Sun, Nov 2, 08 - Pushing Daisies, Valentine, Supernatural, Office, Corner Gas, Friday Night Lights

05.30 Pushing Daisies
06.30 Valentine
07.30 Supernatural
10.30 The Office
11.00 Corner Gas
11.30 Friday Night Lights
12.30 Friday Night Lights
01.30 Friday Night Lights

Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 5. "Dim Sum Lose Some" Another wonderful case for Emerson Cod (one of TV's coolest detectives). Chi McBride is so funny. He's got the comic timing of Oliver Hardy and pairing him with Christine Adams makes for some great comedy. McBride and Kristin Chenoweth are the reason I watch this show. If Cod or Olive were written out the show would suffer, but you could nix Ned and Chuck and you'd still have a cool show. Funny how things work out. I'd never have predicted that at the start.

Valentine. Episode 4. "The Book of Love" For the second week in a row the case-of-the-week is very good. A couple of book-lovers sell out on their dreams and get divorced. Our team enter the story and try to bring them back together. David Burke and Seana Kofoed are two wonderful guest stars and I fell in love with their love story. Nice work from series regular Autumn Reeser in this one. Goofy, sweet fun.

Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 17. "Heart" Great performances, but a story that veers too close to silly for comfort. Emmanuelle Vaugier makes a great guest star, but her romance with Sam happens way too fast and the 'emotional' climax left me closer to laughter than tears. It just seemed too absurd for me to buy into. Plus, we'd already seen that it was possible to contain her when she became a werewolf, so killing her at the end seems a tad unnecessary. It's also the exact premise of She-Wolf Of London and they found a way to make it work on that show. Call me a heartless bastard, but I think this is a low-point for Supernatural.

The Office. Season 5, Episode 5. "Employee Transfer" Nothing special. I feel like they missed out an episode along the way. Suddenly, Holly has to move to a new office and - just like that - the relationship with Michael is over.

Huh?

Did we miss an episode, somewhere, where they discuss this? And deal with it? Seems way too fast to me.

And the storyline with Jim and Pam and his brothers yields very few laughs, as well.

I'm bummed that Holly broke up with Michael, yes, but this is just a weak episode no matter what happens/happened in it.

Corner Gas. Season 3, Episode 5. "Whiner Takes All" Wonderful. Not only is this a very funny show, but it has created this wonderful place - called Dog River - where the people like each other and enjoy hanging out. That's a huge part of the reason I love this show, and it's characters so so much. Brent, Lacey and Hank spend this episode playing golf together. On some shows this sudden joint activity would come across as something contrived just for the sake of that week's episode. Not on Corner Gas. On this show, I believe it. These characters like one another and want to hang out together.

Friday Night Lights. Season 2, Episode 6. "How Did I Get Here" Almost perfect. Almost perfect. The fly in the ointment was the storyline with Tami and her sister. We've seen it a hundred times before: women don't get on with their sisters. Yada, yada. Fine, whatever. Everything else was golden.

Tim being cut from the team, seeing that his worth was defined by his membership in the team. Finally reaching out to help the new kid - Lyla's friend - at the very end. His conversation with Smash over the dinner table. Golden.

Jason Street's looking at his life and where it was going. And his decision to leave the team and his final conversation with Coach. Golden.

Landry and his father. Wow. Powerful. As his father realised the truth and set about covering up the crime in an effort to save his son from going to prison. Totally human and honest.

Julie seeing Matt with another woman. Very, very predictable. But I really felt for poor Julie. Through all her horrible behaviour the writing allowed us to feel for her. And I felt for her here, too. She's friends with Tyra. And Jason bonded with Tyra in one memorable episiode in the firs season. What do they have in common? They are the only three characters who have expressed the desire to find out what there is outside of Dillon, Texas. The only ones who - at one stage or another - have thought to ask: is there more to life than this?

I loved all the stuff with Coach and Buddy - as they discussed his reduced salary - because it captured something very close to real life in those scenes.

It maybe have disapointed me (by giving Tami a duff storyline and ignoring Tyra's feeling in the aftermath of the break-up with Landry) but this was still one of the show's best episodes. Very, very close to perfect.

Almost perfect.

Friday Night Lights. Season 2, Episode 7. "Pantherama!" Smash steps into the spotlight. Finally. Smash is one of my favourite characters. Who am I kidding? They are all one of my favourite characters. But I've been waiting, this season, for a Smash-centric episode. This one is great. Most of it is Smash fighting with his mother over his future. And, in true FNL style, it's not important that it's about football. It's the age-old struggle between parent and child over future. Where the child's optimism is seen as arrogance and the parent's concern is seen as negativity. Wonderful story, wonderfully told.

