06:30 The Middleman
07:30 Threshold
08:30 Supernatural
12:30 Back To You
01:00 Greg The Bunny
01:30 Good Morning Miami
The Middleman. Episode 8. "The Ectoplasmic Panhellenic Investigation" More goofy fun and sweet romance. The plot revolves around bookish girls taking over the bodies of popular girls at a college and affords series-star Matt Keeslar the chance to play the part of a teenage girl in control of his body. Very funny. But most of this episode is about Wendy's feelings for the guy who is dating her room-mate. He's a guest star from a previous episode and the show is very clever in the way this story unfolds. Very clever indeed. Such a funny, clever show.
Clever? Funny? Hah, a natural to be cancelled too soon.
Sigh.
Threshold. Episode 10. "The Crossing" Lots of action and loud rock music open this episode as three of the aliens captured in earlier episodes attempt an escape from the Threshold HQ. They fail. But Molly decides they need to be moved to another facility. And fast.
During the transfer there's an attempt to break them out (cue: lots more shooting and stuff) but most of this episode dominated by some strong character drama. An infected soldier uses his final hours as a human to document the change for the Threshold team, on the condition that they execute him as soon as he has gone fully alien. Cue: lots of debate between Molly, Fenway and Ramsey about whether this is the right thing to do. It's good stuff, and the episode pulls a nice twist at the very end when one of the team becomes infected, too.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 10. "Hunted" We finally hear what John said to Dean and... it's a bit of an anti-climax, to be honest. The episode plays fair, however, and we do learn what might be in store for Sam. But his father said very little about it to Dean and I feel a bit cheated that the show teased us for so long about it and delivered very little. When we do learn the 'big secret' it turns out to be from a minor recurring character. Strange storytelling choice.
Apart from that it's a bit of an non-entity episode. Sam goes solo, does some digging, meet a cute girl and gets in trouble. Dean appears mid-way through the episode, gets tied up and that's about it. There's nothing much to get excited about, or interested in. The revelation of Sam's future, though it comes from an unexpected source, is very good and promises of much goodness to come...
Back To You. Episode 17. "Hostage Watch" I've had a love-hate relationship with Back To You since it started, but I must admit that it's final episode was very funny. Chuck is called in when a man holding hostages at a bank specifically requests him as the person he wants to talk to. Everything that plays out inside the bank is funny, and the reaction from Kelly is great, too (she calls out "I love you" to Chuck and then regrets it). The script gives Chuck a nice epiphany wherein he realises he has to stop being reckless like this now that he has a daughter. And it works perfectly within the framework of this being a workplace sit-com.
I liked it a lot. And there is a part of me wishing that it was coming back for a second season.
Greg The Bunny. Episode 13. "Blah Bawls" Flawed it may have been but this show managed some great episodes. A few were dreadful, yes, but most were pretty okay. This is one of those. It's funny and makes great use of the characters. Blah takes centre-stage and it's wonderful. He's a rich and interesting character: Pining for his dead wife and being dragged to a singles club against his will. Lots of funny stuff in all of that, but also a bit of depth and meaning. Things go awry when he ends up sleeping with Warren's ex-wife. The ex-wife that Warren is still very much in love with.
This being a sit-com the amourous couple accidently switch phones which brings everyone to the same place at the same time and allows for lots of comedy mis-understandings. Warren (my favourite character on the show) is priceless in all his scenes and - as well as being funny - the script does a great job of making both regulars into even more interesting characters than they previously were.
Not the best episode but a funny, clever outing nonetheless. This show should have survived.
Good Morning Miami. Episode 9. "Hi, My Name Is Jake" Nothing special happens in this one (until the very, very end) but it's an enjoyable and funny episode. Jake is competing with Gavin in a series of sporting competitions. It gets out of hand and... he joins Gavin at an AA meeting and claims to be an alcoholic! Pretty awful but, hey, the guys on Seinfeld used to do this kind of stuff. Anyway, he feels remorse next morning and spends the rest of the episode trying to undo his stupid lie. Mark Feuerstein and Matt Letscher have great chemistry together and seem to be having a ball in all their squabbling scenes. They are having fun, and it's fun to watch.
At the very end, Dylan lets slip that she 'likes' Jake.
Highlight? The Middleman (body-swap comedy)
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Sun, Sep 21, 08 - Middleman, Threshold, Supernatural, Back To You, Greg The Bunny, Good Morning Miami
Sun, Sep 7, 08 - Middleman, Burning Zone, Supernatural, Back To You, That '70s Show, Good Morning Miami
06:30 The Middleman
07:30 The Burning Zone
08:30 Supernatural
12:00 Back To You
12:30 That '70s Show
01:00 Good Morning Miami
The Middleman. Episode 7. "The Cursed Tuba Contingency" What a surprise. Usually I watch this show for the jokes, witty dialogue, pop culture references and elaborate plots. I was totally side-swiped this week by the romance between The Middleman and Lacey. Side-swiped because I found myself totally into it. Right from the start of the episode, when they sat side-by-side in the empty cinema I was smitten with them as a couple. And that's not been the case. Up to now I've not really warmed to the character of Lacey and the crush she had on The Middleman was just a throw-away gag in every episode. Now suddenly it was the main thing in an episode and it really worked for me. Brit Morgan and Matt Keeslar had great chemistry and the storyline was really romantic. Their cinema visits were wonderful. Her staying to see the end of the movie for him, and telling him what happened later during their goodbye dance, were very sweet and romantic. Darn, but it really got to me. And, suddenly, I'm totally rooting for them as a couple. If they don't end up together in the last episode I will feel royally jipped.
The Burning Zone. Episode 2. "The Silent Tower" While there were a few things to like in the pilot, this first episode of the regular series is across-the-board awful in all respects. Michael Harris joins the cast and is the best thing about the episode. Daniel Cassian is an interesting hero, and a reason to watch every week. Edward Marcase was written like an arrogant jerk in the pilot and this time out they writers have him fall victim to the virus in the opening minutes of the story and send him wandering around a deserted tower block for the duration of the episode. Crazy. This is the frakkin' lead character. And he's completely sidelined in the second episode? That's bad television, no matter how you look at it. Writers with no idea of how to establish a hero.
Tone-wise the show is trying so hard to be The X-Files that it comes across as ridiculous. Nobody trusts anybody, and everybody is lying to everybody. For, as far as I can see, no good reason. The paranoia and distrust made sense on The X-Files, but it's just silly here. Government conspiracies built up around viruses? How can they expect us to take this seriously?
Cassian makes a pretty likable and interesting hero, it must be said. Even if most of his scenes are very badly written (the twist at the end of this episode, for instance, is beyond awful). In fact, all the scenes are badly written. And the story is nonsense. A tower block where everybody committed suicide? Because it was - it turns out - build on a secret lab belonging to a long-deceased evil scientist. Who - it is revealed at the very end - is now one of Cassian's bosses?
