Life In Pieces Series Finale Review

It's hard to believe we've reached the final piece in the absolute gift that has been Life In Pieces. I never expected it to last for very long, certainly not this long, so I'm very grateful to have been given four seasons with the Short family. I won't lie, there were some rough points. I was pretty critical of the entire third season of the show. But this fourth and unfortunately final season recaptured the magic. I didn't review the show this season beyond the premiere, but I just had to return one last time.

Story 1:
Tyler and Clementine have a pregnancy scare, which leads to Tim and Heather discussing when they will become grandparents. Sam tells them that she never plans to have kids, and Sophia tells them that she plans to adopt, meaning that they will never have grandchildren that are biologically theirs. This prompts Tim to start talking about having another kid that can make them grandparents, despite the many challenges (including Heather's age and Tim's vasectomy). After Heather agrees to give it another go, Tim goes to the doctor to discuss getting his vasectomy reversed, but the doctor tells him that his vasectomy was badly botched and that it will be extremely painful to have it reversed. Tim decides to wait until after he finds out if Heather is even fertile. She is, which means he has to get that vasectomy reversed.

Story 2:
Matt & Colleen and Jen & Greg both stop by John & Joan's to ask Joan to babysit their kids. Despite a conflict over which kids she'll watch, they decide for Joan that she can watch them all. John had been planning to go to the theater, but Joan convinces him to stay and help out with the kids. The next day, Jen & Greg's kids are still there, and Heather also drops Sophia (who may have pink eye) off to "help" with the kids. During a therapy session, Joan falls asleep, and then Lark interrupts the session. Her patient was feeling ignored in the first place, and Joan does not help. She loses the patient, and then Matt & Colleen drop Lucas off. To top it all off, Joan is starting to develop pinkeye.

Story 3:
Jen and Greg have to pretend that Lark lives at John & Joan's, in order to get her into the good school district. Joan goes along with it easily, but their cover is immediately blown since the principal was in the living room the whole time with John and overheard their entire plan. Jen looks for private schools, but they're all extremely expensive. They decide to look for houses that are actually in good school districts. They don't like the first house they go to (well, Greg does but Jen doesn't and that's what matters), but their realtor takes them to a house that isn't on the market yet but the owners are considering offers. That house turns out to be John and Joan's home. John and Joan tell them that they were considering a single-floor home and wanted to see how much they could make on it. Greg is devastated and wants the house to stay in the family, and Joan also thinks that is a good idea and wants Greg and Jen to move in.

Story 4:
Matt tells Colleen that he heard back about a job in Germany, and it's good news. They don't want to tell the family until after his birthday party, which will be a problem because Colleen made Germany the theme of his party. Tim tells the family that they're having another child, John and Joan tell everyone that they're selling the house, and Greg and Jen tell everyone that they're buying it, even if John isn't completely sold on the idea. With that, Matt lets it spill that he got a new job, and everyone's mood is significantly brought down when he tells them they're moving to Germany. Colleen tells him that they can't take Lucas out of the country, and he won't be able to take the job. Colleen tells Matt to take the job anyway, because the job is too important to turn down. He decides to take the job and move to Germany.

Wrap-Up:

This wasn't a bad episode, but it's not the way I'd have liked to see this show go out. So much more could have been done with the show. As a regular season finale, it would have been very good. Mainly because I doubt Matt would have moved away for good, which was one of the biggest problems I had with the show. It was just a sad ending, one that didn't feel very in-character for this show or for Matt. After all that he went through to get his family, it just seems hard to believe that he could leave them, even if they would join him soon enough. The other stories were all fine, and two of them featured interesting developments that would have been fun to see where they went in season five. Even though we won't get to really have endings for those stories, I'm fine with that. I obviously want more of the show, but most of the characters on it got endings that I'm content with (aside from, of course, Matt and Colleen). So goodbye Jen, Greg, Lark, Tim, Heather, Matt, Colleen, Tyler, Clementine, Sophia, Sam, John, and Joan, who I think I'll miss most of all. And goodbye Life In Pieces. It's been a hell of a ride.

Grade: 7.5/10
Score: B-

Life In Pieces Season 4 Premiere & Episode 2 Review

It's been a long wait to see the Short family again, but Life In Pieces is finally back for season four. I was very critical of the show last season, and I wasn't a big fan of quite a few of the storylines, but I'm still excited for it to be back after so long away.

Episode 1:

Story 1: Welcome to the Jungle:

The entire family is on vacation in the jungle to celebrate John and Joan's 50th anniversary. Though they're hungry, they are rushed off to their rooms quickly and can't even eat. The rooms are disgusting and awful, and Tim and one of his daughters both got bit by bugs. Lark loses her stuffed armadillo, and refuses to go to sleep before they get it. Greg installed a GPS tracker in it, but won't go out to get it because it's outside. Jen shames him into going, but he quickly retreats back into the room. However, he goes back out. The armadillo starts moving, which causes Greg to freak out. It turns out that the hut employee was the one who had it, and he gets it back for Lark. However, the toy is full of bugs and they have to get rid of it anyway.

Story 2: Be My Little Baby:

Sophia gets stuck hanging out with Heather, even though she wants to hang out with Tim, Sam and Tyler. Sam and Tyler tell her to blow Heather off and even try to convince her to have another child so she doesn't have to fill the role of "the baby" anymore. However, Heather doesn't get the message. Sophia tells Tim about it, and Tim tells Heather that Sophia doesn't want to be treated like baby anymore. Heather feels like a terrible mom, but she makes up for that the next day by letting Sophia go zip-lining. However, Sophia gets scared right before she's about to zip-line, though Heather also doesn't understand that and makes her go.

Story 3: Colleen's Last Resort:

Colleen tells Matt that she booked a room at a much nicer hotel, but Matt doesn't want to go because it's a family vacation. After a snake shows up in their bed, they end up going. Everyone is suspicious of them the next day when they look clean, rested and happy. Tim spots Matt and Colleen's hotel keycard, and Matt and Colleen are found out. Greg is ready to snitch on them, but Colleen offers a compromise: they will all stay in the room together starting that night, which really puts a damper on Matt and Colleen's vacation.

Story 4: 50 Short Years:

John proposes to Joan that they get a room at the same hotel that the rest of the family is staying at, though Joan instantly shoots the idea down. The next day on their guided tour, John wants to ditch it which Joan wants to keep going. However, John is able to convince her to sneak away. This leads to them getting lost. They end up finding a road, and they ask a bus for a ride. They hop on the bus, which is from the resort, and discover their entire family. Joan is heartbroken and declares that their children "suck." However, Colleen is able to fix things by giving John and Joan their room and sending the rest of the family back to hell.

Wrap-Up:

I thought that this was a great return, mainly because it focused on the family and their bonds, instead of the often-weak pregnancy-related stories like last season. It was really fun to see the entire family on the vacation from hell, and many of my favorite characters all got something to do. My favorite story was the fourth one, as it was a culmination of all of them and was a really great way to wrap up the episode. The second story felt pretty familiar, and wasn't very original, but I still enjoyed it despite the issues with it. The first and third stories were both solid as well, with some really funny moments in both. This premiere gives me hope that this season will be better than the third, and made me very excited for the rest of the season. It's great to have the show back, and I never realized how much I missed it.

Score: 9/10
Grade: A-

Episode 2:

Story 1: Funeral For A Goose:

Tyler's band isn't attracting an audience anymore, which leads to Tim taking him to record a demo at a studio to raise his spirits. The recording doesn't go very well though, and Tyler thinks he's terrible. He decides to quit music altogether. Tim tells Tyler about his time as a diver, saying that even though diving wasn't for him, it did lead him to his eventual passion. He also tells Tyler that he can go back to making music if he wants to. After this talk, Tim decides to try diving one more time.

Story 2: Rough Pregnancy:

Jen tells Greg that his "nose breath" makes her want to vomit. She also tells him about a bunch of other things he does that she hates, and he tries not to do any of them anymore. However, Greg finally  can't stand her demands anymore and he tells her how he feels. This leads to her turning the A/C all the way down to the 50s, and they get in a war over the thermostat.

