Friday, July 3rd, 2009
07.00 Harry O
09.00 All In The Family
10.30 In Plain Sight
Harry O. "Smile Jenny, You're Dead" Andrea Marcovicci guests as a woman being targeted by a nut-job (Zalman King) while Jodie Foster guests as a runaway kid.
A compelling and enjoyable movie. Harry doesn't just protect Jenny, he is affected by her. When her ex-husband is murdered, she becomes a suspect. When her lover is murdered, she falls apart. Harry doesn't just protect her in the physical sense, he puts his arms around her and tries to protect her fragile emotions as well. And it affects him.
This vulnerability is what separates Harry O from other TV private eyes. Harry wears his heart on his sleeve.
All In The Family. Episode 1. "Meet the Bunkers" Sunday brunch with the Bunkers. It's Archie and Edith's 22nd Anniversary. Archie argues with his son-in-law.
Our first meeting with Archie Bunker shows us a man of many strong opinions, all of them very un-PC, and he's not afraid to voice them. His daughter's husband lives with them, and he believes the opposite of Archie on everything, so there is plenty of scope of debate in the Bunker household.
Archie could, as written, be hard to like except for the winning performance of Carroll O'Connor. O'Connor has considerable star power and we can, thanks to him, take the leap towards liking Archie, even from the start. The script helps. Our hero often mis-quotes, or mis-pronounces, various things and sometimes his wife inadvertently deflates his thunder, so - right from the onset - we can see that he's a flawed hero. And an amusing one. Fact is: the show is very funny, as well as having the potential to be thought-provoking.
In Plain Sight. Season 2, Episode 10. "Miles to Go" The newest guy in WitSec talks about having a son, that nobody can find any evidence of.
An episode that is completely case-of-the-week. No running subplot. David Denman is a great guest star, and the mystery is very compelling. The resolution, however, is a tad weak.
Highlight? Harry O (vulnerability)
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Harry O, All In The Family, In Plain Sight
