The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 1 – “No Sanctuary”

Last night cable’s most popular program, The Walking Dead, returned with an action-packed season 5 premiere, albeit one which fell victim to many of the most obnoxious TV tropes.

Once upon a time, The Walking Dead was a show where anything could happen, and your favorite character might bite the dust at any moment. I knew those days were over at the start of last season, when a strain of swine flu started exclusively killing off extras, leaving series regulars mostly unharmed. Not much has changed in season 5, as the core group of heroes were saved miraculously again and again, while extras (and not just Walkers) were killed off by the dozens.

Not only has the tension been nearly eliminated by making the main players essentially immortal, but “No Sanctuary” started season 5 off in a way that stamped out all the tension that season 4 painstakingly built with its slow reveal of the cannibal compound known as Terminus. Roughly 7 episodes of season 4 were spent gradually drawing the curtains on Terminus, with the finale showing that Rick and company had finally met their match, and might not make it out alive. Not only do they make it out alive, but they do so with plenty of time to spare before the end of the first episode, and they barely break a sweat doing so.

One moment that I’d like to draw attention to, as it was particularly ridiculous, was the way that Carol (Melissa McBride) blew the door wide open with a gas tank, a few bullets and a well-placed bottle rocket. Honestly, Rambo would have blushed at the sheer odds against this plan actually working. I have nothing against a fun action sequence, but my suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far.

Despite a weak attempt to humanize the residents of Terminus by phrasing yet another moral paradox regarding the human condition after the zombie apocalypse (“You’re either the butcher, or you’re the cattle”), I am beginning to feel that this show may be running out of ideas. The characters have been put through the ringer over and over, and have faced their own dark sides more times than I can count. I’m just not sure how many ways they can communicate the same idea – that only by embracing your dark side can you survive this world – before it all starts to sound like a broken record.

Regardless of the seeming lack of originality or the indestructibility of the characters, the ratings continue to grow, which leads me to the horrifying conclusion that there is no plan to ever end The Walking Dead. It will go on and on, and become more and more ridiculous until it cracks under the weight of its own nonsense. And despite my frustration, I will probably be there to watch it all crumble.

Bob’s Burgers: Season 5, Episode 1 – “Work Hard Or Die Trying, Girl”

Back for its fifth season, Fox’s underdog animated comedy Bob’s Burgers continues to show originality, charm and wit with its premiere episode, “Work Hard Or Die Trying, Girl”.

The episode begins in Counselor Frond’s office at Wagstaff Elementary, in the middle of a conflict between the Belcher family and Gene’s ex, the obnoxious Courtney Wheeler and her father Doug. The nature of their conflict unfolds Rashomon-style, with each Gene and Louise Belcher and Courtney Wheeler recounting – from their own perspective – how they ended up performing competing original school musicals on the same night.

Gene’s show is his passion project Die Hard: The Musical, which is rejected at the school audition and ends up going underground, becoming a one-man performance in the school’s boiler room, as masterminded by Louise Belcher (for profit, of course). Courtney’s play is the suspiciously similar Working Girl: The Musical, which becomes a full-blown production with Courtney’s jingle-writing father Doug pulling the strings. When it is discovered that both plays are occurring simultaneously, and when Gene’s play steals much of Courtney’s audience, tensions rise.

In the end, the children solve the conflict by combining their projects and drumming up a brand new musical at the last second titled Work Hard Or Die Trying, Girl, in which characters and plots from both 80’s films are cleverly brought together for a musical finale.

This episode continues the show’s trend of injecting original songs into each episode with greater and greater frequency. The music throughout is catchy and the lyrics are clever, and most importantly, funny. I have a feeling audiences will be talking about the Work Hard Or Die Trying, Girl scene for years to come – much like the Planet of the Apes: The Musical and The King and I: The Musical scenes on network neighbors The Simpsons and Family Guy, respectively. In fact, I have long felt that Bob’s Burgers has always represented the best elements of those two giants, but with its own very unique style and heart. Hopefully, loyal audiences of Bob’s Burgers will continue to grow, and we will be able to enjoy this very special show for years to come.