I'm sorry but that makes no sense. The X-Files was able to get great milage from the idea what Scully and Mulder were often sent in as sacrificial lambs by people who knew the whole story but didn't reveal it to our heroes. This show tries the same idea, but it's silly when applied to a story about something so huge. And also applied to a team that is, at this stage, incredibly inept. On The X-Files, at least, you knew why they were using Mulder: he was bloody brilliant at what he did, and they could - to a large degree - predict how he would react and deal with stuff.
Marcase and his team are, it must be said, inept idiots. Two team members have become infected in their first two cases.
It's just silly TV. Sigh.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 9. "Croatoan" Beyond superb. This was something special. Maybe I just have a weak spot for stories like this... who knows? For whatever reason, I loved every single second of this amazing episode. This is the sort of TV hour I would rewatch over and over if I had enough spare time. The boys arrive in a town and soon find themselves trapped with a few innocents while absolutely everyone else in town goes crazy. It's the Supernatural take on every zombie movie you have every loved and I have to marvel at the way the writers can incorporate stock ideas into the world of the show and make them work.
If you accept that Supernatural is X-Files for the 00s then you must accept that they have much more restricted pallette from which to craft their stories. I mean, the clue is in the title: all stories must involve the supernatural! So, from the get-go lots of stock sci-fi/fantasy ideas are off the table. Yet, the show finds inventive ways to bring stuff onto the show that you might never expect. In this tale, you get all the beats you'd expect to find in Zombie flicks, or tales of alien possession, or standard stories of apocalyptic plagues. But, no... it's all tied to the recurring demon/evil on the series. Now, that's clever TV.
As for the actual story itself: Wow. Intense stuff. Not just in terms of what happens to everyone in the story, but based on the character drama between the two brothers. Dean has never been cooler, or - in the same beat - more chilling and scary. Jared Padalecki does some of his best work on the show, as Sam faces his own death. He really nailed it. No over-the-top antics, he just conveyed the weight falling on Sam's shoulders as contemplated his fate and totally pulled us in to feel it too. I knew that Sam wasn't going to die (Hello!) but the point was making the audience feel his pain and marvel - yet again - at the amount of suffering this poor guy has to go through.
Supernatural's ace-in-the-hole is the ability is tell strong stand-alone stories and use each one to examine (and lay bare) the characters of the men at the centre of it all. Thirty episodes in and the show has delivered two of TV's best ever heroes. Very real people in the middle of un-real stories.
Back To You. Episode 16. "Chuck and Kelly, Doin' It Again" Oh dear. Another dismal post-revamp episode. Although it is set in the workplace, this is - once again - driven by Chuck and Kelly's daughter. And, guess what? The little tyke has managed to suck the funny out, once again.
There are laughs, yes. Fred Willard and (the great) Ty Burrell have a funny plot about swapping ties, but most of the episode has Chuck and Kelly dealing with an ad campaign with strong sexual undertones. On the same day they have decided to tell the world about their daughter. There's not a lot of milage in that idea. And the point of the episode seems to be to engineer problems so Chuck and Kelly can make a grand gesture at the very end and tell everybody live on air.
It's undoubtedly meant to be warm and fuzzy.
But it's false as frak! The sort of crap that only happens on TV. It might work on an emotional level if we - the audience - cared about this daughter. But we don't and I resent having yet another episode devoted to her.
I'd suck it up if there were laughs, but there's aren't. End of review.
That '70s Show. Season 6, Episode 6. "We're Not Gonna Take It" Average episode. Nothing special. Three plots: Eric and Kelso compete for a waiter job, Red tries to get Fez and Laurie divorced, Donna and Jackie try to help Bob with his post-break-up depression. Each plot generates a few laughs, but nothing special happens.
Good Morning Miami. Episode 8. "Penny Wise, Jake Foolish" While it does have flaws (the subplots are weak) this is the first superb episode of GMM. This is where they started to hit it out of the ballpark. And there are no gimmicks or nonsense to drive the story. Just good gags and great character work.
Penny, Dylan and Jake dominate the episode and this is the one where the writers (skillfully and with great subtlety) tell us that Penny has a crush on Jake in the same way that Jake has a crush on Dylan. Genius. It makes the show suddenly more interesting. Certainly for me, because Penny was always my favourite character (and I'm mad about Constance Zimmer).
I've seen this episode many, many times and I always admire the way the writers tell their story. It's Jake's birthday and he tells Claire that he wants a watch. We see Penny hearing this. Claire points out that a watch is a romantic gift. And that's the end of that. We get one more reminder during the episode (from guest star: the great Kenneth Mars) that watches are romantic gifts. Then, at the very end, we see that Penny has bought Jake a watch for his birthday. Which, in the closing seconds, she doesn't give him. Awww.
Broke my heart the first time I saw it. Still breaks my heart, to be honest.
Apart from that, all the Penny-Dylan-Jake stuff is great. Very funny. Penny delivers several really great one-liners and there's a great playfulness to all the scenes between the three of them. The writers pull a great double-bluff by making us think that Dylan has the wrong idea that Penny likes Jake. Clever writing all round, then.
Except in the sub-plots (Gavin addicted to gum, Frank stealing from a corpse). Never mind. I love this episode anyway.
Highlight? Good Morning Miami (Penny likes Jake, aw...)
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Sat, Aug 23, 08 - Back To You, Greg The Bunny, Flashpoint, Burn Notice, Keen Eddie, Wizards And Warriors
04.30 Back To You
05.00 Greg The Bunny
09.00 Flashpoint
10.00 Burn Notice
11.00 Keen Eddie
01.00 Wizards And Warriors
Back To You. Episode 16 (Episode 12, in production order.) "House of Tomorrow" An okay episode. Kelly's fascination/obsession with Chuck drives the story in this one. He is dating a younger woman (again) and Kelly is tauting him about it. Chuck sets out to prove that he is more mature than she is willing to admit and, in the process, buys a house that he has never seen (!!). It turns out to be a 'futuristic' house with loads of voice-activated devices, which go awry in the episode's frantic conclusion. It's not a very funny episode, since most of Kelly's rants are just unfunny rants, but the bit at the end (in the house) is funny even if it is too forced to be genuinely hilarious. Best bit? Chuck's date thinks she is watching him being spanked by Kelly (he has, in fact, set his pants on fire).
Greg The Bunny. Episode 10. "Surprise!" Middle-of-the-road episode. Not the funniest that the show has done, but it has several classic (and very funny) moments. Sasha Alexander guests as TV Guide reporter who is assigned to profile the entire cast and, since she has to interview all of them, she basically appears in every scene and carries the whole episode. Works for me! All of the regular cast (human and puppet) get a chance to shine in this one. Sarah Silverman has never been funnier on the show, but it is still Warren who gets all the best lines. He's my favourite character, with Tardy Turtle (also superb in this episode) now coming a close second.
What brings the episode down (IMHO) is the soft-and-fuzzy side of the story. When the story opens the gang are (inexplicably) bickering more than usual while Greg's voice-over makes observations about... family. Anyway, as the reporter goes from person to person we learn that most of them are unhappy with someone else in the cast. Then, in the birthday party at the end, when the reporter is about to unveil a scandal that might damage the show, they all pull together and stand up for one another. Cue a sickening voice-over from Greg about... family. Awful.
