09.30 NCIS
11.30 The Sarah Connor Chronicles
12.30 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
01.00 Samantha Who?
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 1. "Bury Your Dead" A great season premier. Full praise to NCIS for a season-long deception, during Season 4, that I never suspected was coming. That's one of the best twists I have ever seen on TV and I loved this. This was a great episode, too. We got to see the team reacting to the 'death' of Tony, we got to see the resolution of the storyline devoted to Le Grenouille and we got to see Tony and Jeanne breaking up. Pity it was in that crazy visual style they use for flashbacks, but never mind.
Jenny's reasons for wanting to track Le Genouille are - finally - explained and... they make sense. I don't really care that much about Jenny (or her quest) but - at least - it make sense. The scene between her, Gibbs and the arms dealer was very, very good. So was the big revelation scene with Tony telling his story, while (at one point) Gibbs looked on with pride. The ending was good, too. Nice final shot. Very shocking.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Season 2, Episode 6. "The Tower is Tall But the Fall is Short" Another stunning episode. Flawless. Every scene in this has a double layer. It's an incredible script. No matter what is happening on screen, no matter how much it means for it's own sake, there is extra meaning because of what we know about the characters. We know that Catherine Weaver is not what she appears to be, we know that Derek has a reason to enjoy sitting in the park soaking up life around him, we know (before the script even tells us) that the AI project over at ZeiraCorp is acting like a child, we know lots of stuff.
We don't know, of course, what happened inside that room when Sarah and John were held hostage...
I had hoped, during that episode, that it would turn out to John who rescued his mother and saved the day. I thought (before anything happened and before Cameron showed up to kill John) that it would be a bad-ass cool way to tell the audience about his 'growing up' and all. But the narrative jumped across the incident and left us in the dark. And did it in a low-key way, also. So much so that I wasn't suspicious, merely annoyed that we didn't get to see what happened.
Now, of course, it comes back to haunt everyone. The script for this episode makes us think (again skillfully) that John saw Sarah kill their captor. Not so. In fact, we learn in the final shocking moments that John really did save the day back in the first episode but there are pains to go with the transition from kid to warrior.
Suddenly a lot of little comments from other episodes make more sense: Derek saying to John that he could tell that Sarah had never killed, etc. Clever.
This show's scripts are all about knowledge. The viewer often has knowledge that the character on-screen does not and it adds to our enjoyment. We get to see scenes and appreciate the added layer that our perspective gives us. But there is more to it. Sometimes the writer's withhold knowledge and unveil it after the fact. They are very good at knowing when to do this. Part of me was surprised that they told us from the get-go what Catherine's secret was but now, having seen where they have taken it (with her being a parent, for instance), I can see that it was absolutely the right choice. I trust them. And admit they were wise to tell us.
But they are keeping other secrets: Does Ellison suspect? What is Jesse's mission? Did Cameron destroy the other Terminator's chip? Was it android 'suicide'? Like Derek's suicide attempt? And - maybe even - John's?
I'm pretty sure I know the answers to some of these. But who knows? This is a clever and profound show. The scripts are clever and deep and worthy of much re-watching. And the second season is much better than the (fantastic) first. Isn't it about time they renamed this The John Connor Chronicles?
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 3, Episode 4. "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" Always Sunny does Die Hard, with Danny DeVito crawling around in the air vents with a gun. Sounds crazy, yeah? But if you've seen it then you know that that's what this episode actually is. And it's hilarious. The gang turn on one another: everyone plots the death of at least one of the others at some point. It's delicious. Best bits? Dennis in seduction mode; Charlie and Frank have their show-down; Dee gets licked by Liam McPoyle; and the entire slow-motion sequence at the end. Genius comedy.
Samantha Who? Season 2, Episode 1. "So I Think I Can Dance" Amusing and sweet. Christina Applegate can always raise a smile with her antics, but there's little else to get very excited about. It's a nice story. Sam discovers she can dance, makes a challenge to someone and - then - discovers that dancing was one of the 'things' the forgot in her bout with amnesia. Cue: some pretty good slapstick. And guess what? At the end, we discover she really only wanted to spend more time with her mother. Aww...
Highlight? The Sarah Connor Chronicles (The John Connor Chronicles)
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Thurs, Oct 23, 08 - NCIS, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Always Sunny, Samantha Who?
