So long, suckers.

It has been awesome running this blog for the past year and a half. It’s taught me a lot and has led to many opportunities. So many opportunities that I don’t have time to run this blog anymore!

But, don’t worry, you will never have to go a moment without knowing my thoughts on TV. Here’s a list of everywhere you can find my rants and raves:

The Secret Lover Podcast on iTunes and Podbean: Weekly TV discussion with a  wide array of topics and fun weekly guests!

New York Press: Get a weekly schedule of what to watch and a grab bag of other stuff.

The Ann Arbor Review of Books: Ignore the title, I promise I will never turn off the idiot box and crack open a book. This blog was founded by Charlie Sweatpants from Dead Homer Society, so you know it’ll be good. I’ll be contributing my analysis of TV, with a focus on making sure all those media studies classes I took in college don’t go to waste.

Also, this isn’t set in stone yet, but there’s a good chance I’ll be recapping Supernatural for Spunky Bean once the new season starts. In the mean time, start reading all of Spunky Bean’s episode recaps because they are awesome.

Smell you later,

Lenny

The Whole Enchilada: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

I didn’t keep up with TV as obsessively as usual this week. I’ve been watching a lot of older TV as part of a special podcast I’m doing in October. I won’t reveal too much about it, but those of you who follow me on Twitter might be able to guess the theme from the amount of Heroes and Smallville I’ve been watching. Whoops. I’ve said too much. Well, in the mean time, here are the best TV episodes from this week.

10. America’s Next Top Model: “The Girl Who Makes the Grade” (The CW): Yup, the most amazingly stupid and stupidly amazing show on TV is back and more entertaining than ever. Highlights include Tyra’s insistence that she graduated from Harvard business school, Tyra acting excited about the “all new prize pack!” with companies that are objectively less exciting than Vogue and Cover Girl and the sequence where they made these girls pretend to be excited about and have extensive acknowledge about the new judges. Turns out college girls these days are really familiar with Katy Perry’s stylist. Y’know because he’s such a household name. Oh there was also the gem of a moment where one contestant mentioned recently losing her grandmother and Legendary Sensitivity Maven Kelly Cutrone evaluated her by saying, “She’s pretty and it’s a nice story about her grandma, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough to take five great photos in a  row.” Seriously, what?

9. Totally Biased: “Episode 3″ (FX): I found the humor in this episode to be amusing, but it never felt meaty enough to suck me in, particularly considering the heavy topics they were talking about. Kamau Bell obviously aims to keep things light, but he might have to probe a little deeper to bring bigger laughs in the future.

8. Adventure Time: “Lady and Peebles” (Cartoon Network): When I saw the poster for this episode, which pairs up Lady Rainicorn and Princess Bubblegum, I was excited to see an AT episode that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. Sadly, the episode was just okay. Mostly because they didn’t do enough with Lady Rainicorn. But, PB had some nice moments.

7. Regular Show: “Fuzzy Dice” (Cartoon Network): Pops!

6. Phineas and Ferb: “Where’s Perry, Part 2″ (Disney): There’s a lot of love in this episode. Candace is at her relatable and delightful best, as she obsessively criticizes her own obsessiveness and, later, when she’s the only one who questions how Perry found them in Africa. There was also a plot about Buford and Baljeet being soulmates and the delightful ending where Carl is promoted to “paid intern”, which is of course just a title. They’re still not going to pay him. My only complaint is that they really didn’t bother to be informative about Africa. It’s not like I wanted the entire episode to be a geography lesson, but the fact that the whole thing is set in “Africa”, with nothing clearer or more specific than that, feels lazy and a little ignorant.

5. Childrens Hospital: “Chief’s Origin” (Cartoon Network): There were big laughs in this Rob Corddry-penned episode and I found every twist and turn in it to be delightful and hilarious.