Story 3: Good Care:

John brings Joan home from the hospital after her injury in the jungle, and he pledges to take care of her until she is better. Heather helps him out with making food, but John wants her to keep it a secret from Joan. He takes advantage of her kindness though, and asks her to make both Joan and him smoothies (or, in his case, a milkshake) and tells her to go to the market. Joan thinks that the food is a bit too good, though, and gets upset that she's had to take care of the cooking and cleaning for five decades while John was perfectly capable himself. When John starts requesting more and more intricate food, Heather walks out. This leads to John giving Joan food of much lower quality, and she gets suspicious. John confesses to her that Heather was the one doing it, which makes Joan very happy, since it means that she's married to someone very, very incompetent, and not someone lazy.

Story 4: Meet the Parents

Morgan, the mother of Matt and Colleen's prospective baby, is a bit of a mess, but Matt and Colleen do their best to make a good impression on her. However, another set of prospective parents come in to meet with her, and Matt and Colleen start to doubt that they'll get the baby. They go to the adoption agency and request to see Morgan again to try to convince her to give them her baby, but she's already on her way home. They are able to track her down before she catches the bus. She tells her that she loved the book that they gave her because of the picture of them as Minions, and she tells them that she is giving them her baby.

Wrap-Up:

This episode was weaker than the premiere, but was still better than most episodes last season. The third story was the only one that I'd actually describe as being "great," but the other three were all decent themselves. John and Joan were both so funny in story 3, and Joan's line about John being "very, very incompetent" was by far the funniest line in the entire episode. I always love their stories, so it's not a surprise that this one was my favorite. The fourth story was also far better than I anticipated, considering how much I disliked the Matt and Colleen baby stories last season. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it actually did make me look forward to their storyline moving forward, as I think their new life with their baby's biological mother is going to be interesting. The other two stories were both pretty mediocre, but both still had enjoyable moments, especially the second story, which had a weirdly sweet ending. All in all, a decent-yet-uneven episode that was still solidly enjoyable.

Score: 8/10
Grade: B

Life In Pieces Season 3 Finale Review

I've been a vocal critic of the third season of Life in Pieces, but at the end of the day, I really do love this show. When the show was missing from CBS's fall schedule, I was super annoyed and honestly pretty sad. But we still have two episodes left in season three, so let's (hopefully) enjoy those instead of focusing on the bad.

Episode 21: Video Piercing Model Hangover:

In the first story, Joan gives Colleen a box of thank-you cards, so that she can send cards to people that gave her and Matt wedding presents. Colleen doesn't really get why she has to do it, but she does it anyway because they need baby gifts. Matt suggests making a video instead, so they only have to make one, very impersonal video. When they watch it, the family really hates it. And at dinner, they all make a point of showing their frustration. Matt and Colleen defend themselves, but Matt does start thanking the family for all the things they've done for him. Everyone's happy about this, except for Greg.

In the second story, Sophia wants an ear piercing, but Tim and Heather won't let her. They tell her she can get it when she's 15 like Sam was. Sophia finds out that Sam didn't get pierced ears because of her age, but rather her good grades. Since Sophia got straight As, she thinks it's time to get her ears pierced. Tim and Heather still resist, but Sophia isn't ready to back down. Heather asks Jen for help with Sophia, asking to do a mock trial with her based on the ear piercing issue. She agrees, and they start the trial. Sophia wins, and even Jen says so. So they take Sophia to get her ears pierced, but she really doesn't want to. Clementine tells Tim to get his ear pierced to show her how horrible it is, but she ends up wanting a bellybutton piercing instead.

In the third story, a talent agent approaches John to ask him about modeling. He isn't sure at first, but he agrees. When he gets to the photo shoot, it turns out to not be so glamorous. He's modeling a stair lift, which is really embarrassing for him. He tries to prove that he can use stairs, but the coffee shop they go to doesn't have stair. However, a guy approaches him to tell John he's the reason he bought the stair lift. This convinces him to keep modeling.

In the fourth story, Greg and Jen are both hungover after a party the night before. Lark calls for them, but they discover that she's getting cereal by herself. Later on, Lark gets some water for them and they decide to let Lark take care of herself a little more. Jen and Greg are both getting more rest now, and are able to do things they usually wouldn't have had time for. This won't last long though, because oopsie, Jen is pregnant!

Score: 8/10
Grade B

Season Finale: Sixteen Spanish Car Leak:

In the first story, it's Sam's sixteenth birthday. Ryan has made some birthday plans, but she knows that Tim and Heather probably already made plans for her, so she turns him down. However, it doesn't seem like they even remembered her birthday. They're just trying to make the big party they've planned a surprise. Sam decides to spend the day with Ryan, and he tells her she loves him. When she gets home, she embarrasses herself in front of her entire family by telling Ryan that she wants him to be her "first." Welp, there goes the day.

In the second story, John and Joan are planning a vacation to South America. They get Spanish lessons, and John is really terrible and gets absolutely zero things correct. They decide to immerse themselves in the language to really get ahold of it, so they go to a Spanish market. Joan holds up the produce line, because she's really bad at speaking Spanish. Joan also has difficulty, and he ends up buying all of the piñatas due to a misunderstanding. Joan is really upset and thinks her South American adventure is in jeopardy, but they decide to just use their phones for translation.

In the third story, Matt and Colleen are at the clinic waiting for Rita to get impregnated. Unfortunately, they discover that she's already pregnant. This leaves them without a valid surrogacy option, so they decide to reconsider a baby. They go to look at a car, but the salesman keeps reminding them of kids. They end up buying a car, but it rolls away while they're distracted and it gets smashed.

In the final story of the season, Greg and Jen decide to keep her pregnancy a secret. Unfortunately, Lark overhears them talking about the baby and she now has to keep it a secret. Joan finds out from Lark, and she doesn't act cool about it at all. Tim and Heather are trying to convince Sam not to lose her virginity, and then Lark barges in to tell them that her mommy is pregnant. Jen and Greg are freaking out that she'll tell Matt and Colleen, and it almost happens. They decide to keep her eating, so she can't talk. That's when Colleen reveals that they're adopting a baby. They introduce the family to their adoption agent, and then Lark reveals that Jen is pregnant. Matt thinks Greg was trying to upstage him with their announcement, and they get into an argument. Then, Tim realizes that Sam and Ryan are missing, so he runs upstairs. Except they aren't missing. Greg and Matt make up, and everything is right with the world again.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A

Wrap-Up:

This was a really great way to end the season. After a shaky season, Life In Pieces redeemed itself this week. Neither episode was perfect, but both were good. I absolutely loved the second episode, baby story and all! The John and Joan story from the finale was a personal favorite, but I also really liked the others. There wasn't a terrible story to be found, though ear piercing story from the first episode of the evening and the Matt and Colleen buying a car story from the finale were probably the worst of the night and were mediocre. The rest were all highly enjoyable and funny stories. Life In Pieces used to be my favorite comedy on TV but this season the quality has been notably lacking. The cast remains one of TV's best, but the show had been missing the magic that made it so special in the previous seasons. It recaptured that magic tonight, and I hope it doesn't let go of it again.


And that's a wrap on Life In Pieces season 3! Thank you for reading my reviews throughout this season! I'm not sure when season 4 will premiere, but whenever that is, I really hope I'll be seeing you all again for it.

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episodes 19 & 20 Review

I didn't get a chance to review the Life in Pieces episode from two weeks ago, but I'm going to provide a short review of it, in addition to my standard long-form review of the most recent episode. Let's get to it!

Episode 19: #TBT: House Destiny Introduction Retirement:

I loved the last #TBT episode, so I had high expectations for this episode going into it. One perk is that it didn't feature a Matt & Colleen baby story! That should be an automatic 10/10!

However, the stories were all really good. It felt like a classic Life In Pieces episode, which hasn't been the case for many episodes this season. I truly laughed at this episode and was delighted throughout. I hope they go back to episodes like this in the future. And more on John being a pilot, too! That was so much fun!

Score: 10/10
Grade: A+

Episode 20: Lingerie Cookbook Gamble Surrogate:

In the first story, Heather calls Tim and Tyler at the mall to ask them to get Sam a new bra. Tim is reluctant, but he agrees. He tells Tyler to get the bra, but Tyler doesn't want to go into the store because of all the women in the store. Tim and Tyler decide to go in together. When the saleswoman asks for details about what bra he needs, Tim has no clue. He calls Heather for help, but she offers nothing of any use. He eventually buys all of the bras that the saleswoman brings to him. They then find out that the one bra comes with free panties, so Tyler picks a pair out. Nothing about this is weird at all!

