Sunday, November 18th, 2007
06:00 Pushing Daisies
06:50 Reaper
07:40 Journeyman
11:00 Laurel And Hardy
11:30 The Six Million Dollar Man
12:30 The Nancy Drew Mysteries
Pushing Daisies. Episode 5. The utterly-adorable Olive Snook takes centre-stage when her past comes back to haunt her. This change-of-pace episode shakes up the established formula of the series in a few ways. First, the team of Chuck, Ned and Emerson is broken up and given different things to do. Second, and more important, there is a downplaying of the romance between Ned and Chuck, which could be seen as the cornerstone of the show. These changes makes the episode the freshest and most enjoyable since the pilot and shows that the style and tone of the show are more important than the actual content. Much as I like the Chuck and Ned stuff, we don't need to see them gazing at one another in every episode.
Reaper. Episode 6. Another show that breaks from established formula. This episode of Reaper opens with the capture of an escaped soul. The soul in question cannot be returned to Hell for a few days so he stays around, and becomes a subject of much debate between Sam and Sock. The story ends with Sam showing some backbone for a change. He totally stands up to the Devil in their final conversation, which is cool, and he comes on all badass in the final confrontation with the Soul (in the therapist's office). Seriously. When he sat in the chair, all silent and tough-guy like, he seemed - for the first time - as if he might actually be worthy of the title: "Devil's Bounty Hunter". Not bad.
Journeyman. Episode 8. Not as strong as last week's episode, but -then - that would be very hard. The case-of-the-week is as boring as ever, but the unfolding of events in 2007 is much more entertaining. Katie makes a very important discovery about Livia and the time-expert scientist guy makes another appearence. In fact, lots of elements from earlier episodes come back and you get the feeling that all of this is going somewhere. Fast.
Laurel And Hardy. 1929, Film 1. "Unaccustomed As We Are" was the first sound film from Stan & Ollie and it's got some very funny moments. Everything is a bit stiff and formal at this stage, as everyone gets used to using sound for the first time, but you can't quench the comedy gold of these two when they start doing their thing. The script is very good, too, and moves at fast pace. Ollie brings Stan home as a surprise dinner guest. His wife is far from happy. She storms out. The lady-next-door calls in to sympathise, is dis-robed during a gas explosion (!!) and has to hide when both her husband and Ollie's wife return/arrive unexpectedly. Using this as their framework, the comedy duo create some slapstick. Some is weak, but most isn't. The overall is great fun.
The Six Million Dollar Man. Episode 10. An atypical and forgettable outing for the SMDM. Steve is sent on a straight-forward sabotage mission. Get in, destroy something, get out. And nothing much is added to that framework. The first 15 minutes are an extended training sequence, as Steve undergoes rigourous preparation for the mission ahead. A nice reminder that these were the early days of the Bionic Man and he had to work hard to master his super-powers. The next 15 minutes show his entry into the Bad Guy's vast complex. Lots of opening things and running down long corridors. Steve is captured by the Bad Guy and his team of grey henchment. In the midst of all these grey and boring men is a stunningly beautiful woman. Luckily for Steve, she turns out to be an Interpol Agent working to defeat the Bad Guy. (Makes you wonder why there was need to send Steve in, at all.) She and Steve team-up, they sabotage the Bad Guy and make their escape. An escape route of considerable distance and complexity which, apparently, only takes them five minutes. All leading to an awful final scene where Steve is too busy trying to bed his latest paramour to bother listening to Oscar. That's James Bond, not Steve Austin!
The Nancy Drew Mysteries. Episode 6. Lots of atmosphere, some good guest stars and a compelling mystery make up the sixth Nancy Drew TV story. The gang are on a cruise with a famous mystery writer. Mysterious events start to occur and Nancy deduces that everything is following the story of the writer's contentious first novel. The middle third flags a little (and contains a silly sequence of being haunted by a tape recorder!) but there is a great mystery surrounding the identity of the culprit and the revelation at the end is very satisfying.
Highlight? Pushing Daisies.
Journeyman, Laurel And Hardy, Pushing Daisies, Reaper, The Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Six Million Dollar Man
