05.30 Pushing Daisies
06.30 Kyle ZY
07.30 Supernatural
03.30 Good Morning Miami
Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 7. "Robbing Hood" Another delightful visit to the fairy tale world of Pushing Daisies. For the second week in a row, there is a balance between the case-of-the-week and the backstory of all the characters. And the result is fantastic.
Why, oh why, did they have to waste time sending Olive away to that convent? They should have come back swinging (with Stephen Root and this storyline) and maybe they would not have been cancelled. Seriously. These last two episodes have been two of the very best. Ever.
That intro alone (Ned and his friends two pets) was one of the very best. I was laughing out loud within a minute of sitting down to watch. That can't be bad. And the show delivered another great laugh later on (when we heard the bear come back to life).
But humour was not the big hook this week. Neither was the case-of-the-week. No, this was was all about the regular characters and their stories. I'm so hooked.
Kyle XY. Season 2, Episode 15. "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" A total winner. Recent episodes may have changed the status quo of the series, and brought some ongoing storylines to an ending, but this is a much better episode. In fact, this is one of the very best episodes the show has thus far delivered.
The a-plot is a tale you can't tell on any other show: Jessi is using her super-powers to gain attention, and it is putting Kyle's secret in jeopardy. And it's not just a great story, the writers manage to infuse it with depth and meaning. Jessi and Kyle have this great conversation about human nature and the lure of celebrity. It's wonderful. Well written. And superbly performed (especially by Matt Dallas. Someone give that man an Emmy!).
Now that the whole family knows about Kyle we get lots of cool scenes of them trying to figure out ways to protect him and keep his secret. I love that stuff. It's an example of the show avoiding false conflict and writing the characters really well. They do this, too, with Amanda and her relationship with Kyle. There have been several moments where it could have gone wrong and the could have written Amanda as having a fight with Kyle over something that had happened, that she didn't understand. Instead, they write Amanda really well. And now they are doing it with the family. Where each one is shown to be on Kyle's side and willing/wanting to protect him at all costs.
Hillary and Andy (two character that normally irritate me and lead to embarrassing scenes) are good in this episode, too. For once, Hillary's excesses are toned down somewhat and she seems like she could (almost) be a real person. Josh opting to become a doctor, so he could cure Andy's cancer, was well handled.
It's a great show. But it's about time the writers/producers figured out how to use the character of Tom Foss. Nicholas Lea is underused. The character vanishes when the story has no need of him. It would be more interesting to keep him around. He's so at-odds with the world that Kyle lives in, it would be a weekly joy to watch him try to adjust.
Supernatural. Season 3, Episode 2. "The Kids Are Alright" Wow. Where do I begin? What do I write about first? I loved everything in this episode.
The guest stars. Cindy Sampson is the most beautiful guest star the show has ever had (together with Taylor Cole). I was smitten with her when she appeared in Reaper last season (and I hope she returns). Kathleen Munroe carries most of the episode alone and she is terrific. Her best scene is the one where she drowns her child. Haunting stuff.
The story. This was almost like an episode of "The Twilight Zone" or "The Hitchhiker". Most of it was devoted to Katie and her mum alone in their house. And the brothers, when they did appear, were split up. So, in all respects, it didn't feel like an episode of Supernatural. And, again, let me say: that stuff with the mother driving her child into the water... haunting stuff.
Mini-Dean. How great was all that stuff? The kid was terrific and the idea that Dean would have a son that was exactly like him is totally inspired. I wish the child had turned out to be his. It would be great for the character to have to learn to adapt to being a father. The child could appear every few episodes and it would give Dean insight into his father's point of view and - even better - it would give the series a nice end-point for the future. Dean would have some place to go, somewhere to call home if he ever stopped hunting. I found myself wishing at the very end of the episode that Lisa was lying to Dean to protect all of them. I kept watching closely to see if their was any hint of this, but I saw none. Darn. I want to see her and the kid again. Particularly her.
It was scary. Right from the opening death (the guy with the motorised saw) this was a scary episode. Creepy kids are... creepy. And these creepy kids were extremely well cast. Margot Berner was superb. If she popped up beside me, and spoke in that monotone, I'd scream too.
The blonde chick is a demon! Wow. I never saw that coming. And it really opens up the show's backstory and storylines once again. Clever, clever stuff. Just when I thought they had moved on from Sam's background they drag me back in. I love it. Katie Cassidy doesn't strike me as very tough, though. More like a girl who is pretending to be tough. Not sure that that is what the producers were going for with the character.
Cindy Sampson, the story, mini-Dean, the scare-factor and the shocks and twists. I loved everything in this episode.
Good Morning Miami. Episode 10. "If It's Not One Thing, It's a Mother" One of the most imporant episodes of GMM. It is well written/performed, it's does a great job with all of the characters and it is funny.
Unlike early episodes, which wrote Jake as selfish and Gavin as nice, this one makes Jake seem like a very decent guy - who happens to be falling in love with a co-worker - and Gavin as an arrogant jerk who doesn't know when to shut up and doesn't really appreciate what he has in Dylan. Matt Letscher is playing against type, but he pulls it off.
Frank gets a great storyline. He gets his tie caught in the photocopier and won't cut it (to cut himself free) because it was given to him by his ex-wife. His dilemma is funny, and heartfelt. Lucia is nice to him, and tries to help. A bold advancement for a character that is usually used for one-note jokes.
Sister Brenda doesn't appear, and Penny is under-used. Which, I suppose, goes a ways towards explaining how two of the regular characters were cut after 13 episodes. The show didn't need them. Penny could easily have substituted for Lucia in this episode and it would have worked just as well. Better, actually.
But, even as it stands (Penny-lite and all) this is still a very good episode.
Highlight? Supernatural (mini-Dean)
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Sun, Nov 30, 08 - Pushing Daisies, Kyle XY, Supernatural, Good Morning Miami
