Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
07:30 Samantha Who?
08:00 House
09:00 30 Rock
09:30 Damages
11:30 Carnivàle
12:30 Entourage
Samantha Who? Episode 8. Samantha borrows her father's car, has a minor accident and decides to cover it up by making it appear that the car was stolen. Result? "Samantha Who?" delivers it's best episode so far. There hasn't been an episode yet that has been this laugh-out-loud funny, and there's hasn't been an episode yet that has had this much genuine heart.
Watching Andrea terrify Dena was a lot of fun, but the best bit of the entire episode was when Samantha stepped out of the car after telling her mother what she had done. Christina Applegate was so so perfect in this scene. Her every line of dialogue was a delight. Her facial expressions, her body language. She's amazing.
House. Episode 1. The opening twenty minutes or so are slow, and everyone looks way too young somehow, but the House formula is in place from the get-go and the case-of-the-week is very involving. I'd also forgotten just how gorgeous Cameron is/was with dark hair.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 2. I decided to give the most disappointing episode of this season (for me, anyway) a second whirl (in the company of someone who hadn't seen it) and I must admit that I stand by my first impressions. Storylines for Jack, Tracy and Jenna totally fail to raise laughs. The worst offender (least funny) is the storyline for Jack. His rival is trying to induce a heart attack? Maybe it's funny on paper, or with different actors or something, or I'm just missing the joke. Never mind, the season got better after this.
Damages. Episode 11. The tension ramps up to another level. And parts of the puzzle start to fall into place. Last week I compared the show to 24, but this time I was reminded of Veronica Mars as we watched the big puzzle start to make sense. Not completely make sense yet, of course, but it has started to fall into place.
After being months, then weeks, away from the murder of David (shown to us in the pilot) we are now mere days away. And the landscape has changed. Ellen is now outside the firm. She is also kicking ass, and taking names. And it's so exhilarating to watch.
Zeljko Ivanek dominates this episode and he is stunning. I've been a fan since his days on Homicide, watched him on 24 and Oz, but I've never been as affected by his performance as on this show. This episode. Like pretty much everything else on Damages, the audience is told very little about the relationship between Ray and Gregory. We've seen the sad ending to it, and the fallout from it will continue, but we never acutally saw the friendship until this episode. And now that we got to see it, it's every bit as beautiful and painful as every other story they are telling on this series. Born from lonliness and desperation it culimates with Ray makes a clumsy pass at a dis-interested Gregory on a quiet street one dark night. Magnificient in it's honestly and despair, it is a scene that will stay with the viewer long after viewing. In this scene, and in every other, Ivanek is amazing.
Carnivàle. Season 2, Episode 1. The first season kept Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe apart and ignorant of one another. This second season premier is all about setting the stage for their coming together. We open with the aftermath of the fire. Sofie's mother died in the fire and Professor Lodz died, too. Not in the fire, though. And Ben tries hard to come to terms with what he has done, while "The Management" tries to coerce him into following his destiny. Justin, however, gets more powerful and more scary.
Entourage. Season 2, Episode 10. "Aquaman" has gone into production and Vince has blurted out his feelings for his co-star. As they prepare for Ari's daughter's Bat Mitzvah, the boys (particularly Eric) try to cope with how this changes things. One of the joys of this show is the perfect blend of Hollywood Drama with Personal Drama and Johnny Drama. Right from the start of this season I've been worried for Vince and his feelings, and watching him boldly go after the (wrong) girl is rivetting stuff. Ari, meanwhile, sabotages his own daughter's big day in an effort to prevent another agent stealing his star client. And, in the c-story, Turtle and Johnny spend the big day searching for elusive food. Hilarious. A perfect blend of Hollywood Drama with Personal Drama and Johnny Drama.
Highlight? Damages.
30 Rock, Carnivàle, Damages, Entourage, House, Samantha Who?