4. White Collar: “Identity Crisis” (USA): Once in a while an episode of White Collar comes along that understands what I really want– feelings, feelings, feelings. This episode actually had Mozzie doing a puppet show for Neal that he created when he was eight to deal with being an orphan. It also had lots of talking about the early history of this country. Funducational!

3. Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff (Comedy Central): This technically aired last week, but since it was shown at 11 p.m. on Saturday, I think you should forgive me for sliding it over a week. Amy is insanely funny and relatable. Please check out this special. It’s amazing.

2. Suits: “High Noon” (USA): So, I thought the Suits finale would be really dramatic, slick and full of turns, but instead it was a fun episode that had an entire act about Harvey and Mike deciding to get high and pee in Louis’s office. I approve.

1. The L.A. Complex: “Rules of Thirds” (The CW): I’ve talked a lot about how great this show is at having big emotional punches while continuing to be fun. Last week Raquel hit rock bottom in an emotionally devastating episode, but this week she was kicking ass in a funny reality show plot line that was still poignant and never felt tonally jarring. This show is sexy, fun and emotionally resonant every single week.

Maybe You’ve Got Some Real Spooky Gay Dudes in Your Neighborhood: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

Today was one of those magical weeks where I went back in forth on the best episode of the week a lot. I can’t stress enough how close #1 and #2 on my list are. They’re both great episodes of television. As for the lower parts of the list ehhhhhhh let’s all just be happy that real TV starts in September. With that said, here are the best episodes of TV for the week.

10. The Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne (Comedy Central): Okay, when Gilbert Gottfried and Tom Arnold showed up, shit got less funny and more annoying. But this still makes the list for the part I did like: badass women being hilarious. Jane Lynch, Katey Sagal, Amy Schumer and of course Roseanne herself were absolute perfect. And Jane Lynch even made fun of The New Normal. I’m glad she’s rebelling against her cruel overlord.

9. Spoilers with Kevin Smith: “Bourne Again, Forever and Renner…Damon!” (Hulu): It was a bummer to find out that this is the season finale. I’ve come to enjoy the warm, welcoming arms of watching Spoilers every week. I hope it comes back next summer. Aside from Kevin Smith’s usual cuteness, this episode had an interview with Gerard Way. I thought there’d be some reason that Gerard Way is on a show about movies, but there really wasn’t. However, for those of us who are me or Kevin Smith, you never need a reason to think about l’il Gee. Aww.

8. Adventure Time: “King Worm” (Cartoon Network): I wish this episode had a little more substance, but it was a cool series of visuals with some nice one-liners like, “Let’s stop him with some big ol’ legs.” I especially liked the animation style and vocal delivery when Princess Bubblegum tells Finn, “You wouldn’t understand. You’re too young.”

7. John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show: “Michael Ian Black” (Comedy Central): I didn’t care for headliner Michael Ian Black, but this episode still gets my seal of approval for the fabulous Michael Che and the even more fabulous Hari Kondabolu. I’m a big fan of gay jokes when they’re done well and Michael Che had a great series of gay jokes when he started off saying, “I’m not a homophobic dude, but I don’t judge people who are homophobic. I don’t know your life. I can’t tell you what to be afraid of. Maybe you’ve got some real spooky gay dudes in your neighborhood.” He goes on to talk about what it would be like if we applied the logic of bicuriosity to other things. “I’m not a prejudice dude, but I watch Fox news, I watch the Jersey Shore. There are some white dudes I could see myself going a little racist for. Why not?” Then Hari Kondabolu hit it out of the park with his awesome and highly feminist set. The highlight was his fixed lyrics for “Don’t Cha” by The Pussycat dolls, which I will now present in full because they are so perfect:

Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me

Even though she loves you unconditionally?

Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me

Even though you yourself are quite chubby?

Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me

Even though she was there for you that night your dad died

And as you cried in her arms, you realized she was the only reason you had left for living

But still, though

Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?

Don’t cha?

Hari, take me away.

