07.00 Arrested Development
08.00 In Plain Sight
09.00 Burn Notice
10.00 Party Down
Arrested Development. Episode 3. "Bringing Up Buster" Buster comes to work with Michael. George Michael tries out for the school play.
Tony Hale takes center stage for the first time and Buster starts to emerge as a very funny character.
The show, meanwhile, finds two innovative ways to make comedy.
The first involves the bleeping out of swear words. Other shows have done this, but AD takes it to the next level, in terms of context and duration. Some of Buster's rants (concerning his mother, or a bicycle race, for example) are bleeped out for for several seconds before the camera pans to Jason Bateman for his (wonderful) reaction shots.
While this is happening, more than once, the show introduces another trick to it's repetoire. At the end of a scene the camera will suddenly pull back and reveal the presence of other people in the room. This delightful little trick (which pops up more than once) changes the context of everything that went before and is very, very funny.
As well as being supremely funny, this is a rather sweet episode. The core of it revolves around Michael's relationship with his son, and the ending contains dialogue that is genuinely sweet and moving. And a little cornball.
In Plain Sight. Season 2, Episode 8. "A Frond in Need" Mary's friend is stabbed. Did her new witness do it? Meanwhile, a sister none of them knew existed shows up.
The A-story is good. It's a whodunnit and - right up until the final moments - it is impossible to predict who the cultprit is. You don't need multiple suspects to tell a good whodunnit. This episode of In Plain Sight only has one suspect, really, and it manages to entertain by making us think (a) he did it, and (b) he did not do it. So, by the end, we really have no idea whether he did or didn't.
It's an unusual story for the show because, unlike every other tale else this season, it could be told on any cop show. The WitSec angle helps set up the story but it's really - at heart - a generic tale of a stabbing of a cop's friend and the cop's attempts to find out who did it.
As good as the A-story was, the B-story is much, much better. Laura Prepon guests as Mary's half-sister! She shows up, meets Jinx and Brandi, and drops the bombshell that James (who ran off on them when Mary was still a child) married again and had a new family. One of them is her.
I adore Prepon and this is a great role for her. Her two scenes with Mary McCormack are electric. The two actresses have a fantastic chemistry. And they look like sisters. When the characters meet, Mary isn't told that this is her sister but - thanks to a fantastic script by Brynn Malone - they instantly notice each other's similar traits. It's rivetting and heartbreaking in equal measure. The final scene, in particular, had me glued to the screen hoping Mary would figure it out, or Lauren would tell her.
This could be the start of the best story arc on In Plain Sight.
Burn Notice. Season 3, Episode 3. "End Run" Brennen (Jay Karnes) returns, holds Michael's brother hostage and forces Michael to do some dirty work for him.
Jay Karnes returns and cements his status as the show's best-ever bad guy. Hands down, this is the cleverest villain Michael has ever crossed swords with.
And this might well be the cleverest, most enjoyable episode of Burn Notice to date. There's no case-of-the-week, Michael is being forced to work for Brennan and he has to use his wits to come up with something, against the clock, that will save him and his brother.
This is one of the things that makes Michael stand out from the crowd: he is smart, and he wins by being smarter than the bad guy.
Party Down. Episode 8. "Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh" The wonderful Steven Weber guests as an Eastern European Mobster who has just gotten out of prison.
Steven Weber is very funny and this episode turns the concept of the show upside down. This is a show about a bunch of unsuccessful actors/performers who make a living as caterers. In this story, every one of them is recognised and revered for their past roles. So much so that they can get no work done and end up basking in the glory of being surrounded by fans.
Clever stuff.
The b-plot (the gang think they know a murder is about to be committed, from clues they read in a script) is much more standard sit-com fare, but they still make it funny.
Highlights? Burn Notice (Jay Karnes) & In Plain Sight (Laura Prepon)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Fri, Jun 19, 09 - Arrested Development, In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, Party Down
