06:30 Perfect Strangers
07:00 My Boys
07:30 30 Rock
08:00 Standoff
09:00 In Plain Sight
Perfect Strangers. Episode 2. "Picture This" contains several classic sequences. Larry teaches Balki to say "No" to people (because he feels that people are taking advantage of the innocent foreigner). This immediately blows up in his face when Balki refuses to do him a favour. Later, there is a fantastic sequence where the boys are not speaking to one another followed by Larry offering up an eloborate Myposian apology (minus the chicken!). Finally they have a squabble in a crowded restaurant while Larry is trying to get a photo of a celebrity to sell to a sleazy paper. The joy of Perfect Strangers is that the comedy is genius-level slapstick and the chemistry of the two stars is such that the bit-at-the-end-where-Larry-learns-a-lesson-of-some-type always comes across as genuine and very effecting.
My Boys. Season 2, Episode 2. "Dinner Party" I never stopped laughing. I think every line of dialogue is a joke, but I'll have to go back and watch it again to be sure. Absolutely the funniest sit-com on TV. I might not have stopped laughing, but I did have to stop the show a few times to rewind and go back on the stuff I'd missed.
30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 15. "Cooter" While 30 Rock is not as funny as, say, My Boys it always manages to be the most inventive sit-com on the air. It's a worthy successor to Arrested Development and nips closely behind shows like The Office and My Boys for title of funniest show on TV. The second season may have started slowly (for me) but it soon picked up speed and never missed a step in it's final batch of episodes. As funny as this episode was (and it was very funny) the thing I loved most was the way Liz and Jack reach out to one another despite being seperated by many miles and different jobs. Tina Fey has managed to create a relationship that is almost as good as Mary and Lou on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And that's no bad thing.
Standoff. Episode 14. "Road Trip" Generic hostage siege. Mostly rather awful. With characters from the Big Book of Bad TV Clichés and no important scenes between Matt and Emily this is a total waste of time.
In Plain Sight. Episode 4. "Trojan Horst" is a great title for a great episode. It has Dave Foley, a great action-sequence and some top notch character-writing. It was evident from the get-go that Mary is one of TV's best characters, but now we can see that Marshall Mann is just as good and their partnership is also worthy of being added to the TV Hall Of Fame. Seeing the two of them, wounded and trapped, taking time out to analyse their friendship was a real treat. I love the way Fred Weller delivers his lines, too. He's such a perfect foil for Mary. I've also been totally won over by Nichole Hiltz at stage. She does some great work in this episode. What a great show!
Highlight? My Boys
Mon, Jun 23rd, 2008 - Perfect Strangers, My Boys, 30 Rock, Standoff, In Plain Sight
Mon, Jun 2nd, 2008 - Law And Order, Standoff, In Plain Sight
07:00 Law And Order
08:00 Standoff
09:00 In Plain Sight
Law And Order. Season 18, Episode 4. "Bottomless" Great! An engrossing, complex (but never confusing) story. A young lawyer is murdered over a pair of pants (!!), and the case leads our heroes to a multinational corporation with far too much power. It's rivetting from start to finish, and does one of the things that this show does best: create truly hateful bad guys and make us think that they will get away with it because of legal loop-holes. I've liked Lupo since the start of the season, but this is the first episode where I've really liked Cutter and been impressed by him. I loved his stunt at the end, and his attitude is starting to impress me almost as much as Lupo's.
Standoff. Episode 13. "Backfire" There are four things to savour in this episode of FOX's wonderful drama from last year. Wayne Pére gives a great performance as the Hostage Taker of the episode. His character is delusional, convinced that one of his hostages is being mind-controlled by an evil genius that he is trying to defeat. So convincing, and likable, is the actor in the role that I found myself wondering several times if he was acutally on to something, and that the hostage was going to turn out to be evil. That's some acting. Second, this episode departs from formula by giving Matt two seperate cases to deal with at the same time. Third, the main story has a great twist at the end (that I did not see coming) and fourth: the lead actors have fantastic chemistry together. Their final scene (in the bar) is lovely.
In Plain Sight. Episode 1. "Pilot" I sat down to this hoping that USA would deliver another Burn Notice, and I think they have come pretty darn close. It's a lot of fun. On many levels. And that's just the pilot. Future episodes might be even better. Even this cluttered first story was a blast. The show takes it's crimes seriously, yet there is a reason to smile/laugh in nearly every scene. The large cast of regular characters are great fun, particularly Paul Ben-Victor as the jittery boss. He's awesome. Then there's Mary McCormack who I've never seen in anything before. Wow, she's hot. And she takes to this part with 110% gusto. I'll tune in every week just to see her kick ass and take names.
Highlight? Law And Order
