30 Rock, Aliens In America, Kung Fu, The Bionic Woman, Timeslip

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

07:00 The Bionic Woman
08:00 30 Rock
08:30 Aliens In America
09:00 Kung Fu
10:00 Timeslip

The Bionic Woman. Season 2, Episode 15. Deserves to be considered a classic on the strength of Lindsay Wagner's performance. Not since her six-episode origin has Lindsay done such incredible work on the show. Jaime Sommers is behind bars, drugged and having a complete meltdown. The scene in the solitary cell, in particular, is really superb. Helped along by some stylish cinematography.

Meanwhile, Lisa Galloway (Jaime's evil doppleganger) has taken over every facet of Jaime's life. We see her at home with Jim, and at work with the kids. Lindsay gives Lisa a distinct personality and it's impossible not to fall under the charms of this imposter, as she starts to get softened by the life that Jaime Sommers leads.

30 Rock. Season 2, Episode 6. The show is on a roll again, and some of this is the most inventive and funniest stuff they have ever done. Like what? Well, how about all those scenes from the Lifetime movie: "A Dog Took My Face And Gave Me A Better Face To Change The World: The Celeste Cunningham Story". Much as I laughed at that, and at Jack's reactions while he watched the movie, I laughed even more when Kenneth donned a gorilla mask and scared the living crap out of a sleeping Lutz. Lutz, of course, awoke screamed "Ape Attack!" and grabbed a golf club to beat the living crap out of the ape. Before the writers - eventually - ran in and pulled him off poor bruised Kenneth.

Aliens In America. Episode 4. I like this show, but I sometimes wonder is it more than a Wonder Years / Malcolm In The Middle clone. This storyline could have worked just as well in either of those shows. The boys befriend the hottest girl in school (Whitney Anderson), which is shocking because she's normally not very nice to nerds like Justin. Under Raja's influence, however, she lets her brainy side shine though and she stops dressing provocatively (so much so that Justin's dad thinks she is Amish). All goes well until Justin gives in to the temptation to kiss her... The script in nicely layered, with references to Sleeping Beauty and Butterflies in there, and there are few good laughs to be had. Sadly though, this is yet another episode where Justin and Raja have a fight, and make up at the end. Getting tired real fast, that is.

Kung Fu. Episode 13. A muddled script with too many plots. Caine befriends some runaway children. He helps an Armenian find true love, after he has turned his back on it in order to follow his dreams. And he befriends (and later fights) a Brazilian who is searching for a stolen diamond. All these plots are connected and criss-cross in ineligant fashion. Disappointing.

Timeslip. Series 2, Episode 3 is (once again) completely devoted to things happening at the underground Arctic research complex, with no scenes set in the 'present day'. Simon is doing a lot of snooping around to see what's going on, but Liz has more personal concerns. She has met a future version of herself. And the Liz-of-the-Future is a very different person. Not very nice, and Liz wants to find out why. So does the audience. Engrossing stuff.

Highlight? 30 Rock.

House, My Boys, Samantha Who?, Seinfeld, The Bionic Woman, Timeslip

Friday, November 9th, 2007

07:00 The Bionic Woman
08:00 Seinfeld
08:30 Samantha Who?
09:00 House
10:00 My Boys
12:30 Timeslip

The Bionic Woman. Season 2, Episode 14. Deserves to be considered a classic for six reasons. First, Lindsay's performance. She gives every scene her full conviction and commitment. This is remarkable. She is largely playing all her scenes alone and, despite the apparently limited story setting, she is asked to convey a large range of emotions. Jaime goes through a lot in this episode. A lots of highs and lows, a lot of pain, a lot of terror and frustration and pity and sorrow and fear. Lindsay nails every one of them. And it's a joy to watch.

Second, the setting. A large computer complex/compound which is 8 levels in depth and several miles in area. Third, the story. Jaime goes up against a computer. Fourth, the scope. The story takes the whole world to the brink of doom and - despite the arrogance of trying such a feat - actually manages to convey what it sets out to do. Kudos to Kenneth Johnson, who wrote, directed and produced. He clearly had a vision. And he executed it.

Fifth, the voice. Alex 7000, the computer that Jaime goes up against, has a haunting voice. Perfect casting: Guerin Barry. Sixth, the ending(s). The episode has three endings. A false one, which leads to a twist I did not see coming. A ending for the action-adventure portion of things. And, a downbeat thoughtful ending. This, of course, is the best.

Seinfeld. Season 8, Episode 1. Susan is dead and George can move on with his life. Not! Thanks to a well chosen "Star Trek" quote from Jerry in the graveyard, George finds himself dogged by the legacy of Susan. Literally. A great start to the first non-Larry-David season. Any doubts/worries we had back then soon disappear and this season contains some of my favourite episodes/moments/ideas.

Samantha Who? Episode 4. I'm more in love with the character, the actress and the show than ever. Samantha doesn't remember ever having sex, so she sets out (with help from her best friend, mother and stalker) to have some. The show never puts a foot wrong. The laughs come hard and fast, the sentiments are honest and the simmering love-story-arc gets better every week.

House. Season 4, Episode 6. With two fascinating A-plots, there was enough material here for two seperate episodes. Or a two-hour episode. Man, it was good. This was the episode that pushed Andy Comeau's Brennan ahead of "cutthroat bitch" to be my favourite new character and then, in the closing the seconds, the show pulling a truly stunning twist ending. And he's gone. Bang! You're out! Meanwhile, the other A-plot ending up by... pulling a truly stunning twist ending. And we've a fascinating new regular character. For a show to make you go "Wow!" outloud at the end of the story is remarkable. To do it twice, within two minutes... Well, that's just showing off, that is.

