08:00 Dexter
09:00 Burn Notice
12:30 WKRP In Cinncinati
01:00 Rising Damp
01:30 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Dexter. Season 2, Episode 4. "See-Through" Several highlights in this great episode: a very intense storyline for Doakes, the revelation that Laguerta was/is sleeping with her superior's boyfriend and Dexter's deepening friendship with his sponsor. Doakes is never given much to do and his constant tailing of Dexter this season was just starting to get annoying when they (wisely) brought it to a stop. This episode gives him a strong storyline and some (much-needed) character work. The stuff with Laguerta blew me away. I totally did not see that coming. Love it! I'm slowly warming to Lila. She's very much a TV cliché so far (we've seen this character many times on TV shows) but it'll be interesting to see how much of a part she comes to play in Dexter's world as the show progresses. Will he tell her his secret, I wonder?
Burn Notice. Season 2, Episode 2. "Turn and Burn" The formula is well in place for this episode: interesting case with a twist, advancement in the ongoing storyline, Michael doing his undercover bit, explosions, Fiona being gorgeous, well-written scenes between Michael and his mother. Flawless fun, really.
WKRP In Cinncinati. Episode 64. "Out To Lunch" "Tonight! On a very special WKRP..." or something similar. I have mixed feelings about this episode. On one hand it's a very good play about a man dealing with his addiction to alcohol in a mature way. On the other hand, so much happens to Herb in such a short period of time, that I can't shake the whole idea of it being a "stunt" episode. WKRP had many serious episodes, and all were good. This one... I don't know. It seems as if Herb's problems appeared from nowhere, for the sake of this episode. I liked it, but I'm not sure I completely buy it.
Once again, I mavel at the way Arthur Carlson is used in these stories. He's the buffoon most of the time, yet (without changing our perception of the character) the writers are again - able - to use him as the voice of reason when one of the team is in trouble. I love that.
This episode is deliberately light on laughs. But any laughs that are in it, are generated by Les. Who gets some of his funniest-ever material. Best bit: Andy shows up in a foul temper yelling at Herb to follow him to his office. Les misunderstands and mistakenly makes moves to follow Andy. When corrected, he gets all hurt: Why don't you want me? Hilarious. When I was a kid I thought Johnny Fever was the coolest guy on the show, now I think it's Les. When I was a kid I thought Jennifer was the hottest babe, now I think it's Bailey. Go figure!
Rising Damp. Episode 7. "Stand Up and Be Counted" The first season of Rising Damp comes to a close with this superb episode which has everybody obsessed with the upcoming local elections. Eric Chappell has created such wonderful characters that all he has to do (again) is drop one strong idea into the mix and let them react to it. Rigsby and Alan each take opposing sides and Miss Jones is caught in the middle. It's perfect. As is the ending where Rigsby abruptly changes sides and gets into a shouting match with one of the candidates.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. "Act III" The story, they say, is in the ending. And if you have a good ending, then you have a good story. Of course, what makes for a good ending is up for debate. Ideally, the end of a story should be uplifting and meaningful. It should touch you, resonate with you and stay with you. Good fiction should hold up a mirror for us as well as entertaining us. And it should give us something to take away. So how do you accomplish this? Well, often times the best/easiest way to uplift/impact the audience is to give them a happy ending. It usually works and is very common. Less common, more tricky, is the ability to give the story a very sad ending and still have it work in such a way that the audience (thought probably crying) can take away something positive.
Joss Whedon, of course, can do whatever he wants. He's a supremely skilled storyteller. I was really surprised with the ending to this show. I didn't know it would have a sad ending. But, as the credits rolled, I felt more postive about all the things that life offers us. And through these characters I came to appreciate some things a little more. It sounds trite when you put it bluntly, but nothing means very much if you don't have love in your life. And because it lacks meaning when you put it bluntly, we are lucking to have writers like Joss Whedon who can get our full attention and still manage to have depth and resonance sneak up on us.
Oh, and the songs were good, too.
Highlight? Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