6. Regular Show: “Death Bear” (Cartoon Network): I always find the episodes with the girls cute.

5. White Collar: “Honor Among Thieves” (USA): This had enough hot Diana action and Elizabeth and Peter talking about how perfect Neal is to make it one of my favorites of the season.

4. Degrassi: “Sabotage” (TeenNick): Man, Clare’s plotlines this season get it. There was a lot of heart-wrenching drama with Clare this summer, but Degrassi is often at its best when it’s understated and one of my favorite quietly resonant moments of the entire season was when Clare asked Dallas why he thought she would be okay with him kissing her and he responded, “You kicked off your shoes!”

3. The L.A. Complex: “Taking the Day” (The CW): Another awesome episode that perfectly balances drama and fun. I mentioned to a  friend of mine that it’s amazing how much this episode has girls banging each other without being like “we’re so cool for having girls banging each other” and she responded, “This show is shockingly not smug about how perfect it is.” That pretty much sums it up.

2. Suits: “Asterisk” (USA): What made this episode great? Louis Litt. Possibly the best character on TV right now. And you know who else? Rick Hoffman, who plays Louis Litt. Possibly the best actor on TV right now.

1. Degrassi: “Scream” (TeenNick): Wow. Just wow. The first time I watched this I thought part of my love for it was just relief that it’s not an over-dramatic mess like many Degrassi finales. But, after rewatching it a couple of times, it’s much more than that. In fact, it’s just about a perfect episode of television. From the awesomeness that is Becky and Adam’s relationship to Owen standing up for his brother to their total take down of victim-blaming to brief but wonderful Fimogen cuteness, this episode might be my favorite episode of Degrassi ever.

Which One of You Wants to See Me Peck a Dorito?: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

It might be hot and miserable outside, but here in my living room I can feel the crispy autumn air because I watched three premieres this week. There’s nothing I love more than premieres. A good premiere is just a big, welcoming burst of hope without the baggage of past seasons weighing it down. It’s fun. This week had Go On, Totally Biased and Childrens Hospital. Two of those were good enough to rank high on my list of episodes for this week. The other one sure was cute. Anyway, here are the best episodes of TV from this week.

10. Bunk: “Alex Borstein, Andy Daly” (IFC): This was the season finale and was good enough to make me sad that it was the season finale. I love Kurt Braunohler more with each passing week and there were plenty of laughs this episode. It’s also worth noting that during the airing of this episode, one of my friends texted me to say, “Alex Borstein is a ball of cute” and I firmly support this stance.

9. Adventure Time: “BMO Noire” (Cartoon Network): What do you need me for? All of the brilliance of this episode is conveyed in the title. It’s a fucking BMO noire. If you’re not desperate to see it, when did you lose your sense of childlike wonder?

8. Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Weird Al Wears a Hawaiian Shirt” (IFC): There were plenty of laughs in this season finale thanks to Scott Aukerman’s special brand of comedy which makes me shake my head and say “oh buddy” in lieu of laughing. (How funny do I think Scott Aukerman is? You’ll never know because I’ll never know!) The trailer for Apple a Day was especially Aukermany.

7. John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show: “David O’Doherty” (Comedy Central): David O’Doherty is fantastic, so it’s no surprise that his episode is possibly my favorite of the season. Aside from David being his usual amazing self, this episode also has my favorite John Oliver bit: his story about a pigeon at an airport. It’s amazing. I want John-Oliver-as-a-pigeon in my life at all times, giving me calm guidance. This episode also had Kurt Braunohler, which was nice because for once when I finished watching Bunk and found myself saying, “I desperately need more Kurt Braunohler”, I was able to immediately scratch that itch. Sad little Mike Lawrence had some great material about the seven years he worked at McDonalds and the worst heckles he’s ever heard. Andy Zaltzman overcame his visage and delighted me with his opening bit, “Do you like the world? Pretty ambivalent? Not really my thing either” and his closing bit, where he followed up the set up “I’ll tell you another thing women don’t like…” with “Menopause and the slow, inevitable decline into the inescapable chasm of death that it so ominously foreshadows.”