Never mind. This time out the comedy rises above schmaltz. Many, many scenes are laugh-out-loud funny. My favourite? Jimmy finds Sarah Silverman and Sasha Alexander (both looking supremely hot) in some girl-on-girl action and declares: "Considering that we only had three hours to plan, I would say this is a pretty damn good party!"
Flashpoint. Episode 4. "Asking For Flowers" Chandra West guests as the sister of a battered wife taking things into her own hands with the slimy husband: Kenneth Mitchell. Flashpoint beats Standoff by always finding a way to tell intimate stories and make them compelling. While this is the weakest of the first four, it is still a damn fine hour of TV with a couple of big twists to keep the audience guessing: for most of the episode the heroes have no idea who the real bad-guy is (which makes you wonder if they will shoot the wrong person) and - minutes from the end - the balance of power shifts dramatically. Good stuff.
Michael Cram gets a chance to shine in this one. His character is very cool and my favourite part of the whole story was the split-second shot at the end where he goes home to his wife and you can see how genuinely happy he is to be in her company. Not enough of that on TV.
Burn Notice. Season 2, Episode 4. "Comrades" Nothing special, but still very good. Michael's brother is back on the team in this one, and Sam (Bruce Campbell) pretty much takes the lead in both cases. Little touches like this keep the formula fresh. Good guest work, too, from Lost's Andrew Divoff.
Keen Eddie. Episode 6. "Sucker Punch" The case-of-the-week is crap. Eddie and the team are trying to find an underground fighting club and they keep chasing/meeting a fighter and trying to convince him into helping them. This happens over and over (and Eddie keeps getting knocked out, which is funny) until the guy eventually decides to help them and then pursue his dream of a life in the theatre. Usually the cases/stories on Keen Eddie are strong and have depth. This one isn't and doesn't.
But that's not important this time out...
Most of the episode is actually devoted to Eddie and Fiona. Fiona, you see, is moving to New York to be with her idiot boyfriend Nigel (Theo Fraser Steele) and Eddie and she will never have to see one another again. Each declares that this makes them happy, but we can see (thanks to great performances from Mark Valley and Sienna Miller) that it actually makes them sad. Honest-to-goodness... sad. And it's not just the typical TV romantic tension either. You can see that they are each bewildered by their feelings for one another. He doesn't just fancy her, he likes her. And vice versa. And it's really rather sweet. There's one long scene, in particular, which isn't trying to be funny. It's just about how they can't say what they are thinking, so they just keep looking at one another.
As wonderful as all the Eddie/Fiona stuff is, the highpoint of the episode is the Miss Moneypenny scene. Once again she gives a sexual answer to one of Eddie's innocent questions (he is the only one to hear it, of course) and I thought my TV was going to melt from the heat. Seriously. I watched this with two other men and we were all gob-smacked. Why would anyone ever need to watch porn? Just watch Rachael Buckley on Keen Eddie! Grrrrowl!
Wizards And Warriors. Episode 1. "The Unicorn of Death" This was not the first episode filmed, but it was the first episode shown. Although it is delightful from start to finish, it does a pretty bad job of introducing the world of the show and the various characters contained therein. Basically this was a show that needed a two-hour opener to do it justice. Watching this particular outing gives you a feeling of being dropped into the middle of the action. Flawed as this episode may be (when used to open the series) there are still many, many things to enjoy.
Julia Duffy steals the show as the spoiled princess. Virtually every line she utters makes you laugh out loud and she, basically, saves the day at the end. Only Duffy could take a shallow, self-involved character like this and make her heroic and adorable. And funny. "He's always so busy," she laments, with a pout, as the dashing hero rushes away from her to save everyone from certain death.
Duffy is supported by a strong cast. Duncan Regehr and Clive Revill, in particular, are a joy to watch. Both playing evil men and both having an absolute ball doing it. The entire cast, directed by Bill Bixby, give the impression that they are having fun. And there is a lot of fun in the script, too. Many moments of comedy, in fact, in lots of unexpected places. This is a rather hip show. Definitely the grandfather of shows like Hercules and Xena. There are no scenes without one-liners and most hit their mark.
The story is good, too. The bad guys have planted the equivalent of a nuclear device in the castle of the Good King and are calling for his surrender. From this starting point the story advances in logical fashion, with a few surprises along the way. The best twist is when the innocent courier realises what he has brought to the castle and decides to try and save the princess. Everything is funny, firmly rooted in character and very exciting.
Highlight? Wizards And Warriors (hip)
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Fri, Aug 15, 08 - Back To You, My Boys, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm
02:00 Back To You
02:30 My Boys
03:00 The Closer
09:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm
Back To You. Episode 15 (Episode 9, in production order). "Date Night" Wow. Possibly the best episode. Hilarious from start to finish. Unlike many episodes, the chemistry between Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton is sparkling, and the supporting cast/plot is simply superb. In the main story, Kelly is dating a younger man and Chuck is teasing her about it being a younger version of him. "You're obsessed with me," he declares. It's fun to watch him being all arrogant and even more fun to watch her go to extremes to prove him wrong. She gets revenge by trapping him in a date with someone he does not fancy. And, being a sitcom, they all end up on dates in the same restaurant. What makes it work (and very funny) is the way Kelly reveals that she is obsessed with Chuck, while he (in a lovely twist) really connects with his bookish date.
Meanwhile, back at work, there are some wonderful scenes with the rest of the gang. Marsh, Ryan and Gary in the make-up room is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen. It's the old guys-talking-like-women gag, this time played out in a make-up room at a TV station. And, boy, does it ever work. These three guys know exactly how to play it and I was in hysterical laughter from start to finish.
My Boys. Season 2, Episode 9. "John, Cougar, Newman Camp" Another solid outing (much funnier than last week) which builds to a predictable (and kinda sad) cliff-hanger. It's a been a great season (half-season?) and the various plot-threads have played out wonderfully over the episodes. The writers have skillfully brought all the regular characters on a journey this season and we leave all of them in a new place. That's good TV, that is.
I'm not unhappy with the cliff-hanger, god no, I'm just unhappy with what happened in that cliff-hanger and curious to see how things will advance from here.
The Closer. Season 4, Episode 5. "Dial M for Provenza" After two serious (and heartbreaking) episodes in a row, the show (wisely) delivers a funny one. Funny? It's frakkin' hilarious. Provenza (a great character played by the wonderful G.W. Bailey) takes center-stage and the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge guests as his nemesis. Coolidge only really does one thing but she does it really, really well and she is perfect for this role. There are many, many comedy highlights and the episode nicely distracts us from the turmoil in the private lives of several of the regulars. A turmoil which, I'm sure, we will return to in future episodes.
Curb Your Enthusiasm. "HBO Special" The good thing about CYE is that it's not really about a famous writer and the scrapes that he gets himself into, it (like Seinfeld before it) is about the minutiae of everyday life and - more importantly - someone obsessed with the minutiae of everyday life. This first episode (pilot?) is less about the big concert that Larry is about to give/perform is more about the way one behaves with regard to restaurant meetings, name pronunciations, wakes, friends who have affairs, etc. etc. It sucks you in, makes you believe that everything on screen could be true and the ending, which ties everything together, is very good.
Highlight? Back To You (so funny)
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Mon, Jul 14, 08 - Perfect Strangers My Boys NewsRadio Back To You Wings ’70s Show Roughnecks
07:00 Perfect Strangers
07:30 My Boys
10:00 NewsRadio
10:30 Back To You
11:00 Wings
11:30 That '70s Show
12:00 Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
Perfect Strangers. Episode 6. "Happy Birthday" Mindful of the fact that this series had a very long run and the lives of the characters changed a lot over the course of the series, there is an extra level of pleasure to be had in this season one finale, when Larry takes stock of his life and all the things he wants to accomplish. It's a sweet episode, with some wonderful sentiments expresed between the cousins at the very end. It's also a very funny episode. There are two birthday parties in the story. The first one is abandoned when Larry is in a bad mood, which means Balki has to hide not only the decorations, but also the guests. Hilarious. My favourite part? Balki throws the birthday cake out the window, as the window closes... keeping the cake in the room!
The second party is just a funny, Balki fills the appartment with random strangers he finds on the street at 3am! I love this show.
My Boys. Season 2, Episode 5. "Take My Work Wife... Please" I'm fascinated by what is happening to Brendan this season. They are really taking him down a sad, lonely road. I wonder where it will lead? Kenny is now my favourite character on the show. I love (a) the way he's turned into a babe magnet, and (b) Mike not being able to deal with it. Genius.
NewsRadio. Season 2, Episode 14. "The Song Remains the Same" Charged with clearing the desk of a guy who has just quit working there, Beth finds evidence to suggest that he had a secret crush on her and starts to have a fantasy relationship (based on the things she continues to find). It's crazy, yes, but it works. So much of the comedy in this show comes from Dave standing beside one of the crew trying to bring them back to reality. It seems as if most of his dialogue starts with a sigh followed by the words: "No, Beth..." "No, Matthew..." "No, Joe... or "No, Bill..."
Back To You. Episode 13. "The New Boss" Uncomfortable to watch. Some genius thought it would be funny to write about the firing of Montana after Ayda Field was fired from the show. Or maybe she left the show? I don't know. But the point is she is not in the last six episodes and this laugh-free zone is too self-conscious about the whole affair to be anything other than excruciating. Really, honestly, who thought it would be funny to watch Ryan (who has a crush on her) firing Montana? To watch him crying as he did it? Or watch her crying after it had been done? Genuinely tasteless TV. Nice one, FOX!
Wings. Episode 1. "Legacy" I've always thought of Wings as Perfect-Strangers-without-the-physical-comedy. And this episode (with it's strong contrast between the leads, and sentimental ending) does nothing to dispel that idea. And, of course, I love it.
That '70s Show. Season 6, Episode 2. "Join Together" Genuinely hilarious episodes. As always. The best scene is the one where Red attempts to thank Eric for staying around and helping out with family finances. As well as being very funny, it's a great character moment. Red is so in-character and such a great example of a very real type of father. It's wonderful to see it captured so well on TV.
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. Episode 2. "Plasma Bugs of Navarone" After a stellar start, the show stumbles slightly with this tale set in two locations: Carmen is trapped in a remote base under bug attack, while Johnny works outside to help in her rescue. The scenes inside are fantastic, but the stuff outside with Johnny and his team is less exciting/interesting and distracts from the tension inside. A few less scenes of Johnny would not have changed the (great) ending: he is able to clear a path for air support to mount a rescue, so he "saves" the woman he loves but she has no reason to know it was him.
Highlight? That '70s Show
Thur, Jun 19th, 2008 - Riptide, Samantha Who?, In Plain Sight, Back To You, Keen Eddie, Joey
06:00 Riptide
08:00 Samantha Who?
08:30 In Plain Sight
09:30 Back To You
10:30 Keen Eddie
12:00 Joey
Riptide. Episode 3. "Somebody's Killing the Great Geeks of America" Good performances from Joe Penny and guest star Cindy Pickett are the highlight of this episode. A woman hires the guys when a hit-man targets her for some reason. It turns out she went to high school with Nick, they were friends back then but she hates him now and he can't figure out why. Riptide is the perfect show for this sort of story. These private eyes get beaten up, their helicopter won't start, their car breaks down during chases and - while Boz does all the computer work - the other two do very little except buy donuts and hang around (a very funny scene). Giving lots of scope for biting comments from Pickett's character.
Samantha Who? Episode 15. "The Birthday" ends the first season with Sam's birthday party. No crazy plots this time out, just a nice character-driven tale about Todd's inability to be out of a relationship for any length. So, it turns out that Sam is not the only one that needs to change... That's a nice way to end the season: seeing how the 'new' Sam is having an impact on her circle of friends (echoed in the fact that her mum and best friend have a civilised chat for the first time, and the doorman drops by at her party).
In Plain Sight. Episode 3. "Never the Bride" As usual, this week's script is just clever enough to make it something special. Mary's case involves somebody she doesn't like. Somebody that she feels doesn't deserve the fresh start of the Witness Protection Programme. She gives them a wonderful speech at the start of the episode and (much to her surprise, and ours) she finds (by the end of the episode) that they have taken her advice to heart and are able - in fact - to give that same advice back to her. It's a nice episode. In lots of ways. And I'm starting to like the sister now. The scene where she helped Mary get dressed up was good. More sister-bonding, less fighting, would be nice.
Back To You. Episode 12. "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" It's a bit late in the day, but Back To You manages to deliver a good episode. I still think changing the focus of the show completely over to Chuck's reunion with his daughter was a mistake but this is a funny episode. It takes place on the night that Chuck and Kelly finally tell their daughter the truth. She takes it badly. And while they deal with this, we get to see flashbacks to the night they slept together (possibly as a means to get the rest of the cast into the episode?). There are plenty of gags and the ending is good, where is looks as if Chuck has run off (again) but he's actually managed to find a way to put things right. Good stuff.
Keen Eddie. Episode 2. "Horse Heir" As much as I love the pilot (and I loved it the first time I saw it) it is really only with Episode 2 that you are getting the full effect of the Keen Eddie TV series. There is nothing else on TV that looks or sounds like this show. Fast cuts, rewinds, zooms and everything else they can throw at you keep the visuals interesting. This episode has some Matrix-style fights! The soundtrack is wonderful, too, and perfectly chosen for the scenes. I watch Keen Eddie on my own DVR's because the DVD release removed all the original music. Crazy!
This episode is better than the pilot because there is no set-up and the formula is fully in place. There is a case to be solved (a stolen horse), there are lots of odd suspects (two warring pub landlords, for instance, who have to be seen to be believed) and there is a full-on war in progress between Eddie and his gorgeous flatmate (Sienna Miller). This is also the first episode where Eddie mishears Miss Moneypenny. (A running gag on the show involves Eddie hearing sexual comments from his bosses secretary that nobody else can hear.) Awesome.
