oh what a night

The fall TV season kicked off in almost high gear this week, and if Monday night was any indication of what's to come the next 8 months, then my DVR and I are going to become quite close by next spring.

How I Met Your Mother began its seventh season with two episodes on Monday night. The first, "The Best Man," was just as inept as most of the previous four seasons of the show. There were some high points - Barney reconnecting with Nora on the phone, Cobie Smulders acting so well in that scene, and Ted actually seeming likable again. But those highs could not overcome the lows - particularly Ted (narrator Ted) continuously psyching out the audience (his kids). And I found that Lily felt forced to tell the gang of her pregnancy because she couldn't handle the pressure of being seen as not drinking to be utterly insulting.

"The Naked Truth" was a much stronger episode. Aside from Ted acting like seasons 3-4 Ted instead of seasons 1-2 Ted again, the episode had a strong plot and featured a terrific performance by Neil Patrick Harris as he successfully convinced Nora to give him another chance. Unfortunately, a sloppy piece of foreshadowing towards the end of the episode seemed to give it away that Barney is marrying Robin.

And what to make of Victoria's return? My initial instinct is to be psyched! She's the only likable woman Ted has dated on the show - aside from Mary the paralegal. But Ted is a far, far lesser man than he was when he dated her - clearly not deserving of being with her anymore. If the writers are going to put them back together, what's the endgame? There's a buzz on the internet that Victoria could still be the mother, but that's a tough stretch to make at this point. If anything, I can see Ted reconnecting with Victoria reminding him of leaving her and finally being with Robin, and pushing him back towards Robin - setting up a Ted-Robin-Barney love triangle, which would infuriate me just like this show usually tends to do.

Immediately following the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother was the series premiere of 2 Broke Girls. Though a little weak on the plot, the show had numerous laugh-out-loud moments for me, and has been added the DVR list. I watched the show with my sister, and we really enjoyed it.

CBS concluded Monday night with the season two premiere of Hawaii Five-0. This is a fun show that, while generally operating as a procedural, does a good job of keeping some ongoing plot elements alive. The first season finale coupled with this episode brought some of those elements to a close while opening up a host of others. I found it hard not to assume Terry O'Quinn was still John Locke - and that Daniel Dae Kim is not still Jin, and Marc Dacascos is not still the Chairman's nephew and that Scott Caan is not still Tweeter - but he's a fun actor to watch and a nice addition to the cast. And with Bianca Stratford turning heel, the sky is the limit for season two.

I watched Hawaii Five-0 on Tuesday, because my Monday night ended with WWE Raw. On the heels of an eventful Night of Champions PPV, it was interesting to see what direction the WWE is going to take heading into Hell in the Cell and Survivor Series. The firing of Miz and R-Truth was certainly an unexpected twist, and only helps to confirm my belief that there is a larger, lingering plot twist involving CM Punk, HHH and Kevin Nash yet to come. Overall, it was a very entertaining episode of Raw featuring some strong on mic performances and some good in ring work - even Cena was showing off some new moves.