6. Regular Show: “Prankless” (Cartoon Network): Man, this season is Muscle Man heavy. I laughed.

5. Degrassi: “Never Ever” (TeenNick): Alright, so I mostly find this episode irresistible for the few seconds of Becky giggling and looking at Adam admiringly. That is really my thing. But, as for the main plot, I felt for Imogen and her plight.

4. Totally Biased: “Pilot” (FX): Oh man. This show is really my thing. I mean, it opened with a hair texture joke and the hair texture material just kept coming. There is so much funny and smart stuff in this episode, I highly recommend you check it out for yourself. There’s also a moment that truly bums me out where he shows a racist tweet from someone whose username is “Lumpy Space Princess.” I feel ashamed on behalf of my fandom.

3. Go On: “Pilot” (NBC): This episode is very funny and shows tons of potential. The moment that really had me was when Owen hesitantly says, “We could call it March Sadness.” Yes.

2. The L.A. Complex: “Be a Man” (The CW): Sabrina is my hero.

1. Suits: “Rewind” (USA): This flashback episode didn’t explain as much as I thought it would, but I still loved it. We got to see Mike dressed like Peter Parker and I now know that Donna/Rachel was love at first sight. I’m a sucker for flashback episodes and I’m a sucker for Harvey’s feelings, so I’m on board.

Miserable Lesbians: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

This was a good week. I had more than ten episodes to narrow down from this week, which is always a good start. Plus, the top four this week is incredibly strong. I really felt like they all deserved to be #1. Here goes.

10. Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Adam Scott Wears a Red Oxford Shirt & Jeans” (IFC): This episode was released before the show went to air as the preview and when they finally aired it this week it reminded me why I was so optimistic going into this show. There are lots of funny bits, plus some not-so-funny bits where Scott Aukerman is still cute. Oh buddy.

9. John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show: “Marc Maron” (Comedy Central): I’m not a big fan of headliner Marc Maron’s particular brand of rambling at me, but there were a couple of funny bits in his set. The highlights for me were Leo Allen explaining that if you ever feel the need to take your dog by the collar and remove him from the room “holy shit, don’t do whatever it is you’re about to do”, Al Jackson’s unbelievable story about someone who said their favorite movie was “And the Band Played On…I mean, Drumline”, Sheng Wang’s bizarre story about eating a hot dog from two strange girls on the free way and, most importantly, John Oliver’s extreme enthusiasm for the man who threw a hot dog at Tiger Woods.

8. Bunk: “Michael Che, Matt Oberg” (IFC): I was in the studio audience for this episode, but the jokes totally hold up on second billing, mostly because I have a giant crush on Matt Oberg and Michael Che is one of the funniest and weirdest dudes around. Also, I like Kurt Braunholer more with each passing episode.

7. Degrassi: “Waterfalls” (TeenNick): The obligatory but necessary biannual episode about the parallels of rape culture. This one has Clare getting sexually harassed by her supervisor, Asher Shawstack. It’s not surprising that the authority figures Clare talks to don’t believe her, but what I really liked as a comment on how deep the problem goes is that even supportive Alli’s first reaction was, “Oh my God, you didn’t enjoy it, did you?” I’ve said before that I think one of Degrassi’s strong suits is how unique Clare is and that kept this episode from feeling too familiar.

6. White Collar: “Parting Shots” (USA): Neal brought Peter a sandwich. How cute. I don’t know why this show continues to try to get me to care about Sarah, but it was a good episode regardless.

5. Degrassi: “Closer to Free” (TeenNick): Oh, Jenna. Jenna, Jenna, Jenna. Her bubbly delivery of “He said God has a plan for me and he kissed me!” pretty much sums her up. I’m really into the friendship between Jenna and Becky, possibly because of the sheer number of times they used language to make it sound like a romance. The What Clare Says plot line was surprisingly awesome since usually when shows try to comment on technology it’s terrible. “I don’t want to lose my internship just because you have Aspergers” might win the award for best Clare dialogue ever. Wow.

