Channel Surfing Podcast, Episode 181

Welcome back to Channel Surfing, where I'm joined by guest host Jenna Mullins from E! this week.

First though a warning: We've got… audio issues this week! Yay! And unlike the infamous recent Skype-cast with Matt, I don't even have a good explanation for this one. Jenna and I were sitting in IGN's LA office, recording on the same equipment we always use, but something went wonky and while you can hear us, we sound oddly distant. And not just emotionally. Let's see if the Podcast lords are kinder next week, but my apologies. Channel Surfing: Always the top of the line in audio!

But let's get onto our topics this week, shall we? Jenna and I discuss this past weekend's Emmy awards and what we thought of the winners, including Homeland dominating and Mad Men being shut out. On the news front, we discuss J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuar¿n teaming at NBC, Ron Moore guiding A Knight's Tale to ABC and FX developing Fargo and The Strain as a TV shows. And we also chat about TV ratings from the past week and why CBS had a lower than expected Monday, while NBC Thursdays are looking dire.

We also discuss many of the season and series premieres airing this week, including How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Ben and Kate, Last Resort and Vegas.

Lastly, reader email brings us queries about Attack of the Show and Glee.

Hey, why not follow us on Twitter?

Eric Goldman: @EricIGN

Jenna Mullins: @JBomb11

IGN.Com's official Twitter feed: @IGN

Channel Surfing Podcast, Episode 181
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Wilfred: "Resentment" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Wedding bells were ringing on Wilfred this week as Drew and Jenna prepped for their big espousal. Of course, to keep things relevant, Wilfred was assigned the title of ring bearer, with Ryan as co-ringbearer -- or rather "associate" ring bearer. Meanwhile, Ryan was still down in the dumps over Amanda after the emotional revelation we were given in the last episode.

As always, it was fun seeing Drew again, just as dopey and clueless as ever. His toke-up scene with Ryan was pretty hilarious, particularly Wilfred's irritation with Drew, who kept lobbing chips in Wilfred's direction as Wilfred instinctually caught them in his mouth.

However, it was also interesting to see Drew opening up to Ryan again, especially in regards to Jenna's cheating on him. At this point, it's almost pathetic how trusting Drew is, despite his shallow and often bro-tacular conventions. I don't think I ever expected to sympathize with his character, but he and Ryan definitely share a unique friendship themselves, even if it is largely one-sided.

The wedding ring dilemma, on the other hand, was a bit more predictable and wearisome, although it had its moments. Wilfred's jealousy of Jenna was a nice counterbalance to Ryan's own mixed feelings in regards to the wedding, and the moment when Wilfred literally had the s*** scared out of him was a pretty awesome conclusion.

Of course, the absolute greatest scene was Ryan's meeting with Amanda in the final few moments of the episode. It's difficult to say with a show like this, but it feels like they might actually be straying away from the Ryan/Jenna romance after all. That doesn't necessarily mean things will pan out with Amanda, but Ryan certainly appears to be breaking down some deep-seeded emotional barriers romantically this season.

It was also a nice touch to have Drew's injury result in Ryan playing host to Jenna's wedding. Naturally, this sounds like a horrible idea, but what better platform for some inevitable and devastating hijinks?

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wilfred: "Control" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode to follow.

It was only a matter of time before Ryan attempted to integrate Amanda into his established group of friends -- or rather, Jenna and Drew. We already knew that there would be some unresolved tension between Amanda and Wilfred, given Amanda's darting looks of disapproval in episodes past. In this week's "Control," we got a chance to see Ryan confront the situation head-on.

It all started with a remixed auto-tune video of Jenna's infamous "Squishy Tits" incident from Season 1. Even after all the time that has passed, her televised black mark is still causing trouble (to the tune of 1.4 million views, I might add). Right off the bat, we were introduced to Ryan's first hurtle between Amanda and Jenna as Amanda caught Jenna and Ryan in a consoling embrace. It was that nail-biting anxiety that would set the tone for the rest of the episode. And things only got worse at Ryan's dinner party... thing.

Among the overall cumbersome atmosphere, it was a stroke of genius to incorporate Drew into the butt of every awkward pause. Some of his lines were unintentionally brilliant, particularly his analysis of the difference between Monet and Manet, which, as we learned, are "both correct." I never thought of Chris Klein's character as anything more than a one-note joke -- and in many ways, he still is -- but the degree to which they use him has been expertly played this season.

Meanwhile, Wilfred had his own problems with getting to know Amanda, who was immediately repulsed by Wilfred's clumsy gestures of affection. Pretty much every interaction that could go wrong, did go wrong. And "Bear's" drunken antics certainly didn't help matters.

Jenna and Amanda's polarizing stance on dogs was another fun (and inevitable) dynamic for the episode. Matters became doubly uncomfortable when Ryan started lying for both women to save face with either side, and the culminating trauma story for Amanda was the icing on the terrible cake.

However, in a rare moment for the show, I was pleasantly surprised to see Wilfred actually resolve everything with his final act of redemption. I supposed we should never underestimate the awesome power of the doggie snuggle. Once again, Ryan was able to narrowly escape a complete disaster.

As a self-proclaimed Amanda (Read: Allison Mack) fan, it seems as though we've seen our first real drawback in her relationship with Ryan. While this week's conflict did conclude rather nicely, who knows how long the peace will last. Nevertheless, it was great to see Amanda playing a central role in the story this week, as well as the return of Jenna and Drew. Now that the formal introductions have been made, it will be interesting to see where this newly formed ensemble eventually ends up, especially now that Amanda and Jenna are so buddy, buddy.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com