Sunday, December 30th, 2007
07:30 Journeyman
12:30 Laurel And Hardy
01:00 The Nancy Drew Mysteries
Journeyman. Episode 13. Dan meets another time-traveller in this final story from the Journeyman series. You can never be happy with the last episode of any show cancelled too soon, but Journeyman does a damn fine job to giving us resolution before it fades away forever. As well as giving us a very strong case-of-the-week for Dan to work on, the show presents Katie with solid temptation to leave Dan (or, at least, make plans for eventually leaving Dan and making a life on her own). It also allows Dan and The Scientist to talk - finally - about time-travel and if we accept Langley's ideas about it all then we have some idea what the show was about, and what the next stage in the series would have been.
All in all, Journeyman was a wonderful, fresh take on the idea of time-travel and it presented the Best Marriage on TV (outside of Friday Night Lights). Despite it's flaws, which were fading away as it stayed on the air, it still ranks as one of the year's best shows. This makes Adam Schubak's attack on the show all the more disheartening. Schubak seems to have missed the point of the show, and sees it only as two love-triangle's. Elements which, while certainly present, have little or nothing to do with the appeal/depth of the show.
Laurel And Hardy. 1930, Film 2. "Blotto" is rightly considered to be on the duo's greatest movies. It starts with Stanley at home with the wife, trying to concoct schemes to get out and meet his pal Ollie for a night on the town. The invention of these first scenes is top notch and the very-beautiful Anita Garvin is a treat as Stan's scary wife. Finally free, the boys enjoy their night on the town with some delightful slapstick as the repeatedly fall foul of the table and the bottle of liquor. It all finishes up with a truly infectuous laughing sequence before Stan's wife catches them and has her revenge.
The Nancy Drew Mysteries. Episode 10. The final solo adventure for Nancy Drew is very good indeed. It breaks with formula by removing Nancy from her supporting cast and relying on co-incidence to set the story in motion. Nancy just happens to be driving by when the police are chasing an escaping man and she hits him with her car. Next morning there is no trace of the accident, and no official mention of the man, or - indeed - either of the policemen that spoke to her at the scene of the accident. So Nancy starts to investigate. A great guest cast, superb location filming and lots of twists and turns make for a superior Nancy Drew mystery. Maybe the best of the run? The ending is a bit of a let-down, however, being a tad simple compared to all that went before it. However, it still stands as a great send-off for the best actress to play the part of Nancy Drew.
Highlight? Journeyman.
Journeyman, Laurel And Hardy, The Nancy Drew Mysteries
