Yodelling Llama

After a lengthy hiatus, the Channel 101 primetime needed to be topped by something stupid, obvious, and devastatingly effective. It got it, with “2 Girls, 1 Cup: The Show,” which combines a puppet, attractive women, a disturbing pop culture phenomenon, and the annoying voice of Justin Roiland to make a fairly watchable program. The expected creep toward yet another “discrimination is wrong” moral over the series’ life is less than welcome. The expectation of more awkward pauses, however, leaves me quivering with anticipation. B+

Another newcomer, “The Bed & Breakfast Club,” was somewhat less effective. The opening credits notwithstanding, I wasn’t entirely clear much of the time which character corresponded to which Breakfast Club character. Willy Roberts in particular completely failed to convincingly channel Emilio Estevez’s Andrew Clark in any respect other than costuming. Tip for a subsequent episode: have Willy get out of the wheelchair and dance spastically and terribly. Also, not entirely clear on the premise. Didn’t St. Elmo’s Fire preclude this sort of thing? C-

Now in its sixth episode, “Stop It” is again laden with sadness. This outing manages to elicit a giggle or two (e.g. Mike Rose’s Alma’s pronunciation of “Whole Foods,” Norma’s twice insisting that she is “a professional”). But its true value is that, although absurd to treat “cooking too much food” as an addiction, and although ridiculous to treat addiction as Dr. Gliza does, there is a strong emotional core to each episode. Also, Mr. Rose seems to attempt to be the least incestuous of the current crop of 101s, regularly introducing new faces. A-

“Groove Fighters” keeps chugging along with a style all its own. The “don’t sell out” moral of the latest installment is a little odd, but provides a tasty antagonist. Some of the new “theme” dancers were quite amusing. The decision to push Ryan Ridley’s Joey Youngblood to the fore may be a good move, especially if motivated by an ensemblization, rather than Fonzie-ization, trend. However, I ultimately am unsatisfied by this program because (1) the music isn’t to my liking, and (2) the dancing isn’t to my liking. C+

Mike Rose’s mustache alone makes “Return to Supermans” #2 worthy of a primetime berth. Supermen using the ripped-off-arm-with-gun as a firearm, the literal way in which the “heart of goodness” is portrayed, the odd way in which an individual is able to ascend to the American Presidency…these make me wonder how something as perfectly executed as this placed fifth. A

John Wayne appeared not only in “Return to Supermans” this month, but also in the inexplicably cancelled “The Forgotten Classics.” Featuring a never-finished western, taking liberally from The Searchers and, well, Silverado, there is a steady decline in production values from start to finish that produced a few chuckles. True, the gimmick is essentially one-note (with the exception of host Jeff Davis’s few good lines); but what a gimmick! B+

The sermonizing and sappiness of the “Cautionary Tales of Swords” finale sucked balls. D

Failed pilot “Temple of the Bone” charmed with its low-rent effects, its promising premise of irreverent-convicted-felon-turned-tomb-raider, its “Metalocalypse” riffing, and its truly touching ending. B-

The thing that bothered me most about deservedly failed pilot “The Shitty Nigerian Writer“–and I know this makes me petty–is that it portrayed both Nigeria and Uganda as arid and full of Arabs. Admittedly, I did enjoy the musical numbers. Shame about the lack of humor, though. C-

The temporarily-back-from-the-dead eleventh episode of “Yacht Rock” cribbed from the years-old advertisements for the failed Fox program, “That 80′s Show.” Bravo! But seriously, Jimmy Buffett is properly described as “mellow, but not smooth, kinda shitty.” Kevin Bacon is pleasantly introduced as somewhat unhinged and obsessed with his own name. And reimagining “Footloose” as a murderous anthem sort of made my day. B+