05.30 Threshold
06.30 The Middleman
07.30 Pushing Daisies
08.30 Supernatural
Threshold. Episode 12. "Vigilante" Threshold was the CBS take on "what if CSI was about aliens invading?" and no episode better illustrates this than the one where Ramsey witnesses the killing of a girl (that he has just slept with) and the team investigate. All of the opening scenes are very much like the ones found on other CBS crime procedurals and maybe if the show had opened with a few episodes like this it would have hooked more viewers. Maybe.
Across the board this is a fantastic episode. Peter Dinklage holds the episode together with a performance of many layers. He makes you laugh, he makes you cry: Ramsey is one of TV's coolest heroes. Likewise: Fenway, whose continued fighting with Molly is my fave part of the show. They hate each other's methods, yet they must work together. Fantastic dynamic. It helps that Brent Spiner is one of the coolest people on planet earth!
Speaking of cool people... Jeffrey Donovan rocks the show with a great guest shot that - I presume - would have led to further appearances if the show had not been cancelled too soon. Donovan plays an alien infectee who has the ability to see the aliens. More than that: he is tracking them down and killing them... one by one.
Several great actions sequences in this one, with Manning finally biting the dust (yay!) after weeks of causing problems for the heroes. Best action bit: The vigilante goes after Lucas while he is visiting his wife at the hospital where she works. A thrilling chase/battle.
The Middleman. Episode 10. "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation" Where else am I going to see a story about Vampire Puppets? Yes, this show operates in the same general area as Pushing Daisies and Reaper but with considerably more panaché. I love these characters, I love the fast pace of the stories, I love the millions of pop culture references, I love the cast, I love the ongoing romances, I love everything about this.
Best bit? The vampire puppet turned into a bat puppet and flew off (with the poor guy still attached!). I was amazed by that. And by the revelation, at the end, that MM's heart belongs to some other woman. Who? A dead wife, maybe?
Also, what are the three Canadian vampire detective series? Forever Knight, Blood Ties and...? Wendy's a bigger TV geek than me! I love her even more now!
Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 1. "Bzzzzzzz!" Strong case-of-the-week? Check! Endearing character moments? Check! Unique visual style? Hmm, looks like critical-darling Pushing Daisies has weathered the long break very well and returns to the airwaves without missing a beat. Yes! To be honest, I wasn't worried. Once they got from the pilot to the regular series and sustained the vision, I was confident. So, what to say about this episode? It was cool and very funny. And Kristin Chenoweth stole the show. With Chi McBride coming a close second.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 12. "Nightshifter" Superb! Sam and Dean trapped in a bank siege with a crazed gunman, hostages and a shape-shifting supernatural evil. The gunman is after the same supernatural evil that they are, but methods cause a lot of problems for the boys, putting them very much on the FBI's radar (an excellent Charles Malik Whitfield).
From the get-go this is a flawless outing. Great character work as Sam now acts like the tough one when it comes to dealing with the general public. His tough-love methods make sense (and prove tragically prophetic). The action inside the bank is thrilling from start to finish. I defy anyone to predict what will happen next, at any time. When the sniper fired the kill shot I was breathless with shock. And the mechanics of those final minutes (the boys and the two identical girls) were as clever as anything I have ever seen.
Highlight? Supernatural (twists), with The Middleman coming a close second (Vampire Puppets? Frak me!)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
Yet Another TV Review Book
Sun, Oct 5, 08 - Threshold, The Middleman, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural
