Monday, October 8th, 2007
07:00 Life Is Wild
11:00 The Hardy Boys Mysteries
12:00 Superman
Life Is Wild. Episode 1. A teenage girl has to adjust when her dad, step-mum and assorted sibling move from New York to South Africa. He's a vet, so their day-to-day life is now full of animals of all shapes and sizes. She's utterly adorable. The most upbeat and likable teenage girl I think we've ever had on a TV show and I must confess to being eager to see episode 2. While the central idea is hokey, the cast and location really makes it work. The girl (Leah Pipes), her dad (D.W. Moffett) and troubled step-brother (Andrew St. John) are superbly cast, and the whole thing was light and breezy and kinda fun to watch. This one's a keeper!
The Hardy Boys Mysteries. Season 2, Episode 22. It's not normally a good sign when you see six writers listed for one episode, yet this outing for Frank & Joe Hardy is actually a pretty decent affair. An old friend of Joe's (a cute girl, naturally) calls for help when girls on her college campus start to disappear. On the way there, there's a great piece of continuity as Joe reflects on all the bad luck that seems to follow them around (referring to particular events from all the most recent episodes). Even better follows, as the kidnapper starts leaving messages where he names the Hardy Boys as if he knows them. How could he know them? Unless, as other characters point out, it's from the famous Nancy Drew Kidnapping Case (the previous episode). I love the show does stuff like this.
Anyway, being the Hardy Boys Mysteries, the college campus is resplendant with cute girls (all of whom are swooning at the sight of these well-coifered detectives). Stepfanie Kramer and Kim Lankford are both very good, but the absolute acting honours go to Valerie Bertinelli as the frightened girl who sends for Joe, and still has a massive crush on him. The plot has all the usual red-herrings, twists and turns and a very, very chilling final shot.
Superman. Season 2, Episode 16. Superman teams with Dr. Fate when an evil spirit rises and takes the Daily Planet building (and everyone in it) hostage. Superman is powerless against magic, and - indeed - takes quite a battering from the evil spirit. His first meeting with Fate goes not well, as the good doctor has given up on the old Good Vs. Evil thing as he sees the futility of it all. Evil never gives up, he says wearily. Supes, of course, ever the boy scout, doesn't let this deter him and returns to the battle. Some nice action (including an awesome pit that Superman has to dive into) and interesting debate between the two heroes make this an above-average episode of Superman.
Life Is Wild, Superman, The Hardy Boys Mysteries
