Friends, The Closer, House, Castle, NewsRadio, Taxi
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
05.00 Friends
05.30 The Closer
06.30 House
07.30 Castle
02.00 NewsRadio
02.30 Taxi
Friends. Episode 12. "The One with the Dozen Lasagnas" Paulo makes a pass at Phoebe, Ross tries to avoid finding out the sex of his unborn baby, Joey and Chandler buy a foosball table.
Very-much driven by the ongoing storylines, the show is - by this stage - very different to other sitcoms on the air. David Schwimmer continues to get the biggest laughs in the episodes and our sympathy is with him all the way.
The Closer. Season 5, Episode 15. "Dead Man's Hand" Brenda investigates when it appears that a fellow officer is being beaten by her husband.
A change-of-pace episode that completely fails to work. The idea of Raydor would come to Brenda to investigate this seems crazy. Everything about the early part of the story is strained and impossible to swallow. And, then, when the murder takes place the viewer at home instantly knows what has happened and has to wait ages for the cops on screen to catch up. I hate when that happens.
Mary McDonnell and Brooke Langton make great guest stars, but the material is weak.
House. Season 6, Episode 9. "Wilson" Has cancer returned in Wilson's friend, and former patient?
A change-of-pace episodes that is a real treat to watch. The focus is on Wilson most of the time, so we get to see House's crazy patient roster from an outsider's perspective. And it's funny. And it does wonders to make the entire world of this TV show all a bit more real. In this episode we can see a more normal hospital, and a more a normal doctor at work, and House is just this eccentric guy running around all the time breaking the rules. It's a great new perspective on things.
And that's only for a few scenes. Most of the episode follows Wilson and his patient (Joshua Malina) as they grapple with the mysterious illness, and the ramifications of the treatment. There's lots and lots to watch here. Is Wilson too nice? Is House right about the Joshua Malina guy? And will that guy get back with his (gorgeous) wife? (Katherine LaNasa)
It's a great episode, on many levels, and the final scenes are terrific.
Castle. Season 2, Episode 11. "The Fifth Bullet" Guy with amnesia.
Wow! A great story. Marc Blucas plays the guy with amnesia, who is carrying a book with a bullet from a murder scene around with him, and has Anne Dudek as his wife. Lucky bastard.
Blucas is superb in the central role and the story keeps you constantly wondering. For ages I didn't trust him. Thought he was some super-cool hitman with ice in his veins playing a con on the cops for some reason. As soon as Dudek showed up I was rooting for him to be innocent and for them to get together.
Castle did some great detective work in this one (the plastic bag leading to the dog was genius) and he and Beckett were quite adorable on several occasions.
NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 10. "Christmas" Dave lets everyone go home early. Bill enlists Beth to help him with a radio advert.
Good episode, with plenty for everyone to do. Even Catherine, the weak link in the cast.
Dave and Lisa's arrival at his parents empty house is a bit odd. It comes from nowhere and there's really nothing that Dave did to deserve this. Or am I missing something? Surely, for it to have meaning (even comic meaning) he should have brought it down upon himself?
Taxi. Episode 10. "A Full House for Christmas" Poker game with Louis' brother Nick.
Very dramatic episode. It's also funny, of course, but the a-story here is deadly serious: two brothers fighting and one trying to get the other one to do something for their mother.
The fact that Louis isn't the nicest person you'd ever meet keeps this from being schmaltz. And the poker game is very tense.
Highlight? Castle (great story)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Friends, 30 Rock, Law And Order, The Incredible Hulk
Monday, December 21st, 2009
06.00 Friends
06.30 30 Rock
07.00 Law And Order
01.00 The Incredible Hulk
Friends. Episode 11. "The One with Mrs. Bing" Chandler's Mom shows up. And kisses Ross. While Monica and Phoebe compete over a guy in a coma.
Morgan Fairchild makes her first appearance as Chandler's Mom. Kissing Ross and causing friction between the guys. One of the regulars having a famous novelist for a mother, who appears with Jay Leno in one sequence, is 'very TV' for a show like Friends, which trades on it's ability to be easy to relate to. However, the cast just about makes it work.
The other storyline is much better. The Coma Guy storyline raises many laughs.
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 8. "Secret Santa" Jack reconnects with someone from his high school days.
Julianne Moore is a bit disappointing, but this is a pretty good episode. Jane Krakowski raises all the biggest laughs, and her scenes with (the wonderful) Cheyenne Jackson are superb. Watching Danny master sarcasm was worth the price of admission.
