06:30 Perfect Strangers
07:00 My Boys
07:30 The Mentalist
Perfect Strangers. Season 2, Episode 2. "Hunks Like Us" As much as I love the first season, it is really only with this episode that the Perfect Strangers that I know (and love) begins. This is the episode where Jennifer and Mary-Anne are introduced. If the show was perfect with Larry and Balki alone, then it goes beyond-perfect with the introduction of their girlfriends.
I love everything about this episode. Larry falls hopeless in love with Jennifer at first sight. He even tells Balki that he will marry her (years later, he does marry her). While it is Larry who chases Jennifer, it is Mary-Anne who walks up to Balki. This, too, is perfect. And in keeping with the way the relationships panned out.
This episode has some inspired physical comedy. Larry and Balki at the gym is a dream come true for skilled comedy perfomers, and these two guys milk it for everything they can. Later, back at the appartment, it gets even funnier when the boys are in agony (from over-doing it at the gym) and try to cover it up so they can still have a date with the girls.
Larry and Jennifer are one of TV's best couples. And the introduction of Jennifer allowed the show to effortlessly generate stories. Much of what drives the show is Larry's ideas, schemes and fears. Giving him a girlfriend gives focus to all of these elements. Writers no longer have to reach for new things to put in Larry's way. Instead, they just have to find new ways for him to lie to Jennifer. And it works. From here on in, about a third of the stories come from the presence of Jennifer and Mary-Anne.
My Boys. Season 2, Episode 6. "Dudes Being Dudes" Just like this show captures the real feeling of hanging out with real friends in real life, it also manages (in this episode) to capture the feeling of really being out for the night. Nothing overly-dramatic happens, people come and go, some plans don't pan out, someone has a bad night, but other people end up having a lot of fun. This is also the episode where the storyline with Andy gets serious, and it looks like Andy and PJ are having a fight.
The Mentalist. "Pilot" Another show about a clever/oddball detective. He works with a team created at the the CBS House of Generic Teams. Simon Baker is great, and so is the character he plays, but I find the trappings very off-putting. Two of my best friends were really impressed with this, so I might give it another shot when the season rolls around, but - on first viewing - this is mediocre stuff.
Highlight? Perfect Strangers
Mon, Jul 21, 08 - Perfect Strangers, My Boys, The Mentalist
