The Funniest Thing I Saw All Week Award: Better Off Ted

(Episode 112: Jabberwocky and 113: Secrets and Lives)

(by Carlytron)

This week we were treated to not one but TWO episodes of Better Off Ted, and they did not disappoint. In the first installment, Ted lies to Linda about Veridian’s green initiatives and lets her create a top secret roof garden. Ted’s sneakiness leads him to then trick the entire company into believing that Ted’s putting a ton of money into some project called Jabberwocky, which he made up. Veronica plans for them to present Jabberwocky to the company, so Ted has to come clean… and then they have to do the presentation, which was the greatest thing ever:

I know, right? Ok so then at the end of the first episode Ted and Linda are tooootally about to kiss up in her dreamy roof garden but they’re interrupted by my favorite nerds (since Buffy, at least), Lem and Phil. But that sets us up nicely for our second installment, which is also the season finale (sad face). So remember before the show premiered, like months ago, and Portia was on every talk show promoting it, including Ellen’s? Did anyone see the clip they showed on one of the shows where Veronica was a magician’s assistant? Yeah, so we waited all season for this moment:

Seriously? I love this show. Using some fancy search engine technology the team at Veridian finds out about Veronica’s secret life as an assistant to Mordor the Unforgiving, a magician in Vegas. Veronica is in love with him and flies to Vegas every weekend to be in his show. But once her secret is out in the open she quits! Mordor is sad and after some convincing from Ted, she goes back to him in the end. In other news, Linda decides to move in with her boyfriend and in order to get her mind off of Ted she gets her friend to go on a date with him. Naturally, everything starts falling apart: Ted’s daughter Rose tells Ted to date Linda, Linda’s friend calls her out on her Ted obsession, and Linda finally breaks up with her boyfriend. Then Ted shows up with flowers! And she’s got hearts for eyes! And he tells her he’s ready to date! And… he asks to see her friend again. Oh, brother.

I’m happy this was already renewed for a second season, though the finale did seem to end in a way that makes me think that they shot it before they knew if it was definitely renewed or not. Had it not been renewed, it seemed wrapped-up enough to be somewhat satisfying (though we’d be left wondering if Ted and Linda ever get together), but since we know it’s renewed we are excited and hoping to see more of Mordor when the show returns.

The Talk Show as Reality Show as Sitcom Award: My Life on the D-List (Finale!)

(by Intern Jess)

Season finale time! Kathy Griffin is getting a star on the Hollywood Palm Springs Walk of Fame. Suzanne Somers (come on knock on my door) invites Team Griffin over for a dinner party in Kathy’s honor, though threatens punishment if Kathy brings her diet coke. In the end Suzanne surprises Kathy at the actual star ceremony and even gets Barry Manilow to show up. This was probably the best season of D-List and I’ve realized it’s no longer a reality show. It has somehow morphed into probs the most entertaining talk show of all time (OK, aside from Rosie on The View) [“And Chelsea Lately, natch.” – Carlytron].

“I’m not even going to support the Walk of Fame anymore. First of all, I’m gonna go piss on it. I’m gonna go to somebody’s star, probably Seacrest, and I’m gonna go have my period on it. And it’s gonna be a heavy flow day! Yeah. By the way, it’s probably comments like that that got me rejected.” – Kathy, on finding out she was rejected from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Most Tortured Man on TV Award: Mad Men (Episode 301: Out of Town)

(by Crystal)
Mad Men premiered this week and it seems not much has changed at Sterling Cooper over the break, the place is still brimming with undesirable personalities that I love to hate. Joan’s still the queen bee, Roger Sterling is still a silver fox and Pete Campbell is still an obnoxious twat.

Don Draper is still the most tortured man on TV. Don’s wife Betty is pregnant and it’s been giving Don some disturbing Whitman family flashbacks to his happy childhood. They reflect on their family, with Betty sneering that their daughter Sally needs start acting proper because “[She’s] taken to your tools like a little lesbian.”

Over on Madison Avenue, Pete and Ken are both promoted to Head of Accounts. Neither boys realise they’ll be sharing the job title, which amps up the level of smug in the episode to 11. And on a plane to Baltimore, Don and Salvatore chat up a stewardess who invites them out for dinner and a “hoot and a half.” Don tells her “I keep going a lot of places and ending up somewhere I’ve already been” likely referring to every bedroom in NY. Don casually mentions it’s his birthday and the stewardess disrobes.

Meanwhile in Salvatore the closeted homosexual art director’s hotel room, a bellhop arrives to assist with the AC but it turns out he’d rather assist with Sal’s belt buckle. That’s when the hotel fire alarm goes off, robbing Sal of his first ever man on man experience. Don finds out. The next day during a client pitch, Sal expresses himself via some Balzac [“our worst fears lie in anticipation.”] Don volleys back – also in the context of work – using “limit your exposure” as a message to Sal that he should stay in the closet. The last half of this episode was extremely well written, I think this is going to be an amazing season.

Next: Drop Dead Diva, Toddlers and Tiaras, and Tinkerbell’s Number One Feeling: Intervention

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