Joey. Season 2, Episode 19. "Joey and the Critic" I would love to ask the Joey writers why they let the character of Jimmy dominate the show so much in Season Two. His constant shouting is enough to ruin many episodes for me. Not this one, thankfully. Jimmy is still central to the story (he becomes Joey's manager) but he tones down his more violent instincts and the result is an okay episode.
Highlight? Keen Eddie
Thurs, May 22nd, 2008 - NCIS, Rules Of Engagement, House, Back To You, Samantha Who, 30 Rock
05:00 NCIS
06:00 Rules Of Engagement
06:30 House
07:30 Back To You
08:00 Samantha Who?
08:30 30 Rock
NCIS. Season 4, Episode 16. "Dead Man Walking" Wonderful story. Ziva falls for a dying man. He shows up at the start of the episode, with radiation poisoning and asks the team to solve his murder (Dramatic, much?). For a while the episode teases us with the idea that Ziva knows him somehow, but once we discover how she knows him we realise we are watching a tragic little love story. What I love most was just how low-key everything was. Everybody underplayed everything. It was very sweet and very sad.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 12. "Optimal Male" The Russell storyline is a bit weak, but the other two plots are very funny: Jeff trying to lose weight for an insurance physical and Adam letting his ex crash at his place. "That kid is a special kind of stupid," says Jeff at one point. Very funny episode. As usual, Jeff is doing something stupid (fasting to lose weight) but - at the end - Audrey admits that for all his stupidity she kinda admires his singlemindedness. Aww. Sweet. One of my favourite couples on TV.
House. Season 4, Episode 16. "Wilson's Heart" I watched it again with one of my best friends. It's such a great episode. "Is House Having An Affair With Amber?" is one of the running questions in the episode. Interesting. It reveals that we don't really trust Amber and her love for Wilson. Fair enough. It also reveals that we don't trust House. Which might be unusual for some shows, but not this show. He can be a pretty bad person sometimes. The question reveals that Wilson doesn't trust House (or Amber). He certainly asks a lot of questions about why they were together. Other team members suspect House, too. Most interesting, the question reveals that House doesn't trust House. The scene with Amber in his office (which was a dream, and therefore a visual representation of House's own thoughs) shows us how he doesn't know himself why they were together and also documents (in her words) what he thought of her. What he really thought of her. Very interesting stuff.
Back To You. Episode 11. "Hug & Tell" Except for some very funny slapstick at the very end (Chuck faints, then Kelly faints) this is a laugh-free dreadful episode. The first third is a therapy session with Chuck and Kelly venting their mutual anger. Yikes! No giggles there. Next up is a lengthy sequence where Kelly reveals her romantic feelings for Chuck. Hmm. When this is then revealed to be a delaying tactic, I pretty much gave up on Kelly the character and Back To You the show. Seriously, this is god-awful rubbish.
Samantha Who? Episode 13. "The Gallery Show" The one where Sam brings a mugger to her ex-boyfiend's gallery show. Ha! If that doesn't make you smile nothing will. As usual, this show wears it's heart on it's sleeve: Sam has been telling everyone for 13 episodes that she has changed, and now she is face to face with someone who also claims to have changed. Will she believe him?
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 13. "Succession" Dr. Spaceman is a truly superb character. And the show (wisely) keeps his appearences to a minimum. Of those appearances none has even been as fantastic as his "rush to the rescue" in this particular outing. Liz has inadvertantly sent Don Geiss into a coma (well, accidents happen) and she and Jack send for Dr. Spaceman. Given his track record this may not be the wisest choice, but who ever thinks logically on this wonderful show. So he arrives: music blaring, cape blowing in the wind (wind?). Amazing.
Highlight? NCIS
Tue, May 6th, 2008 - Back To You, House
03:30 Back To You
04:00 House
Back To You. Episode 10. The Wall of Fame. Oh dear. Not just a Laugh-Free Zone, but a Re-Vamp zone time time. Two actresses are gone, and one of the parts is recast. Plus, the story (such as it is) indicates that the show is going to more focus more onto Chuck and his daughter. While it is admirable that the show is being revamped (Montana being a particularly pointless character) I get the impression that they are missing the point of the problem, ie. it's not very funny. Kelly's attempts to hide the picture in this episode are stupid, not funny and make the character look stupid, too. Ty Burrell (the show's funniest actor) is wasted in a pointless plotline, and nothing about the show's impending change of direction look good. Sigh.
House. Season 4, Episode 14. Living the Dream. This episode is driven by a story about a man that is... kidnapped by House. Hmm. While it's good that the show is playing with it's own formula and so forth, I do despair a bit at the full throttle advance into cartoon-like stories. I mean, since when are daytime soaps filmed within driving distance of House's workplace? And what's with all this making fun of daytime soaps? I loved Santa Barbara back in the day, and it seemed like a top notch soap/drama to me. All that aside, it was a (typically) good story, with one superb guest star (Jason Lewis) and one wasted one (Rob Benedict). Oh, and a really hot one (Anne Dudek).
Seinfeld, Back To You, NCIS
Fri, Apr 4th, 2008
06:00 Seinfeld
06:30 Back To You
07:00 NCIS
Seinfeld. Season 9, Episode 8. Julia Louis-Dreyfus does some of her best work in this episode. The highlights are the scenes where Elaine is drunk, and she makes the character both playful and adorable. She's also on top form every time Elaine gets annoyed with George and Jerry. And her best scene of all comes when Elaine keeps saying the name Nina over and over when being asked difficult questions. "Nina!!!!"
Back To You. Episode 9. Mostly unfunny. And a big disappointment after the previous episode. This time out laughs are few and far between, with Marsh - in particular - having a dreadful plot(?) to shoulder. Some nonsense about searching for a new sigh-off. A total Laugh Free Zone. Sigh.
NCIS. Season 4, Episode 15. Another complete change of pace episode, as Tony's love-life (and, indeed, love in general) takes center-stage. Several scenes are devoted to the problems of Tony and his girl-friend, while a lot of the case-of-the-week scenes are dominated by a friendship between Tony and a cop on the case. They talk about the nature of romance and getting over the one-that-got-away. It's wonderful stuff. The episode packs two superb twists into the final minutes. One of which I saw coming. One I didn't.
Highlight? NCIS
Back To You, Hunter
Sat, Mar 15th, 2008
06:00 Back To You
09:30 Hunter
Back To You. Episode 8. Another winning episode. The gang from WURG head to a funeral where - of course - misunderstandings abound. Meanwhile Chuck opts to spend some time with his daughter. Not that she knows who he is. Both storylines generate lots of laughs and this episode gives everyone - even the kid - a chance to shine.
Hunter. Season 3, Episode 3. Superb. One of the best-ever episodes. Hunter and McCall arrive at a murder scene to find two men: Ray Wise as the victim's soon-to-be ex-husband, and Kristoffer Tabori as the victim's client. As the story unfolds, these two are the only suspects and things are greatly complicated when McCall becomes romantically involved with the ex-husband. Is he falling in love with her, or is he simply playing her?
