10.30 Royal Pains
11.30 The Closer
12.30 NewsRadio
Royal Pains. Episode 2. "There Will Be Food" Ballerina keeps fainting.
Lots to like here.
1. Hank is a genuine nice guy hero. One character describes him as the Robin Hood of medicine at one point and it fits. Considerable kudos to Mark Feuerstein for pulling this off. A lesser performer might not have been able to make us like Hank as he runs around saving the world and being everybody's best friend. But Feuerstein makes it work, even in these cynical times.
2. The show is funny. Hank and Evan deliver a lot of one-liners.
3. The story of Evan wooing the ballerina was genuinely sweet. Genuinely cute. I loved seeing how opening smitten he was, and watching him cook for her and feed her was a blast.
4. Jill gets much more character work in this episode. Her character gets the sort of fire, passion and disdain that would/could have been tiresome in a lead character. The writers/producers have made some very wise storytelling choices here.
The Closer. Season 5, Episode 2. "Blood Money" Rich guy kidnapped.
The show casts Miguel Sandoval as a missing man, waves his picture around and then tries to make the viewer believe that the guy is dead? Huh? Crazy. It's a safe bet that everyone watching knows what Miguel Sandoval looks like and isn't going to believe that his character is dead... before the actor appears on screen.
Crazy. Surely, once a famous face was cast they could have, you know, not shown his picture so prominently during the first half of the episode? I mean, not only did they show it, they did a close up on it.
Consequently I was way ahead of the detectives on this one, and I was bored.
A pity. Because, taken at face value this was a strong story. A total change of pace for the show (which usually opens with a long sequence set at a murder scene). Also the story is very, very good and the final two/three seconds are really superb.
NewsRadio. Season 3, Episode 9. "Stocks" Mr. James offers Beth some stock tips.
NewsRadio is an exquisitely staged programme. When you watch the episodes more than once, you really start to appreciate how they fill each shot with bits of business and activity. The show, unlike any other sit-com that I can think of, excels at the art of the walk-through gag. Or whatever it is called. I'm referring to those moments when another character walks through shot, comments on the action in the foreground, and keeps on moving. This episode is full of that stuff.
Highlight? Royal Pains (lots to like)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Tue, Jun 16, 09 - Royal Pains, The Closer, NewsRadio