4. Adventure Time: “Burning Low” (Cartoon Network): This parable of early love is absolutely fantastic, if for no other reason than “do not go to Tier 15!”

3. Workaholics: “Flashback in the Day” (Comedy Central): This is easily one of the best episodes of Workaholics ever, perhaps because the deeper angst of the show is brought to the foreground. Although the jokes are consistent, you realize as you watch that Blake will never be an actor, Anders will never be a swimmer and as for Adam, well, he might still find love and get married, but based on the way he treats women, it’s a long way off. This episode is so meaningful because it reminds you what the show is really about: growing up and replacing big dreams with minor distractions and the pursuit of happiness with hopes of contentment. While the consensus is that you have to accept the reality that few people will ever do something like go to the Olympics or find their soulmate, friendship is put forth as an alternatively to wallowing in self-pity and broken dreams. They really made the most of the flashback format. Aside from the nice use of pop culture references from the early 2000s, it was nice seeing Blake sober enough to be smarter than both of his friends and to see Adam being even more pathetic than usual. Adam DeMamp, I cannot believe how much I love you.

2. The L.A. Complex: “Choose Your Battles” (The CW): I continue to be invested in all of these characters. And, Sabrina, you’re wonderful.

1. Suits: “Sucker Punch” (USA): Pulling off an ensemble is hard, but in this episode every single character shines. They all have a moment where your heart breaks for them and it’s great to watch. I can’t wait for the flashback episode next week, if for no other reason than the fact that Patrick J. Adams looks much better dressed like a l’il pothead than he does in a suit.

Quit Your Griping, Start Your Diaping: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

This was maybe not the best week. All I’m saying is, Pretty Little Liars snuck in there. So y’know.

10. Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Elizabeth Banks Wears a Red Dress” (IFC): This episode had more laughs than most thanks to the weird and delightful bit with Scott Aukerman’s dad. Also, I’m developing a crush on Scott Aukerman and that’s not good for anyone.

9. John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show: “Hannibal Burress” (Comedy Central): This episode had John Oliver’s delightful commentary on campaign ads (“Picture a number of flags that would actually be offensive and then subtract one flag”) and the incredibly adorable Emily Heller (“I am a feminist…this is the first time anyone has ever clapped when I said that. Seriously. Feminism is not very popular right now outside of this room”). It also has Adam Newman opening his set with a joke about how he looks exactly like Anne Frank, which is weird because you will not be able to stop seeing it for the rest of his set.

8. Pretty Little Liars: “Crazy” (ABCFamily): They answered my prayers with an Ezra-free episode, so I was able to enjoy it. The highlight was Hanna asking about Aria’s mom and Aria saying, “She’s a slut. Go back to bed.” There were also great Mona/Hanna moments to delight my soul. Sadly, the next episode is extremely Aria/Ezra-centered. I can’t have it all.

7. Degrassi: “Got Your Money” (TeenNick): Oh, fictional high schools. Why do you bother having fundraisers when you know some kid from the wrong side of the tracks who’s trying to impress a girl is just going to steal all the money you raise? Despite having a rather cliche plot and focusing on a not so interesting lead, this episode still had nice moments. I particularly like the original song at the end. It’s impressive that it’s both better than the original song on Glee and more like something amateur teens would compose. Also, all of the stuff with Eli’s gay Romeo & Juliet continues to delight me.

6. Bunk: “Alex Borstein, Ethan T. Berlin” (IFC): This episode had lots of weirdness, laughs and insights into Kurt’s character’s stuff.

5. Common Law: “In Laws and Outlaws” (USA): This show is incredibly one note, but it’s a pretty good note.

4. White Collar: “Diminishing Returns” (USA): I am into watching Peter and Neal be BFF without the amount of conflict between them that one would expect.

