06:30 The Middleman
07:30 Kyle XY
08:30 Supernatural
12:00 Greg The Bunny
12:30 Good Morning Miami
The Middleman. Episode 3. "The Sino-Mexican Revelation" There are two reasons to love this show. First, it's audacious. How else do you describe a show which dares to tell a story where a masked sensei is kidnapped by 100 Mexican Wrestlers (who are later killed in a fight to the death with that same masked sensei)? Everything about this show is creative and exciting. There's nothing quite like this on TV. And I love that.
Second, it works. It really works. It's funny and cool. It could have been a horrible mess, but Matt Keeslar's delivery and Natalie Morales' attitude make it work. Throwing crazy elements into a script is no guarantee of success. You need the right cast to make it work.
(This is the episode where Natalie Morales poses as a scantily-clad waitress. There's no part of that previous sentence that I don't love.)
Kyle XY. Season 2, Episode 10. "House of Cards" Kyle brings Declan onto 'the team' and - together with Tom Foss - they plan a heist: To get Kyle's ring back. Everything that has been set up in earlier episodes is starting to pay off and the show is getting even more satisfying to watch. It's also great fun to see Foss and Declan on-camera together. Kyle does some cool stuff in this episode and (of course) his 'secret life' causes him to cancel a date with his new girlfriend. The show takes these clichéd situations and bends them to suit the characters. So the episode ends not with a fight but with a sweet kiss. This is why the show "works for me" (to quote Rick Hunter). Amanda is nice. And the script doesn't make her behave mean to Kyle to create false drama. Instead the drama comes from Kyle's innocent with these situations. We are nervous for him and therefore engaged in what is happening between him and Amanda. Her reaction to him makes for great character writing, too.
It's a great show. I don't watch Smallville (I saw the pilot and hated it) but I presume Kyle XY is a kinder, nicer version of Smallville.
Anyway, Smallville was a rip-off of the far superior Roswell. But I digress...
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 4. "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" Now this is more like it! A really good episode. The story is much better than the previous one, and it's fits into the ongoing character arc for Dean in a much more natural way. While the parallels with their own father's death and their feelings about it seemed forced in the previous episode, in this outing every reference to the dead and the desire to bring them back seemed natural and worked wonderfully. In context of what the brothers have just gone through. This would have made a much better Episode 2.
Great guest casting helps make for a strong episode. Tamara Feldman is very scary as the Big Bad Evil and Christopher Jacot is wonderfully earnest as the guy who brings her back from the dead. For love. Poor schmuck!
This show is remarkable in the way is balances comedy with the serious/sad stuff happening on-screen and never seems to trivialise the pains of the guest characters. This episode is a prime example. Dean and the dead girl's female friend share a scene which is works perfectly on two levels. We are engaged and sad for the girl grieving over her dead friend, and we are laughing at Dean. How the show plays both cards together impresses me. Every week.
The character work on the boys is top notch. It always is. From silly stuff (Dean catches his younger brother watching motel porn) to weighty stuff (Dean finally talks out his feelings on their father's death). "A+" stuff all the way. That final scene was gobsmacking. I didn't expect it. I didn't expect Dean to say that stuff. Man, I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm so glad Sam didn't give him any trite answers before the show faded to black. I had a few written in my own head as I watched, but - upon reflection - they all sucked and the show ending was... perfect.
Greg The Bunny. Episode 7. "Father & Son Reunion" has always been my favourite episode of Greg The Bunny. I haven't seen them all, of course, and I now realise that Episode 6 is brilliant also, but I still think this is aces. Greg, Jimmy and Gil get high on hash brownies and go throw eggs at the house of someone they all hate. Or, at least, try and throw eggs at the house. Their shots go wildly askew and the whole attack degenerates into a very odd conversation over a hedge. Hilarious.
I normally don't like the serious elements of Greg The Bunny episodes. When the show tries to teach lessons about being nice or some such crap. Usually the 'heartfelt's stories leave me cold, and seem like added-on network interference. But Rochester's death (in the previous episode) and the father-son stuff (in this episode) really work. Even if the rest of the episode wasn't very, very funny I would still enjoy these stories. But, as it happens, the rest of the episode is very, very funny.
Susan The Monster, Tardy Turtle and Snookums have hilarious small scenes. Jack and Dottie have a funny sub-plot about random meetings outside of work and Warren (my favourite character) gets to give a great monologue and get into a fight with his audience.
Good Morning Miami. Episode 3. "The Heart Is a Lonely Apartment Hunter" I've watched season one of this show many times. And I love it very much. But I've never written reviews of it before. And ,while this is a good episode, I can't help but notice how hard it is to like Jake. He is, after all, plotting to split Gavin and Dylan, because he is after falling in love with Dylan (having just met her). He seems, when you analyse him, to be a bit selfish and immature. The show tries to make us dislike Gavin, I think, but he's actually a fairly likable guy. So, upon reflection, Jake is scum. Sorta. But, it never bothered me before. And, upon reflection again, it doesn't bother me now that I am aware of it. Why? Well, I guess I'm just a sucker for a love story. And what happened to Jake in the pilot and how has dealt with it, is romantic. He changed his while life around because of a chance meeting with a woman. Works for me (to quote Rick Hunter).
The only flaw in this episode is the sub-plot devoted to the unfunny Weather Nun who works on their TV show. She's a one-note character, and devoting an entire plot line to her only serves to illustrate how pointless she is. Even worse, this plot uses Frank and fails to make him funny. Frank is a fantastic character, the funniest character in the whole show, how can you fail to make him funny?
The best part of the episode revolves around Penny. Penny rapidly became my favourite character and this episode is an example of why. She deduces that Jake has a crush on Dylan and immediately stops being a wiseass and offers him the hand of friendship. It's a lovely, lovely moment, and an example of why I love this show so much.
Highlight? Good Morning Miami
Sun, Jul 13, 08 - Middleman, Kyle XY, Supernatural, Greg The Bunny, Good Morning Miami
