Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
06:00 K-Ville
07:00 Journeyman
08:00 Stacked
09:30 Damages
10:30 Extras
K-Ville. Episode 7. An absurd and overly-convoluted storyline ruins some otherwise good elements. It's great to see Cobb and Boulet working an ordinary case (one that has nothing to do with the background of either one) - and they have a great chemistry as a cop duo - but why does the case have to be so darn silly? David Denman gives a great performance as a father searching for the daughter he lost two years earlier, but the web of implausible happenings surrounding her location makes my eyes roll rather than well up with tears.
Journeyman. Episode 11. Once again, the storytelling strikes a superb balance between what is happening to Dan in the past (Christmas, 1979) and what is happening to his wife and brother in the present (Christmas, 2007). The heart to heart conversations between Dan's wife and Dan's mother is the standout moment for me, in an episode of excellent moments.
Stacked. Episode 18. The first funny episode in ages. Two plots work side by side. Harold (the regular customer played by Christopher Lloyd) has his usual seat taken by a stranger to the bookstore and obsesses about it for the whole episode, while in the other plotline Gavin (the owner of the bookstore) is caught between a major online poker game and a previous obligation to his son and ex-wife. Pretty much all the cast shines and there are a ton of winning one-liners.
Damages. Episode 13. A stunning season finale. The location of the video tape is the single cleverest thing I have seen on TV all year. That alone is worth the price of admission, but factor in all the twists and turns that this final chapter delivers and you have one of the finest hours ever shown on TV. It's as good as Veronica Mars or 24.
Extras. The final episode is equal parts sad and funny. Andy is at the top and he starts his spiral downwards. Maggie, however, is at the bottom and even she goes into a downward spiral. Some of it is very funny indeed (even if we are now used to the formula and have a fair idea how Andy's inept lies will come unstuck) and some of it is unrelentingly bleak. It never easy watching character we love suffer. Andy deserves his fate, but Maggie is sweet and it's hard to see her fall. However, the ending is terrific and this series will be missed.
Highlight? Damages.
Damages, Extras, Journeyman, K-Ville, Stacked
Californication, K-Ville, Prison Break, The Big Bang Theory
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
06:00 K-Ville
07:00 The Big Bang Theory
01:00 Prison Break
02:00 Californication
K-Ville. Episode 6 is a return to form, but is not as good as the early entries in this particular series. Cobb goes undercover with the gang he used to run with, while Boulet meets the man who nearly stole his wife during their seperation. While Cobb's unique background makes a good undercurrent to other stories, I feel the show suffers somewhat when they make it the A-story. In many ways, this was just a typical undercover story. Nothing to get very excited about, unfortunately.
The Big Bang Theory. Episode 7 is the funniest so far. The regular characters were mixed and matched in various combinations and each set-up generated a lot of laughs. We got to see Penny playing Halo 3 with the boys: Hilarious. Sheldon trying to cope when Penny spent the night on their couch: Hilarious. The boys trying to function without Wolowitz: Hilarious. And, finally, we got to see Wolowitz The Lover, and Wolowitz The Son: Hilarious. BBT has many funny characters, and it works best when at least three of them are on-screen together. Fewer than that and it fades a little (particularly when the two are Penny and Leonard).
Prison Break. Season 3, Episode 7. At it's best, Prison Break is equal to the best of 24. And there is no better example than "Vamanos" the second hour of the recent two-hour installment. The tension from start to finish is incredible. We start with Whistler & Michael preparing to fight to the death, we follow up with their failed escape bid, and a genuine fight to the death, interrupted by the discovery of the escape bid. After this the twists come hard and fast. One concering Lechero, the guy in charge, and the other concerning Whistler, who is not at all what he appears to be. Even then, in a glorious final shot, the show has one more surprise up it's sleeve.
And that's just the stuff inside the prison! Plots for Mahone and Lincoln/Sucre are among the most exciting the show has ever delivered. Ever. Plus, we are witnessing some of the most evil bad guys in the show's history. I cannot wait to see their commuppance. Now that it is back on form, PB is shout-at-the-TV-screen-brilliant once again. And it's great to have it back.
Californication. Episode 11 is the best so far. The storyline concerning Hank's stolen book starts to bear fruit, and there's a wonderful surprise when Becca decides to move in with him. Hank, for all his flaws, is an incredibly likable character and it's great storytelling to see the way he is boxed in at the episode's conclusion. My favourite scene? When Charlie showed up, having figured out who really wrote the book.