Jack's romance may have been a bit of a dud storyline, but the ending (between him and Liz) was superb. The show really conveys a great friendship between these two.
Law And Order. Season 20, Episode 2. "Just A Girl In The World" Lupo's dates a suspect.
S. Epatha Merkerson steals the show with a single scene here. We get an insight into Van Buren's fight with cancer and - in an exchange with the doctor on the case - S. Epatha Merkerson does some of her finest work on the show. Fact is: we've been watching this character for well over a decade and we care. We bloody care. So, if the writers want to take us into her person life for a story like this (and they have S. Epatha Merkerson to deliver the material) they will deliver some great television.
Performance-wise, this episode has some great work from Jeremy Sisto and Anthony Anderson also, as Lupo dates a suspect and it causes friction between the partners. I've like Detective Lupo since he first appeared (basically because he's cool) but Detective Bernard never gets passionate about anything. Until now. His speech to Lupo about liking his job was his best moment yet and made me - for the first time - really like the guy.
However...
The story is weak. And predictable.
I knew the girl was guilty. I'm sure most viewers did. Lupo should never have gotten involved. Idiot.
Also, the climax was a little too easy. Cutter doesn't have to do very much to make her go bananas on the stand.
A pity that these truly great performances were buried in a weak episode.
The Incredible Hulk. Season 2, Episode 3. "Ricky" Race track.
Solid, unremarkable episode with a great performance from Mickey Jones as a special needs adult, whose brother is a race car driver. Jones has two stand-out scenes in particular: one where he plays at driving the race car, and one where his character tries to arrange some tools in the garage. He brings a perfect innocence to his role and makes you totally believe in the character. I'm a huge fan of his work from other shows, but this is probably the best he's ever been (and he's always great). Rather than try and 'do' anything with the role, it seems like he's made a choice to very honest and vulnerable in the part and it really, really works.
There seems to be a lot suggest that this was the last episode filmed for the first season of the show. Whether that is the case or not I cannot say, yet, but it's certainly a more polished episode than most of what we saw in season one. And the show's formula is completely intact here. David makes friends through the job he holds and is able to help them (by becoming the Hulk on two occasions). Also, he does more than just help them get out of danger, he actually walks away having made their lives better in some way.
The cast is superb, and each one is given a good character to play. A lesser writer might have left these characters as one-note clichés but Jason Summers manages to give each one some life as a real person. This is very obvious with the two bad guys of the story, played by Gerald McRaney and Eric Server. Rather than being presented as cartoon bad guys there are a couple of scenes to build/establish character. They still come off as jerks, but - thanks to the extra material - they seem like jerks you'd meet in real life, as opposed to jerks you'd only ever see on TV.
So, it all amounts to a perfectly solid episode of The Incredible Hulk. David doesn't really bond with anyone so the ending isn't particular sad. There's a very cool sequence with the Hulk drinking from a soda can to be savoured, however, and the matching up of new footage with stock footage (of race cars) is much, much better than you'd see on contemporary Universal shows.
Highlight? The Incredible Hulk (Mickey Jones)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
The Big Bang Theory, Defying Gravity, Legend Of The Seeker, Supernatural, Parks And Recreation, Scrubs
Sunday, December 20th, 2009
05.00 The Big Bang Theory
05.30 Defying Gravity
06.30 Legend Of The Seeker
07.30 Supernatural
11.00 Parks And Recreation
11.30 Scrubs
The Big Bang Theory. Season 3, Episode 11. "The Maternal Congruence" Leonard's Mother.
Not a Christmas Classic, but great. And very funny.
Christine Baranski rocks. And works the studio audience like the pro she is. Pairing her with Kaley Cuoco pays huge comic dividends.
Defying Gravity. Episode 13. "Kiss" Venus.
A great end to a great series. Well, a great season-ender, but not an actual ending to the series/story. Damn it!
Most of the episode is just Zoe's walk on Venus and everyone watching and waiting for her to die. And it's gripping stuff. And, as the characters begin to ask deep questions as to what it's all about, and what the 'objects' want, so do the viewers. At least I did.
This is thought-provoking entertainment, akin to Lost. Yes, it's that good. A pity nobody watched.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 22. "Reckoning" 58 years in the future...
Brave choice. Ending the season, and - indeed - the story arc, with an time travel episode that is largely set in a parallel universe (where Kahlan must marry Darken Rahl and raise their son). But it pays off.