Santiago has become one of my favourite characters. His exchange with Buddy at the very end (where he said that this was his first bed) was heartbreaking. Under-played by both actors and totally heartbreaking.

Meanwhile, Tim Riggins can't find a bed. Tyra takes him in, but ultimately kicks him out and he finds himself is a less-than-ideal situation. Riggins is in freefall and I feel for him. I see no end in sight.

Matt kisses the girl who looks after his grandmother. It was a long time coming, but it was a great moment. And it makes more sense that Matt would fall for a girl like that, rather than the vapid cheerleader he's been kissing lately.

Julie, meanwhile, falls for the journalist teacher. Bit of a cliché... but it basically works.

We get a good Tyra/Landry scene in this episode but no sign of them getting back together. Frak! Frak! Frak!

Friday Night Lights. Season 2, Episode 8. "Seeing Other People" I love when shows pairs characters together that do not normally share screen time. Lyla and Landry have a pivotal conversation in this episode. The guilt of the crime he committed bears heavy on him and (without knowing the details) Lyla urges him to come clean, and tell the truth. It's a great scene.

So is the scene where Tim Riggins apologises to everyone on the team. It's a suprise move and it works. Coach agrees to let him back. Tim has hit rock bottom and seen life without the team. It's pretty bleak. Has he learned his lesson or will he mess it all up again?

Matt breaks up with his girlfriend and - finally - gets things started with the girl who looks after his grandmother. The screen positively sizzles with their chemistry.

Finanlly, this ia a rare episode that shows Tami in an unflattering light. Going too far to protect her daughter from a friendly teacher. Tami rarely makes mistakes, but she steps over the line in this one and the big confrontation scene with her daughter is painful.

An honest episode. A perfect episode.

Highlight? Friday Night Lights (pick one, any one)
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Sun, Oct 26, 08 - Pushing Daisies, Valentine, Supernatural

05.30 Pushing Daisies
06.30 Valentine
07.30 Supernatural

Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 4. "Frescorts" Another wonderful episode. All the stories have something to do with friends and friendship and it's quite a rewarding episode. The fight between Chuck and Olive (while locked in the locker) is probably the funniest/best part, but Ned's speech to his new friend at the very end is almost as good. The guest cast are fantastic, but Dana Davis really stood out for me as the fast-taking receptionist at the place that rents friends. A company that rents friends? I love it! Only on Pushing Daisies.

Valentine. Episode 3. "Act Naturally" For the first time the case-of-the-week is just as strong as everything else. Holly Valance proves what a good actress she is by playing a very bad actress who can be very good when she tries. Not easy to pull off. But Valance does it. She's a spoiled celebrity (think Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, but with talent) and she's forced to do community service in an unsuccessful theatre run by Ryan Devlin. The story is funny and their chemistry is such that I wish we could see this couple again and see what happens next.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing story arc, events in the final scene prove that somebody is up to something bad. Is it really Kate, the mortal who joined the team in the pilot? What the heck is going on?

Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 15. "Tall Tales" I love Jim Beaver. His character is just what the show needs (not that stupid bar!). The actor brings to life the sort of no-nonsense character who would never believe in all this supernatural crap. Consequently, his presence makes everything else in the show seem more real. The two women in the bar, and the computer geek, are prime examples of bad television stereotypes. But a character like Bobby Singer, as the hero in a fantasy show? Nah, you don't see that very often.

But I digress...

This is the funny episode of Supernatural. They tried this before (Season 1, Episode 17) and I hated it. It made things silly, and compromised the world of Supernatural.

That is not the case this time. What you get here is a delightful hour of TV. The show uses one of television's stand-by ideas (story is told in flashback from different perspectives) to great comedic effect. We get to see the brother's perceptions of each other and (tellingly) of themselves. And the actors are simply superb. Scene after scene is laugh out loud funny. Best bits? Dean recalls Sam getting all emotional and hugging some random guy, Sam recalls Dean scoffing free food while questioning someone, Dean and Sam have very different versions of Dean's lady friend at the bar, and many more. I also loved the very last shot.

Highlight? Supernatural (I laughed a lot)
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Sun, Oct 19, 08 - Valentine, Middleman, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, Office, Corner Gas

05.30 Valentine
06.30 The Middleman
07.30 Pushing Daisies
08.30 Supernatural
03.00 The Office
03.30 Corner Gas

Valentine. Episode 2. "Daddy's Home" Better than the pilot. The case-of-the-week is still corny, but most of the episode is devoted to the regulars and their backstory. And a good one it is. The blood-drenched cliff-hanger (flash-forward) really shocked me, and I'll be back for more episodes.



