Jennifer's season mega-wrap-up: Questionable

The Office: I was really starting to almost dislike this show this season, which was sad considering that a year or two ago I would have named it as my favorite sitcom. I don't know, sometime over the season I just started to be really not amused by it anymore. Michael's just been getting harder and harder to tolerate. I know he's always been cringe-inducing, but I mean, getting obsessed with a chair model? Really? And I did kind of like that Jan spiraled into craziness but I think they took that too far too. The dinner party episode was almost unbearable for me.

And while I'm glad that Pam and Jim are together, I've been kind of perplexed by the storylines they were getting near the end there. I mean, I guess the episode where they lock everyone out of the building and in the parking lot was meant to kind of say, hey, they do stupid things too, but it just wasn't entertaining to me. And having people make fun of Pam for an entire episode because of her glasses? Having Ryan give Jim a warning about his performance and then having to watch Jim desperately try to win a client on a golf trip?

And speaking of Ryan, how awkward was it to see him being basically a cokehead in the episode where Michael and Dwight go to New York? And then get arrested for fraud?

I do have to admit that the finale did kind of make up for things though. Amy Ryan was a nice addition as the new HR rep (though I am going to miss Toby) and the running gag with her thinking that Kevin's slow was kind of genius. I'm hoping this means things will get back on the right track next season.

Brothers & Sisters: I've pretty much known all along that they weren't going to let the relationship between Justin and Rebecca just stay uncomplicated. I did think that it was totally awkward having them pretty much be brother and sister one day and then jump suddenly to kissing the next, but I think I'm less bothered by all that than them bringing up the possibility of another illegitimate Walker out there. Do we really have to go through this again?

And I'm not such a fan of the new development with Ojai and Holly being the new CEO. Poor Sarah just can't catch a break...after all the terrible divorce stuff and all, now she has to deal with this?

There are still good things though. For one, I'm really glad that Kevin and Scotty had their commitment ceremony too. They're so cute and perfect together and it made for a nice spot of happiness amidst all the other angst. And I'm kind of glad they've sort of pushed Tommy and Julia's problems to the side a bit (sadly I think they're just better as background characters). I'm a bit relieved that they kind of quickly moved to Robert losing the nomination because I didn't find him to be that believable as a candidate anyway and I was tired of all the campaign stuff. The fertility stuff with him and Kitty is a little boring too but at least their story ended on a happy note for the season too.

Reaper: FINALLY Andi and Sam get together and he tells her the truth. It took way too long to get to this point, I think, which is kind of still the problem with the show...its pacing. The post-strike episodes were really big improvement though, especially with the addition of Steve and Tony (the always awesome Michael Ian Black and Ken Marino) and with the suspicion that Sam's not even human. And Sock continued to crack me up every time. I'm glad it's coming back for a second season and I hope it continues on this upward path.

Bones: I've always had trouble keeping up with this show because Fox seems to love switching its timeslot back and forth and putting it on hiatus and bringing it back, etc. But because it's on Hulu I've actually watched this entire season and I was really enjoying it. I liked the addition of John Francis Daley as Sweets, the psychologist, and I liked the ongoing Gormogon mystery too...that is, until they decided to reveal Zack as the apprentice killer. Our Zack! I don't know, I guess they tried to explain how Zack could have justified the murders to himself but I don't really buy it. I'm kind of sad thinking about what the show's going to be like without him. The Zack-Hodgins dynamic was one of my favorite things. Who's going to do the experiments with Hodgins now??

Oh, and the fake-out with Booth's funeral was just terrible.

Jennifer's season mega-wrap-up: Favorite new shows

Gossip Girl: Probably hands down my favorite show of the season, new or returning. I am super glad that they came back with new episodes after the strike (instead of waiting for a re-launch next year like a few others) but I do feel like the shortened number of episode compressed things a bit too much. Way too much was happening and storylines were just getting resolved too soon.

In some cases, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing...I'm kind of glad we're done with the Blair-Jenny power struggle. Because I mean, was there any doubt that Blair was going to win? Although because I'm weirdly obsessive I did find myself kind of dissecting the dynamics of that little clique though. At first I thought that Penelope and Hazel were just taking advantage of Blair's shunning to take control of the group and I didn't see why they would ever let Blair back in now that they were "in charge." But then in the SAT episode, it started to seem like they just liked the perks of being friends with Blair. But then they started to see Jenny as kind of a leader and I totally didn't get that. And then finally they turn on Jenny too! It's all so complicated! I was pretty amused that Nelly Yuki is suddenly part of the group and appears to be Kati's replacement but with a lot more lines...

I did enjoy Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina. She definitely had the scary bitch thing down and while the whole "maybe-murder" thing turned out to be a bit of a letdown I did like that she was kind of the stimulus to the Serena-Dan breakdown. They've always been a little boring. I'm not necessarily saying that I support Serena/Nate or Dan/Vanessa like the cliffhanger was trying to imply, but I'm kind of glad that they left things a bit open. Dan flat out sucks in my book right now though. "Most understanding person in the world" my ass.

I didn't really like the up-down-ness of Blair and Chuck in the finale though. You know, I was really reluctant to like Chuck because I just felt like his behavior in the first couple of episodes was nearing unredeemable but he has totally grown on me. And Blair is awesome. Period. I wonder if they're one of those couples that's best when they're kind of at odds though, like Logan and Veronica? But giving them like, two minutes of happiness before they start flirting with other people was just...strange.

Oh and man this show makes me wish I was back in New York. Not that I ever hung out where these kids did and not that I ever will but I just love that the whole show is filmed there, because you can really tell when they're faking NYC on TV (like on Ugly Betty though there are rumors that they'll be moving over for real next season!).

Samantha Who?: Just a fun little comedy, maybe sometimes a little over the top, but the characters are all really funny. Love Melissa McCarthy (Sookie from Gilmore Girls) and Jennifer Esposito as Sam's kind of angel-and-devil duo (they're hilarious playing off of eachother), love Sam's parents, especially Jean Smart (Martha Logan from 24), love Frank the doorman, and surprisingly, love Todd, Sam's ex-boyfriend, despite my previous dislike of Barry Watson. I guess we've been all wanting Sam to get back together with Todd but all season long I've kind of been wondering why Sam doesn't kick him out of her apartment. It's her apartment! Is he even paying rent?? Or is this just another thing to chalk up to amnesia?

Stay tuned...

I know, I know, the busiest month of TV in ages and no posts here! I've just had a ton going on (some good and some bad) and haven't had time to really gather my thoughts. But I have been keeping up with my shows and I'll be doing some mega-posts to catch up on the post-strike episodes of all my favorites. So stay tuned!