In the second story, Joan decides to revive the family cookbook, and she asks Jen for a recipe. Jen doesn't cook, but she tries to find a recipe just to prove that she isn't completely incompetent in the kitchen. She decides to just lie and pass someone else's recipe off as her own. She really lays it on thick with her story, and Joan is so touched by it that she decides to get crabs so Jen can make the recipe. Jen tries her best to make this not a disaster, and the soup turns out well.

In the third story, Heather leaves John to babysit the girls, since Sam is grounded. Sam isn't taking things well, since everyone else that she knows is at a party. Her friend Jenna is supposed to wear red to the party to rebel, but Sophia is doubtful. So they gamble on it, along with other things. Tyler and Clementine come to take over for John, but they too get sucked into the betting. They then discover that Jenna and Madison (another girl there) have gotten closer in Sam's absence. John comforts her about it.

In the fourth story, Matt and Colleen are driving her sister Rita crazy with their requests. When she brings fried chicken to a family gathering, they keep her from eating it, even though she's not pregnant yet. At 4 AM, Matt and Colleen start freaking out because Rita isn't home yet, but she arrives home. She's drunk, and she wants to party with friends. They get in an argument and Rita tells her she can get another surrogate. Rita is getting ready to leave, but Colleen convinces her to stay. 

Wrap-Up:
I didn't dislike this episode, but it wasn't good either. It was incredibly mediocre. The second story was by far the best, and I genuinely laughed at it. The first and third weren't too bad, but I didn't like them all that much, either. I did laugh at lines during the stories from Heather and John, respectively, but other than that they weren't too good. 

The fourth story, however, was a travesty. The Matt and Colleen baby story has gotten way too much attention this season and I am so sick of it. It just not funny and it's a complete waste of time. I'm actually getting really annoyed by it at this point. The stories feel repetitive and the time spent on them would be better used on something else. Anything else. I don't dislike the Matt and Colleen characters at all but they've been reduced to just this storyline all season and I'm so sick of it. I need this madness to end sooner rather than later.

There wasn't nearly enough Joan this week, either. Seriously, just give Joan the attention that Matt and Colleen get every freaking week and I'll be happy.

Score: 6/10
Grade: C-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 18 Review

This review of Life In Pieces is nearly a week late, but as the NBC reality series about old celebrities traveling says, better late than never!

In the first story, Tyler and Clementine tell Tim and Heather about their plans to rent out their tiny house in order to pay off their debt. That night, a woman shows up in Tim and Heather's house. The woman, Mavis, is renting the tiny house and came over to use the tub. Tim and Heather are understandably angry about this and tell them to make a change, but Mavis then shows up that night. Heather calls Tyler, but he's way too high to comprehend anything. The next day, Tim and Heather reprimand Tyler and Clementine, and things start to change. They're then informed that Mavis is moving in for six months, which means that Tyler and Clementine are moving back in!

In the second story, one of Jen's clients, Erikson, asks to pay her with a painting, since he doesn't have any money. Greg looks at some of Erikson's paintings, and he doesn't "get" them. Erikson then pops in to observe them for the family portrait they're going to have painted of them. Jen isn't too fond of the idea, so she gives him some pictures of the family instead. Later, Erikson shows up with the painting. It's horrible, and Jen hates it, but Greg likes it. He vows to fix it, but his "fix" is to put it in the bedroom. Matt comes over to look at it, and he's shocked that they scored an original Erikson. He tells them to hold onto it, but Jen holds her ground and wants it gone. So they give it to John and Joan, who proudly display it in their home.

In the third story, Matt and Colleen tell Sophia about their idea for a new children's book. Sophia's not impressed, but she tells her about her idea for a story. It's a good idea, but it's also a stolen idea. Matt and Colleen want to turn it into a story, but Sophia doesn't want to. They don't understand why, but the viewers know. Later, Heather indirectly tells her that plagiarism is okay, as long as you change a few details. Sophia tries to convince Matt and Colleen to change the topic of the story, but they don't want to, since they love the original plan. She decides to tell her friend from school about stealing his idea, and he acts upset. However, it is soon discovered that Socktopia is already a book.

In the fourth story, John gets a scam call from the IRS (which he obviously falls for), and he tries to find money to wire to them. However, Joan tells him to call their accountant Celeste. John tells her that he fired Celeste, and she isn't happy. She decides to check their taxes, and discovers that John made a mistake when he did them himself. She tries to wire money to the IRS, but she gets distracted by John, who is hiding things from the IRS. THen, they get a knock at the door. They suspect it's the IRS, but it's even worse: it's Heather (the horror!!!!). She tells them that it's a scam, which she knows since her own idiot husband (John's words, also mine) fell for it too.

Wrap-Up:
This episode sure was an improvement on the one that preceded it, but that's not an accomplishment at all. The first episodes were pretty good, but weren't really that great. There were parts of all of them that I liked, but I also had significant problems with each. The fourth, however, was amazing. I laughed so much at it and it really reminded me of why I used to love this show so much. It felt like a classic Life In Pieces segment, and was much better than just about anything this show has produced in all of 2018. That helped boost this show up from a just-okay score to one that's slightly above average for this underwhelming season.
Score: 7.5/10
Grade: B-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 17 Review

This week's Life in Pieces AGAIN focuses on Matt and Colleen's baby, for some reason. I can't wait, I just love that storyline so much!

In the first story, Clementine sends Jen and Greg a text saying that she's too busy too watch Lark. They decide that they have to find a real babysitter, and Heather gives her a site to use to find one. Jen keeps turning down potential sitters until they come across one that she likes. Her name is Jordana and she's just like Jen. They don't hear anything back from her, and Jen blames Greg. Then they get a message from her, and Jen gets very excited. The next day, Jordana comes over to meet them. THings are going well until Jordana says something that makes them change their minds.

In the second story, Heather and Tim embarrass Sam in front of her boyfriend Ryan. The next day, she runs into Ryan's mom at a restaurant. She doesn't know "which one" Sam is, which disturbs Heather. She tells Tim, who brushes it off. They start talking about open relationships at dinner, but Sam doesn't get it. Later, Sam rushes in crying because Ryan broke his leg. At the hospital, they run into his other girlfriends. His mom mentions that she ran into Heather the other day, and she gets mad at her. Sam then tells them that she told him to pick, and that he chose her. Aww, love isn't dead!

In the third story, Colleen's sister is visiting with Matt and Colleen and he recognizes her. That's because he had sex with her over a decade ago, and Tim is weirdly delighted by this information. When he goes back home, Colleen tells him that Rita wants to be their surrogate. He says she can't be the surrogate, and it's all because they had sex. Then the next day, it is announced that Rita will indeed be their surrogate. And then Greg comes in, and it turns out that HE, not Matt, had sex with her.

In the fourth story, Joan and John are at the mattress store. He wants to test all of mattresses, much to Joan's dismay. They go home, because he still isn't ready to make a decision. Greg and Jen tell them to buy a mattress online. John wants to test is out first, so they test out Greg and Jen's. They like it, so they so home to buy one. When it arrives, John isn't pleased with it. Joan tells him to make decision about it, or he'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight. They head to the store again, and John finally makes a decision. When the salesman tells them it has a thirty-year warranty, John gets indecisive again.

Wrap-Up:
This was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad episode of Life In Pieces. I really can not say that enough. The first three stories were all absolutely terrible. I only found one thing in any of them to be even mildly amusing or entertaining. They were more irritating than they were funny. The first story was incredibly annoying and felt so pointless. The second one was even more annoying and pointless. But the pinnacle of terribleness in this episode was story three, which featured the recurring storyline from hell (Matt and Colleen's baby) and was also very dumb and awful. There was literally no redeeming quality to any of these stories, which each one of them somehow managing to be worse than the previous one. The third story was mediocre-at-best, but was still easily the episode's best. I actually laughed at it a few times, though I did get annoyed with John during it. Despite this, mediocre was more than enough to push it ahead of the other stories during this, the worst episode ever of Life In Pieces.

