08.30 NCIS
09.30 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
10.00 Supernatural
11.00 The Twilight Zone
11.30 The Hitchhiker
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 3. "Ex-File" One of the best episodes. The case-of-the-week is so-so, and the twist is the exact same as one the pulled in Season Three, but this one introduces us to Gibbs' ex-wife and shows that his relationship with Hollis Mann is alive and well (I like this character and enjoy her relationship with Gibbs).
Kathleen York (looking amazing, as ever) is perfectly cast as the ex-wife and she gets several great scenes (particularly the last one, where she and Gibbs are nice to one another). A lot of the stuff that we knew anyway is pieced together in this episode and Hollis Mann learns a lot of Gibbs past for the first time. Their scenes together are great. Particularly the final moments of the episode where she finds the tape cassette with Gibbs daughter playing the piano.
The case-of-the-week is pedestrian and the twist (the the person working with Abby in the lab is the bad guy) is a repeat of a much better twist used back in Season Three.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 3, Episode 6. "The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation" Not only is this very funny, not only is Kaitlin Olson hilarious in scene after scene but this is a very, very clever script/episode. In order to sell the unlikely twist at the end (that the girl that Charlie is dating is actually 12 years old) the show casts a woman to play her father and makes great stock in her/his odd appearance. They even blatantly question the girl's age in her opening scene. Yet, they are able to pull of a hilarious twist at the end. When a twist is brilliant, it works and shocks you, even when the clues where there. How clever of them.
Kaitlin Olson is hilarious in this episode. When her character gets drunk and passes herself off as a health inspector it is pretty much the highlight of the episode. And that is saying a heck of a lot.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 19. "Folsom Prison Blues" Solid case-of-the-week with a great gimmick/change-of-pace (the boys are in prison). When they were arrested I was fooled for a minute or two, but I quickly remembered the opening lines of dialogue and realised (just before the script told me) that this was all part of the plan. Wonderful. I don't like heroes who stumble into cases, it's much cooler that the guys are masters of their own destiny and plan everything.
Garwin Sanford, Jeff Kober and Charles Malik Whitfield are three of my favourite performers and each one gets great material in this episode. Sanford usually plays assholes. Not this time. He's a great good guy in this one. And gets to be the source of the episode's other twist. This one I did not see coming, but I had my suspicions.
Had I been the writer of this story, I would have kept the boys from making direct contact with Kober's character for much longer and made the audience think for longer that he was their inside man.
The Twilight Zone. Season 3, Episode 3. "The Crossing" Another pretty good story from the dark corners of the Twilight Zone. It's a story about - shock, horror - good decent priests who work hard for the good of their community. Something you almost never see on TV. Ted Shackelford is perfectly cast as the hard-working hero with a weight on his shoulder. He let a friend/lover die in a car crash many years before becoming a priest. He was thrown free in the crash and the flames kept him back. He's always felt guilty. And this is the story of what happens when she comes back... still driving the same car.
Not as strong as the two stories which opened the season, this is still a memorable and enjoyable tale.
The Hitchhiker. Season 3, Episode 4. "W.G.O.D." Gary Busey is superb in this top-notch tale from the wandering mystery man. He's a radio preacher, who seems genuine in his attempts to reach/help people but his home life is a nightmare: his mother idolises his brother, who went missing years earlier...
Our hero recently invested in a powerful new transmitter for his successful radio station and it seems as if it is allowing a voice to speak from beyond the grave. The voice of the missing brother, who wants to name his murderer...
Things get a bit OTT at the very end, with lots of running around in thunderstorms and blood pouring from the walls/equipment but none of this can distract from Busey's superb performance and the fact that this is a great episode. Watching this I remembered why I loved The Hitchhiker all those years ago.
Highlight? The Hitchhiker (Gary Busey)
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Thu, Nov 13, 08 - NCIS, Always Sunny, Supernatural, Twilight Zone, Hitchhiker
