06:30 Fast Track
08:30 Supernatural
12:30 Blood Ties
01:30 Greg The Bunny
Fast Track. Pilot. The lives of four characters criss-cross when each of them gets involved with the world of illegal street racing. And lots of fun it is, too. Lee Goldberg has created four very interesting characters and set up some cool dynamics between all of them. It's got a few good stunts here and there, but most of the two hour pilot is devoted to the relationships betweeen the characters: the deeply-in-debt owner of a garage and her boyfriend, a cop who secretly street races for thrills. Her friend, Mike, wants to be a street racer if she will give him the chance. She won't, but a rich, bored trophy wife is happy to jump into his world, and he's happy to jump into her bed in return. There's some criminal hijinks and a few gun battles along the way and - by the end of it all - the four leads have bonded into a very unusual team. I would love to see more.
Supernatural. Episode 22. "Devil's Trap" There's enough here for three episodes! The first third features the capture of (and final battle with) Meg. It's stunning stuff. The middle third is an action-packed rescue sequence where the boys go after their captured father. It's got multiple possessions, multiple demons and a fair bit of smashing through doorways and shoot-outs in allleyways. The final third is the big confrontation in the deserted cabin where all three actors deliver the best performances of the series. I have nothing new to say about Supernatural at this stage: it's a superb action series which manages - in every single episode - to craft it's storylines around it's characters and - by the end of this first season - it has delivered unto us two really great heroes. Likeable and complex.
Blood Ties. Episode 8. "Heart of Fire" Most of the scenes between Henry and his capturer/torturer are boring. Because it's pretty much the same scene over and over. But, in every other way, this is the show's best episode so far. Mike and Vicki have to work together to find/save Henry. Mike, of course, is responsible for this situation in the first place so it's fascinating to watch him try and fix it, while still maintaining his belief that Henry is evil. The Vicki-Mike relationship is more interesting to me than the Vicki-Henry one. Henry's a vampire, he's dark, mysterious, sexy: she's drawn to him. I get it. I've seen it before on every other vampire show. But the Mike storyline is different. The ex-lover, ex-partner who still cares for Vicki and wants to look out for her. It's more fun, I think, to watch them together. To watch them dealing with their feelings for one another.
By the end of this episode it appears that each of them are having second thoughts about Henry. Mike doesn't use the iluminación del sol to kill Henry, although he knows how to. Very interesting, when you consider that he has just been attacked by Henry and has even mor reason to dislike/distrust him. Even more interesting, as the picture fades and the credits appear, Vicki (who has now seen a new side to Henry) quietly picks up the device and slips it into her pocket...
Greg The Bunny. Episode 1. "Welcome to Sweetknuckle Junction" I've seen various episodes of Greg The Bunny over the years, but never all of them and never in the right order. I've always liked it, but found it to be uneven. Despite it's inspired concept (puppets are real) there are a few unfunny episodes. There are also some hysterical ones. The first episode falls somewhere in the middle. We meet Greg (an out of work puppet looking for an office job who accidently winds up starring in a TV show) and his friend Jimmy, a loser pool-boy who follows Greg into show business (acting as his agent). At heart, it's basically an old-fashioned ensemble situation comedy series, about a mis-matched group who produce a kids TV series. Half of them just happen to be puppets, that's all. Greg's funny, but it's especially worth watching for Warren's one-liners and Sarah Silverman's short skirts!
Highlight? Fast Track
Sun, Jun 1st, 2008 - Fast Track, Supernatural, Blood Ties, Greg The Bunny