Score: 2.5/10
Grade: F

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 16 Review

Life in Pieces adds to the recent strange TV trend of random musical numbers with this week's episode. Plus, Matt and Colleen are still trying to have a baby! I don't know if that storyline is included in this week's episode, but it's in every episode so of course it is.

In the first story, Jen is upset to see that Lark is wearing one of Colleen's old pageant dresses. She wants to say something to Colleen to discourage her from dressing Lark up, but Greg convinces her not to say anything. Later, Colleen brings over even more outfits to dress up Lark, and it becomes clear that this isn't just going to go away. When Colleen tells Jen and Greg that she signed LArk up for a pageant, Jen puts an end to it. Jen then says something that turns this into a story about Colleen getting pregnant, which is *so* great. Colleen gets upset, and then Jen tells her she'll let Colleen continue to dress up Lark. Wonderful.

In the second story, Joan's boke has been stolen. She enlists Matt's help in finding it, and they try to find it on Craigslist. It takes a bit for her to get the hang of Craigslist, but she eventually finds it. She wants to get the bike by herself, but Matt, Greg and Tim all go with. When they get to the guy's house, he doesn't want to give it to her without proof that it's really hers. He says he's selling the bike for a friend, and when he goes to ask the friend if they'd take $80 for it, they steal it. Unfortunately, they forget Tim. Again.

In the third story, Heather is trying to get rid of Sophia's stuffed animals, without Sophia's knowledge. Sophia immediately finds out about this plan, and she really doesn't want to give any of her toys away. Sophia bursts into song, and this convinces Heather to let her keep them.

In the fourth story, John discovers that Tyler and Clementine have been making jerky in their house. They tell him that they're using his face on the packaging, and he wants some of their profit. They agree to this. The next day, they are all trying to sell the jerky, and John is trying to give them some pointers on making sales. They won't listen to him, so he leaves. He is eventually able to sell it as dog treats, with the help of Tank.

Wrap-Up:
I didn't hate this episode, but it really wasn't that good. I was honestly kind of bored by it, with only the second story being strong. That second story was very strong, and it was great that it focused on Joan and the guys, and not Joan being with the girls or John. It was a nice change of pace, and it worked very well. Poor Tim, though! The song from the third story was pretty cute, but it wasn't funny at all. Last time I checked, this is a comedy show, so being funny is really important. And it missed the mark there. Still, it was better than the other two stories. The fourth story was so incredibly mediocre. It took until the end of it to actually get enjoyable, but at least it did get enjoyable. That's more than I can say about the first story, which was just so terrible. Not only did it manage to remind me of this show's worst-ever recurring storyline, but it also sent an odd moral message. Do better, Life In Pieces writers!
Score: 6/10
Grade: C-

Life in Pieces Season 3 Episode 15 Review

Life in Pieces is back after two weeks off, and I couldn't be happier! Just kidding! This season has been a colossal disappointment, and at this point, I've given up all hope for it to improve. So let's just suffer through this together, shall we?

In the first story, Greg is meeting his new co-workers, and he's really embarrassing himself. He's miserable, so he calls Jen for some comfort. He tries to make friends by talking about the bathroom wall, where everyone writes mean things about one another. That doesn't work out too well though, and his boss calls an emergency meeting about the "bad stuff" in the bathroom, focusing solely on Greg. Everyone is really confused an unfazed by this, but the boss takes things too far. He threatens to terminate and prosecute whoever did it. Then we find out that it was actually Greg that did it. When Greg goes to tell his boss, his boss tells him that he got suspended for creating a hostile work environment, and that the board wants Greg to take over. Greg takes the job, but that doesn't make fitting in any easier.

In the second story, Sophia is gettting jealous when everone is giving Lark all the attention. She tries to make herself cuter, but Heather punishes her instead because she thinks she's making fun of her. Sam takes delight in this, but gives her some "encouragement." Sophia again tries to be cuter than Lark, but the family still ignores her and is mean to her. During the under 5 egg hunt, Sophia starts picking up and stealing eggs, embarassing everyone. Her parents do the right thing, and start hurling insults. Afterwards, Sam gives her some advice, telling her to find a new thing other than cuteness.

In the third story,  Joan gives Jen a necklace so that she has something of hers to wear. Later on, Heather notices the necklace and gets enraged. She goes to yell at Joan, since they gave the necklace to Heather as a birthday present many years ago. Joan decides that she must get it back, so she goes to see Jen. She goes to the bathroom, but instead goes looking for the necklace. Jen walks in on Joan rumaging through her jewelry, and she gives it back. When Joan gives the necklace back to Heather, she tells her than Jen took it well and that she gave her other jewelry. That other jewelry just so happens to be Heather's as well.

In the fourth story, Matt is struggling to give Colleen a shot for their IVF treatment. He eventually does, causing Colleen a lot of pain. Later on, Colleen goes to Tim's office so he'll give her the shot. He gets it done painlessly and easily, and she's impressed. The two start knitting together and have a lot of fun. When Matt finds out that Tim can easily give Colleen shots, he tells him he wants to learn how to do it easily as well. Then he stabs Tim with the shot. But eventually, he learns.

Wrap-Up:
Aside from the fourth story, this was a great episode of Life In Pieces. The second and third stories were both hilarious, with some of the strongest moments of the season included in them. I loved the Joan-centric third story the most, but Sophia's struggle with not being the cutest was also really funny! Greg's story wasn't nearly as good as those two, but still had some funny moments and was much better than the Greg-centric story from two episodes ago. The fourth story was bad, because I just do not care about Matt and Colleen's baby. At all. However, it was probably one of the least-bad Matt and Colleen stories of recent memory. Probably because Tim was there, though. It certainly wasn't because of Matt and Colleen.
Score: 8/10
Grade: B

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 14 Review

I hated last week's Life In Pieces, but it seems to have resolved one of this season's worst storylines, so hopefully the show can be better starting this week. Hopefully.

In the first story, Jen is freaking out because her parents are coming. Once they arrive, her father tells her about an injury that he received. Jen is in agony, and she just wants it to end. That's when Greg proposes that they "tag team," so that only one of them is around Jen's parents at all times. This doesn't really help them avoid going crazy, but Jen never freaks out on them, so that's something. When they're about to leave, Jen's parents tell them that they aren't leaving, because they think Jen and Greg are having marital issues.

In the second story, Joan is sad that Greg ahas forgotten about his great-grandmother, so she decides to do some genetic testing. Once they get the results, they discover that Joan's grandparents, whose love story is the greatest of all time, were actually related. Everyone's quite disgusted by this, but Joan is really sad.

In the third story, Matt gives Colleen her birthday present, a coupon book. She pretends to like it, but she really isn't happy. So she decides to start using her coupons. She makes him go to karaoke, an adventure that Matt really hates. She then forces him to do chores around the house. At family breakfast, Colleen finally tells him how horrible of a gift the coupon book was, and everyone else agrees. Well, except for Tim, who is an idiot.

In the fourth story, Tim and Heather are chaprroning Sam's prom, and they're using it as a second prom. Well, until Heather spots Wayne Winger, one of the coolest guys at her school. Heather and Wayne have a really strange interaction, when Tim finds out that Heather and Wayne have had sex. Tim's jealous of Wayne all night, and Heather's not really doing anything to tame that jealousy. Sam is really annoyed that Tim and Heather are making her special night all about her, especially since Tim stole Sam's date. Heather storms off with Sam after Tim upsets her, and Sam tells her how foolish Heather is acting. Heather lets her go off with her boyfriend, the first good thing she's done all night.

Wrap-Up:
This episode of Life In Pieces was very mediocre. It was definitely better than last week's episode, but I still was not a big fan of it. None of the stories were particularly bad, but I didn't really like any of them either. They were all just kinda... there. The first three all felt very short and lacked any real substance. The fourth had a bit too much substance. It was easily the worst of the four stories. Heather was incredibly annoying during it, and Tim was pretty bad too. But at least Sam got to speak. All in all, while there's been worse episodes of Life in Pieces, I was still thoroughly unimpressed. This season has been incredibly disappointing and I was hoping for this to be the turnaround point. It was not. I guess there's always next week.
My Score: 6/10
My Grade: C-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 13 Review

It's time for Life in Pieces to return this week, following an Olympics break. I've expressed my displeasure with this season many times, so my hopes for an improvement are slowly evaporating. Let's just hope it doesn't get any worse.