This is a superb episode. Epic stuff. Kahlan comes across as more heroic than ever and (thanks to the sublime Craig Parker) Rahl is at his manipulative best/worst. It really is a joy to watch it all unfold.
Richard, meanwhile, has some great scenes with Cara (Tabrett Bethell) and the two have a surprisingly strong chemistry. She's great (but I prefer Denna/Jessica Marais).
The final minutes are too rushed, but it's a good ending to the story.
Supernatural. Season 5, Episode 9. "The Real Ghostbusters" The guys attend a Supernatural convention. Yes, a Supernatural convention.
Wow. This show continues to toy with the rules of television storytelling. This is not the best episode where they have done this, but it's almost unfair now to compare a SN episode with other SN episodes. Particularly ones that were mind-blowing. Fairer, in this case, to compare this with other TV fare and say that it is some of the finest television being produced right now.
The case-of-the-week is good. It's a 'plain jane' type of SN story and - as such - would have been a good one to tell in season one. The boys visit a haunted hotel and solve the problem. Except... they have misjudged the situation and... made things worse. It could have played out in season one and been good.
But, here, in season five, it's a very different story. The hotel is full of Sam and Dean fans/wannabes and duo end up have to work with (and rely on) two fans to get the job done. Even better, the script pauses to allow Dean to learn something valuable from his 'fans'. A moment that could have been awful and, instead, is spine-tingling and inspiring. Damian and Barnes (Devin Ratray & Ernie Grunwald) are two of the best characters the show has ever had.
Even better, Becky (who is tad more one-note and boring) is able to tell Sam some vital information that only a fan of the show would know.
That's just crazy. Breaking the rules of storytelling like that. AND I LOVE IT.
Parks And Recreation. Season 2, Episode 12. "Christmas Scandal"
In this episode, they showed us that Leslie does a huge amount of work and nobody could replace her. This accomplished two things: it made me love her more than ever, and it serves to take this show even further away from it's origins as an Office clone, where Leslie is a female Michael Scott that nobody likes/respects. Those days are gone now.
Scrubs. Season 9, Episode 3. "Our Role Models"
JD was the weak link here. He was mean and selfish for most of the episode. Shouldn't he be over all of that, by now? It's really hard to sympathise with him here, whereas Lucy, Drew and all the others are much more likable and interesting at this stage.
Seeing Turk and Cox having a beer together only served to highlight the fact that JD hasn't evolved. The show would have been wiser to play things with JD as being a drinking buddy, too, and only make a sly reference to his days of craving Cox's approval. Instead they used it to drive the whole episode and kinda lost me.
Highlight? Defying Gravity (gripping)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Friends, Friday Night Lights, Defying Gravity, Legend Of The Seeker, The Office, Space: 1999, Black Beauty, Corner Gas
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
07.30 Friends
08.00 Friday Night Lights
09.00 Defying Gravity
10.00 Legend Of The Seeker
11.00 The Office
12.00 Space: 1999
02.00 Black Beauty
02.30 Corner Gas
Friends. Episode 10. "The One With The Monkey" New Year's Eve Party.
Ross gets a monkey (another signature element of the series) and Hank Azaria guests as a love interest for Phoebe.
More important, Maggie Wheeler returns as Janice. I love Janice and (for all the early seasons) thought she would eventually end up with Chandler and become a series regular. It didn't happen. They had better plans for Chandler, but I still remember Janice with fondness.
Friday Night Lights. Season 4, Episode 7. "In the Bag" Mindy spends some time in hospital. Expensive. Tami deals with an unwanted romantic advance. Vince might have a gun. Luke has to stay home from school to work on the farm. Landry phones Tyra.
A weak episode in which every obstacle that crops up is easily overcome. The Riggins brothers are only coming to terms with the hospital bill, when a solution falls into their laps. Luke is able to get one of the football team to help him out on the farm. Tami's problem disappears after one conversation.
It's all a bit too easy.
Defying Gravity. Episode 12. "Venus" Zoe and Donner make their final preparations. But the landing goes wrong...
Flashbacks reveal that Zoe did not make the cut. A big twist. And an example of the good storytelling of this show. We know she made it to the crew and - indeed - is all set to be the first human on Venus, but now we realise that there is more intrigue in the backstory. How she got back onto the programme is not revealed here, but is sure to help us understand some of the mystery behind what is happening on Earth in the present day.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 21. "Fever" Jensen and Darken Rahl.
