06.00 Burn Notice
07.00 In Plain Sight
08.00 Damages
03.30 WKRP In Cincinnati
Burn Notice. Season 2, Episode 13. "Bad Breaks" Michael gets taken hostage during a bank robbery.
Superb change-of-pace episode. It is nothing like a typical episode of the show, but it still manages to bring all the stuff to the table that Burn Notice manages to do. Even though he's just a hostage, Michael still manages to set up several tricks and cons. The ending (where Sam phones up the lead bad guy and fools him into thinking he has stumbled into the middle of something much bigger than himself) is extremely clever and satisfying.
Alex Carter, Rodney Rowland and Mark Sheppard are superb in their guest roles.
In Plain Sight. Episode 11. "Stan By Me" A change-of-pace episode finds Mary kidnapped and the ongoing Brandi sub-plot taking centre-stage.
After an odd start (with Mary's mother getting hysterical for no good reason) this settles down to be a very enjoyable episode. The story is well thought-out and takes a few nice twists and turns along the way. Nothing major, but enough to keep you guessing as to what might happen next.
Mary gets to go all bad ass by blowing away some bad guys at the very end, and Brandi is written as less sympathetic than of late. She's knows a lot more about Mary's kidnapping than she tells and selfish actions could have led to her sister's death. Hopefully, the next episode will deal with that.
Damages. Season 2, Episode 7. "New York Sucks" The FBI target Uncle Pete as a means towards getting info on Patti.
And he commits suicide. I've sometimes suspected that Pete ordered the hit on Ellen without Patti's knowledge, so it would sweet if she was to find this out long after he was gone and there was nothing she could do to get even with him.
This is a solid, if unremarkable, episode. Several scenes are devoted to fleshing out the character of Kendricks (the major Bad Guy this season) and they are successful. We also get to see more scenes of his minions doing their thing.
WKRP In Cincinnati. Episode 69. "The Union" The workers decide whether to form a union.
Another superb episode to open the fourth season. Once again, there aren't a lot of laughs to be had but - once again - this is a great story. Maybe WKRP would have worked better as a series shot on-film, like The Larry Sanders Show, since - at it's best - it has a lot more in common with shows like that, than it does with shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Taxi.
The case for, and against, the union is extremely well written, with the character being used perfectly to raise the issues. The episode has a terrific twist ending, too: Andy, the nice guy of the station, who has opted not to take sides, is shown to be working very much to his own agenda. Yes, he did it for all the right reasons, but - the fact remains - he manipulated everyone to things to work out the way he wanted.
Cool.
Highlight? Burn Notice (superb change-of-pace episode)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Fri, Feb 27, 09 - Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, Damages, WKRP In Cincinnati
