Wednesday, May 01, 2013
ABC Family's Memorial Day Marathon Is Baby Daddy; Episodic Review: How to Live with Your Parents - "How to Run the Show" Airing Tonight on ABC
By: Skees ABC's Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Sarah Chalke, Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett and airs Wednesday nights at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (May 1). In the episode airing tonight, "How to Run the Show," Elaine (Elizabeth Perkins) and Max (Brad Garrett) encourage Polly (Sarah Chalke) to put her needs first, as they did when Polly was growing up, and offer to babysit Natalie (Rachel Eggleston) so Polly can spend time out with Scott (guest star Reid Scott). But they get a quick lesson in parenting the middle ground between letting kids run the show and ending up on a milk carton. The episode begins with a typical parent-child struggle, where Polly and Natalie just can't seem to find common ground (specifically, Polly has no authority over her own daughter). The struggle ends with Polly taking Natalie to work after she refuses to go to soccer practice. But with Polly constantly putting Natalie first, this creates a problem when she wants to go on a date. Max and Elaine decide to put their own daughter first and agree to babysit Natalie so that Polly can go on the date, but the plans that they have truly do put the grandparents first. Meanwhile, Polly's surprise date with Scott turns out to be an even bigger surprise when she his kids tag along on the date, and they too are determined to have all of the control in the parent-child relationship. I've been enjoying this series, but this episode isn't really one of the strongest ones that I've seen. It seems that the overall theme of the episode was just the battle of control between parents and children, but there didn't seem to be much explanation behind the battles (and this seems to actually be an on-going criticism that I have of the series, the lack of a full back-story). Polly's date introduced another battle (with different kids), but again, it just seemed to be parent vs. child without much of an explanation. Perhaps the best part of the episode, though, was the day that Natalie spent with Max and Elaine. As always, they have their own (somewhat irresponsible) views of raising children, and that irresponsibility results in a nightmare at the wine and jazz festival (the "family friendly" event that they take her to). As much as I like Polly, I feel that Max and Elaine have had some of the best moments in the series so far, and this episode is no exception. Unfortunately, though, I don't feel that the day of "family fun" at the wine and jazz festival was enough to make up for the shortcomings of this episode. C
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, November 24
The Simpsons - "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A tattooed man at a mysterious night circus transports Lisa into three strange stories from the innocent 1950s, the chilling retro-present and a brutalist future where prestige TV rules the world.
Universal Basic Guys - "Mark Men" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark throws his hat into the ring as an Ad Man after being shown up by a group of execs at his favorite bar.
Bob's Burgers - "Boogie Days" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Louise signs up for a father-daughter boogie board contest, Bob's past comes back to haunt him.
Krapopolis - "Ty Man Woman Table Chairs Food" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
There's this new thing called a map, and all the cool cities are on it; Tyrannis and Hippocampus start a restaurant to earn Krapopolis its spot; Stupendous follows the map to face her longtime foe.
The Conners - "Driving, Dating and Receipt" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mark is anxious to get his driver's license when a job opportunity presents itself across town; Darlene attempts to teach Mark to drive, but her frantic energy sends him running to Ben for help; Harris meets a new guy online.
The Conners - "Parent Traps and Heart Attacks" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When a relative passes away unexpectedly, the family must debate about who should gain custody of a jaded nephew, who is just shy of his 18th birthday.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Friday, November 22
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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