02:00 Back To You
02:30 My Boys
03:00 The Closer
09:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm
Back To You. Episode 15 (Episode 9, in production order). "Date Night" Wow. Possibly the best episode. Hilarious from start to finish. Unlike many episodes, the chemistry between Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton is sparkling, and the supporting cast/plot is simply superb. In the main story, Kelly is dating a younger man and Chuck is teasing her about it being a younger version of him. "You're obsessed with me," he declares. It's fun to watch him being all arrogant and even more fun to watch her go to extremes to prove him wrong. She gets revenge by trapping him in a date with someone he does not fancy. And, being a sitcom, they all end up on dates in the same restaurant. What makes it work (and very funny) is the way Kelly reveals that she is obsessed with Chuck, while he (in a lovely twist) really connects with his bookish date.
Meanwhile, back at work, there are some wonderful scenes with the rest of the gang. Marsh, Ryan and Gary in the make-up room is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen. It's the old guys-talking-like-women gag, this time played out in a make-up room at a TV station. And, boy, does it ever work. These three guys know exactly how to play it and I was in hysterical laughter from start to finish.
My Boys. Season 2, Episode 9. "John, Cougar, Newman Camp" Another solid outing (much funnier than last week) which builds to a predictable (and kinda sad) cliff-hanger. It's a been a great season (half-season?) and the various plot-threads have played out wonderfully over the episodes. The writers have skillfully brought all the regular characters on a journey this season and we leave all of them in a new place. That's good TV, that is.
I'm not unhappy with the cliff-hanger, god no, I'm just unhappy with what happened in that cliff-hanger and curious to see how things will advance from here.
The Closer. Season 4, Episode 5. "Dial M for Provenza" After two serious (and heartbreaking) episodes in a row, the show (wisely) delivers a funny one. Funny? It's frakkin' hilarious. Provenza (a great character played by the wonderful G.W. Bailey) takes center-stage and the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge guests as his nemesis. Coolidge only really does one thing but she does it really, really well and she is perfect for this role. There are many, many comedy highlights and the episode nicely distracts us from the turmoil in the private lives of several of the regulars. A turmoil which, I'm sure, we will return to in future episodes.
Curb Your Enthusiasm. "HBO Special" The good thing about CYE is that it's not really about a famous writer and the scrapes that he gets himself into, it (like Seinfeld before it) is about the minutiae of everyday life and - more importantly - someone obsessed with the minutiae of everyday life. This first episode (pilot?) is less about the big concert that Larry is about to give/perform is more about the way one behaves with regard to restaurant meetings, name pronunciations, wakes, friends who have affairs, etc. etc. It sucks you in, makes you believe that everything on screen could be true and the ending, which ties everything together, is very good.
Highlight? Back To You (so funny)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
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Fri, Aug 15, 08 - Back To You, My Boys, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm
