05.30 Rules Of Engagement
06.00 Castle
01.30 The Listener
Rules Of Engagement. Season 3, Episode 5. "Lyin' King" Jeff and Audrey fib about going out of town to get out of going to a boring party.
Rules is having a great third season and this might well be the best episode so far. It's driven by Jeff doing something stupid, but - unlike the earlier seasons - the thing he does isn't cartoonish. It's not completely crazy. He just tells a white lie and gets Audrey to go along with it. So - unlike the earlier seasons - the scenes between them are more like scenes between real couples and less like scenes between sitcom couples. And, it helps that they are able to create comedy without making him a jackass every week. I don't mind if they make his jackass once in a while, but I don't like it much when he's mean to Audrey in some insensitive way. It's better (and more interesting to me) when they are written as a close couple. Such as here.
Also it looks like the show has - finally - added more regular characters. And what an addition: Adhir Kalyan and Orlando Jones! Two of my favourite performers and two actors who have been very funny in earlier episods of RoE. Both of them are funny here, too. Particular Kalyan who gets several superb scenes with David Spade. Creating a long-suffering assistant for Russell is a stroke of genius.
Finally, I have to - once again - remark that the show casts incredibly beautiful women for Russell's storylines:
Helena Mattsson, and
Jelly Howie appear this week and both are stunning.
So, all in all, this is a fantastic show. And this is a really, really funny episode.
Castle. Episode 4. "Hell Hath No Fury" Dead politician.
There are many pleasures to be had from watching Castle.
The pleasure of watching a show that totally gets everything right. The stories are interesting, the two leads are written as smart and funny, the supporting characters are vivid supporting characters who don't take up too much screentime. This is absolutely the best episode so far and it's a real blast from start to finish.
The pleasure of watching Stana Katic. She is so beautiful, so funny and so perfect for the part of a strong, intelligent detective. The show has managed to make her as interesting as Castle, so much so that you could imagine her being the lead character in a cop show (without him).
The pleasure of watching Nathan Fillion do his thing. The man is a genius and watching him is a treat. I love the way he can dominate a scene without the script making it obvious. Since Nathan Fillion is cool the show doesn't have to bend over backwards to make the character cool (which is what shows like The Mentalist and Life have to do). For instance, there are many scenes where Castle says nothing and Kate asks all the questions, yet Fillion steals the scene just by being there. I love the ending of this week's story where one of the supporting characters got to utter the funny line to the suspect (who was running away) and Castle/Fillion just reacted to it and approved. A lesser show would have given the line to Castle. I love it. They really know what they are doing on this show and they seem to have great faith in Nathan Fillion and his considerable coolness.
The pleasure of watching the chemistry between the leads. They are a smokin' hot couple. And I love the fact that it's pretty obvious that they like each other. We can see it. And, in a clever way, the show allows them to see that the other one is attracted to them. Even better, the show illustrates that they respect one another and - best of all - takes time out from the witty banter to allow them to be nice to one another.
The line "I'm a wiseass, not a jackass" is one of the best lines I have ever heard uttered in anything. It is pure gold. And that scene between the two leads was pure gold. As were the scenes where Kate chased Castle around. Very funny, very sexy, very romantic.
The Listener. Episode 4. "Some Kind of Love" Toby's date is murdered.
I like this show, and it's better now that his friend knows his secret, but some of the story elements are clumsy. Very clumsy. Most of the conflict, in this episode, with the sexy detective lady didn't make much sense. It was just a case of the writers making Toby say something stupid to annoy her (and create false conflict). Also, the trail that led to the first dead man was badly written: Toby's awful composite image and his ability to sneak into a patrol car and - within two minutes - mind the man in question were... really, really stupid.
But, it's not a bad show and the elements that I like... I really like. So I'm gonna stick it. It's light entertainment. A fun, summer show.
Highlight? Castle (cool)
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Tue, Mar 31, 09 - Rules Of Engagement, Castle, Listener
