How I Met Your Mother – “The Sexless Innkeeper”
In every season of How I Met Your Mother there have been a slew of great episodes, but there are a few flops every once in a while. Unfortunately, “The Sexless Innkeeper” turns out to be the latter. In the first storyline, you’ll be following Ted who thinks his job as a professor has turned him into a chick magnet, but Barney and Robin soon point out that they’re just using him as a place to stay for the night, hence the name “The Sexless Innkeeper.” The funnier, although still not great, storyline is about Marshall and Lily trying way too hard to double date with other couples, most recently Barney and Robin.
Ted’s scenes in this episode were by far the weakest, with Barney and Robin making a plethora of bad tweed jacket jokes as well as Barney recounting the story of “The Sexless Innkeeper,” which completely failed to capture a laugh. Marshall and Lily worked well as a duo to keep the show’s head above the water, as they go hilariously overkill with their double dates. I definitely had to rely on these scenes for a laugh, whether it was Marshall’s fixation with his Gouda cheese platter, his Sammy Hagar eating a Belgian waffle story, or his obsession with making photo montages.
You can’t expect every episode to be a winner. Unfortunately, there were just a ton of jokes that didn’t land, but overall, it could have been a lot worse.
Grade: C+
Two and a Half Men –“Laxative Tester, Horse Inseminator”
I’m not sure I like the direction that Two and a Half Men is going in anymore. Charlie’s relationship with Chelsea is really killing the humor of the show; meanwhile, I can’t stand to watch any of Alan’s scenes. His femininity and quirky behavior just make him an irritating character rather than a funny one.
After Alan’s girlfriend, Melissa is kicked out of Charlie’s house, Alan is struggling to find a place where the two can be intimate, and the backseat of his car won’t cut it for her. So, instead of buying a hotel room, he becomes his mother’s (a real estate agent) assistant, allowing him to sleep with Melissa in the houses that she has to show off during the day. Very predictably, Evelyn decides to show off the home late at night while Alan and Melissa are together, in a scene that should be funny, but ultimately fails. Back at the Harper household, however, Chelsea becomes upset with the way Jake is treating her. The entire scenario is just an annoyance, making the viewer feel sympathetic for Charlie, wanting to slap both Jake and Chelsea.
Both storylines have potential, but the writing leaves something (a lot of things, really) to be desired. I think this show needs to figure out where it’s headed and get back on track.
Grade: C-
The Big Bang Theory – “The Pirate Solution”
This week, Raj discovers that he’s in danger of losing his job and that if this occurs, he might be deported back to India. In a scramble, Wolowitz is able to get him a job interview with another research team at the university; however, his chances are shot when one of the interviewers turns out to be a woman. Luckily for Raj (well… sort of), Sheldon offers him the opportunity to work for him (notice the emphasis on the “for”). Sheldon being an egotistical, self-proclaimed genius obviously clashed with Raj, which makes for a few amusing scenes, with the two bickering over certain aspects of Hinduism, among other things.
At the same time, Leonard and Penny (I still don’t understand that relationship) stay at the apartment, finally thinking they have some time to themselves, with both Sheldon and Raj gone. Little do they know, this leaves Howard all alone, and he quickly becomes the third wheel. It’s nothing hysterical, but it’s hard not to crack a smile watching Wolowitz screw up Leonard and Penny’s alone time while not realizing it.
Overall, I have to say that I was fairly pleased with this week’s episode. I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of Leonard and Penny’s boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, but I also don’t think it will last. I’m still waiting for this season’s breakout episode, but this one was still highly enjoyable.
Grade: B
Jordan is a high school student and aspiring journalist. He loves playing/watching and writing about video games, television, and movies. 