My Boys. Episode 21. The best new sitcom of last season. Ahead of Notes From The Underbelly and 30 Rock. Two plots, continued from last week, drive this episode: Andy is still depressed over the arrival of his second child, and what it means for his life in suburbia. Meanwhile, the awesome Michael Landes (from Special Unit 2) is somewhat awesome as he tried to fit in with gang. This show never fails to nail real life situations. And the scene where Evan (Landes) tried to fit it, while totally failing to get the rhythm of the gang, was one of the best written and best played I've seen in the show.

Timeslip. Series 2, Episode 2. Time-travelling teens Liz and Simon (think Hermione Granger and Harry Potter) return from their mini-adventure 20 years into their own future. Aside from the cool gimmick of time-travel, the strength of this series is the well-written characters. And none is better than Commander Traynor the bad good-guy (anti-hero? or possible villain, who knows?). The episode takes place in the present day. Liz's parents have forbidden any more excursions through the time-barrier and forgidden Traynor to have contact with the children. There are lot of well-written conversations between various characters are they deal with the absurdities of the things that have happened, and as Liz and Simon appear to grow closer romantically, but the episode is dominated by the performance of Denis Quilley as Traynor attempts to manipulate three of the other regulars, so that he can get the kids back into the future again. The multiple manipulation in the morning scene alone is magnificent to watch.

Highlight? House. (Even with The Bionic Woman and Timeslip both being brilliant, there is absolutely no contest. House rules!)

Cavemen, Kung Fu, Notes From The Underbelly, Taxi, The Bionic Woman, Timeslip, Two Guys And A Girl

Friday, October 26th, 2007

06:30 The Bionic Woman
07:30 Notes From The Underbelly
08:00 Two Guys And A Girl
08:30 Taxi
09:00 Cavemen
09:30 Kung Fu
10:30 Timeslip

The Bionic Woman. Season 2, Episode 12. Jaime teams up with a (mildly-)super-powered scientist in this story, when his brother defects to East Germany with a top-secret decoder in tow. One of the better episodes, even if it gives Jaime/Lindsay very little to do. It's mostly about the scientist (Granville Van Dusen) and his abilities. The episode is structured in two distinct parts: the first third takes place over the course of one afternoon at the OSI labs when Jaime shows up, meets the two brothers and learns about their two (very different) OSI projects. The 'hero' of this episode (possibly with a view to a spin-off series?) is shown underdoing various tests demonstrating his powers. Basically, he can control all of his biological functions, so that water, electricity, etc. do him no harm. Then we learn that the other brother (Peter Haskell) has absconded, and the final two-thirds of the episode show Jaime and her new partner in East German having to overcome various obstacles to get the decoder back. Each one using their super-powers. It's a pretty good script. The feud between the brothers makes the story more interesting.

Notes From The Underbelly. Episode 5. I love television. Love it! Love it! Love it! I would never have predicted two months back that two of favourite new shows would be about a couple expecting a baby, and a teenage girl living in Africa. But that's the way it is.

Notes' 5th episode is the funniest one so far and highlights the genius of this very funny show: very different characters trapped together by pregnancy. This is the episode where Julie gives birth. All the scenes where we see how this affects the others in the group are hysterical. Melanie Deanne Moore is the absolute star of this episode, but all of the cast shine. The script is razor sharp. Many lines are worthy of an instant rewind to savour them.

Two Guys And A Girl. Season 3, Episode 1. Johnny has proposed, and Sharon hasn't reacted very well. Pete, meanwhile, has run off to Paris to cope with his heartbreak. Back home, Ashley has started to remodel Berg's place. Over his strenuous objections. I've probably seen this episode ten times over the years, but it cracks me up every time. Nathan Fillion gets to take Johnny over the top, for a change, when he tries to cope with Sharon's evasive answers: "Yes. In theory." His best bit is probably when he relates back to her all the other people in his daily life who are willing to answer his questions. Richard Ruccolo's plane-ride to Paris is, I think, a series highlight.

Taxi. Episode 28. Over-worked Elaine makes a pass at Alex, who advises her to enter therapy (instead of trying to hide in sex). One of the key Taxi episodes. The opening two scenes are big multi-character pieces, the final half is mostly a session with a therapist (Tom Ewell), but in the middle is a short sweet scene where Elaine and Alex talk about their mutual attraction. Taxi was very funny, but it took it's characters and their hopes/aspirations very, very seriously. And this very honest, very real scene is a perfect example of why the show is regarded as a classic. The episode also features Robert Picardo and Mary Woronov (who was terrorising poor Jessica on a Logan's Run I watched two nights back).

Cavemen. Episode 4. This show has turned a corner and is now very funny. It's becoming obvious to me that the character of Nick (played by Nick Kroll) is a goldmine of comedy. His worldview is very extreme, so the writers can drop him into any given situation and watch what happens. This week, he - inadvertantly - beats up a teenage girl (while hundreds of other teenagers watch in horror). But, he later consoles himself with the knowledge that it was only "hundreds". This, of course, is before it shows on a YouTube eqivalent.

Kung Fu. Episode 12. Once again, Caine is in trouble with the law (!). Methinks the writers went to that there well too often during the first season. This time out, he's fallen foul of one of those towns, so popular on TV shows of bygone days, where the townsfolk use trumped-up charges to make innocent visitors work in a mine/camp of some kind. It's a good episode, but I'm well weary of Caine getting arrested five minutes into every episode.

Timeslip. Series 2, Episode 1. Time-travelling teens Liz and Simon (think Hermione Granger and Harry Potter) find themselves thrown 20 years into the future. Not only that, they are at an underground Arctic research complex and about to be used in some kind of mysterious experiment. The episode moves slowly, is very atmospheric, devotes a lot of time to the staff of the complex, neglects the two stars a bit, and ends on an excellent cliff-hanger.

Highlight? Notes From The Underbelly.