In the first story, Tyler comes to Joan to get help with winning back Clementine. She won't help him since Clementine is her patient, so Tyler goes off to the bathrrom. Lucky for him, Clementine is having a session with Joan, and she's spilling all the details about her relationship. He overhears her talking about how hard it is to be around him, especially when he doesn't have a shirt on. So later that night, when he's around her, he takes him shirt off. Clementine thinks Joan told him what she said, and Joan tells her she never told him. That night, John tells Joan about the bathroom, which surprises her. The next day, she tells Clementine to go to the bathroom, and she makes Tyler say his feelings about her while he's in her office. Clementine then runs in to tell him that she loves him, too.

In the second story, Heather comes to yell at Tim for getting another driving ticket. He decides to go to an internet traffic school, which he really hates. He's also terrible at it, but Sam isn't, so she helps him. Later, Sophia spills the beans about Tim's cheating. Heather isn't pleased, especially since it sends a bad message to the kids. Heather worries about Sam, and she sends her a fake email from the DMV, which tells her that she can't drive until she's 21 because she cheated. She also tells Heather that she went to the DMV to apologize, and Heather admits what she did. Tim then rushes in to tell them that his license was suspended.

In the third story, Greg is showing off his new shoes, and the rest of the family is confused by why he's acting so excited about them. Thiy think it's because of him not being cool in high school, so Matt decides to drive Matt to his interview, to make up for not driving him to school. Unfortunately, the old car breaks down on the way. And since Greg's wearing his new shoes, he won't walk there. They cover them in something that will protect them, and they walk there. Then, when Greg is tying his shoe, Matt slaps his laeg and his leg falls into some water. He then cancels his interview.

In the fourth story, the family is gathered for a movie. They really enjoyed it, and plan to have it weekly. However, they still have to go to a weekly brunch, and the in-laws aren't happy. Jen, Colleen, and Tim plan to stay away from movie night, and their spouses lie for them. Matt nearly tells the truth, but he lies for Colleen. Colleen, however, changes her tune when she gets a fortune cookie that makes her think John and Joan will die. She calls the other two, who both rush over. For... different reasons. They watch a movie, which is literally the same thing they'd be doing at John and Joan's. Colleen goes to the bathroom, but in reality she just went to family movie night. Tim goes too, leaving Jen alone. Jen then changes her mind as well, and shows up to movie night.

This was a really bad episode of Life In Pieces, probably my least favorite thus far. I laughed twice during the entire episode, both because of John. The fourth story wasn't great, but it was really the only one I kinda liked, so it was the best. The first story featured my least favorite LIP recurring storyline, Tyler and Clementine's separation, but at least it seems to have come to an end. The third story was just really, really boring. It was somehow my least favorite storyling of the episode. The second one wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either. I didn't think it was funny or even very interesting, but it had a few moments that were okay. Also, this show somehow found a way to make a story with Joan in it horrible, and I'm not okay with this. Dianne Wiest deserves better!
My Score: 4.5/10
My Grade: D-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 12 Review

It's been about a week since this episode initially aired, but I've decided to review it anyway. Life in Pieces has recently been delivering decent but unspectacular recently. I'm hoping for a better episode this time around.

In the first story, Tim and Heather are moving out of John and Joan's, and Tim tells them about a thank you gift he's sending them. A toilet, and a fancy Japanese one at that, gets delivered at John and Joean's. Joan is freaked out by it, and wants it gone, but John wants to keep it. Tim is on the phone and we find out that the toilet was for Tim and not John. Tim goes to see John, and John thanks him for his gift. He describes it in detail, telling him about sitting on it, which confuses Tim. Meanwhile, Joan seemingly falls for the toilet. Tim then finds out that the toilet was delivered there, and he tries to tell them it wasn't for them. Joan thanks Tim very sincerely, and John lets him call him dad. Tim lets them keep the toilet, and then John throws away the bobbleheads Tim actually ordered for him.


In the second story, Sophia tells Heather about her "emotionally rich" day at school. The girls at school are shaving their legs, and Sophia wants to as well. Heather tells her she's too young, and Sophia tries to convince her otherwise. Later, Heather notices that Sophia is wearing jeans under her dress in order to "avoid ridicule." Heather then gets called to Sophia's school after she overheats during a soccer game. Heather tries to keep her from wearing jeans, but she refuses, and even swims in them later. That night, Heather tells her she can shave her legs. She tries to show her how, but Sophia won't go. Sophia tells her the real reason she won't take her jeans off: she cut her legs up when she shaved them. Heather is horrified, but she brushes it off as a learning experience, while Sophia becomes the one that's anti-shaving.


In the third story, Greg and Jen's neighbors, Finn and ??? (wife of Finn) invite them over to a party, but they tell them they can't go because they're going to a lawyer convention. During the party, Jen spies on it and is upset she can't go, but Greg convinces her to stay in the house so the neighbors won't know they lied. That plan gets more difficult when John and Joan show up. Finn yells at John and Joan, telling them stay away from him "friends" house, but Greg and Jen quickly run out and tell them they're home and not to murder John and Joan. They lie to them again about LawyerCon, telling them it was canceled. Finn apologizes to Greg for acting crazy, and Greg gets honest about LawyerCon not existing. Finn then gets upset.


In the fourth story, Matt and Colleen are meeting with a fertility consultant. The consultant gives them food and sex tips, and he even brought windchimes. He also went through their medicine cabinet, and they quickly lose just all the (very little) trust they had in him. Colleen goes to see Joan, who is very busy with patients, and tells her she's taking pills but Matt doesn't know. Meanwhile, Matt tells Colleen about pills he's taking, but Colleen doesn't know about. Later, they both tell each other about the pills.

I really enjoyed the first story, but after that, things got much less enjoyable. The second story was just so-so. It wasn't really that funny, but it did provide for some nice mother-daughter moments between Heather and Sophia, which was nice. The third story felt very sitcom-y, and was so unoriginal and clichè-ridden that I really didn't enjoy it very much. The fourth story was also not very funny, and I'm caring less and less each week about Matt and Colleen's journey to have a baby. It's been dragged out for so long now and my care level is pretty much in the negatives now. It's just become a realy nuisance. It could be worst though. It could be the Tyler and Clementine divorce story. Oh what fun!

My Score: 7/10
My Grade: C+

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 11 Review

Life in Pieces has seemingly found its footing in 2018 after a bit of a rough patch in late 2017. This episode looks like it'll be a good one, so I hope I'm not disappointed.

In the first story, Jen asks Clementine to watch Lark later so her and Greg can go on a date, but she declines, telling them that she'll be busy with a music gig. She wants to quit, but doesn't feel it would be right to dump Tyler twice. She asks Jen to do it for her, and after some convincing, she agrees. She heads to a coffeeshop to tell Tyler the news, and he says he needs someone to fill in for their gig. He asks Jen, who agrees. Jen enjoys herself, and even asks Greg to come to a gig sometime soon. At practice, Jen pretty clearly starts to annoy Tyler. At the gig that night, he kicks her out of the band. Jen makes a scene.

In the second story, Joan has made a new friend, Donna (Dodo). Heather seems pretty jealous, and later, she tries to make small talk with Joan and the girls, but Joan keeps bringing up Dodo. The Joan gets home, Heather introduces her to her "friend" June. June's a real catch, but Joan isn't at all impressed by her. June tells her that her doctor has bad news for her, and she wants someone to come with her. Some time later, Heather is speaking at June's funeral, and she clearly doesn't know a thing about her.

In the third story, Tim is taking part in a silent auction. Matt wants to donate a painting, but Tim doesn't want to. Last year, Tim ended up buying Matt's painting to spare his feelings. This year, he ends up donating a "painting," which is just a huge version of his signature. Tim wants Matt to go home to spare his feelings, but Colleen won't take him home because he's helping her win something. Tim freaks out when they run out of auction stickers, meaning he can't bid on Matt's "art," but luckily someone else already bid on it. Matt then tells Tim he knows what he did last year, and then some men bring him his painting, because he bought it.

