Score Roundup

How I Met Your Mother: "Last Words"- Was rather standard fare for the show, even taking into account the emotional impact of the previous episode's cliffhanger. The episode would've been much better if it weren't for a few pointless storylines. The main storyline of Marshall's last words with his father was very good and Robin's stroyline, although brief, provided laughs without clashing with the tone of the rest of the episode. The storyline of Ted and Barney trying to make Marshall laugh by showing him groin kick videos was lame enough to begin with, but it never went anywhere. There was no payoff at all. Same goes for the Danny Strong storyline. His character was pointless and hardly addressed except for his first scene. That being said, the moments where the rest of the cast consider their dads were great (especially enjoyed Ray Wise as Robin's dad and hope to see him in the show again someday) and Marshall's monologue thanking god for his dad's pocket dial was fantastic, even if we knew Marshall's dad would start talking eventually. 8.4/10

Chuck: "Chuck vs the Balcony"- An enjoyable episode, even if it took until the second half to really get good. The conflict presented at the end could have been very frustrating but felt fine considering we knew Sarah was about to say yes and the realization that this is what General Beckman had in mind when Sarah said she wanted to help. Looking forward to next week as we reach what the writers initially intended to be the end of the season. 8.7/10

Modern Family: "Caught in the Act"- I know I was kidding last week when I said this show could be called 'A Series of Comical Misunderstandings', but seriously, it seems like that's all one storyline a week comes down to. This week, it was the Jay and Gloria storyline. This section of the family is by far my least favorite (I don't understand the fuss over the actress who plays Gloria's acting) due to its general crankiness and unnecessary conflict that comes just from somebody being annoying. The Cameron storyline was fairly basic and I could have done without it. The main storyline of the episode was very well done though. 7.8/10

Cougar Town: "A Thing About You"- Alan Sepinwall summed what I've been trying to say about this show recently very well in his review of the episode: Cougar Town is a show with a certain frequency and if you're tuned into it, it's great and if you're not, it's awful. I am thankful to be tuned it because I continue to be impressed by the quality put out by a show called 'Cougar Town'. I also love that Community and Cougar Town are exchanging compliments through their shows. Don't see that often, but it's awesome. 8.6/10

Community: "Asian Population Studies"- What could be described as a 'normal' episode. Enjoyed continuity of Chang's desire to be in the group and Shirley's ex- husband although having the callbacks to the zombie episode feels odd in an episode that remained mostly grounded in reality. I also think they should bring Rich back more often. 8.5/10

The Office: "Ultimatum"- Retained some of the energy from it's fantastic Christmas episode. Enjoying the return of Holly. The Andy/Dwight/Derryl storyline seemed a little random but I still enjoyed Andy embracing his inner 'Ants Marching'. 8.2/10

Parks and Recreation: "Go Big or Go Home (Season Premiere)"- FINALLY! It's been a long 8 months, but Parks and Rec has finally returned and is just as funny as ever. This episode did a great job introducing things to new viewers, reminding us what happened at the end of last season, and setting up an arc for this season. And being hilarious. I'm really enjoying Rob Lowe and Adam Scott as the new good cop/bad cop additions. Oh, and I completely forgot Paul Schneider's character ever existed. He was just that forgettable. 9.0/10

30 Rock: "Mrs. Donaghy"- An OK episode. Greatly redeemed by the final scene with Wienerslav and a couple moments throughout (Dr. Spaceman, as always, was awesome: "You have no reflexes, your blood tastes like root beer, and some of your bones appear to have vanished.") The Jenna/Kenneth storyline was a complete waste. There was hardly any set up and the whole thing was just an excuse to have Jenna say something about marriage to Liz at the end of the episode. 7.2/10

Haven't seen Fringe yet, but I'm working on it.