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tonyhammer
Reviews
Seinfeld: The Dinner Party (1994)
Party Gift Purchase
I don't understand Elaines crabbiness towards George in this episode. She seemed happy enough carousing with the guys in Jerry's apartment.
The car ride into town with a bit comical. Enjoyed Kramer having a chuckle at Jerry and Elaine roughhousing in the backseat as well as George's complaint about purchasing a party gift "let's get them a couch".
George's coat continued drawing scorn and ridicule, with one guy complaining "Big coat! Big coat!", and another loudly calling George a puffball.
Jerry and Elaine's experience in the bakery started out innocent enough, but quickly turned sour. Chuckle moments included Jerry's vomit experience, the black-and-white cookie, and the man with the cane.
Seinfeld: The Dog (1991)
Lighthearted Episode With a Dog
Elaine and George were still not totally comfortable with each other, with Jerry not in the room. The mutual tension was a tad off-putting for me, but still a bit amusing, and didn't detract from the show. They gave this bit just enough time in the script.
I suffer through this episode, largely because of two things: The dog's incessant barking in Jerry's apartment, and the way the dog kept tugging on his owner during their exit dialogue. I'm a little embarrassed that I can't accurately articulate why those two scenes bother me so much. The old man's personality didn't help either. I'll give Jerry credit, as he handled the whole situation with more tolerance and patience than I expected.
Bonanza: The Ponderosa Birdman (1965)
Comical and Jovial, with a Flat Ending
I enjoyed and chuckled at the opening scene, especially with Adam and Little Joe horsing around with Hoss. I haven't seen an entire episode of Bonanza in many years, and I don't recall any opening scene containing as much jocularity. (using that word always reminds me of Father Mulcahy, lol)
When the professor first started speaking, I was thinking that his voice sounded familiar. His voice, mainly his inflection, reminded me of the Mad Hatter in the 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland. So I looked it up. Lo and behold! The voice of the Mad Hatter was that of Ed Wynn, the same actor who played the professor in this very episode!
Enjoyed reading these other reviews, but I have to agree, in part, of the low review. Some of the dialogue in this episode was a bit juvenile. Not necessarily in a bad light, mind you. It just seems that this entire episode simply had a jovial theme, and the dialogue was very much a part of it.
Little Joe's bird-mocking scene halfway through the episode was comical. (By now I was already in the spirit of the episode's jovial theme.)
Some oddities:
I couldn't figure out why the professor was depicted as being hard of hearing.
The scene where Hoss was about to launch himself over the cliff was perplexing, to say the least. On one hand you had the glee and excitement displayed by Amanda, the professor, and Little Joe. Then you had Hoss's sobbing. Not weeping, but literal sobbing!
If not for the odd ending, I would've given it 8 stars.
M*A*S*H: Dear Dad... Three (1973)
I'm a sucker for the Letter Episodes
The only way I can explain my fondness for the letter episodes is that they remind me of when I would write Mom in the early 1980s, after I moved away from home. I enjoyed getting her letters. (She always wrote them with a pencil, in cursive.)
The grenade surgery was crazy suspenseful. The medical crew showed a lot of good old fashion guts for not only deciding to extricate the grenade, but to actually go through with it. To this day, I still can't fathom a grenade inside a persons body.
The homemade film from Henry's wife was a nice touch. The icing on the cake was when Trapper said "what did you do Henry, slip something in her succotash?". The way his accent was emphasized on the word succotash made me laugh out loud. It's still one of my favorite quotes from the series.
M*A*S*H: Kim (1973)
Nice Story for MASH Fans
The main story itself is not bad. A little boy gets injured, the doctors fix him up, and the MASH regulars take turns spending time with him. Who wouldn't enjoy such a storyline? I especially liked the scenes where the boy genuinely seemed to be laughing.
One thing that bugged me more than usual is when Henry Blake goofed up reading the map. Not believable, as a viewer. An educated military man should've been able to easily identify what the map was, and what it was not. Quite bizarre. This kind of scene truly puzzles me, for as wonderful as much of the writing is, they still decided to include something like this. Plus, it's not even remotely funny, in my eyes.
The parting shot of Trapper standing and watching the truck driving away was a bit sappy, almost maudlin.
South Park: Britney's New Look (2008)
Not a Fan of Shock Gore
This review is more about the way Britney is displayed post-shot, and less about the story itself. I'm 59, and I've never been a fan of shock gore. Some would argue that this is not gore, but to me, yes, it is. It's repulsive. I avoided looking at her while first watching this particular episode, and I don't watch any reruns of it. The creators do this pretty often, and I realize there is an audience for it, but I'm just not into it. I don't like the story so much either. It doesn't appeal to me because I don't like decent people being mocked in such a way. I'm not a fan of hers but I don't think she's a mean person either.
M*A*S*H: Friends and Enemies (1983)
Better served as an episode early in the series
After years of working and carousing together, one would expect that the characters have learned to not only tolerate each other's differences, but to resolve them without bickering or conflict. Yet, here they are squawking...for the umpteenth time.
I would understand if BJ merely offered a half hearted groan to Winchester, but his loud, angry outburst at his music was old and stale. Same for Margaret. I was never a fan of her god-awful shrieking and over-the-top name-calling at her fellow officers' expense, but come on, man. This was 1983.
Potter immediately offers a loud, angry retort towards Hawkeye's concerns about his careless friend. Not only is it refried beans, but his anger sounds oddly out of character.
A lot of old, meaningless anger and bickering in this episode. For all the great episodes they created, they created just as many stinkers. This is one of those.
M*A*S*H: House Arrest (1975)
Not a Believable Storyline
Burns got a bad rap in this episode. Pierce tolerated worse nonsense from people in earlier episodes without responding violently, so why this time? Seeing him punch Burns put a bad taste in my mouth. The fact that the whole camp hated Burns didn't do much to quell that bad taste. Neither did Houlihan's over-the-top reaction upon seeing the perceived monkey business.
I've always felt the behavior and dynamics of the officers was not very believable until after Linville left the show. It hardly improved when Winchester came on. I felt the officers could've done better by tolerating each other a bit more, without all the tension and drama. I'm sure their frequent bickering during surgeries and in post op wasn't received well by injured soldiers who had just arrived from combat. But I guess taming all of that down would've somewhat taken away what made the show a success.