10:00 Prison Break
12:00 Prison Break
01:30 Johnny Staccato
Prison Break. Season 4, Episode 1. "Scylla" The ratings may be down (again) but this was one of the best episodes that Prison Break has delivered. Indeed, it must rank as one of Television's Best Hours. Why? It concluded major storylines, explained several things, gave us something fans have desperately wanted to see forever and set the show up and rolling in an exciting new direction. Not bad for one episode, eh?
Whistler met his demise. I was sorry to see him go, I liked the character and I wanted it to be Michael who brought him down. I assumed the show would set him up and use him as a season-long bad guy. Guess not. This first hour also makes us think that Gretchen died. I don't believe it. Mahone's family, however, appear to be dead. That's painful. But, I guess, it's needed to keep the character as part of the team. But, still, it's painful to watch him suffer like that. I like Alex and I was delighted to learn that he was Michael's spy, only pretending to work with Whistler. I suspected that that was the case and it was great to see that turn out to be the case. I love the bond between Alex and Michael. They are the show's best characters. And, to be honest, I wish the writers kept alive the promise that he'd get back to his wife and child. I guess not. I've also suspected that Alex will die saving Michael/Linc and I guess we are one step closer to that now.
And then there was Sara. Alive and well and in Michael's arms. The way fans want it. All in all, I think the writers did a great job of dealing with last season's mess and I'm more than willing to accept everything they told us. I don't care, too much, about the logic on this one. I love the Michael/Sara couple and I want them to be together. That's all there is to it.
Finally, we have the final minutes of the episode. Wow. I love stuff like this. It's got a real Dirty Dozen/Garrison's Gorillas vibe to it, as Michael Rapaport assembles a team of convicts for a top secret mission. I can honestly say I love all of these characters: Michael, Alex, Sara, Bellick, Linc and Sucre. With T-Bag still out of the mix, the show is on the verge of putting a dream team together. I can't wait.
Prison Break. Season 4, Episode 2. "Breaking and Entering" The show's transformation into "Team: Prison Break" is complete and this episode shows their first mission for Donald Self. Every character has a reason to be on the show: Alex is Michael's equal, Sara is his lover, Linc is his brother, Sucre is his friend, Bellick is there to do the grunt work and Roland Glenn is the tech guy. All in all, it's pretty well planned out. And they work great as a team. Not just in terms of being successful with their first mission, but also in terms of it being good fun to watch them in action. Best bit? Alex makes fun of Bellick's inability to run fast. "I actually had to slow down..."
Michael Rapaport and Cress Williams are great additions to the cast. Raparport wears integrity like the rest of us wear aftershave and Williams is a perfect assassin: cold and efficient. And, after only two episodes, I hate him. I hope the writers give him his comuppance at the hands of Alex Mahone.
The second episode delivers a perfect self-contained story, which - in the end - tells us what is coming next for the team. There are only two loose ends at this stage: T-Bag and Gretchen. Gretchen being alive is no surprise, so it's going to be fun to see the team go after her, rescue her and we'll have her working side by side with Sara. T-Bag, meanwhile, will probably make contact in the next episode and - hopefully - blackmail his way onto the team. I sincerely hope so. Now, if only people were watching...
Johnny Staccato. Episode 1. "The Naked Truth" Johnny Staccato is one of my favourite TV shows. I can think of very few things cooler than John Cassavetes as Johnny Staccato. His performance, the music score and the visual look of the show make it something very, very special.
This opening episode introduces us to failed musician Staccato who now works as a private eye and gets to hang out at Waldo's Jazz Club when he's not taking sleazy cases for clients down on their luck. Before long a client (suffering from blackmail) appears and Staccato is on the case. Cue: lots of location filming in New York late at night and amazing music on the soundtrack. The people in the story are sleazy and there's a bad taste about how cheap everything and everyone is. The climax is surprisingly brutal, but Staccato kills the bad guys and - in voice over - muses on the personal cost of killing before walking off into the dawn.
It doesn't get any better than this.
"A+" all the way.
Highlight? Prison Break (Michael and Sara together again. Awww.)
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Tue, Sep 2, 08 - Prison Break, Johnny Staccato
