07.00 The Big Bang Theory
07.30 Prison Break
08.30 Prison Break
02.00 Parks And Recreation
02.30 The Famous Five
The Big Bang Theory. Season 2, Episode 15. "The Maternal Capacitance" Leonard's mother comes to visit.
Another delightful outing. Christine Baranski is a hoot as the mom, and the episode allows for great development in the ongoing Leonard/Penny romance. Cool to find them in bed together, but frustrating to find that Leonard screws it up again with his big mouth. Arggh!
Prison Break. Season 4, Episode 21. "Rate of Exchange" Michael & Alex try to figure out a way to outwit both Christina and The General.
Since the Michael/Alex friendship is one of my most favourite things about Prison Break, I was delighted to find an entire episode devoted to it. An episode where they acknowledge their debt/love for one another. The story tried to fool us about their loyalty (by leaving out part of a major conversation, and playing it back later as a flashback) but I was having none of it.
The Don Self scenes seem like pointless padding. I could have done without them.
The T-Bag/Sarah scenes were terrific. Sarah Wayne Callies did a fantastic job. The audience has complex feelings towards T-Bag. He's scum, but we like him. We root for him. So, when Sarah tries to get him to turn into a good guy, we sit forward in anticipation. It makes no sense, but we want him to turn good and save the day.
This episode re-introduced two previous regulars. Nice to see.
But the highlight was seeing Michael and Alex team up, one final time, to take on the world.
Prison Break. Season 4, Episode 22. "Killing Your Number" The end of the story.
The final episode of Prison Break is one of the best. It has action, twists, great characters and acting. Plus, being the last episode, it has the final fate of many regular characters. Some get a happy ending. Some don't.
The show set up two bad guys this season: The General and Michael's Mom. Both get their comeuppance in this final episode. We knew they would. And it is satisfying. Having Sarah shoot Michael's mother is particularly sweet, I think.
But, at this stage in the game, the plot is of less importance than the characters. We want to see how their stories end, not how the story ends.
The endings given to Michael, Alex and Kellerman were - I thought - nothing short of superb and very fitting for the characters, and the series in general.
Each one of them (Probably the most popular characters on the show, together with T-Bag) got bittersweet endings. Kellerman got to step up and do good things, but - in the wonderful final shot - we see that his past will always haunt him. Alex got to save the life of the woman he loves, but he doesn't get to be with her. How fitting.
Then there's Michael. What an ending. Fandom is up in arms, but I'm happy. It was the right ending for the character/series. He got to win, he got to save everyone, but he had to pay for his 'crimes'. It made sense. I always predicted a downbeat ending for Michael.
Best of all, these three endings make the entire series better. It adds a depth and meaning to the series that will make a future re-watching all the more pleasurable.
In my mind the show never faltered, and remained A+ until the very end.
Parks And Recreation. Episode 6. "Rock Show" Andy's band plays.
This might be the best episode so far. Amy Poehler/Leslie is adorable/funny without being a clone of the lead character from The Office. The Andy/Ann relationship gets lots of interesting screentime. It's imperfect (thanks to Andy being an idiot) but the show make me want to see more of it because for the first time it came across as very real - a relationship in progress. Aziz Ansari gets the biggest laughs (again). Mark continues to reveal himself to be a jerk (hitting on Ann) and I hope Leslie gets over him next season. The more adorable she gets, the more obvious it is that he doesn't deserve her.
The Famous Five. Episode 5. "Five Go to Smuggler's Top, Part Two" The Five go after their kidnapped friends.
Frustrating second episode. After discovering that Sooty and the Professor have disappeared, Julian (the leader) makes the odd decision that they should wait until morning to see if they come back.
What?
Come on, Julian! They've obviously been kidnapped, you nitwit. Sigh.
This reluctance to go into action disappointed me, but the episode picks up steam later on. The decision not to search for the missing people allows for conflict with Sooty's father and lots of confusion/accusations before the Five go into action.
Dick has almost no lines in this one. I suppose it's hard to give everyone something important to do/say when you have a large cast. Julian and George get the best of the screentime, and it is totally Timmy who saves the day. Attacking the bad guys not once, but twice and saving two seperate lots of people on two seperate occasions.
All in all, the second half delivers the good-natured fun you expect from the show. The location filming looks fantastic, with the regulars wandering around the marshes in a very thick fog, and the musical score is noteworthy and enjoyable.
Highlight? Prison Break (very fitting end)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Sun, May 17, 09 - Big Bang Theory, Prison Break, Parks And Recreation, Famous Five
