Sunday, October 28th, 2007
06:00 Reaper
07:00 Two Guys And A Girl
07:30 Pushing Daisies
12:00 The Nancy Drew Mysteries
01:00 The Six Million Dollar Man
Reaper. Episode 4. It's just as well that Sam, Sock and Ben are so interesting/funny, because the show sure spends a lot of time on them. Sam is still moping around, because of his un-requited love for the girl he works with. While that storyline is boring me, I must admit that I really enjoy their workplace. Largely due to a funny performance from Donavon Stinson as their boss. The two episodes I watched of NBC's similar-but-awful Chuck never convinced me that his workplace was real or interesting. Reaper has done a much better job.
The villain this week (played by Darren Shahlavi) was excellent. There was a real sense of menace from this guy, although it wasn't exactly clear why he was killing people (espacially the apple truck guy, what was that about?). Never mind that, though. The episode climax was cool. Sam, alone, against the sword-wielding BadGuy. And this sword can go through anything. Anything. Cue: a cool action/chase sequence which ended with Sam cleverly using a pick-up truck to block the sword's thrusts. Defintely worth a rewind/rewatch.
Two Guys And A Girl. Season 3, Episode 2. More of the "Yes. In theory" stuff from Sharon continues to drive poor Johnny bananas on ABC's excellent answer to Friends. Pete returns from Paris, with a non-English speaking girlfriend in tow. Blink 182 make a guest appearance, and Berg resigns from the Pizza Place.
Pushing Daisies. Episode 3. I'd already watched one of 2007's New TV Heroes go up against a sword-wielding maniac tonight, I didn't think I'd see another awesome sword battle so soon. Let alone in the fairytale world of Pushing Daisies. But that's what happened. PD cleverly uses it's own mythology to generate a lot of the stories in this episode. The guy that Lee killed in the pilot is back to haunt him (sorta) and Olive Snook goes to visit Chuck's aunts and (in the standout moment of the episode) figures out who Chuck is. Pushing Daisies looks like nothing else on TV. And I love it.
The Nancy Drew Mysteries. Episode 3. Two of Nancy's elderly relatives are planning to sell their farm, but the paperwork is stolen and the sale is delayed. Nancy (with cowardly girlfriend in tow) goes to visit the elderly sisters, to figure out who would want to stop/delay the sale. In subject matter and tone this closely resembles the book series that inspired it. There's a spooky old mansion, talk of ghosts wandering the hallways at night, a grumpy neighbour who wants to run them off, tunnels under the mansion, sounds in the night, and mysterious lights signalling from an upstairs window when everone is asleep. And it's a hoot from start to finish. Nancy is a dynamic heroine and Pamela Sue Martin has never looked more gorgeous (particularly when Nancy changes into a blue and white outfit midway through the episode).
The Six Million Dollar Man. Season 2, Episode 13. One of the best things about watching The Six Million Dollar Man this time around is discovering the excellent characterisation of Steve and Oscar, and their friendship. At the start of this episode, Steve runs into an ex-lover and he's shook up by the whole thing. There's a great scene of Oscar doing his best to be supportive. Beyond the on-screen affection of that scene, though, it's also great to see a different side to Steve Austin, All-American super-hero. And Majors does a great job showing us that side in this story. It helps that he has such an amazing chemistry with Linda Marsh as the one-time love of his life. Austin has had a lot of casual relationships but episode like this emphasise a more mature side to the character. We see that there's more to Steve than the cheesy lines he uses in Peeping Blonde or Cross-Country Kidnap. He seems very much in love for the first (?) time in the series. But, of course, all is not as it seems. Her husband (a scientist believed dead for three months) turns up alive. He has apparently defected. And he wants her to join him. Even that isn't exactly what it appears to be. And, with it's twists and turns, the story that follows is very good indeed.
Steve Austin is one of television's greatest heroes. He's a clean-cut, moral do-gooder operating is a much simpler world than, say, Jack Bauer. And while Jack Bauer is cool, too, there really shouldn't be any great desire from the audience to emulate him. He is a product of a dark world and the deeds that he had to perform to survive it. Steve is different. He's honest and kind, heroic and noble. And this episode highlights that. As he stands by - and later loses - the woman he loves, there's a lot to admire in the guy.
The drama of this story is very human and very easy to relate to. I'm now the same age as Steve and I know very well what it's like to cross paths with someone you once loved. It's a story, I've seen told on many TV shows, but they often get it wrong. SMDM got it right. And, although, I don't remember ever seeing this episode before, it's certainly one I will never forget.
Of course, the awesome bionics help make the episode memorable, too. Steve escapes being tied up, opens a safe and evades hitmen at various stages. The hitmen scene is my favourite. He leaps over an oncoming car. The FX are rudimentary, but the scene is awesome. I have no tolerance for viewers who can't get past what they see on screen when they are asked to. How can you not give 101% to some shows, when it is obvious that the people making it gave it that much. And maybe more.
Cool action sequences aside, this episode has it's heart very much in the right place and I loved it.
Highlight? The Six Million Dollar Man.
Pushing Daisies, Reaper, The Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Six Million Dollar Man, Two Guys And A Girl