Superb. On every level. Craig Parker gives his best-ever performance, showing us the truly devious side of Darken Rahl. Hell, there are times when I believed the lies he was spouting.
It's a clever and well-executed story, handing most of the screen time over to a guest star and a recurring cast member. But it pays great dividends.
Meanwhile, the stuff back at the camp raises all sorts of terrific moral questions, of the type you do not expect to find a show of this genre.
Superb. On every level.
The Office. Season 6, Episode 12. "Secret Santa" Michael vs. Phyllis for the coveted role of Santa.
The first half is awful, with Michael being a jerk. He relents somewhat becomes nice in the second half, but it's not a great episode.
Space: 1999 Episode 9. "Force of Life" A technician is taken over by a mysterious orb and wanders Moonbase Alpha taking life and energy wherever he goes.
Superb. Ian McShane makes a great guest star and this episode highlights much that is wonderful about the show.
#1. Koenig and the rest of our heroes have no understanding of what is happening and no control over it. They are at the mercy of space and all it's mysteries. Bergman offers theories, Helena offers theories, but they admit that they haven't a clue. And I like that. I like the epic feel that this kind of story bring to the show. It leaves you wondering, long after the credits, what might have been happening.
#2. The show looks beautiful. Absolutely stunning. This is evident in any episodes that showcase an alien landscape of some kind, but it is nonetheless true in episodes which are confined to Moonbase Alpha. The show looks sumptuous.
#3. Some of the visuals are deceptively simple. One of the best images of this episode (and, maybe, the series) is the sight of Anton Zoref (Ian McShane) stalking the corridors of Alpha with the lights all blinking out as he walks past. It's simple. But it works. Likewise, whenever Zoref goes into energy-draining mode they show this with soft focus and purple lights in McShane's face. Sounds weak, I know, but it really works.
#4. Faced with the unknown. Koenig's knee-jerk reaction is alway to try and kill it. At least, that's true when the unknown is somehow trying to kill them. Such as here. Survival is the main objective. This is not Star Trek and these characters do not have the luxury of trying to communicate. They have to try and live as long as possible. That's all there is to it.
#5. The show can be scary. The attacks on the victims (and on Helena) are actually quite scary. Using simple things like lighting and slow-motion, they show accomplishes a lot.
Black Beauty. Episode 4. "The Horse Thieves" Black Beauty is stolen.
With guest stars like Tony Doyle, Jim Norton and John Ringham the viewer is really spoiled in this one. It's also a very good story, which doesn't play out in the expected way. Two bumbling thieves successfully steal Black Beauty but have to return to the scene of the crime to retrieve a dropped knife. While there they hear that the hut that they have stashed Beauty in is about to blown up by the railway workers so, to avoid the needless death of an animal they genuinely admire, they step forward and tell everyone. Setting up a mad rush to the rescue.
It's a simple story that plays out in unexpected ways because the characters are well crafted.
Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 16. "Coming Distractions" Davis and Brent each tell lies about seeing a movie with Hank, having promised to wait and see it with each other. Lacey is invited to join a group for older ladies, while Wanda sets out to deface Oscar's new sidewalk.
Now this is more like it! Back on form with a funny episode, where everybody gets some of the funny. The Hank storyline is the funniest, but they all work.
Highlight? Space: 1999 (superb)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Friends, I Dream Of Jeannie, The Rockford Files
Friday, December 18th, 2009
05.00 Friends
08.30 I Dream Of Jeannie
09.00 The Rockford Files
Friends. Episode 9. "The One Where Underdog Gets Away" Thanksgiving.
Solid episode where everyone gets something funny to do (particularly Joey). Paulo is mentioned again, thus keeping the (new) serial aspects of the show alive.
I Dream Of Jeannie. Episode 4. "The Marriage Caper" Tony's marriage gets closer.
When the pilot was made Tony was engaged to be married, but the writers/producers obviously decided right away they didn't want to retain that element of things. They could have had the fiance vanish without explanation, of course, but they correctly chose to devote an episode to it.
It's an unfunny episode, where Jeannie does very little, but - at least - they resolved the problem head on.
None of the comedy is particularly great. And the resolution does make Tony and his former fiancee seem a tad shallow, seeing as how easily everyone accepts the end of the engagement and her decision to marry a different guy right away.
Never mind. At least it's done now.
The Rockford Files. Episode 8. "The Big Ripoff" Insurance scam.
