Mon, Mar 10th, 2008
07:00 Doctor Who
08:00 Law And Order
09:00 Unhitched
09:30 The Evidence
10:30 Scrubs
11:00 Airwolf
12:00 The X-Files
01:00 Lost
Doctor Who. Season 28, episode 7. It's 1953 and televisions are being used to suck people's minds out. The Doctor dresses up, there's lots of running around, a wealth of one-liners and an FX-heavy ending. It's better than the Cybermen two-parter, but still not an example of the show at it's best.
Law And Order. Season 18, Episode 3. The strongest episode so far. Lupo, once again, is great fun to watch (breaking the rules to track down a bomber). There's a clumsy attempt to give Green a backstory, but this is Lupo's show all the way. Great work, too, from guest star Kevin Rankin.
Unhitched. Episode 1. Craig Bierko is well cast, Rashida Jones is underused and there are a few laughs. Not enough to fill out the half-hour, sadly, but enough to make me want to see what happens next.
The Evidence. Episode 7. Another very good story from this long-gone cop show. Bishop and Cole investigate the shooting of a paramedic who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time (with her cameraman boyfriend) but all is not what it seems. As well as a good story, you have great chemistry between the leads, sumptuous visuals of San Francisco and the added gimmick of wondering how the evidence (shown to us in the opening scene) fits into the story being told.
Scrubs. Season 6, Episode 17. Ted, Todd and Jordan take centre-stage and we see how they fit into the big picture at Sacred Heart. All of Ted's scenes are laugh-out-loud hilarious in this episode. Hearing the character's thoughts makes him funnier than he already is.
Airwolf. Season 2, Episode 1. CBS' decision to "domesticate" Airwolf still galls me. Over twenty years later I'm still bitter and hurt that they took the best elements of the first season (dark-tone espionage stories and a loner hero) and revamped it as a more family-friendly action show. This season-premier (where Airwolf goes up against a corrupt small-town sheriff) is about as Knight Rider as it gets. And that's not what I want Airwolf to be.
But, since it is written by Donald Bellisario and features a superb guest cast (Lance LeGault, Jeff MacKay and James Whitmore Jr.), there is still a lot to like in the episode. The story moves fast and contains several memorable set pieces (the motorcycle chase at the start, the Airwolf-flips-a-truck nighttime rescue and the stunning action finale when Airwolf blows the Sheriff station to kingdom come. Bogan is one of the best Airwolf bad guys, and the fact that he killed Stringfellow's friend off-camera makes him seem all the more cold and efficient. Jean Bruce Scott makes a great impression in her first episode. Stringfellow is still the cool, brooding hero we remember from Season 1. His conversations with Bogan are superb, and show him to be clever and resourceful as well as tough and calculating. The climax gives all the bad guys gruesome deaths and the score throughout is sumptuous. A
The X-Files. Season 8, Episode 12. By keeping things low-key the show manages to deliver one of it's very best episodes. Ever. Death in the subway system sends Doggett and three others underground for the whole episode, while Scully monitors them from a control room. It reminds one of earlier X-Files tales, but in a good way. The science-fiction elements are kept to a minimum, the tension and action are ramped up, the character work on Doggett and Scully is top notch and the whole episode has a movie feeling to it.
Lost. Missing Pieces 4. Wow. Great insight into what happened while Michael was being held captive by The Others. Once again Elizabeth Mitchell is stunning, and we get some valuable insight into both characters.
Highlight? Airwolf/X-Files
Doctor Who, Law And Order, Unhitched, The Evidence, Scrubs, Airwolf, The X-Files, Lost
