’t any dull scenes to slow the pacing down, and there are plenty of moments that are fun to revisit.

FEATURES

-Languages

-Scenes

-Deleted/Extended Scenes
Approx 24 minutes. There are 11 scenes total, and most of them are “deleted”. The ones that are extended are interesting to watch because they show footage from the movie without the sound effects, music, and green screen mapping, in addition to the extra material. There are a few throwaways here, but most of these scenes were cut because they didn’t work with the pacing of an action flick. If the movie was just about the life of billionaire Tony Starks, they would have been entertaining and probably would have made the final cut. There are also a few key scenes that answer questions (like what Rhodes was doing when Tony got ambushed) and clarify relationships (like a scene between Rhodes and General Gabriel where we find out just how much Rhodes put on the line to go looking for Tony). There’s even an alternate ending to the rooftop battle that is a combination of finished and incomplete footage. All in all, one of the better collections of omitted material I’ve seen.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Iron Man: Armored Adventures
A brief preview of the new animated Iron Man.

-Previews
There are three: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (DVD), “Star Trek” (prequel teaser), and “Hulk”.

Woulda Been Nice: If there were more extras on the standard DVD. 24 minutes of pretty respectable footage is a nice bonus, but it doesn’t tap into any of the behind-the-scenes features. If you rent “Iron Man”, that’s all you’ll see. But if you buy the 2-disc version…

- I am Iron Man
Approx 196 minutes. This feature can be seen as a whole, or viewed in 7 parts. It’s essentially an all-out documentary on making the movie. It covers everything from pre-production negotiation to post-production reception speculation. There’s something for everyone here, although some parts may be tedious for anyone who isn’t interested in the film-making process. This is an exhaustive exploration that reminded me of the deluxe “Lord of the Rings” features. It taps into all aspects of the film, complete with interviews from director, actors, producers, writers, special effects personnel—everyone.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-The Invincible Iron Man
Approx 47 minutes. This is a feature for the fans of the Iron Man comic. Jim Lee talks about the conception and development, and the history of Tony Starks and his alter ego is meticulously unfolded and explored. Lots of visuals from the comics, interviews with Marvel artists, and discussions on how the comic was converted to the screen.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
Approx 27 minutes. Exactly as it sounds, this feature looks at the three different special effects companies that handled the visual effects. It discusses everything from the suit to the HUD (Head’s Up Display) inside the helmet. Again, very extensive and detailed with some good technical jargon and a real good look at the folks who invented/created the great visuals.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
Approx 6 minutes. Essentially this is Robert doing some of the scenes from the movie sans backgrounds, wardrobe, etc.., No bloopers really, but there is some ad-libbing and a variation on some of the lines from the movie. Amusing enough for what it is, though you might not make it through all six minutes.
DUH! FACTOR: 4 out of 10

-The Actor’s Process
Approx 4 minutes. This is a rehearsal with Jeff, John, and Robert. It shows them working through character motivation, action, dialogue, and interpretation during the scene where Obadiah tells Tony that he’s the one who cut Tony out of the company. Great to see for aspiring/current actors.
DUH! FACTOR: 0 out of 10

-The Onion: “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer To Be Adopted Into Full Length Film”
Approx 2.5 minutes. A news spoof between an anchor and his contact regarding making the Iron Man trailer into a film. It’s a humorous skit interspersed with clips from the trailer.
DUH! FACTOR: 2 out of 10

-Galleries
Concept Art, Tech, Unit Photography, Posters. Good art, but small and a bit of a pain to navigate through.

- Jesse Gray

The Hour of Power Recap

TV Group got rowdy at Paul's house last night!

There was a whole lot of yelling and screaming after "How I Met Your Mother" but the funny thing was that we weren't really yelling at each other because we are on opposing sides of a disagreement, we were yelling in unison over our collective frustration with last night's episode.

More on that in a minute.

First of all, it has to be noted that "The Big Bang Theory" has come out firing this season. Last night's ep wasn't any thing special or memorable and nothing really "happened", but the writers and cast have found this very productive formula where the episode focuses on Leonard, Sheldon runs brilliantly amok, and the rest of the gang is there to nail a few solid one-liners.

Right now, "The Big Bang Theory" is like a football team running the West Coast offense to perfection.

Leonard is the QB and the focal point of the offense, Howard, Rajesh, and Penny are the possession receivers running 10-yard slants to keep the chains moving, and just when they lull you in with the short, quick-hitting passing game, Sheldon burns you down the sideline for a 40-yard bomb.

It will be interesting to see how Sara Gilbert (Leslie Winkle) fits into the mix now that she is supposedly part of the regular cast. I'm just glad they haven't gone the obvious route (yet) with some sort of story arch where Leonard and Leslie are dating and Leslie and Sheldon's animosity towards each other turns to passion Sam-and-Diane style and then there's a big blow-up between Leonard and Sheldon.

Hopefully we'll stay away from that scenario since Leslie broke things off with Leonard (again) last night.

Moving on...

We all got uneasy as soon as "HIMYM" started because it was setting up to be our least favorite type of "HIMYM" episode.

A Marshall episode.

Really?

In the second week of a new season?

In the second week of a new season in which you almost didn't have because you almost got cancelled last spring?

We all know that you have to have a filler episode from time to time where it focuses on someone other Ted and nothing really happens to move the over all story along. But Marshall episodes are the worst. Barney episodes are the best, Robin episodes are the next best, and Marshall and/or Lilly episodes are the worst.

Like we were saying last night, Marshall episodes are almost as bad as Peggy episodes on "King of the Hill". And usually you don't get a Marshall episode until at least October once the season is up and running (you usually get a second Marshall episode in the spring).

Last night was also frustrating because as soon as the episode started, you knew what was going to happen. You knew the burger place Marshall was looking for was going to be a bank (or ATM) and that Marshall was going to take a job with that bank. You knew that in the first minute of the show and they didn't do anything to try and disguise it.

Once we had that set, I thought there was going to be a classic "HIMYM" twist with Ted or Barney or Robin at the end and the whole Marshall plot was just a red herring.

Um... not so much.

I hate to say it, but right now "HIMYM" is the Cleveland Browns of TV shows. A lot of hype and expectations going into a critical season and they've both come out of the gate flat.

Fortunately it's not too late for either of them to turn it around.

That's enough sports comparisons, I'm out...

- Josh Mahler