The Middleman. Episode 12. "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome" The show puts it's own spin on the idea of Parallel Worlds in this superb final episode. We get to see 'evil' versions of the regulars and Mark Sheppard returns for a second episode (sadly he is underused). The friendship between Wendy and Lacey gets a lot of screentime this time out and gives the show a solid core. Apparently this show has been garnering critical praise for the writing of it's female characters. No wonder. They are superb and their friendship is as real as anything I have ever seen on TV. Kudos writers/performers!

Our final shot of Wendy finds her (once again) on the phone to her mother. Happy. And it's a lovely way to leave things if we never see her again. (Gosh, I hope we do!)

Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 3. "Bad Habits" Bees, clowns and now nuns! All getting the Pushing Daisies treatment. Olive gets lots of screentime (to make up for leaving her out of the first two episodes, I guess) and the ending (where Ned tells Chuck who her mother is) is unexpected and wonderful.

Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 14. "Born Under a Bad Sign" Back on form, the show delivers one of it's best-ever episodes. It's a two-hander (hardly anyone else appears in the story) and it's an acting tour-de-force for both men. Jared Padalecki gets to play real Sam (briefly), fake Sam and bad-ass demon. He looks like he is having a ton of fun in all three parts. Jensen Ackles gets to play out some of Dean Winchester's toughest-ever moments (and that is saying something).

The story is simply superb. The mystery is completely engrossing and the ending - when it comes - is perfectly obvious and makes perfect sense. Yet, I truly never saw it coming, such is the skill of the writing and acting. It's the tale of what happens when Dean finds Sam one week after he went missing. Learning that his brother has no memory of that week, Dean takes him on a quest to find the truth and learns that Sam has killed someone. Is this the turning point heralding everything that Dean was warned about by his father? Is Sam about to go all Dark Sam on us?

Much as I love Sam, I'm starting to realise what an epic heroic figure Dean truly is. He's starting to edge his way (in my affections) up alongside people like Carl Kolchak, Fox Mulder, Jack Bauer and Alex Mahone. Watching him deal with the dilemma in this episode was painful. Watching him come to the realisation that he might - one day - have to kill Sam and just as quickly realise that he can never do that. Even when truly provoked: watching Sam torture a loved one.

Sam's fate is a cruel one. But at least it is clear. As a hero, his journey is clear. Escape the curse, fight fate and overcome the demon/prophecy.

Dean, however, has been cursed with choice. He has two routes to heroism. Kill his brother or fight alongside him to overcome the oncoming doom. It is this choice (and the fact that his character will allow him no choice) that makes Dean the truly epic hero of the two.

Dean's becoming my favourite anyway. I often think of a comedy moment from an earlier episode and how much it really says about the man. When Sam mentions myspace and Dean has no clue what it is ("it is a porn site?" he grins) we laugh. But, upon reflection, we can see that this is a solid character moment. Dean is outside the terms of pop culture. He is not one of us. He protects us. And, like Carl Kolchak before him, he is alone because of that. Even with his brother beside him, (thanks to this season's story arc) he remains very much alone.

The Office. Season 5, Episode 3. "Baby Shower" Some of television's greatest-ever moments occurred towards the end of this week's episode of The Office. I honestly think that many decades from now people will still remember how they felt when Michael hugged Holly, and when Jim and Pam left messages for each other.

It was, in all other respects, a typical episode of The Office. An "event" disrupted the work day. Most Office episode revolve around some disruption to the routine (there's always a party of some sort, a milestone of some sort). We don't just get to see normal days at work (like hundreds of other workplace sit-coms) and when we follow the gang away from work it's always for a unique event of some kind (not just a night on the town, or another of Mary Richard's disastrous dinner party's). And this is just as unique as all the others: Jan brings the baby into the office for the first time. Michael's baby. Sorta. Well not really. Not at all, actually (as Darryl points out in one great scene). But Michael feels connected to this baby. Or, to be clear, feels that he ought to feel connected to it. So he contrives to make that connection happen.

He also contrives to hide his attraction to Holly from Jan. He fails to do this (as we learn at the very end) and he fails to hide it from Holly also (in a delightful scene at the very start, when he announces that he will be mean to her for the duration of Jan's visit and her adorable face positively lights up with understanding).

But the ending is where it all comes together. Michael endures more pain and humiliation than any one man should ever have to and - in the closing minutes of the episode- he seeks Holly out for a hug and (as emotion overcomes them both) he asks her out. Wonderful.