"Hunter" takes a standard cop-show premise (regular dates a suspect) and turns it into the best example I have ever seen of the story. By keeping things simple and low key, the writers make everything more honest and believable. With nothing to distract the viewer, it comes down to one thing: either Alex is guilty or he's not. And with Ray Wise's fantastic performance the audience is never sure what to believe.
Unlike the previous episode (where Hunter's behaviour seemed out of character) his callous attitude towards Alex and Dee Dee in this story makes perfect sense. Hunter doesn't like the guy and it never occurs to him to give his partner a shoulder to cry during her times of pain. His instruction to "Get your clothes on!" indicates his mindset about these kind of cop-suspect liasons: it's sex, not love.
The ending is wonderful. There are no over-the-top dramatics. Every word is played very real and very honest and it's very sweet and sad. Critics who think that "Hunter" is all about car chases and shoot-outs obviously haven't seen further than the first season and are missing out on great stories like this one. A+
Back To You, Cavemen, Damages, Extras, Friday Night Lights, House, My Boys, Rules Of Engagement, Samantha Who?
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
05:30 Friday Night Lights
06:30 Damages
07:30 My Boys
08:00 House
09:00 Samantha Who?
09:30 Back To You
10:00 Rules Of Engagement
11:00 Extras
11:30 Cavemen
Friday Night Lights. Episode 22. For once, the football drama that doesn't usually feature many football scenes devoted lots and lots of the episode to "The Big Game". And, we got to see some of the plotlines we've been following all season come to fruition. Others, strangely, just faded away. So, on one hand, I was delighted to see so much quality time devoted to the Taylors and a couple of great conversations between Tyra Collette and Lyla Garrity, on the other hand I was disappointed that the Lyla-Jason romance/break-up got almost no screen-time. Neither did the Tyra-Lance (I mean Landry) storyline. Had this been a series finale, it would have sucked, but it wasn't. And it was a cool episode devoted almost exclusively to Eric Taylor.
Damages. Episode 8. In the middle of this tangled web of lies and double lies, we get to Larry's story. Larry has been secretly working with the bad guy all along and in this episode, this information is brought to the attention of Patty Hewes. And, in what is definitely Patty's best scene so far, she goes to his house and takes him down, right in front of his family. Awesome. Meanwhile, after an episode of enduring the The Worst Assistant Ever, Ellen finally grows a pair and (in another very cool scene) fires him. Sure, it's probably a sad moment, since it's symbolic of her selling her soul or something, but it was still cool to watch. A great episode. My only complaint? The actual mechanism of getting Patty to find out that Larry was a double agent was a bit clumsy and simplistic for a show this complex. We are asked to believe that Ray Fiske, a very clever guy, would fall into her trap that easily and mention the exact amount of money she mentioned to Larry earlier? I don't think so.
My Boys. Episode 22. The best new sit-com of 2006/7 ended it's first run with one of the best season finales I have ever seen. It was funny, it had heart, it gave all the regulars something important to do, it brought back several characters from earlier episodes and - most important - it faded to black on a truly awesome cliff-hanger.
House. Season 4, Episode 7. The a-story was called "ugly" and it featured a disfigured boy. The b-story looked at House's inability to get past the good looks of his beautiful co-workers. When described it sounds gauche, yet the exection was flawless from start to finish and the result/juxtaposition made for another perfect episode of House.
Samantha Who? Episode 5. While this was the weakest installment so far, it was still very funny, and Samantha was still utterly adorable as she set out to resolve her "Daddy-issues".
Back To You. Episode 7. Once again, the writers find a clever way to keep the characters together in a non-work setting. And, since this is a very funny emsemble, it leads to a lot of laughs as they chase a raccoon around a suburban house. Patricia Heaton has started to grow on me, I must admit, but the star of the show is always Ty Burrell.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 8. While not the best episode so far, this is probably the first where all the storylines were equally good. My favourite was Russell's: he stayed in an elevator for several days to meet a cute girl he had spied, everyone he met thought this was a really romantic gesture, but when he met the girl again, he was maced for his trouble. But, across the board, this episode generated a lot of laughs. And it's great to see a battle-of-the-sexes storyline that doesn't rely on Jeff behaving like a dimwit for the first twenty minutes to keep it in motion.
Extras. Season 2, Episode 6. Not with a bang, but with a whimper? Wow. While there was still a lot to enjoy here, this series finale of Extras ended things in a very ordinary way. The Robert De Niro cameo was cool, but the storyline of the sick kid didn't deserve all those scenes. It basically took up the whole episode, when all the laughs for it were in the first scene. Disappointing, to say the least. One duff episode? And it's the last one!
Cavemen. Episode 5. Oh, dear. A major backward slide with the least funny episode so far. Nick was annoying and Joel was boring in this one. Andy's story, however, got some laughs thanks to the incredibly hot Stephanie Lemelin. Andy, she discovers, has quite a lot of road rage and it gets her in the mood very fast whenever he cuts loose. Andy, of course, is oblivious to this. Lots of laughs to be had, leading to my favourite line in the episode: "Why don't we wait out all this traffic? Pull into one of these cheap motels!"
Highlight? My Boys.
Back To You, Notes From The Underbelly, Rules Of Engagement
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
05:30 Back To You
06:00 Notes From The Underbelly
06:30 Rules Of Engagement
Back To You. Episode 6. A group of kids visit the TV station, including Chuck's daughter, who is being picked on by a boy. And Chuck is determined to interfere. Standad sit-com plot, with a few good laughs. Mostly raised by Ty Burrell. Ayda Field, who normally annoys me, was funny (and gorgeous) in this episode. I just wish they'd drop the sex jokes.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 7. Once again the writers use the series set-up extremely well, for an episode about how Lauren balances work with pregnancy. As I say every time I mention this show, I have to marvel at the genius idea of taking something so commonplace and using it as fodder for a sit-com. Never mind the breakneck pace of the show and the superb jokes. This is one of the fastest moving episodes they have done. And it is hilarious. It is also sweet to see Andrew looking after Lauren as best as he can. Sweet. And hilarious.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 7. After two duff episodes in a row, RoE delivers a winner. Jeff highjacks Adam and Jennifer's phony Engagement Party. The planned the party to get loads of gifts from non-friends. He found out. And blackmailed them into giving him stuff he wanted. Great fun. In other matters, the show correctly used wonderful returning guest-star Heather Locklear by virtually ignoring her. Which is correct. She got some good scenes, though, and David Spade's character fell in love with her. Then, the writers cleverly used that as a springboard to play him off the other regulars. And when the romance went belly-up, the pivotal scene was between Spade and Megyn Price. That's the way to do it. Big-name guest stars should drive the engine of the story, not hijack it. And, as cool as Locklear is in the role, it was cooler to see Russell and Audrey in conversation (since they basically hate one another).
Highlight? Notes From The Underbelly.