Highlight? Prison Break was sheer perfection, so even though BBT and Calif were terrific, too, their thunder was stolen tonight by Michael and Linc.
Californication, Friday Night Lights, K-Ville, Rules Of Engagement
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
08:30 K-Ville
11:00 Rules Of Engagement
11:30 Friday Night Lights
12:30 Californication
K-Ville. Episode 5. An implausible situation lies at the centre of this poor episode of K-Ville. A murder takes place in church, while everyone in the congregation was there. But nobody will say anything. As dumb and contrived as that is, the writers (Jonathan Lisco & Craig Silverstein) add insult to injury by making the murder tie into the background of one of the cops. So we get lots of tedious flashbacks to him and his brother. Awful.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 4. I love this show's theme tune. I got it off iTunes yesterday and I've played it, like, 137 times today. It's great. This is largely irrelevent, but if you listen to my radio show next Sunday I'll be playing it. Probably twice. Cos I love it! Anyways, in this installment, Mircea Monroe guests as "A Hot Girl". She does this a lot. She did this in a Scrubs I watched a few weeks back, also. Every time I see her I think to myself: (a) "She's a hot girl." And (b) "I must watch those last two episodes of Drive. It was awesome." Monroe was part of the first workplace plotline we've had in the show. I've never really understood why these guys hang out with Russell, who is such a dirt-bag. It was probably explained in a line of dialogue in the pilot or somewhere, but I've forgotten it, or somebody in the room said something and I missed it. I was about to rag on poor cancelled Viva Laughlin (in Sunday's review) for not telling the viewer where Laughlin actually was, when I noticed - upon pressing Play to check something else - that it actually pops up on screen during the first 2 seconds of the programme, but I'd missed it because someone walked across my field of vision at just that exact moment.
Where was I?
Oh, Rules Of Engagement! Right. Well, Jeff and Audrey had a disagreement, which was basically another battle of the sexes as his world-view met with her world-view. And Patrick Warburton made me laugh several times. End of review. Next!
Friday Night Lights. Episode 19. The best show on TV. Coach Taylor has a chance to get a new job in a different town and his 15 year old daughter is unhappy at the propect of another move. Two scenes between them really stand out. His first clueless attempt to placate her (he mentions "dancing" and "ballet" a whole lot) and his second - more successful - attempt, when he actually listens to her. A wonderful conversation in a parked car. Meanwhile, Suzy (Alexandra Holden) kisses Jason. Ooh...
Californication. Episode 8. Hank's father dies, so we get an episode of flashbacks to (what I presume must have been) his last vist to see Hank, years earlier. Through these flashbacks we get to see not only their relationship, but also the "family" that Hank had at that time. And how it fell apart. Everything about this episode (and, indeed, this show) is Grade: A+. Very emotional and honest. The wonderful Judy Greer is unrecognisable, but still wonderful, as a hooker that Hank spends some time with to get over his grief.
Highlight? Californication.
K-Ville, Reaper, Rules Of Engagement, Samantha Who?, The Big Bang Theory
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
07:30 The Big Bang Theory
08:00 K-Ville
09:00 Rules Of Engagement
11:30 Samantha Who
12:00 Reaper
The Big Bang Theory. Episode 4. A funny episode, revolving around Sheldon (Jim Parsons), is stolen by Laurie Metcalf (from Roseanne) as his mom. I've noticed that the show is generally better when Kaley Cuoco is on-screen. As funny as the four guys are, the show becomes better when she's on screen as a contrast to them. It's great to see (almost) no mention of the potential romance with Leonard this week.
K-Ville. Episode 4. Why does nobody like old-fashioned action cop shows any more? Four episodes in and this is pretty much my favourite show of the new season (tied with Pushing Daisies). Trevor Cobb is definitely the season's best new character: an ex-convict pretending to be a cop to make amends for his past.
In this episode he gives some of his ill-gotten gains to a deserving young woman (Amanda Righetti from Reunion), but the plan backfires: the money is marked and she gets arrested. How does he clear her, without revealing his secret? His partner, meanwhile, must try to find forgivness in his heart for what his former partner did (deserting when Katrina hit New Orleans). My favourite part of the episode was the resolution of this storyline, when the two guys met for a drink in a local bar and made no reference to the former animosity between them. They were in a bar, having a beer: nothing more needed to be said. I find that to be more true to the way men behave than those guys over on Big Shots.