Then there is Jim and Pam. What a great storyline. We love them. We love them as a couple and we love them loving one another. But, as veteran TV watchers, we are conditioned to expect it all to go wrong somehow (for the sake of some stupid story arc). So the writers tease us. For the second time in this season, the tease us in the exact same way and then - as we start to feel panic - they remind us that (not matter what is happening in their lives) this is Jim and Pam and they have found one another and they are not letting go.

In the premier, we watched (in horror) as they seemed to be living separate lives and then (in a wonderful surprise) the story unveiled a rain-swept proposal and all was well with the world again. Then, this week, the writers pull the exact same stunt. Again. And I fell for it. Again. With glee they push the buttons that will make fans panic: Jim and Pam are leading (what appear to be) very separate lives, in different cities. Then, in a stroke of storytelling genius, the episode ends with Jim and Pam leaving phone messages for one another. Messages in which words/stories/themes/concerns are mirrored perfectly.

Oh, and love. Love, too, is mirrored perfectly.



Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 1. "Cable Excess" Five seasons in and the show delivers one of it's tightest, best, and funniest scripts. Community television comes to Dog River and the regulars fight for the right to do their own show. Brent gets the job of selecting which show goes on air and the script is full of knowing references to the fact that Corner Gas is a highly acclaimed, critical darling. Eric Peterson shouts that Street Legal sucks, and the show finds another clever ending. Best bit? Crowds gathering every time Oscar started to rant. Funny. But - also - when you stop to think about it, a very clever comment on the appeal of the character with the audience at home.

Highlight? The Office (Wonderful)
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Thu, Oct 16, 08 - NCIS, Valentine, Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Wings

07.00 NCIS
08.00 Valentine
09.00 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
03.30 Wings

NCIS. Season 4, Episode 24. "Angel of Death" NCIS ends it's fourth season with a superb story, a superb twist and a superb cliffhanger. Triple wow, huh? It's a dark and stormy night and Tony is visiting his girlfriend at the hospital where she works. Some bad guys are on the loose and they need to get a dead body out of the hospital (for the drugs contained within) and Tony (alone and unarmed) finds himself in the line of fire. It's an episode that completely departs from the formula we know and love, and it is all the better for it.

Most of the scenes with Jenny (and her quest for her dead father) were distracting and uninteresting, but it was cool to see Ducky and the gang out for a night on the town. Particularly nice was the scene were Ducky probed Ziva for her true feelings on Tony. Great stuff.

And then there was the final minutes: a superb moment that the show has been building to all season. I never saw it coming. I am gob-smacked and I have no idea what to think now, of the season that has gone before and the relationship between Tony and his girlfriend. Is it completely fake? What the heck is going on? I can't wait to see what comes next...



Valentine. Episode 1. "Valentine" What a delightful hour of TV. Great cast (superb, actually) and a fun premise: Greek Gods here on Earth helping mortals find true love. I'm hooked. When Jaime Murray rose from the pool (in that awesome bikini) my television set blushed! She's sex on legs. This is nothing like the performance she gives on Dexter (which is also good). This is such a different role. Sultry and all-knowing and smug. And very, very sexy. And she's having so much fun. All of them are. Particularly Kristoffer Polaha as the God of Lust. Every member of the cast sparkles in this, and the script sizzles with great lines: "What kind of plumbers are you?" etc. Who cares if the case-of-the-week is a bit corny? This is good clean FUN. I'm hooked.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 3, Episode 3. "Dennis and Dee's Mom is Dead" is one of the funniest episodes of anything that I have ever seen. And certainly rivals the Nazi-memorabilia episode as the best ever episode of Always Sunny. The announcement of the the death was hilarious (how awesome is Danny DeVito? Seriously?) but nothing compares to the reading of the will. That right there is a television classic: Dennis and Dee and their 'dad' fighting over the stuff that has not been left to them. Classic. Painfully funny. And the episode stayed great to the final scene. Very wise decision, bringing Stephen Collins back into the fold again. His goodness and niceness is such a wonderful contrast to the vile regular characters. And the sight of him forcing Dee and her 'dad' to pretend to have sex is also worthy of being called a television classic.

Wings. Season 2, Episode 1. "The Puppetmaster" is a very funny start to the new season which picks up the story of Brian's pursuit of Helen where the show left off at the end of Season One. Helen has a rule about never dating pilots, so Brian (of course) hires an actor to be her perfect man, date her and then reveal that he is... a pilot. Such a good scheme, and perfect Brian. Things do not go according to plan, however and the show goes all-out to create laughs. And it succeeds. Best bit? Joe falls over the chairs after giving Helen a very passionate kiss. Funny. And romantic. I love Helen's spunk.

Highlight? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (the reading of the will)
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