05.30 Valentine
06.30 The Middleman
07.30 Pushing Daisies
08.30 Supernatural
03.00 The Office
03.30 Corner Gas
Valentine. Episode 2. "Daddy's Home" Better than the pilot. The case-of-the-week is still corny, but most of the episode is devoted to the regulars and their backstory. And a good one it is. The blood-drenched cliff-hanger (flash-forward) really shocked me, and I'll be back for more episodes.
The Middleman. Episode 12. "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome" The show puts it's own spin on the idea of Parallel Worlds in this superb final episode. We get to see 'evil' versions of the regulars and Mark Sheppard returns for a second episode (sadly he is underused). The friendship between Wendy and Lacey gets a lot of screentime this time out and gives the show a solid core. Apparently this show has been garnering critical praise for the writing of it's female characters. No wonder. They are superb and their friendship is as real as anything I have ever seen on TV. Kudos writers/performers!
Our final shot of Wendy finds her (once again) on the phone to her mother. Happy. And it's a lovely way to leave things if we never see her again. (Gosh, I hope we do!)
Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 3. "Bad Habits" Bees, clowns and now nuns! All getting the Pushing Daisies treatment. Olive gets lots of screentime (to make up for leaving her out of the first two episodes, I guess) and the ending (where Ned tells Chuck who her mother is) is unexpected and wonderful.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 14. "Born Under a Bad Sign" Back on form, the show delivers one of it's best-ever episodes. It's a two-hander (hardly anyone else appears in the story) and it's an acting tour-de-force for both men. Jared Padalecki gets to play real Sam (briefly), fake Sam and bad-ass demon. He looks like he is having a ton of fun in all three parts. Jensen Ackles gets to play out some of Dean Winchester's toughest-ever moments (and that is saying something).
The story is simply superb. The mystery is completely engrossing and the ending - when it comes - is perfectly obvious and makes perfect sense. Yet, I truly never saw it coming, such is the skill of the writing and acting. It's the tale of what happens when Dean finds Sam one week after he went missing. Learning that his brother has no memory of that week, Dean takes him on a quest to find the truth and learns that Sam has killed someone. Is this the turning point heralding everything that Dean was warned about by his father? Is Sam about to go all Dark Sam on us?
Much as I love Sam, I'm starting to realise what an epic heroic figure Dean truly is. He's starting to edge his way (in my affections) up alongside people like Carl Kolchak, Fox Mulder, Jack Bauer and Alex Mahone. Watching him deal with the dilemma in this episode was painful. Watching him come to the realisation that he might - one day - have to kill Sam and just as quickly realise that he can never do that. Even when truly provoked: watching Sam torture a loved one.
Sam's fate is a cruel one. But at least it is clear. As a hero, his journey is clear. Escape the curse, fight fate and overcome the demon/prophecy.
Dean, however, has been cursed with choice. He has two routes to heroism. Kill his brother or fight alongside him to overcome the oncoming doom. It is this choice (and the fact that his character will allow him no choice) that makes Dean the truly epic hero of the two.
Dean's becoming my favourite anyway. I often think of a comedy moment from an earlier episode and how much it really says about the man. When Sam mentions myspace and Dean has no clue what it is ("it is a porn site?" he grins) we laugh. But, upon reflection, we can see that this is a solid character moment. Dean is outside the terms of pop culture. He is not one of us. He protects us. And, like Carl Kolchak before him, he is alone because of that. Even with his brother beside him, (thanks to this season's story arc) he remains very much alone.
The Office. Season 5, Episode 3. "Baby Shower" Some of television's greatest-ever moments occurred towards the end of this week's episode of The Office. I honestly think that many decades from now people will still remember how they felt when Michael hugged Holly, and when Jim and Pam left messages for each other.
It was, in all other respects, a typical episode of The Office. An "event" disrupted the work day. Most Office episode revolve around some disruption to the routine (there's always a party of some sort, a milestone of some sort). We don't just get to see normal days at work (like hundreds of other workplace sit-coms) and when we follow the gang away from work it's always for a unique event of some kind (not just a night on the town, or another of Mary Richard's disastrous dinner party's). And this is just as unique as all the others: Jan brings the baby into the office for the first time. Michael's baby. Sorta. Well not really. Not at all, actually (as Darryl points out in one great scene). But Michael feels connected to this baby. Or, to be clear, feels that he ought to feel connected to it. So he contrives to make that connection happen.
He also contrives to hide his attraction to Holly from Jan. He fails to do this (as we learn at the very end) and he fails to hide it from Holly also (in a delightful scene at the very start, when he announces that he will be mean to her for the duration of Jan's visit and her adorable face positively lights up with understanding).
But the ending is where it all comes together. Michael endures more pain and humiliation than any one man should ever have to and - in the closing minutes of the episode- he seeks Holly out for a hug and (as emotion overcomes them both) he asks her out. Wonderful.
Then there is Jim and Pam. What a great storyline. We love them. We love them as a couple and we love them loving one another. But, as veteran TV watchers, we are conditioned to expect it all to go wrong somehow (for the sake of some stupid story arc). So the writers tease us. For the second time in this season, the tease us in the exact same way and then - as we start to feel panic - they remind us that (not matter what is happening in their lives) this is Jim and Pam and they have found one another and they are not letting go.
In the premier, we watched (in horror) as they seemed to be living separate lives and then (in a wonderful surprise) the story unveiled a rain-swept proposal and all was well with the world again. Then, this week, the writers pull the exact same stunt. Again. And I fell for it. Again. With glee they push the buttons that will make fans panic: Jim and Pam are leading (what appear to be) very separate lives, in different cities. Then, in a stroke of storytelling genius, the episode ends with Jim and Pam leaving phone messages for one another. Messages in which words/stories/themes/concerns are mirrored perfectly.
Oh, and love. Love, too, is mirrored perfectly.
Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 1. "Cable Excess" Five seasons in and the show delivers one of it's tightest, best, and funniest scripts. Community television comes to Dog River and the regulars fight for the right to do their own show. Brent gets the job of selecting which show goes on air and the script is full of knowing references to the fact that Corner Gas is a highly acclaimed, critical darling. Eric Peterson shouts that Street Legal sucks, and the show finds another clever ending. Best bit? Crowds gathering every time Oscar started to rant. Funny. But - also - when you stop to think about it, a very clever comment on the appeal of the character with the audience at home.
Highlight? The Office (Wonderful)
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Sun, Oct 19, 08 - Valentine, Middleman, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, Office, Corner Gas
