05.30 30 Rock
06.00 The Jury
07.00 Law And Order
08.00 House
01.30 The Phil Silvers Show
02.30 Seven Days
30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 15. "The Bubble" Liz's boyfriend lives life in a bubble, shielded from all kinds of truth by his amazing good looks.
The sort of stories/jokes on this show won't appear on anything else. You've never seen them before. They come from the characters and some very, very inventive writing.
The Jury. Episode 7. "Too Jung to Die" Did a psychiatrist try to murder his patient, or is she delusional?
Zeljko Ivanek turns in a typically great performance. It's an unusual episode. For once there is no murder and - at the very end - the jury are unable to reach a verdict. It's also unusual because it's very much a case of one person's word against another. And one of those people has a very hard time telling fantasy from reality.
The final sting, of course, comes in the final seconds when we (the audience) are allowed to see what really happened. Was I surprised? Yes, once again, the show managed to surprise me with the revelation at the end.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 8. "Chattel" Children as slaves.
After a weak episode, the show rebounds with one that is absolutely superb. And it's an absolutely perfect example of a type of episode that the show does really well: it starts off as a simple case of murder, grows until it's a major incident or national/international importance and then it all comes back to the murder with a solid punch.
"Chattel" is an example of Law And Order at it's very best. A great story and lots of solid work from all of the regulars.
House. Season 5, Episode 17. "The Social Contract" A patient who speaks his mind, and cannot stop.
Despite being haunted by the feeling that I've seen all of this before, I must admit that this is quite a strong episode. Unlike many patients (who fade into the background) Jay Karnes pretty much carries the episode. I love this guy. He reminds me of Kyle Secor. I love him, too. If I had a network, I'd cast them as cops who are brothers.
Or something.
Anyway. He carries the episode as the patient who says everything that comes into his mind. There are many standout scenes. He breaks his daughter's heart by telling her she is of below average intelligence, and says a lot of cruel things to his poor wife. At the end, when she comes to the hospital to collect him and they head home, you know in your heart that that little family is destroyed. And it's quite powerful stuff.
House, of course, is fascinated by this unusual patient and the script cleverly has a look at all sorts of social contracts: the white lies we all tell on a day to day basis. It's good fun, and very interesting and stimulating.
Best scene? House arranges to have the patient hit on Cuddy by talking about her amazing body. Hilarious.
The Phil Silvers Show. Episode 3. "The WAC" Bilko competes with a lady sergeant for a jeep.
Interesting that after only three episodes the show is already toying with the formula. Not only does Bilko 'lose' in this episode, but he also gets a girlfriend. The final scene, where she turns his own tactics on him are hilarious. As is the whole episode, it must be said.
Seven Days. Season 2, Episode 3. "Parker.com" A computer program (a female one, at that) takes over the world.
This is a crazy, crazy episode. But it's a whole lot of fun. The pace is very fast, and the world at the end when Parker has sex with the computer. Yes, I'm serious. It's absolutely crazy stuff, but I loved every second of it. Keegan Connor Tracy is crazy hot as the computer program in question. Ever since her days on Jake 2.0 I've been a huge fan of this lady. But, she wasn't playing a sex vixen on Jake (unfortunately) and she's fantastic here.
This episode is also unusual because there's no time travel element. Parker isn't allowed to travel back in time until near the very end, so - in many ways - this plays out like an episode from a conventional action-adventure show. A somewhat crazy action-adventure show, but never mind...
Also worth mentioning: the landscapes at the very end, when Parker and the program are face-to-face are beautiful.
Highlight? Law And Order (powerful)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
Yet Another TV Review Book
Yet Another Film Review Blog
Mon, Apr 6, 09 - 30 Rock, Jury, Law And Order, House, Phil Silvers, Seven Days