3. Degrassi: “Say It Ain’t So” (TeenNick): Since Dave is the worst, I loved watching Alli realize she doesn’t need him. It was such a great pay off seeing how triumphant Alli emerged in this episode after everything she’s been through and the icing on the cake was thinking that Bianca was introduced as “the promiscuous girl” and now just goes around being incredibly reasonable and right about everything.

2. Suits: “All In” (USA): Suits, I’m gonna have to ask you to return to season one’s level of intelligence and seriousness. You’re starting to float towards Franklin & Bash territory. Still, this episode was really fun, had Jessica being awesome and Louis obsessing over ballet and being the best damn character on earth.

1. The L.A. Complex: “The Contract” (The CW): Yo, I’m addicted to this shit.

Future Babes: The Best Shows on TV This Week.

It was Canada appreciation week up in my living room with the return of The L.A. Complex and Degrassi. Needless to say, I’m thrilled aboot these strong premieres. Often times I have to struggle to get up to ten episodes to recommend each week, so it’s awesome when a week like this comes around where I have ten episodes I really loved and the only struggle is deciding which ones I loved most. With that glowing recommendation, here are the ten best episodes of TV from this week.

10. Regular Show: “Fancy Restaurant” (Cartoon Network): I laughed throughout this episode. I’m surprised at how heavily featured Muscle Man has been this season, but they’ve consistently taken what seemed like a one-joke character and made him work as the center of an episode. Word.

9. John Oliver’s New York Stand-up Show: “Wyatt Cenac” (Comedy Central): Can we as a society just stop dancing around the issue and admit that John Oliver is a perfect human being? Good. This week his stand-up show returned because some brilliant person at Comedy Central noticed that we only get to see him four nights a week and realized this is a gross insufficiency. John Oliver was fantastic in his hosting duties and they had a good mix of stand-ups in this episode. Headliner Wyatt Cenac was charming as always. (“Dude goes off and he’s like, ‘Can you believe they’re letting Derek Jeter play in the all-star game?’ Sure. He’s a baseball player. It’s a baseball game. Seems pretty logical to me. Now if you told me Derek Jeter was going to be in a junior high spelling bee, I might be perturbed.”) Ben Kronberg was an interesting weirdo. (“I bet that restaurant The Black Angus has to be on high alert for when the G goes out on that sign.”) Mark Norm was a cutie pie. (“They’re like, ‘Dude, you go to gay bars? That is weird. If some gay guy ever hit on me, I don’t know what I would do.’ How about you just not have sex with him?”) and Hari Kondabolu won my heart by acknowledging that the most pressing issues in this world are colonialism, sexism and how much Weezer sucks now. (“For those of you who didn’t know, the theme of my set tonight will be colonialism, which is why I will be speaking only in English.”)

8. Common Law: “Odd Couples” (USA): The big emotional pay off didn’t work for me, but for the most part Wes and Travis’s dynamic worked its usual charms on me this episode. Also, Travis told Wes that he should have a show called The Anal Chef. So that happened.

7. Degrassi: “Come As You Are” (TeenNick): I tip my hat to Degrassi for managing to have a first week of episodes that I adored despite not a glimpse of Fiona and only one quick Imogen moment. As much as I loved it despite the lack of Fimogen, I would not recommend that they push their luck for another week. Anyway, “Come As You Are” introduced Dallas, who is as dickish an antagonist as anyone could ask for. (Taking bets now on whether he’ll go the Paige route of becoming unbelievably sympathetic or the KC Guthrie route of just getting more and more jaw-droppingly horrible. I’m betting on the latter). Claire and Eli were adorable this episode and I like that Degrassi is capturing how sometimes you try to be with someone and you’re both crazy and it explodes and then some time passes and you’re able to be extremely reasonable to each other. It happens all the time in my life and it’s nice to see it on TV. I love seeing Tori and Maya be so supportive of each other and that they both love Gossip Girl. A solid episode all around.