In the fourth story, Lark has drawn a horrible penguin, but John doesn't want him to lie to her anymore. He tells him that him being "hard" is what made Greg the man he is today. Greg then gives the family some of his beer that he made, and everyone hates it. Nobody really tells him to his face, except for John, who tells him "straight on". that it sucks. John decides to help him with it, and Greg is elated. He tells Jen how happy he is, since awe got to make a "baby" with his dad. The beer they made is really bad, but John doesn't tell him.

This was just an okay episode of Life In Pieces. The first story was really so-so, with a few funny parts but also a lot of boring parts. The second story was really pretty pointless and was only moderately, with a really weird turn in focus from Joan to Heather. I was disappointed that it didn't focus more heavily on Joan, but that may have been for the best because Dodo was annoying and June was awesome. The third story was my favorite, and was the only one that I enjoyed from start to finish. The fourth wasn't really all that funny, but it did provide for a sweet moment between John and Greg, which I did enjoy. All in all, which I had my issues with it, the episode still had some nice moments and some very funny moments, as well.
My Score: 7.5/10
My Grade: B-

Life in Pieces Season 3 Episode 10 Review

Matt and Colleen continue new their quest to start a family on this week's experimental episode of Life in Pieces, in which Matt stars in every story.

In the first story, Matt is trying to get a sample to the fertility clinic when he gets a call from Heather. She feels something in her chest, but Matt thinks she's crazy as she explains it. She lays on the ground to escape the hot feeling she has, but he eventually agrees to drive her to the hospital, even though he has to get his sample to the clinic. Heather thinks she's dying of a heart attack, and confesses to Matt that she's pretending that she's a girl from high school that likes Greg. She planned a grand finale to the prank, and now fears that she'll die before she gets to see it through. Later at the hospital, the doctor tells her that she just has acid reflux, due to the massive amount of wine she had the night before. His time runs out and his sample is ruined.

In the second story, Greg calls Matt after bringing John home from his colonoscopy, and he's asking weird. He can't have Joan watch after him because she's drugged out of her mind, and he has to get to a meeting. Matt reluctantly agrees to go watch their crazy parents while Matt closes the deal on the sale of CryTunes. John and Joan run in during his video call, and the meeting is ruined. Joan grabs Matt's stern sample and destroys it. Game over, for both Matt and Greg.

In the third story, Matt receives a call from a telemarketer. He gets in an argument with him, trying to get off the company's call list. He has to listen to the man's whole pitch before getting taken on the list (I still doubt it'll work, telemarketers aren't hated for no reason!), so he takes the call on the road with him. This inevitably ends in disaster, with Matt crashing his car while he tries to recover his phone. He calls Tim for help (not his first choice, not by a looooong shot) getting the sperm to the clinic, but Tim isn't able to drive because he had his eyes dilated. Sam volunteers, but Tim won't let her, even after she tells him she's ready, at least in the eyes of the state ("What the hell does the state know? They gave me a medical license!") After some more pestering by Matt, Tim agrees to let Sam drive. They arrive at the scene of the accident with seven minutes to spare, and Sam now has to hurry if she wants to save Matt's potential kids. Unfortunately, Tim left the seat heater on and he baked Matt's kids. Good job, Tim!

In the fourth story, Matt gets a call from Colleen, telling him that she may have left the stove on. She didn't, but Dougie comes in with a brown paper bag of her own and she sets it next to Matt's. She takes the wrong one with, and sets it in the fridge at work. She thinks someone is stealing her lunch, so she hides behind a plan to find out who it is. Jen tells her that someone also stole her food. Dougie calls Matt to get a spy camera from home, but he won't do it because he's busy taking the sperm sample (the one that isn't a sperm sample) to the clinic. Jen says she'll help Dougie find the thief, but she's not down with Dougie's threats of violence. They narrow it down to 12 people. Meanwhile, Greg makes his way to the clinic with Dougie's lunch. Jen realizes that Dougie's dad is probably the one that stole her lunch, and it was all accidental. Dougie realizes that she set a booby trap for the thief, but it doesn't go off. At least, not there. It does, however, explode in Matt's face.

In a fifth mini-story, Matt goes to the clinic to make his sample, but he has to wait until another man comes out from the room.

This was a pretty good episode of Life in Pieces, though the repetitive nature got on my nerves by the third go-round. Despite that, the third and fourth story were probably my favorites. The first two weren't really all that interesting, despite some funny moments. I appreciate that the show is experimenting with its format, even though its usual format is great and unique enough. I much preferred the 12 Shorts of Christmas episode (I'm a sucker for Christmas), but this was still fine.
I don't think I've heard the word "masturbating" used more frequently in one episode of a broadcast show before though, so there's that.
My Score: 8/10
My Grade: B

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 9 Review

Life in Pieces is back from hiatus and so am I! The latest episode was better than much of the season, so I hope to see the show stay at that level of quality from now on after a few disappointing episodes.

In the first story, Joan is heading to a "thing," and John is scared he's gonna die without her. So John heads to see Matt and Colleen so he can tell them what he found: a poster for Joan's erotic book reading. Obviously they don't want to go because it's gross, but John makes them go anyways, along with the rest of the family. Joan's shocked to see them, but she's seemingly happy to see them nonetheless. It's time for the reading, and the family is super excited for Joan. Joan freaks out though, hiding behind a book and running out. John goes after her to find out what's wrong, and she tells him that she didn't want the family to be there. She wants them gone, and John helps out by telling the Shorts to beat it. Joan's able to do her reading now, but the kids are still watching (horrified) from a distance.

In the second story, Colleen and Matt are reading their book to the kids, and Sophiastarts talking to them about them having a baby. She tells them it's so easy, so they tell her another story. It's obviously (heavily) inspired by them, with the family members all appearing as farm animals. They're having difficulties with their baby, despite trying. The doctor tells them that some couples just can't have kids, and they pretend to be okay with it. They decide to continue trying anyways.

In the third story, Tim is reviewing candidates for a nurse, but Heather isn't able to keep her opinions to herself. He picks Mindy, but Heather accidentally hires Cindy, who he hates but she loves. Cindy does magic during, which drives Tim crazy while also ruining his love of magic. Cindy is doing wonders around the office, and Tim is ahead of schedule. Later on, she shows off her magic skills to a patient, and Tim seems to have come around on her at this point. Heather shows up, and Tim wants to take her out to dinner to apologize to her. Before they go though, Heather tells Cindy that Tim hired her accidentally and she quits.

In the fourth story, Lark calls for Jen after a dog wakes them all up. They decide to go talk to the new neighbors, who tell them they don't have a dog, even though they feel like they do due to the barking dog. The new neighbors ask them to come over for dinner, which they accept. At dinner, they find out where the dog lives. Greg decides to handle it by going over with the neighbor. The dog's owner, an elderly woman, answers and the new neighbor freaks out on her and threatens to kill her (seizure alert) dog. Later, Greg tells Jen that he's crazy, but Jen still wants to go skiing with them. Later, Greg goes to apologize to the woman and she throws the flowers at him and slams the door. The crazy neighbor notices and Greg gets scared and runs home.

This was a mostly strong episode of Life in Pieces, and I really loved all of the first three stories. The fourth, however, wasn't very good at all. I just didn't find anything about threatening a dog very funny and the neighbor was just really annoying. The first story was definitely my favorite story, as I loved just about all of it. Also, 2018 has just begun and Mindy Sterling has already appeared in two shows I love. More of this please!
My Score: 9/10
My Grade: A-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 8 Review

It's the last Life in Pieces of the year, and it's time to celebrate Christmas with the Shorts. The best present the show could give me is for the episode to actually be good, but we'll see...

In the first short, Greg is driving in his car rocking out to Carol of the Bells, looking really stupid. It's a great gift for Matt, who gets that whole mess on video.

In the second short, Tyler and Clementine are having a holiday party and their tine house is completely filled with people. Everyone is miserable, especially Joan, who falls over. They have to lift her out, though Tyler and Clementine think she's crowdsurfing.

In the third short, John gives a donation to charity, but he accidentally gives $100 instead of $10. He breaks in to the bucket, but he lets them keep it when he sees that it's the only donation there.