Typically complex story, with a guest star (Jill Clayburgh) who doesn't really seem to have any reason being there.
The episode opens with a long sequence that has no dialogue. Just music, and lots and lots of story. Jim is in Europe, shadowing a woman (Suzanne Somers) who may have helped her husband fake his death.
Eventually, our hero returns to the USA and the script has words again.
In the end, Jim is totally swindled out of any cash reward by a mean-spirited insurance investigator but has the last laugh when the crook (at the centre of the story) sends him a reward. It's a lovely ending, and it allows Jim to come out on top. But, in truth, it makes no sense. Why would the guy send Jim these paintings? What did Jim do for him, exactly? At most, all he did was suggest that the guy try and make a deal. Is that worth a huge reward from a guy that we have no reason to assume is, in any way, decent.
Also, what was the point of the Jill Clayburgh character?
So, sure there are flaws here but the script/story is otherwise really good and it's a very, very enjoyable episode. These points here are just niggling things that occur after the credits have rolled.
Highlight? Friends (thanksgiving)
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Friends, NCIS, Royal Pains
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
05.00 Friends
05.30 NCIS
06.30 Royal Pains
Friends. Episode 8. "The One Where Nana Dies Twice" Funeral.
Not the funniest or best episode so far, but it's the most significant for two reasons.
#1. Paulo (from the previous episode) is mentioned. The first example of episode-to-episode continuity in the show. Eventually this would be one of the show's most notable features: continuity and ongoing serials. Eventually it became a veritable soap opera. And it all started here.
#2. There's a lovely moment towards the end of the episode where Monica and the gang are looking at a photo of her grandmother and her own gang, long ago. And they remark that they look like a fun group. And there's a moment (maybe two beats) where we are allowed to observe this little fun group before the action moves on. In this moment, we see the show striving to be more than just funny. And succeeding. Something it will become very good at.
NCIS. Season 6, Episode 10. "Road Kill" Fight Club.
Tracy Scoggins and Antonio Sabato Jr. guest in another strong NCIS. Solid case-of-the-week and a few twists. The blackmail scheme is rather ingenious.
Royal Pains. Episode 9. "It's Like Jamais Vu All Over Again" Equestrian show.
Paulo Costanzo is hilarious in this episode. Virtually everything Evan says/does is laugh-out-loud funny. The absolute highlight is the scene where he tries to lie to Divia's parents. Classic.
The storyline with Divia's parents is predictable, but really good nonetheless. I didn't warm to her much at the start, but I really like the character now. A lot. So I care. And, because of this, the story works.
The soap opera that is building up around Hank, Jill and her ex-husband takes a major leap forward in this episode. And it's all good.
Meanwhile the case-of-the-week is very strong and (once again) highlights Hank as a genuinely nice person who cares and goes the extra mile for his patients. For that, alone, I would tune in every week.
Highlight? Royal Pains (Evan)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Better Off Ted, Friends, Barney Miller
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
05.00 Better Off Ted
05.30 Friends
11.30 Barney Miller
Better Off Ted. Season 2, Episode 2. "The Lawyer, The Lemur and the Little Listener" Lem's lawyer lover, Linda's lemur book and Ted's daughter drive this episode.
It's not quite the masterpiece that the one that aired before it was, but it's still a very funny half-hour. The scenes where the employee's are fired are especially funny.
Friends. Episode 7. "The One With The Blackout" Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with a hot model, while the others meet Paulo just as Ross was about to make his move.
One of the best of the early episodes. There's lots of very funny stuff in this one.
Barney Miller. Season 2, Episode 5. "Heat Wave" Park rapist, spousal abuse.
Another episode without bad guys in the holding cell, but still a good episode. Linda Lavin returns and her character has some good scenes with Wojo.
The storyline with the woman who comes in to complain about her husband beating her is typical of what this show could do. It's funny in places, but mostly serious and the ending is a genuine surprise.
Highlight? Better Off Ted (funny)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
The Closer
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
09.00 The Closer
The Closer. Season 5, Episode 14. "Make Over" Beau Bridges
Another lightweight episode built around Flynn and Provenza. It's not the best, but it is fine. Beau Bridges makes a great guest star and it's obvious that he's taking the material seriously. A lesser performer might have milked it for easy humour. He doesn't, and the humour comes form Provenza and (in one brilliant scene) Sanchez.
The case-of-the-week isn't funny at all, and - in fact - it's really good with Roxanne Hart giving a brief but great performance as a somewhat unhinged nurse.
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
