Exo Facto FALL TV: Scream Queens, The Muppets, Mindy Project, & Fresh off the Boat!

**WARNING** This is a post discussing TV episodes Exo Facto (after the fact) and therefore spoilers abound. Not for the faint of heart, or those who haven’t caught up.**

Finally the time has come. Put your Netflix relationship on pause (It IS complicated), because the awkward kid in class has come back from the summer break and he is ripped and grew 6 inches since last spring. The hot guy’s name? Hulu.

This is the only time where my Hulu subscription actually pays off, it is the sole reason I keep it around (let’s be honest the library of content sucks ass… however it is a decent way to catch up on almost all TV Shows without having to pay for stupid cable). I am so not advertising the use of Hulu, I am a Netflix girl all the way (Binge Watching SHOULD be an Olympic sport and I should get paid to do it on the professional level) but Pumpking Spice Latte is back, and right behind it came the Fall season of TV.

I watched some good first episodes, some “eh” first episodes, and some REALLY good first episodes so far, so let us dish:

SCREAM QUEENS (Rating)

Scream Queens is like Scary Movie only it tries to stay classy and witty. The ONE AND A HALF HOUR premiere can get a little exhausting (I mean like half the cast is dead by the first episode… or are they?) It had its up moments (I will always treasure the moment Ariana Grande crawled her way to her laptop to post on Facebook how someone was trying to kill her) and then it had its downs (the flow of the episode left a little to be desired).I am not sure I am totally mesmerized by Emma Roberts’ mean girl act (she acted like a really spoiled and not as smart Blaire Waldorf from Gossip Girls; of course exaggerating the mean girl act because that is the whole point of the show), though I really liked when she interacted with Skyler Samuel’s character Grace (the “good” girl of the show) on the coffee shop and they almost seemed to flip personalities (Grace coming at her and Emma breaking down a little).All in all I need to see a lot more of Rachel Berry (excuse me, Lea Michelle– her character is a little psycho and I totally loved her), Diego Boneta (that man smiles and my world melts), and surprisingly Nick Jonas (who knew he could act… convincingly to boot!) Just that last scene of the episode hooked me because it led me to believe maybe this is a show that acts like the stupid cousin, but in reality it is far more sinister (and smarter) than you give it credit for (reminiscent of the first Scary Movie where Dave Sheridan aka Doofy ended up being the killer all along… I was going to write spoiler alert but oh fuck it Scary Movie is old as dirt)

PS; Loved Keke Palmer’s character; Zayday is the only one that seemed to be established in the real world and was just along for the ride to see how very stupid these dumb white girls could be.
THE MUPPETS (rating) Were you missing 30 Rock? Well guess what, it is back! Only it is now played by muppets, Liz Lemon went Green for the rest of her life, there seems to be no Jack Donaghy, and Jenna turned into a pig (still is as self involved though). Seriously though The Muppets made me laugh various times (out loud). I didn’t grow up watching The Muppets so I always thought they were more for kids, and now seeing them play out these adult scenarios is hilarious. I also liked Elizabeth Banks guest starring as herself and having a feud with miss Piggy (that gag about the Hunger Games… good job on the movie placement so close to it being released in theaters– hadn’t forgotten since it is coming out in my birthday and I am Hunger Games addicted — it was well played, actually funny, and worked well within the overall episode). So far what I’ve seen is good writing, good voice acting, and interesting things happening in the future (I am the oracle, so I see these things happening in real time).
THE MINDY PROJECT (rating) (first episode)
& (second episode)I absolutely love The Mindy Project, and therefore Hulu. The moment it was announced that Mindy was being cancelled I almost damn near cried (it is one of the best comedy shows out there right now! She is hilarious.) but then *Dam da ra ram!* Hulu comes to the rescue and they made a loyal viewer out of me (I already watched Mindy Project exclusively on Hulu so it didn’t really upset my routine)

I loved the first episode of Mindy season 4; seeing Mindy getting a second view of her life without Danny and how they compliment each other was the cutest thing ever (also Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an “open relationship” kind of guy was kind of hilarious since he is almost always cast as the nice guy you definitely want to date). The second episode however… It was a little touch and go.

After watching it I immediately looked up online what the hell was going on. In the first episode we pick immediately were we left off in the last episode of season 3 (Dany arriving at Mindy’s parent’s house). In the second episode however Danny and mindy are already discussing delivering their baby like a week later. They keep calling the baby “him” and I was here like, did I skip a whole bunch of episodes?

We as viewers of course expect a little pregnancy continuity. After finding out Mindy was pregnant I was expecting (as a LONG time TV SHOW BINGE watcher; there is an anonymous help group, we have meetings, I am not supposed to talk about them) the “important hallmark moments of the pregnancy” episodes. Mindy telling Danny’s Ma, going to the first sonogram, finding out the sex… pretty much the regular episodes that come after you learning your leading lady is pregnant. Well, the show runners decided to skip the whole fact and just go straight to the delivery, and here is why: they wanted to keep the show exclusively about Mindy.

Or that is what they tell us. Did they think they made a mistake in getting Mindy pregnant? Who knows, but while it is FUN to see Mindy go through horrible relationships and talk honestly about sex and the pit falls of said relationships shouldn’t the viewer also get to see her freak out over becoming a mother? I know the “Hallmark prego moments” episodes have been done to death, but every TV Show brings their brand of special to these same old tropes. That is what is fun! Seeing how they will get creative and making these moments not only their own but memorable. By skipping the whole process I not only feel like those particular plot lines are forever lost, but I also feel like the writers were as scared as Mindy was about coming up with their own spin to the age old episodes.

PS; but hey we still have overly attached Morgan so at least they didn’t take him away from me (he makes me both occasionally uncomfortable and mostly happy).
Fresh off the Boat Fresh of the Boat was a breath of fresh air last year, and it continues to be that one TV Show I NEED to watch immediately as it is being added to Hulu. I love the characters, every single one. The actors are so very good and they steal your hearts in different ways (even the ones that don’t appear as much but still are special and not “off the rack” and tired). In the first episode of the season you get to see the Huang family try out this american concept of going on a “vacation” (something Mr Huang has been doing for ages but that he never told his wife about because she of course disapproves). Cue: Shennanigans!Constance Wu is STILL my favorite of the entire ensemble. She is just plain kick ass and strict yet you know she is doing whatever she must in order to keep her family in line. There was this one line at the end of the episode where Mr Huang tells his wife:

Mrs Huang all relax taking a bath: “Hidden fees, that’s how they get you”
Mr Huang freaking out: “I didn’t do the math! I am on vacation!”
Mrs Huang: “So am I, so I couldn’t protect you from this.”
Mr Huang: [sighs] “You’re watching out for us so I don’t have to. I can be me because I have you.“

And that line stole my heart (also, the way he was looking at his wife, with understanding and cherishment). I love Fresh off the Boat because it has a little bit of everything, and it uses it well. The kids bring back the nostalgia of the 90s for us 20 something year olds (Eddie is trying to come back to school from summer break with a “cool” tale to tell his friends in order to enter the 7th grade with his head held up high, middle Huang is still a killer with the ladies, and baby Huang gets part of the spotlight when he goes from Velcro shoes to shoelaces because he is “no longer the baby” which is a fact he is not okay with), the married couple go through relationship shennanigans that we can relate to, and the wise old Grandma Huang had us wishing we could be as cool as her when we get to her age.

It is the show that hits every single point, and I absolutely love it.