In the fourth story, Greg, Heather, & Matt decide to recreate one of Joan's favorite pictures. Once they get in the bathtub to recreate it, Matt says that he wants it to only be from him, though he eventually agrees that it can be from all three of them.

In the fifth short, Joan has an appointment with Gary, who is upset about having Christmas without his wife, though he does want peppermint bark. Joan gets in a fight with a Roomba, which John got her for Christmas. Later, the Roomba commits suicide. (The suicide rate DOES go up at Christmastime.)

In the sixth short, Jen gets scared by a bee in the house, and the exterminator tells her that they have a bee hole, which he then fills.

In the seventh short, Matt and Colleen bring some wine to Joan's party, though nobody's drinking it. They decide to take it home for each other to drink, and they sneak out with it. Before they get out, Joan stops them to get their wine, which the already had.

In the eight short, Sophia can't sleep because it's the day before Christmas. She drinks milk, but then she acts all weird to Sam and Tyler. That milk she drank was actually eggnog, which had alcohol in it.

In the ninth short, Jen and Greg get a dog for Lark, but he's huge. He rips all of the presents apart and wakes up Jen and Greg. Greg can't control him, and neither can Jen. He then drags the tree out, though they are able to fix things, and they give her thedog's crate as her present.

In the tenth short, Tim wakes up early on Christmas to dress as Santa and he notices a grey pube. He's depressed about it, even when the others are awake to celebrate Christmas. He then gets the grand idea to use one of Sam's new art pens to color his grey hair. Sam walks into the bathroom, and thinks he's doing something else.

In the eleventh short, Heather opens up her Christmas gift, which is a tea pot with cherries on it. She then gets a bunch of other cherry Christmas presents, including earrings and a toilet brush. She flips out, because she's done with cherries. She days the next person to give her a cherry-themed Christmas gif is dead to her. Then Sophia, who made her a cherry-themed Christmas gift, walks out with her present.

In the twelfth short, Joan gets her present from the kids, which she loves. Sophia opens a gift from "Santa," a DVD that says "Play Me." It has pictures of everyone as a kid, and also the video of Greg in the car, rocking out to Carol of the Bells. Tim, of course, is only worried about being excluded.

I wasn't sure how to feel about this episode at first, but I eventually got on board with it. This was a fun way to celebrate Christmas with the Shorts, even if some stories weren't great. I also liked how it all culminated in the twelfth short, with some of the earlier shorts playing a major part in that short. All in all, this was an enjoyable Christmas episode, unlike any others I've seen this year.
My Score: 8.5/10
My Grade: B+

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 7 Review

This week, Life in Pieces takes on aging, Tyler's relationships, escape rooms, and valets that potential thieves in its four stories.

In the first story, Greg is excited to celebrate Jen's birthday. He gets Clementine to work for them as a nanny, though Jen isn't cool with the idea of a hot nanny. Later at the park, Clementine impresses Jen with her childcare skills, and further woos her with compliments. Greg also gets the idea to bring Clementine to dinner with them to watch Lark. At dinner, the waitress mistakenly believes that Jen is Lark's grandmother, and Jen starts to cry. They get a free cake, which the same waitress brings out. Happy 53rd Birthday, Jen!

In the second story, Heather is rushing to get Sophia to school when Tyler asks her to make a latte for his "friend." His "friend" (Alex from Season 3's second episode), turns out to be Sophia's science teacher. At first, Sophia isn't happy that Tyler takes both Alex and her to school at the same time, but she gets special treatment so she seems okay with it. Meanwhile, Tyler gets a lecture form Tim and Heather, telling him to break up with Alex before things get even more serious. Sophia isn't happy to hear this, as she's going to lose all the "power" she had. Alex starts treating Sophia terribly now at school, so she sends her flowers and other "romantic" things pretending to be Tyler, all so she can watch the class hedgehog for the weekend.

In the third story, John asks he guys to participate in an escape room with him. Tim's the most excited, as he's done this before and actually enjoyed it (unlike Greg and Matt). During their escape room, Greg figures out what the first clue is, and he is told he should be lead investigator. The guys have 60 minutes to get out of the room, and while searching for clues, Matt finds his parents underwear and he's horrified. They're really struggling to get out, but soon realize that John is being robbed. He found him in a parking lot, where all reputable businessmen are found. They work their way out, and call the cops. All of the furniture has been removed from the house. Great job, John.

In the fourth story, Joan and Colleen are at lunch when Colleen tells Joan that she's feeling lucky. She thinks she strike it big with a lottery ticket, but that ticket gets stolen by the valet. She's incredibly angry, but Matt really doesn't care because he wants to watch football. Later, Matt comes to ask Joan to lie to Colleen about the ticket getting lost at lunch. He doesn't want to get banned from yet another restaurant because his wife is crazy, but Joan doesn't want to lie. She's perfectly fine with Matt lying, though. When Matt and Colleen get there, they learn that the valet has quit and she's ready to track him down. That's when Matt tells her that she keeps losing things on her own, but the other valets tell him he should have had her back. Then, Matt finds the ticket in the car. He doesn't tell her, but he does apologize and tells her he believes her, which makes everything okay in her eyes.

I found this week's episode of Life in Pieces to be pretty dull. None of the stories were really that entertaining, and some were completely laugh-free. The first and fourth story were both very bland, while the second provided equal parts laughs and annoyance and the third was just okay. I'm honestly really disappointed with the show as of late, as it had a mediocre start, got better, and is not mediocre again. I wish it would have stayed as good as the Thanksgiving episode, because these past two episodes have been rough. Especially this one, which didn't even have one great story like last week. Hopefully next week's Christmas episode can turn things around, and for good this time.
My Score: 6/10
My Grade: C-

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 6 Review

I haven't enjoyed Life in Pieces as much in its third season as I did in its second, but the shows has recently improved, and it always manages to have at least one great story, even if the others aren't quite up to snuff. Hopefully this episode is another good one. Or even better yet - a great one.

In the first story, Matt and Colleen are exchanging their wedding gifts for money, which they decide use to buy a bunch of stuff. They have a meal with John and Joan when Joan asks them about a waffle maker her and John bought for them. Matt tells her that they're waiting for a special occasion to use it, and Joan suggests that they have a waffle party. The next day, John and Joan arrive for the waffle party, and are confused that they never said anything about all of the money that they stuffed in the waffle maker box. That's when Matt confesses that they took it back. Matt and Colleen then go to the store and search through every waffle maker for the right one. Meanwhile, John wants to have waffles, so he gets out the second waffle maker that he bought. It turns out that this was the one with cash in it, not the one given to Matt and Colleen.

In the second story, Heather is doing yoga when she hears a mopey Tyler tell her to be quiet. She tries to comfort him, and they decide to go to the mall, even thought Tyler doesn't really want to. They see a kiosk for haircare, and Tyler gets a makeover. The two of them then decide to go to a movie, though  the movie is really terrible and uncomfortable. They quickly leave the movie, because boundaries.

In the third story, Joan is taking Lark for the night, and it's going to be Greg and Jen's first night away from Lark. Greg and Jen arrive at a hotel and start drinking, celebrating that they have the night away from Lark. Unfortunately for them, they pass out and don't get a chance to really do anything fun. They miss out on dinner, so they have too eat someone else's room service. They're about to have sex when they hear a baby crying. This prevents them from getting in the mood, so Greg goes over to tell them to keep it down. The woman tells him that she needs to take her infant with an ear infection to the hospital, but she doesn't know what to do with her other child. Greg, being the big sweet idiot that he is, takes the kid. They try to get the kid to sleep, but she wants to have some fun. They jump on the bed and play some pranks, and they finally get the kid to sleep. The next day, they wonder if they'll ever get their lives back. They're also left with the kid, but she's reported missing and they get an AMBER Alert for her. Yikes.

In the fourth story, Sam introduces Tim and John to her (boy)friend, and then they go up to her room to study. Tim and John start wondering about him, and John really doesn't trust him. Tim decides to trust Sam, because she's a good kid. They hear some giggling from upstairs, and then silence. Tim starts making excuses for everything, and John keeps suggesting that something more is going on. Then, Tim asks Sophia to spy on Sam for him. Tim and John wait for Sophia to get them some intel, and in the meantime, Tim notices the pictures of Sam and Matt from last week's episode. John tells him that Sophia left with Joan, so Tim takes matters into his own hands. He accidentally sets off the smoke alarm, and Sam comes out from her room. After some advice from John, Tim goes to check on Sam, and he storms in on Sam and annoys her. Then, he goes to apologize to Sam for acting like an idiot.

