05.30 NCIS
06.30 House
07.30 Supernatural
08.30 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
11.30 Night Court
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 7. "Requiem" An amazing episode. I had tears in my eyes, from start to finish, as Gibbs meets (and bonds with) the best friend of the daughter he lost when she was a child. Gibbs has never recovered from her murder. He never speaks of it. But regular viewers know that if affects him because we are often treated to quick flashes of what Gibbs is thinking about at different times.
Full praise to Shane Brennan for creating this amazing new character (I hope we see her again). Maddie is someone for Gibbs to talk to, about his daughter. What a stroke of genius. And what great casting! Cameron Goodman is adorable. Her chemistry with Mark Harmon is amazing. They seem like a father/daughter team from the moment they appear on-screen together.
Harmon does some great work in this episode. Gibbs never opens up, even in these situations, so Harmon has to find other ways to show us what Gibbs is feeling.
Gibbs goes off-book at the end of the episode. And he nearly pays for it with his life. Interesting that this would happen at time when he runs away from his existing family (the NCIS Team) in an effort to save/create a new family (with Maddie).
The episode is filled with truly cool/wonderful moments. I love Gibbs at the best of times, but he is especially awesome when playing the protective father to Maddie.
The episode's use of photographs is exceptionally clever. An old photo of Kelly and Maddie is used a few times in the episode, as is a brand new snap of Gibbs and Maddie standing side-by-side. In the closing seconds of the episode, one photo is thrown on top of the other, so that it creates the optical illusion of Gibbs standing between the two girls: the daughter he lost and the new 'daughter' he has just found.
A beautiful idea/image/moment.
Had I not already had tears in my eyes, at that stage, I would surely have started wailing when I saw that.
House. Season 5, Episode 10. "Let Them Eat Cake" For the second week in a row, Olivia Wilde totally steals the episode out from her cast mates as Thirteen confronts some bitter memories from her childhood. Last week, Wilde was the best thing in the episode because pretty everything else was rubbish. That is not the case this time out. She's still the best thing about "Let Them Eat Cake" but - across the board - this is a great episode.
When, in Episode 9, House went up a crazed gunman and behaved completely in character, I was a tad bored. In this story, House is face to face with a beautiful woman offering him the chance of a proper adult relationship. He behaves totally in character (ie. he's a jerk) and it's completely riveting. Watching him screw up something this great before it gets started is completely absorbing.
Kutner and Taub have a hilarious subplot with a great twist at the end, while Taub gets some great scenes with the case-of-the-week patient. The show is great at this: bringing in patients, whose lives/decisions reflect/mirror the lives of one of the doctors. And it's one of the reasons I love this show.
But this episode belongs to Thirteen, as she remembers her mother's final days.
Supernatural. Season 3, Episode 7. "Fresh Blood" Stronger than recent episodes. Gordon Walker is out of prison and out to get Sam... dead. A vampire called Dixon enters the picture and - before long - Gordon has become a creature of the night. He's not lost his sense of self, however, and he determines to end his own life... after he kills Sam. So the stage is set for a show-down between the Winchesters and a super-powered Gordon Walker.
It's a bloody episode. Lots of graphic deaths in this one. Heads being ripped off, and such. There's some nice character work on the brothers (the Dean-decides-not-to-leave-the-motel scene and the fixing-the-car scene at the very end) but the climax is a cheat. Walker has them totally beaten. In particular there is nothing to stop him from killing Sam. Then he goes and blows it all by sending the two of the flying through a wall and out into the open where Sam can get the upper hand.
Sloppy writing, with regard to the climax, but this is a better episode than many recent ones.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 3, Episode 11. Another genius idea as we discover that "Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender"! Where do they come up with this stuff? Once again, it's a very funny episode with great storylines for all the regulars. Picking a favourite character is very hard, but I really loved Mac in this one. Boundless, blind, enthusiasm as he tries to bond with his ex-con father. All to no avail.
Night Court. Episode 6. "Death Threat" Another omnipotent being visits the courtroom in this one. First it was Santa, this time it is God himself who pops in and dishes out sage advise to Harry during a crisis. He is receiving death threats. The ending is a bit twee, but this is a good episode. It's quite serious as Harry examines his conscience and very funny as a clumsy bomb disposal expert keeps bumping into things.
Hightlight? NCIS (the pictures at the end)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
Yet Another TV Review Book
Yet Another Film Review Blog
A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Thu, Dec 18, 08 - NCIS, House, Supernatural, Always Sunny, Night Court
