Wed, Jan 23rd, 2008
08:00 The Shield
10:30 The Sarah Connor Chronicles
11:30 Baywatch
The Shield. Season 3, Episode 13. The previous episode - although brilliant - could have been from any gritty cop show. This one, however, tells a story unique to The Shield. Vic and the Strike Team have framed someone for the Armenian money train robbery. Their guy has been picked up, but the Armenians are on his tail. To keep the guy alive, Vic has to get him away from Treasury and out of town. Tension is high. It's a great episode and much of it is told from the point of view of Lem (who is having a hard time coming to terms with the things that they have to do to stay alive and stay out of jail).
The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Episode 3. Thomas Dekker steps up and gives a great performance in this one. Likewise Richard T. Jones, but the episode (and indeed the series) belongs to Lena Headey. She really is mesmerising in the central role. Great performances aside, this episode has three very strong storylines with one in particular having have very shocking, downbeat conclusion. It's also an episode without action sequences of any kind, yet it is probably the most dramatic and satisfying.
Baywatch. Episode 15. One of my all-time favourite Baywatch episodes. It has two great storylines. Cort, Craig and Eddie try to save a Mexican village from bandits in the first one, while Thorpe moves in with Mitch (after being ejected by his wife) in the second one. The first one is written and played for laughs and succeeds in every way possible. The chemistry between the cast is fantastic and the whole thing is great fun from start to finish. Thorpe's storyline, meanwhile, starts out as being played for laughs but slowly becomes more serious as both men begin to dwell on the realities of adjusting to life after marriage. David Hasselhoff, in particular, gives a great understated performance. If not for a very weak third plot (involving Shauni and Hobie) it would be a perfect episode.
Highlight? The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Shield, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Baywatch
