Sun, Mar 16th, 2008
06:30 Moonlight
07:30 Reaper
11:30 Airwolf
Moonlight. Episode 11. WOW. From inauspicious beginnings, Moonlight has become something of a highlight of the week. This episode is fantastic. Josh (Jordan Belfi) goes after a drug lord who, in turn, goes after Beth. Which puts Mick on the firing line (protecting her). It's a fast-paced, emotional, episode which stands out as the highlight of the series so far. It's very cool, very exciting and Sophia Myles does her best work in the show so far. The first attack (the sniper) looks amazing on screen. Mick and Beth emerge into the sunlight, both looking supremely cool in their usual dark glasses, and within a second Mick hears the sniper and reacts. Everything is slowed down and it looks amazing, particularly the part where he pushes her one side of the bullet and leans the other side himself. How frakkin' cool was that?
The second attack (the kidnapping) takes up the middle twenty minutes of the episode and has to be one of the finest chase scenes I've ever seen. It was extremely well planned and logical and is easily the most realistic chase I've seen in a fantasy series. It was fast, violent, clever and thrilling. The logic for the actions of the kidnappers makes sense, as does the logic for Beth and Mick's method of tracking Josh. Far too many TV kidnappings take place on the cusp of the approaching commercial and leave the hero standing impotent as the bad guys speed away. How cool to see TV heroes going after the speeding car? Mick doing it on foot, no less. With this character the writers have created a brand new credible super-hero. The battle in the park was stunning. The shows uses slo-mo in all the right places when Mick goes into action it's always a thrill ride. His leap across the roof of the car is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Again, I say WOW.
The third attack (with Mick on the offensive this time) was just as cool as the others: a bar room brawl with lots of casualties. The episode had some truly shocking twists, including some heartbreaking romantic moments for it's leading characters and didn't ignore the Coraline mystery (but found a clever way to include it in a minor way). This episode was pure perfection. And the show, in general, isn't far behind it. A+
Reaper. Episode 11. A funny storyline involving Sock's mum getting married takes up most of the episode. The guys take on the less-threatening-than-usual Escaped Soul this week, while Sam tries to help a singer being tempted by The Devil. Erratic, crazy Andi picks a fight and The Devil's Daughter starts to show her true colours. Lots of fun from start to finish. The show has nicely fleshed out it's world at this stage. B
Airwolf. Season 2, Episode 2. Because CBS interfered with the show this story is mostly about Dominic trying to get his friend from drinking himself to death. It should be awful, it's fairly watchable. Eugene Roche never fails to entertain, and it's refreshing that Stringfellow doesn't give a frak about the old guy and dismisses him as a drunk. The action-plot is less successful. A renegade general planning a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union from a location close to the Airwolf hideout? Handy. The scene where Stringfellow is captured and questioned is genuinely awful, and drags the episode down a lot. The action finale is good, however. And the downbeat final scene is very good. B
Moonlight? Highlight!
Moonlight, Reaper, Airwolf
