Saturday, November 17th, 2007
07:00 Man From Atlantis
09:00 The Office
09:30 The Knights Of Prosperity
11:30 Doctor Who
Man From Atlantis. Episode 1. A very enjoyable pilot which can be divided, very easily, into three sections/chapters. Chapter 1 tells of the discovery of water-breathing amnesiac Mark Harris and the attempts of Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (the utterly gorgeous Belinda Montgomery) to understand his powers and help him recover his memory. All of this is fascinating to watch. Harris washes ashore during a storm and Merrill's surgeon boyfriend is called away from a dinner party. Merrill tags along and - given her background - quickly figures out that Harris breathes water and need to be returned there. There's a great urgency and excitement to all of these scenes.
Chapter 2 brings the military into the equation as they attempt to bully Harris into doing their bidding. These scenes are hampered by a weak actor, but they work well enough. Harris still hasn't spoken to anyone, and the audience genuinely feels for the guy. And for Dr. Merrill who only wants the best for her patient/subject. In once scene, Harris fights off a large number of military personnel trying to stup him re-entering the sea. At first he flings them off in twos and threes, but - eventually - the sheer number of them brings him down. And it is a very distressing scene to watch.
Chapter 3, the final hour of the pilot, is where things finally come to life in a major way. Harris undertakes his first mission and comes face to face with the nemesis that will dog him for the remainder of the series: Mr. Shubert. Victor Buono is simply superb as the bad guy. He is over the top, larger than life, and a total joy to watch. Patrick Duffy is a superb lead actor, and a great super-hero as Mark Harris. That said, his Mark Harris is a glum individual. He doesn't speak much (when he eventually starts to talk) and he doesn't have a sense of humour or much in the way of charisma or personality. Most of the last hour of the show pairs him with the egomanicial Mr. Shubert. And it's a great double act.
Other than that, there's little to say. The pilot fairly zips along. The score is sumptuous. The production values are high (witness the FX, or the destruction of the undersea complex) and while the show is very much "comic book" in content, it is "Drama Series" in tone. I last saw this pilot 13 years ago. It wowed me as a kid, it wowed me 13 years ago, and it wowed me tonight. It's great fun from start to finish.
And, strangely, I'm just as smitten with Dr. Merrill as I was when I was 8. Seems like my tastes haven't changed since I was 8.
Hmm....
The Office. Season 4, Episode 6. Joss Whedon returns to direct one of the strongest ever episodes. Michael, Dwight and Jim head away together to play a prank on a rival. At this stage I should pick out a comic highlight to illustrate how good this was. But where do I start? The fake mustaches, maybe? The scene with Jim listening to Dwight & Michael inside the building, maybe? Or maybe something from the b-story? How about a quote from Oscar? "Besides having sex with men, I would say the "Finer Things" club is the gayest thing about me."
In other observations.. Jenna/Pam has never looked more genuinely beautiful than she did in that purple outfit at the start of the episode.
And! This episode saw the return of Karen, one of my favourite-ever Office characters. Her return, and scenes with Jim, were superb and absolutely the best take I've ever seen of this situation. "Meeting the Ex" has been done many times on TV, and in fiction, in general. But this was wonderful.
The Knights Of Prosperity. Episode 10. It was funny to see Ray Romano playing a junkie (in an off-broadway show) but after that the episode went downhill fast. The gang of misfits-turned-thieves turned on one of their own. Laughs were thin on the ground, and the result was tedium.
Doctor Who. Peter Davison returned. And, I have to admit, it did get me. While Tom Baker was my first Doctor and is still my favourite, Peter Davison was the first Doctor that I saw from start to finish. I wasn't a huge fan at the time, but - in later years - I grew to appreciate him. Even really like him. And seeing him like this, in the new TARDIS, was a genuine blast.
Highlight? The Office.
Doctor Who, Man From Atlantis, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Office