6. Adventure Time: “Card Wars” (Cartoon Network): This episode let us all see that Jake, who is usually the super-relaxed one, goes nuts when you beat him at card games. Relatable!

5. White Collar: “Most Wanted” (USA): I don’t know what it is about this season of White Collar, but it’s not sucking me in the way I’d like it to. Still, there was definitely plenty of Peter and Neal doing their thing this episode, so I enjoyed it. We even got to see Peter as a bartender.

4. Workaholics: “Real Time” (Comedy Central): This episode was partially an action movie parody, partially a perfect capturing of the feeling of being daytime drunk. The two elements work really well together and there are solid jokes throughout.

3. Degrassi: “Walking on Broken Glass” (TeenNick): Oh, Tristan. I love you so much IT’S CRAAA-ZY. When this exchange happened, I thought it would be the best dialogue of the episode:

KC: This is the academic quiz team.

Drew: And I’d like to try out.

Connor: You need to be smart.

Drew: You saying I’m not smart?

Connor: Yes.

I know Connor barely ever gets fleshed out story lines anymore, but he still pretty much always has the best moments of the episodes he’s in. Anyway, that moment was quickly shown up by this gem of an exchange:

Eli: Tristan, you need to be in this musical. And if that bothers Becky in the process, bonus.

Tristan: So, you’re using me? 

Eli: Do you mind?

Tristan: Not a bit, you magnificent bastard. 

I love that Eli is doing a good thing by creating a school play that portrays homosexuality, but it’s very obvious that he’s doing it for completely petty reasons. This probably just strikes me as being incredibly refreshing after watching a season of Glee that insisted that anyone who has gay friends or is involved in the arts deserves a medal for their complete altruism. Admittedly, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit since Tristan’s audition is objectively not that great, but I’m willing to do that since Lyle O’Donohoe was obviously cast based on being perfect for Tristan not based on Shakespearean acting skills. I really like how sympathetic Becky is in the last scene– it was a great move to humanize the homophobic character as much as possible. As delicious a moment as it was when she said “This is wrong!” and Eli told her “welcome to Degrassi”, I definitely empathized with how her project was ripped from her because of her morals. As for the other Tristan plot, (yoo-hoo, good for him getting two different story lines) I thought it was unbelievably adorable that he thought his obviously terrible plan would work right up to the last possible second. Oh Tristy-trist. Still, the award for most well-written character of the week definitely goes to one Drew Torres. He did some terrible things, hurt a lot of people and still has two women who are completely in love with him, yet in the end he still came off both sympathetic and relatable. Oh and Jake’s part this episode was small, but, man, what a pleasant guy.

2. Suits: “Break Point” (USA): This episode nicely pulled off having a Louis plot line that had nothing to do with Pearson-Hardman, but still ended up being dynamic and involving the other characters. It also had the adorable moment where Mike is shocked and disappointed that Harvey couldn’t fix something. And, of course, Donna made me have feelings throughout. All around, it was very well-crafted and engaging and just about perfect. It came very close to being #1 on my list, but I decided there was another episode that was even more perfect.

1. The L.A. Complex: “Vacancy” (The CW): I love everything about this show. The dramatic moments all hit like a sucker punch, yet the show always stays fun. It’s a balance that’s almost impossible to find. The way they approach the material on this show is consistently refreshing. For instance, the fact that they realize audiences are ready to get invested in story lines that are entirely about black gay men puts them way ahead of most shows. And making Nick friends with Alicia was a perfect way of distinguishing him from other “nice guy” characters by showing us that he is a genuinely good friend to women who he doesn’t expect sex from. This episode even pulled off the trick of introducing a new character who has nothing to do with anyone else and sucked me in right away. As if there wasn’t enough to love, it looks like Paul F. Tompkins is going to become a bigger part of the show as we go on through this season and I’ll never say no to more Paul F. Tompkins. All around, this is a perfect, perfect, perfect show.