Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
06:00 Cavemen
06:30 Notes From The Underbelly
07:00 Rules Of Engagement
07:30 30 Rock
08:00 Seinfeld
10:30 Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Cavemen. Episode 6. My favourite shows have always been the ones with something important to say. As a kid, I loved shows like Lou Grant and Quincy for that reason. Today, while I'm just as impressed by the coolness of Jack Bauer and Starbuck as everyone else, I take a lot of enjoyment from the ability of shows to reflect the world we live in today. Some shows, not all shows.
I responded quickly to Cavemen because I recognised a project that had something to say about race relations (and, even better, had found a very novel way of doing it). Episode 6, which proves there is a lot more to this formula than race relations, is all about Andy (a brilliant Sam Huntington). He's clueless about voting, so Joel and Nick take it upon themselves to educate him. Along the way they meet two candidates (one slick, one nuts), their appartment is robbed, and gun-toting Thorne (Stephanie Lemelin, who gets funnier every week) introduces Andy to the joys of bearing arms.
While early scripts were thoughtful, but lacking in laughs, the show has now managed to strike a successful balance. Script and delivery combine here to give laugh after laugh in every scene. It's one of the best shows on television, and I'm proud to be a fan.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 8 ends the first season by using a generic storyline to fantastic effect. All but two episodes used The Pregnancy to set up the stories. This time out, we get to see Lauren and Andrew having a fight (on the night of his birthday party). Flashbacks are used to clever effect. The flashbacks, to seven years ago, are shown in reverse order, so each time we get a flashback we get to understand a little bit more of the story and we get some of the gags that were set up in the previous flashback. Man, I love that.
I also love these characters/actors. All six regulars get equal screen time for a change and all of them get major laughs. They are all so good, I couldn't possibly pick a favourite. (Yes, I can, it's Rachael Harris).
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 9. When RoE delivered two dud (and offensive) episodes in a row I was a tad worried about my ability to sustain affection for it. Not any more. Three winners in a row and the show is opening up and getting better with every new installment. For once Russell gets a storyline that is not sex-based and, as a consequence, you can believe that Adam would want to hang out with him. Even better, Jeff gets a great storyline where he doesn't have to behave like an idiot. I loved that he shows some maturity at the very end when he doesn't tell Audrey the TV is fixed.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 5 feeds my appetite for shows with something important to say. On one hand this episode was part of NBC's week-long drive to have environment-themed shows. On the other hand it was a parody of same. Now, that's balls-y. Is Tina Fey awesome or what? Best episode of the season so far, and a series highlight. Quite frankly, some of the images from Kenneth's party will haunt me for a long, long time...
Seinfeld. Season 8, Episode 5 is the one where Kramer takes seductive shots of George to impress the woman who develops the photos. As funny as I find that, what really makes the episode for me are Jerry's comments as he watches all of this unfold.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Seattle, 1973, and a series of late-night murders attract the attention of veteran newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak. While it is the first movie that broke all ratings records and is, to this day, revered as a classic, it is this second movie that impresses me most on repeated viewing. It's a more polished affair, it's a got a genuinely original storyline and much more of the Kolchak-formula is in place: There's a lot more humour, Simon Oakland is given lots of screen-time and the story is peppered with lots of fascinating characters (played by a succession of legends: John Carradine, Wally Cox, Richard Anderson, Al Lewis and Margaret Hamilton among them). Kolchak isn't about the monsters, it's about The Little Guy going up against the The Powers That Be. And one of the ways the show illustrates this is by having Carl cross paths with ordinary people who are passionate about what they do. And this story's example of that character is Mr. Berry, the researcher. Watching that guy, and watching Carl and Tony bicker, and watching the realistic take on fantasy situations, I really felt like I was watching the start of the Kolchak TV series. Another series with something important to say.
Highlight? Cavemen.
30 Rock, Cavemen, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Notes From The Underbelly, Rules Of Engagement, Seinfeld
