06:00 Riptide
08:00 Samantha Who?
08:30 In Plain Sight
09:30 Back To You
10:30 Keen Eddie
12:00 Joey
Riptide. Episode 3. "Somebody's Killing the Great Geeks of America" Good performances from Joe Penny and guest star Cindy Pickett are the highlight of this episode. A woman hires the guys when a hit-man targets her for some reason. It turns out she went to high school with Nick, they were friends back then but she hates him now and he can't figure out why. Riptide is the perfect show for this sort of story. These private eyes get beaten up, their helicopter won't start, their car breaks down during chases and - while Boz does all the computer work - the other two do very little except buy donuts and hang around (a very funny scene). Giving lots of scope for biting comments from Pickett's character.
Samantha Who? Episode 15. "The Birthday" ends the first season with Sam's birthday party. No crazy plots this time out, just a nice character-driven tale about Todd's inability to be out of a relationship for any length. So, it turns out that Sam is not the only one that needs to change... That's a nice way to end the season: seeing how the 'new' Sam is having an impact on her circle of friends (echoed in the fact that her mum and best friend have a civilised chat for the first time, and the doorman drops by at her party).
In Plain Sight. Episode 3. "Never the Bride" As usual, this week's script is just clever enough to make it something special. Mary's case involves somebody she doesn't like. Somebody that she feels doesn't deserve the fresh start of the Witness Protection Programme. She gives them a wonderful speech at the start of the episode and (much to her surprise, and ours) she finds (by the end of the episode) that they have taken her advice to heart and are able - in fact - to give that same advice back to her. It's a nice episode. In lots of ways. And I'm starting to like the sister now. The scene where she helped Mary get dressed up was good. More sister-bonding, less fighting, would be nice.
Back To You. Episode 12. "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" It's a bit late in the day, but Back To You manages to deliver a good episode. I still think changing the focus of the show completely over to Chuck's reunion with his daughter was a mistake but this is a funny episode. It takes place on the night that Chuck and Kelly finally tell their daughter the truth. She takes it badly. And while they deal with this, we get to see flashbacks to the night they slept together (possibly as a means to get the rest of the cast into the episode?). There are plenty of gags and the ending is good, where is looks as if Chuck has run off (again) but he's actually managed to find a way to put things right. Good stuff.
Keen Eddie. Episode 2. "Horse Heir" As much as I love the pilot (and I loved it the first time I saw it) it is really only with Episode 2 that you are getting the full effect of the Keen Eddie TV series. There is nothing else on TV that looks or sounds like this show. Fast cuts, rewinds, zooms and everything else they can throw at you keep the visuals interesting. This episode has some Matrix-style fights! The soundtrack is wonderful, too, and perfectly chosen for the scenes. I watch Keen Eddie on my own DVR's because the DVD release removed all the original music. Crazy!
This episode is better than the pilot because there is no set-up and the formula is fully in place. There is a case to be solved (a stolen horse), there are lots of odd suspects (two warring pub landlords, for instance, who have to be seen to be believed) and there is a full-on war in progress between Eddie and his gorgeous flatmate (Sienna Miller). This is also the first episode where Eddie mishears Miss Moneypenny. (A running gag on the show involves Eddie hearing sexual comments from his bosses secretary that nobody else can hear.) Awesome.
Joey. Season 2, Episode 19. "Joey and the Critic" I would love to ask the Joey writers why they let the character of Jimmy dominate the show so much in Season Two. His constant shouting is enough to ruin many episodes for me. Not this one, thankfully. Jimmy is still central to the story (he becomes Joey's manager) but he tones down his more violent instincts and the result is an okay episode.
Highlight? Keen Eddie
Thur, Jun 19th, 2008 - Riptide, Samantha Who?, In Plain Sight, Back To You, Keen Eddie, Joey
