05.30 NCIS
06.30 Cavemen
07.00 Ben 10
07.30 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
08.00 Legend Of The Seeker
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 2. "Family" Sometimes the show finds very tenuous ways to make the case-of-the-week a navy crime. Like this week: the victim just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and the actual case is a baby kidnapping thing. Not usually what we see on NCIS, but it make for a good case. Especially when it prompts Tony to do some deep thinking about his recent ill-fated romance. There are many great character scenes. Ziva cornering Tony in the toilets is one of the best. And her obviously affection for him is wonderful to see.
Cavemen. "Nick Sick" Nick gets sick and think he is dying. Meanwhile, Kate decided to dump Joel (for no apparent reason) and move on. She neglects to tell him this, of course, and he spends the episode chasing her to find out what is going on. It's a funny episode. Nick Kroll gets all the best lines/moments but Sam Huntington and Bill English are pretty close behind him. At this stage in the production, all three actors have a total handle on their characters and are able to get laughs by just reacting to stuff. Nick has no insurance, so he pretends to be Joel for a while. Stephanie Lemelin (who is incredibly hot) gets lots of good screen time in this one (which is incredibly wonderful). Her adorable character, Thorne, is nice to Joel through out the whole break-up mess, even advising him to buy socks as a gift in one (hilarious) scene. One of the better episodes.
Ben 10. Episode 2. "Washington B.C." Between episodes Ben and his family seem to have taken the decision to become fully fledged crime-fighters. This second episode opens in the middle of a case and they are all in full hero-mode. I was expected this to be a more gradual process. I guess not.
As a case-of-the-week, the story of Dr. Animo is fine. He has a grudge and he can turn animals into monsters. He's a tiny bit over the top and he reminds me of the villains on The Tick. The story plays with the conventions of Ben's powers very nicely and there are a couple of exciting sequences where Ben and his family are in danger without any kind of super-power help.
Ben's uncle is interesting. The show plays with us, but dropping hints about him and his past. It happened in the pilot when he seemed to know what they were up against very fast, and now in this episode - during a chase - he makes a comment that alludes to a colourful background.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 3, Episode 5. "The Aluminum Monster vs. Fatty McGoo" HILARIOUS. This is one of those episodes where the gang are all tied into the same story. And what a story it is: the gang enter the fashion design business, complete with sweatshop. Many, many scenes are hilarious. Glenn Howerton is at his best in this episode. Maybe this is his best episode to date. All of the Dennis scenes are fantastic: his various meetings with Judy Greer, his attack on the model (Rachelle Wood) and his fantastic entrance at the very end: clad in his own demented creation. But, as good as Howerton is, this is an episode where all the cast shines and there are many, many laugh out loud moments/scenes.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 2. "Destiny" Much more like it, and a great step up from the opening episode. Richard has taken to his fate very nicely and opens this episode very much in hero-mode (but with a few hints of I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this). His partnership with Kahlan is fantastic. I'm smitten with Bridget Regan. She is incredibly beautiful and brings great acting talent to the part of Kahlan. With her performance, the witch is both strong and vulnerable, all-knowing and very-unsure, and - more than anything else - utterly beautiful. The climax of the episode is thrilling. A slo-mo battle with flames and FX in the back-ground, and it drives home the concept of Richard and Kahlan as a very dangerous force for good. Nice. Count me in!
Highlight? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Glenn Howerton)
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Thu, Nov 6, 08 - NCIS, Cavemen, Ben 10, Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Legend Of The Seeker
