Friday, October 5th, 2007
07:30 Back To You
08:00 Notes From The Underbelly
08:30 Adventure Inc.
09:30 Kung Fu
10:30 30 Rock
11:00 The Six Million Dollar Man
Back To You. Episode 3. This episode gives a lot more screen-time to the ensemble cast. It turns out that the overweight, shy boss is secretly in love with the sexy weather-girl. And he spends much of this episode in her dressing-room, helping her through a romance crisis, while she wears nothing but a towel. Yawn. The other two plots are funnier, but this isn't a very strong episode.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 3. With parenthood on the horizon, Lauren contemplates giving up her job. Lots of short scenes, fast cuts, quirky lines, etc. make for another winning episode. Again, I have to say, who would have thought a show about pregnancy would be so much fun to watch?
Adventure Inc. Episode 3. Various parties are after some bones that constitute a "missing link", of sorts, in human evolution. Cue lots of gun battles and fist-fights as Judson Cross and his team try to protect the bones and... stay alive. John Ralston, who is pretty weak as Ming on Flash Gordon, is a tiny bit better here. It's a good episode, marred only by relying on the old "fake funeral for one of the regulars" gag early on. As if we - the audience at home - will believe that one of the stars has really been killed. Oh wait! There she is! It was all a ruse to dupe the bad guys. Yawn.
Kung Fu. Episode 10. A young girl (Jodie Foster) thinks she sees Caine shoot and kill someone during a stagecoach robbery. She is mistaken, but she is believed by a jury and Caine is sentenced to be hanged. Caine feels no anger for the child and - while he is in prison - the two of them become friends. So much so that the girl eventually lies and takes back her witness statement. Leaving her confused about the nature about truth and lies. This main story and a similarly themed flashback story combine to make the strongest episode yet of this first season. Caine's unusual nature gets a chance to shine and the viewer has a lot to ponder as the credits roll. Not only about truth/lies but also about perception.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 1. Although I'm a huge fan of Jerry Seinfeld, the most laughs in this episode came from the Tina Fey storyline.
The Six Million Dollar Man. Season 2, Episode 11. When a repoter (Farrah Fawcett) manages to shoot footage of Steve in bionic action (at a NASA launch) it looks as if his secret will come out. That is, until her news director tells her that the film she shot is actually blank and she has to find a way to bluff Steve and Oscar into letting her take more footage. If that plot twist wasn't enough, we then discover that the news director was lying and has sold the footage to a foreign power!
Widely regarded as a weak episode, I put off watching this one for ages. But, in fact, it's a pretty good episode. The best scenes are the ones between Steve and Oscar. And it's made very clear that Oscar can (and will) do anything to kill the story. It is strongly hinted that he might even take steps to silence the reporter. The storyline where the news director accompanies some thugs on a mission to kidnap Steve makes no great sense, but it does lead to some pretty good action sequences. The episode's only low point is a hilarious seduction scene between Steve and the reporter.
By episode's end, all is well with the world. Once again we are remined that Oscar Goldman is a very powerful man and he will/can do anything to protect his bionic creations.
Highlight? Kung Fu.
30 Rock, Adventure Inc., Back To You, Kung Fu, Notes From The Underbelly, The Six Million Dollar Man