Back To You, Cavemen, Friday Night Lights, Tell Me You Love Me
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
05:30 Friday Night Lights
06:30 Tell Me You Love Me
11:30 Cavemen
12:00 Back To You
Friday Night Lights. Episode 18. Once again, we get an hour of solid family drama that has nothing much to do with football. Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland) moves in with the Taylor's after his marriage hits the rocks (his fault). At the end of the episode he gets a great speech from Coach Taylor about his misplaced priorities, i.e. football over marriage. It's a great scene, and helps cement why fans love Coach Taylor so much. Waverly (one of my favourite characters) stops taking her meds in this intallment, and Tim meets some nice new neighbours. But the stand-out moments in this episode are between Mrs Taylor and the town "bad girl" Tyra. Connie Britton & Adrianne Palicki are fantastic.
Tell Me You Love Me. Episode 4. Most of the time, on this show, we see two people talking for ages, then another two people talking, then back to the first couple again for more talking. It's a show (almost) without secondary characters. So it's great to see the show starting to mix things up a little for the first time. Dave and Palek cross paths. Briefly. But it really opens the show up. Dave meets May, and - later - Jamie meets May for the first time, when they enter therapy. So, now, for the first time in this series, the viewer has a better idea of how all these people fit together.
Cavemen. Episode 3. Finally! A very funny episode. Kim Director guests as Heather, a cavewoman, who (in the show's cleverest script so far) makes life hell for all three of the regulars. She dates one of them, flirts with another one and bullies the third repeatedly about calling a friend of hers for a date. It's impossible to decide which of the stories is the funniest. But, I think, poor Joel's mumbled attempts to explain things to his girlfriend is the episode highlight: "It's not a problem that I'm dating you, it's just a problem for dating Heather. [pause] No. Okay. That's not what I meant either." Closely followed by Andy telling Heather "I'm a gay man. I enjoy the gay lifestyle." to get her to leave him alone.
Back To You. Episode 4. The show finds a clever way to mix and match it's characters: carpooling. All plot lines are funny, and some of their co-workers notice that there's an attraction between Chuck & Kelly. A top-notch episode.
Highlight? Cavemen.
Back To You, Cavemen, Damages, House, My Boys, NCIS, The Closer
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
07:30 Back To You
08:00 Damages
09:00 My Boys
09:30 The Closer
10:30 House
11:30 NCIS
12:30 Cavemen
Back To You. Episode 4. A simple idea, a very funny idea. Chuck is worried about playing second fiddle to Kelly on the Evening News. So he steals what looks like it could be the lead story from her. But - in the run up to broadcast - events change in both stories, over and over, and a tug of war develops. After a so-so episode last week, the show delivers a very funny outing this week. My favourite cast member was missing, though.
Damages. Episode 5. The web of deceit gets more complicated as Tom Shayes tries to go it alone. Nearly every scene is a conversation between two people where we (the viewers at home) know for a fact that one of the people is lying. Skillfully. Lying, or simply concealing something that they know. And it makes for rivetting television. David & Katie are still my favourite characters this week.
My Boys. Episode 19. A very clever, but not very funny, episode where PJ is visited by four girls who are exact copies of the girls from Sex And The City. It's a great idea. And the casting/execution is flawless. But it's not all that funny. Jennifer Baxter does a flawless Kim Cattrall. Stealing the episode for me. Yes, even with Ryan Reynolds doing a cameo.
The Closer. Season 3, Episode 13. Rivetting stuff, continued from Ep12, in which Brenda's suspect has an iron-clad alibi. It's a good case, but the real fireworks come from Brenda's personal life. Seeing her have a nasty fight with her fiancé is not nice at all. Great drama, though.
House. Season 4, Episode 3. This series continues to deliver perfection on a weekly basis. Three cases this week, two of them ending in needless deaths. And the doctor who managed to save the third patient... was fired for breaking the rules. That (obvious) twist was not representative of the incredible twists and turns in this episode. The show has a whole new slew of characters, a new dynamic, and the same old bleak tone. House goes to extreme measures to disprove the existance of Heaven. For no reason, really. Other than to be cruel to the dying, maybe? Meanwhile, Anne Dudek is stealing all the acting honours as conniving Amber. She's so my favourite new cast member right now. And considering the people they have brought onto the show, that is quite a compliment.
NCIS. Season 4, Episode 4. Gibbs' old partner fakes 15 year old evidence to get revenge on a bad-guy that got away. This is meant to be the twist at the end, but it's very clear that that's what is going on. Much cleverer is the eventual location of a missing bullet. The victim threw up in an alley after being shot. And the bullet exited the body, with his lunch, and was nowhere nearby when he expired.
Cavemen. Episode 2. There were some laugh-out-loud moments in this outing (which had our two contrasting best-friends working together in the same place) but no more than last week. How many is that? Not enough. Some of the commentary on racism was very very clever. But generated no laughs. I admire the writers for pusing their agenda up-front from the start, but they may wish they had soft-peddled it for a while and found a few more laughs in the scripts. Much as I love this show, I fear that it's days are numbered.
Best TV? House.
30 Rock, Adventure Inc., Back To You, Kung Fu, Notes From The Underbelly, The Six Million Dollar Man
Friday, October 5th, 2007
07:30 Back To You
08:00 Notes From The Underbelly
08:30 Adventure Inc.
09:30 Kung Fu
10:30 30 Rock
11:00 The Six Million Dollar Man
Back To You. Episode 3. This episode gives a lot more screen-time to the ensemble cast. It turns out that the overweight, shy boss is secretly in love with the sexy weather-girl. And he spends much of this episode in her dressing-room, helping her through a romance crisis, while she wears nothing but a towel. Yawn. The other two plots are funnier, but this isn't a very strong episode.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 3. With parenthood on the horizon, Lauren contemplates giving up her job. Lots of short scenes, fast cuts, quirky lines, etc. make for another winning episode. Again, I have to say, who would have thought a show about pregnancy would be so much fun to watch?
Adventure Inc. Episode 3. Various parties are after some bones that constitute a "missing link", of sorts, in human evolution. Cue lots of gun battles and fist-fights as Judson Cross and his team try to protect the bones and... stay alive. John Ralston, who is pretty weak as Ming on Flash Gordon, is a tiny bit better here. It's a good episode, marred only by relying on the old "fake funeral for one of the regulars" gag early on. As if we - the audience at home - will believe that one of the stars has really been killed. Oh wait! There she is! It was all a ruse to dupe the bad guys. Yawn.
Kung Fu. Episode 10. A young girl (Jodie Foster) thinks she sees Caine shoot and kill someone during a stagecoach robbery. She is mistaken, but she is believed by a jury and Caine is sentenced to be hanged. Caine feels no anger for the child and - while he is in prison - the two of them become friends. So much so that the girl eventually lies and takes back her witness statement. Leaving her confused about the nature about truth and lies. This main story and a similarly themed flashback story combine to make the strongest episode yet of this first season. Caine's unusual nature gets a chance to shine and the viewer has a lot to ponder as the credits roll. Not only about truth/lies but also about perception.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 1. Although I'm a huge fan of Jerry Seinfeld, the most laughs in this episode came from the Tina Fey storyline.