I wasn't a fan of this episode. The second story was super pointless and unfunny. Nothing happened there, and I've already forgotten most of it. The fourth story was similarly pointless, as it just didn't really go anywhere. I didn't find it funny, and it was honestly kinda annoying. The first story was okay, but still wasn't too great. It did deliver some laughs, but I still wasn't too interested in it. The third story was easily the best. It was really good, and though it wasn't too original, I enjoyed it. It wasn't as LOL funny as some other recent stories, but it was very entertaining and it kept me more interested than any other story tonight.
My Score: 7/10
My Grade: C+

Life In Pieces Season 3 Episode 5 Review

While Life in Pieces season 3 didn't get off to a great start, it has quickly gotten better. Last week's Thanksgiving episode was the season's best, so I'm hopeful the show has set off down a better path.

In the first story, Tim and Heather are celebrating their anniversary. They are overwhelmed by the price of the meal, and Heather wants to flee. However, Tim is prepared to pay the huge price and he convinces her to stay. Later in the evening, they are both stuffed and can barely eat. Food keeps on coming, and while Heather wants them to stop bringing food, Tim is able to convince her to keep on eating, since it's probably the greatest meal they'll ever eat. Heather needs him to burp her, because she's so full. The other guests are not pleased. It is soon revealed that Heather has been hiding food, and Tim is just horrified by this. They are then brought dessert, which is made to honor the armed forces. They can't finish it, and Tim wants Heather to stuff it in her purse.

In the second story, Joan tells Greg and Jen that her friend took Lark off the daycare waitlist, which thrills Greg and Jen. However, their enthusiasm is soon curbed when Joan mentions potty-training, since she's not trained yet. They try to train her, but Lark isn't ready. She runs away, and Greg and Jen start worrying that they won't get her trained in time. As if they weren't already pressed for time, Joan comes over for dinner. Lark runs out while Joan is there and proclaims that she's never going to go on the potty, and they confess to Joan that they never  potty trained her. Joan gives her prunes to help her go, but it's taking really long for her to go. Lark eventually has to go and sits on the potty, and she's feeling scared. Unfortunately, Greg also has to go since he ate some prunes, too. They only have one bathroom, so Jen wants him to go to the gas station, but it's "go time," and Greg goes on the kiddie toilet. Lark, at long last, goes potty.

In the third story, Tim and John are golfing with Tyler, but they think he's only golfing with them because Clementine works there. Tyler notices that a lot of golfers are hitting on Clementine, and hehits his ball over where Clementine is. At home, Tyler tries to practice golf because he's terrible, but Clementine walks in. They get in an argument after he says she's using her sexuality to get a tip. The next day, Tim notices a "hot new cart girl." It is immediately revealed that the cart "girl" is Tyler. Tim and John go over to talk to Tyler, and Tim accuses him of stealing Clementine's job because he's jealous (which is totally true). Tim tells Tyler to go tell Clementine how he really feels, and that he thinks the divorce was a mistake. Tyler runs to find Clementine, and apologizes to her. Before he can tell her how he really feels, she leaves with another guy.

In the fourth story, Sam walks in on Matt stealing food, but she's too oblivious to notice. He asks her why she's not with her family at a festival, but she didn't even know about it. They both bond over being middle children, and they declare it Middle Child Day. They go to do trapeze, because that's what Sam wanted to do and it's a step up from a tongue piercing. Matt is terrified of heights, so he's freaking out, and then he falls. He's totally fine, luckily. Sam does very well, and they buy souvenir photos. 50 to be exact. They use these pictures to replace pictures of the others with pictures of them. Matt and Sam then confide in each other, with Matt telling Sam that him and Colleen are trying to have a baby and Sam telling Matt that she has a boyfriend.


This was a solid episode of Life in Pieces, despite not being nearly as good as last week's. I really haven't been enjoying and Tyler/Clementine stories, and want them to either split for good or get back together, as I just don't care that much. The first story was very entertaining, as I love Tim and Heather and thought this story was very true to form for them. The second story was good, but wasn't great, which is disappoint since my favorite character, Joan, made her only appearance in it. (Seriously, Joan was greatly missed this week.)  However, Lark saying she wants to "be a big girl like daddy" was really hilarious. The fourth story, however, was my favorite of the episode. It didn't run for very long, but it was still great. I loved seeing Matt and Sam together and would love to see more of them and their bonding over being middle children. I never really realized how great of a character Sam was, but with two solid stories starring her in just two episodes, she's becoming a great asset to the show, especially since she, unfortunately, is overshadowed by her siblings and parents much of the time.

My Score: 8.5/10
My Grade: B+

Life in Pieces Season 3 Episode 4 Review

It's a Life in Pieces Thanksgiving (again)! These are always fun episodes, and are something I look forward to each year. So let's hope this week's episode doesn't disappoint, especially after last week's great episode.

In the first story, Greg is at the doctor for a check-up, when the doctor tells him his testosterone level is super high. So obviously, Greg's ego is super inflated by this, and he starts acting like a tough guy at John and Joan's Thanksgiving. He's opening jars, screwing in lightbulbs, and he plays football with Matt. Matt then points out that Greg is breaking out, and Tim tells him that acne is a side effect of high testosterone. Matt then tells him that his increased confidence didn't come from the high testosterone, but rather, from deep inside.

In the second story, Joan wakes up Heather to tell her that Colleen is sick, and that she's going to rest and watch the parade. She forces Heather to get up to make food, and when she does, a sleepy Tim grabs Joan and pulls her to the bed, thinking she's Heather. Joan sees that Heather (and Jen and Clementine) aren't going based off of her ingredients, and Joan clearly doesn't like that. She heads in to watch the parade, and is less than enthused by this thing she's apparently never seen but has heard a lot about. Tim is really into it though, and he's angered by everyone else talking. He turns up the volume so he can "focus on the balloons," whatever the heck that means. Joan runs into John on his way to his Thanksgiving bath, and she wants to get a little naughty, but he doesn't want to because his bath is so sacred. Heather tells Joan to go outside and watch Matt and Greg play football. She is also not enthused by this, and she goes back in to check on the ladies making dinner. She tells them how cooking dinner so she can complain about how ungrateful her family is is the true magic of Thanksgiving, and so they let her make dinner. Unfortunately for Joan, they all left, so she has absolutely no help with making dinner.

In the third story, Sam is freaking out because her friend gave her a pot cookie. She decides to just act as normal as possible, but that goes right out the window when she walks into the wrong house. She finally makes her way to the right house, but she starts freaking out she is asked to watch Lark. She says that she hates babies, and Tyler offers to help her watch Lark. He then tells her that he knows she did pot, and that she needs to get it together. The family starts their annual tradition of saying what they're thankful for, and she actually does well. Tim and Heather tell her that they're very proud of her for what she said, and she goes back to the table. Heather then reveals that they are also high, so apparently this entire family just loves drugs.


In the fourth story, Joan want to get rid of the family's old turkey carving knife. It was John's father's, and it has tremendous sentimental value to him. John plugs the knife in, and accidentally cuts the table with it. He tells them that it is time for the knife to choose someone new. Matt tries to pull it out, but can't. Greg goes next, and fails as well. Tim goes third, and he pulls it out with ease. Greg's all jealous, but the knife has chosen, so it must stick. Then Tim cuts his fingertip off, and blood sprays everywhere. The knife is on the loose, and nobody can stop it. It's absolute chao, and nobody can stop it. At least, not until John kills it. Tim comes to apologize to John for ruining Thanksgiving, and he drops the knife on his toe. Idiot.

This was a great episode of Life in Pieces, and it was the best of the season so far. I loved all of the stories, and I love the continuity throughout the episode. I can't even put my finger on which story I loved the most, though I will say that the first was my least favorite. And even it was great. Also, Dianne Wiest is a national treasure.
My Score: 9.5/10
My Grade: A