Finally, this episode has an awesome chase sequence.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 4. The funniest episode so far. Hilarious. The stuff between Jeff and Audrey was straight out of "Men Are From Mars...", instead of contrived nonsense about t-shirts or snoring, and it was all the better for it. Meanwhile Bianca Kajlich looked hotter than she's ever looked on the show. If I get time, I'll watch this episode again this week.
Samantha Who. Episode 1. A great pilot. One of the best of the season. Fast moving and funny. Finally, after the unwatchable Jesse, a show that I can watch Christina Applegate in again! She is a very talented funny lady and I've missed her since Married With Children.
Reaper. Episode 3. The weakest outing so far. Sam pines for Andi and... does nothing about it.
Highlight? Rules Of Engagement.
30 Rock, Adventure Inc., Aliens In America, Carpoolers, K-Ville, Kung Fu, Notes From The Underbelly, The Six Million Dollar Man
Friday, October 12th, 2007
07:00 Carpoolers
07:30 Notes From The Underbelly
08:00 30 Rock
08:30 K-Ville
09:30 Kung Fu
10:30 Adventure Inc.
11:30 The Six Million Dollar Man
12:30 Aliens In America
Carpoolers. Episode 1. One of the carpoolers is intimidated when he thinks that his wife makes more money than him. The other three guys try lots of stuff to fix this, and it all culminates with them climbing through his kitchen window late one night to steal his new toaster. Hmm. Not sure what to make of this one. There were a few laughs, so I'll check out the second episode. See where it all goes.
Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 4. Another winning episode. Now that Lauren's pregnant, she's got bigger breasts, and Andrew is almost in heaven. "Almost", because she is nauseous most of the time, and there is zero chance of actually having sex. This simple idea generates a lot of laughs and leads to a great climax (so to speak) when Lauren and Andrew fight rush-hour traffic -seperately - in an effort to meet during one of the rare times that she is not feeling sick. Under it all, the writing makes it clear that Andrew is not just horny, he's utterly smitten with his wife and it's difficult for him being without her. This element is probably my favourite thing about the whole series: this guy isn't just 'in love' with his wife, he's simply adores her. All the time. Even when - being pregnant and all - her behaviour is somewhat odd. It's a cool element in a seriously cool show.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 2. Much as I love 30 Rock (and I'm so in love with Tina Fey at this stage that it's not even funny) I must admit that I've just not feeling "the vibe" this year. Whatever that means. Storylines for Jack, Tracy and Jenna totally fail to raise laughs. Usually Will Arnett or Chris Parnell would have me in stitches. Not this time. Disappointing.
K-Ville. Episode 3. Buddy Cop shows have done many things down through the years, but devoting the third episode to 'The Captain'?!! That's a new one on me. John Carroll Lynch gives a great performance and this outstanding episode gives us as much background and characterisation on him as the previous episodes did for the two cops who are the focus of the show. The story told is a superb cop thriller, and the all-action finale is one of the best I've seen outside of 24. Pretty much my favourite new show of 2007 at this stage.
Kung Fu. Episode 11. 1870s America, and Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine is searching for his brother. To this end, he breaks a large, violent, and mentally slow man out of prison and both of them are chased by an Army Tracker. Caine's influence on the supposed criminal (actually innocent of his crime) is strong, and by the end of the story he has mastered a large degree of self-control. He, however, is not able to help Caine much in his quest. At the end of the story, he has a chance to settle in a new town and make a fresh start but (in a genuinely affecting moment) he opts to live out his days in the wilderness instead: helping animals, avoiding people and foraging for food Caine has taught him. Wonderful stuff.
Adventure Inc. Episode 4. Duller than usual outing for professional treasure hunter Judson Cross and his team. Lots of bickering over boundaries and a fake psychic dominate the early part of the story. The second half has a few underwater scenes, but not much in the way of underwater action. This show seems to be more interesting when the team are killing bad-guys in some jungle or other.
The Six Million Dollar Man. Season 2, Episode 12. Some SMDM episodes are just boring case-of-the-week outings for Steve Austin, superhuman spy. And this is one of those. A woman is targeted for kidnap. Steve does a lot of running and jumping in this one, but accomplishes very little. He lets bad guys get away repeatedly, fails to stop an innocent getting killed and can't even jump high enough to grab a helicopter when the bad-guys get the girl near the end. There then follows a really goofy sequence when he tracks the kidnappers using tire tracks. Madness. First dud episode of the second season.
Aliens In America. Episode 1. They have added charisma-less Scott Patterson to the cast since I first saw this pilot, but it's still great.
Cheers? K-Ville.
Jeers? The Six Million Dollar Man.
The Big Bang Theory, Rules Of Engagement, Friday Night Lights, Californication, Prison Break, K-Ville, Chuck
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
07:30 The Big Bang Theory
08:00 Rules Of Engagement
08:30 Friday Night Lights
09:30 Californication
10:00 Prison Break
11:00 K-Ville
12:00 Chuck
The Big Bang Theory. Episode 2. A second outing for the four-nerds-and-one-babe sit-com that is even funnier than the pilot was. One of the nerds decides to break into the babe's appartment one night to... tidy it up. To be fair, it is a bit of a mess.
Rules Of Engagement. Season 2, Episode 2. The first episode - I think - to completely deviate from formula. For once the laughs don't come from Patrick Warburton being stubborn, instead the writers pair David Spade romantically with guest star Heather Locklear and the laughs continue to flow. I don't really get why Spade's character hangs out with the others, but Spade is funny so I try no to think about it too much.
Friday Night Lights. Episode 16. Too many highlights to mention. Here's one: Julie and Tyra have become friends at this stage in the first season, and Julie's parents are freaked. The confrontation scene - with Aimee Teegarden giving attitude, Connie Britton screaming in anger and panic, and Kyle Chandler staring silently off into space - is one of the best the series has given us. You'd not know it from Emmy Nominations but these three are giving the best performances of their career. And Teegarden just turned 18! How will she top this show?
Californication. Episode 6. Hank is back to one night stands. But the sleazy, desperate nature of the encounters (from episode one) is muted a little bit. Most of the episode shows him in decent light: adoring his daughter, going to 'rescue' his 16 year-old stalker, and having a sweet conversation with his ex. By the end of the episode, he is back in the arms of this week's random woman and the voice-over draws attention to the sadness of the whole dance. Californication is now clawing it's way onto my All-Time Favourite Shows list.
Prison Break. Season 3, Episode 3. Some of my friends (one of the very closest I have, in fact) is contemplating parting company with Prison Break. I'm not. Which got me thinking. We all watch it for different reasons, I guess. All of us. And the elements that enthrall me are still in place (I hope). I like seeing the various bonds form between this group of Alpha Males, I like the way the scripts can - first - mis-direct me and - second - surprise me. And, of the three locations we've had in the show (Fox River, America, this Panama Prison), the current one is easily my favourite. I love this dirty, grimy place and I can't wait to go back next week and find out what Michael has discovered.
As for what's in the box? My guess? The head of the guard that couldn't stop Linc.
K-Ville. Episode 2. Any reservations I had about K-Ville have been obliterated by this outstanding second episode. Focus shifts completely to Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser) and he is a superb leading character. In many ways, he's a TV cliché (the tough cop) but his unique back-story seperates him from the pack, and makes this a show I'll watch to the end. While the story in this episode has been done on cop shows before, they found a great fresh way to tell it. It blew me away.
Chuck. Episode 2. Any reservations I had about Chuck have been re-inforced by this mediocre second episode. I don't get "Chuck". I don't get it, and I don't get the buzz that surrounds the show. I don't buy Zachary Levi as a nerd. His performance is too forced to win me over. I don't buy Yvonne Strzechowski as a hot/cool secret agent. And, most of all, I just don't buy the premise. I mean, I watch Prison Break & 24 and I still can't take the leap of faith required to enter this odd little world that Josh Schwartz is presenting us with. The nerds from "Big Bang Theory" (who did such an amazing job of ripping Superman to shreds) would have a field day with the absurd idea's on display here.
The only good thing in the episode was a funny dinner-party sequence, but it was a two-edged sword. It was funny, yes, but it put Yvonne Strzechowski and Sarah Lancaster in the same scene. Together. Highlighting the fact that while Yvonne is incredibly pretty, Sarah is drop-dead gorgeous. She should be playing the spy. And, while I'm at it, Joshua Gomez should be playing Chuck. Joshua & Sarah have chemisty. The actual leads? Not so much.
Highlight? I had a ball with everything, except god-awful Chuck, and I'm thinking K-Ville beats even FNL as the most entertainment I've had tonight.