The Six Million Dollar Man. Season 2, Episode 11. When a repoter (Farrah Fawcett) manages to shoot footage of Steve in bionic action (at a NASA launch) it looks as if his secret will come out. That is, until her news director tells her that the film she shot is actually blank and she has to find a way to bluff Steve and Oscar into letting her take more footage. If that plot twist wasn't enough, we then discover that the news director was lying and has sold the footage to a foreign power!
Widely regarded as a weak episode, I put off watching this one for ages. But, in fact, it's a pretty good episode. The best scenes are the ones between Steve and Oscar. And it's made very clear that Oscar can (and will) do anything to kill the story. It is strongly hinted that he might even take steps to silence the reporter. The storyline where the news director accompanies some thugs on a mission to kidnap Steve makes no great sense, but it does lead to some pretty good action sequences. The episode's only low point is a hilarious seduction scene between Steve and the reporter.
By episode's end, all is well with the world. Once again we are remined that Oscar Goldman is a very powerful man and he will/can do anything to protect his bionic creations.
Highlight? Kung Fu.
Back To You, House, The Office, Kung Fu
Friday, September 28th, 2007
07:30 Back To You
08:00 House
09:00 The Office
10:00 Kung Fu
Back To You. Episode 2. A second viewing of the hilarious new sit-com with Kelsey Grammar. He keeps killing fish, you see. By accident. Very funny.
House. Season 4, Episode 1. What is (frequently) the best show on TV in any given week, returns to TV with one of the best ever episodes. On the surface it's about Greg House trying to work alone, without the team he lost last season. A lot of time is also given to the 'kidnapping' of his guitar, as well as another baffling medical case for the Sherlock Holmes of medicine. The whole point is: Can you just replace one person with another? Will it make any difference? The final twist in the story is a real kick in the gut. Very sad ending, very good first episode.
The Office. Season 4, Episode 1. Even I was shocked when, before the opening credits had even rolled, Michael managed to drive over one of his co-workers. Instead of laughing, I was in shock. But, the laughs soon followed. As usual, Michael twisted the whole incident around to make something else responsible and - before long - the gang were running in a charity run to raise funds for a bizarre, newly made-up rabies charity. So, all told, it's business-as-usual in The Office, except for Jim and Pam who are now... a happy couple. And, yes, I must admit, it's simply awesome to see them smiling, happy, in cahoots, laughing, plotting and - best of all - holding hands. Great stuff. Long may it continue.
Kung Fu. Episode 9. This is a story of two halves. First, while hiding from a gang of bank robbers, Caine is seen living on a remote farm and spending time with the Sheriff's grown-up son, trying to teach him a little of his ways and his philosophy. Then, the story moves to a siege at the local jail. The Sheriff is dead and the son is trying to hold onto the jail's sole prisoner. Throughout it all - and more than in any episode so far - Caine's pacifist ways are examined, criticised and tested. It's great, slow-moving, absorbing TV. An episode worthy of the show's 'classic' status.
Best TV of the night? No contest. Nothing beats Gregory House.
Back To You, Notes From The Underbelly, NCIS, Adventure Inc.
Thursday, September 27th, 2007
08:30 Back To You
09:00 Notes From The Underbelly
09:30 NCIS
10:30 Adventure Inc.
Back To You. Episode 2. The key thing about a second episode, after you have enjoyed the pilot, is: is it as good? In this case, the answer is a resounding 'Yes'. It's the next day, and Chuck is still getting used to the idea that he is now a father. When he kills a fish (by accident) he tries to prevent Kelly from finding out (because she'll think he's irresponsible, etc. etc.). Cue lots of fish replacing, following by lots of fish deaths. Is it funny? The answer is a resounding 'Yes'.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 2. I would have assumed that a sit-com about pregnancy would be slow and serious. Not fast and snappy (like Scrubs). Lauren is obsessed with food in this episode, and her impending driving test, and her impending change of car. And it's all fast and funny and very enjoyable. I'm starting to love her best friend Cooper (Rachael Harris) who gets all the best lines. And seems to have a ball delivering them.
NCIS. Season 4, Episode 2. Gibbs left NCIS at the end of Season 3. He's in early retirement but contemplating coming back. The case that brings him back - again - involves an escaped prisoner. Someone Gibbs sent to prison. Someone who has always protested his innocent. Did Gibbs get it wrong? Did he send an innocent man to prison? Since this is an episode supposed to renew Gibbs faith in himself, it's very surprising that the writers chose to end it the way they did. Surprising, but brilliant.
Adventure Inc. Episode 2. Now that I've more-or-less given up on Flash Gordon, I'm getting my Karen Cliche fix from one of her older shows. It's episode two (though I suspect this may have been filmed first) and Judson Cross and his team of explorers are searching Cambodia for a chopper that crashed there 30 years earlier. But, all is not what it seems: they have been lied to, they fall foul of drug lords and there are plenty of fight scenes. Karen Cliche is hot, but never hotter than beating the crap out of bad guys (or bad gal Kira Clavell in a couple of scenes). Actually, she looked pretty darn great in a black evening gown early in the story, too. More important than that: It's a fun show to watch. It moves fast, and Michael Biehn is a perfect leading man for this fare.
Back To You, Notes From The Underbelly, Tell Me You Love Me, NCIS
Thursday, September 20th, 2007
05:00 Back To You
05:30 Notes From The Underbelly
06:00 Tell Me You Love Me
09:00 NCIS
Back To You. Episode 1. Kelsey Grammar is back on TV. His new sit-com is standard fare, and it's funny. Kelsey Grammer & Fred Willard are both especially good. The rest of the cast are okay, but it will take a few weeks for them to hit their stride. I hope FOX gives them the chance to do it. I loved Stacked (from the same producers), and I can't understand why it didn't last longer. Sigh.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 1. Who would have thought you could turn pregnancy into a sit-com? But you can. This show proves it. It began last Spring with 8 half-hour episodes, and it follows the lives of a young couple who are expecting their first baby. Jennifer Westfeldt (who was in the first season of Two Guys And A Girl) is really rather good as the mother-to-be. I never liked her in Two Guys, but I'm completely smitten here. Her partner (Peter Cambor) is funny and likable and the whole thing was much, much better than I expected it to be.
Tell Me You Love Me. Episode 2. This outing is possibly every sadder than the first one, plus it gives us a better insight into the regular lives of the characters. I loved it. There are several long scenes where next to nothing actually happens. It's just the characters sitting around and thinking. I can see how this will be a huge turn-off for many viewers, but it's right up my alley. This cast makes it work. Particularly Ally Walker, who is fantastic. She's broken my heart two weeks in a row. Roll on week three!!
NCIS. Season 4, Episode 1. One of my favourite things about NCIS is the way the central characters interact with each other. They come across as a bunch of close friends who will do anything for one another when the chips are down. This episode plays up that side of things, with one of the regulars framed - and on the run - for a crime she didn't commit. Consequently, the rest of the team must pull out all the stops to get her name cleared. It's action-by-numbers and it's really, really good.
Best Show of the night? Tell Me You Love Me.
