Monday, August 24th, 2009
07.00 Better Off Ted
07.30 Arrested Development
08.00 Law And Order
09.00 Raising The Bar
10.00 Harvey Birdman
10.15 Harvey Birdman
01.30 Wings
Better Off Ted. Episode 12. "Jabberwocky" Ted lies about the existence of a secret project, and everyone believes him.
A very basic idea, but it works and it's funny. Some of the scenes are like painfully bad chess, between clueless people, and it's very funny because of that.
Best bit? The scene where Veronica speaks to her superior about the project, having just heard about it for the first time.
Arrested Development. Season 2, Episode 9. "Burning Love" There's a wolf on the loose.
A wolf? I love Arrested Development and I'm willing to take the occasion leap to make the logic of the show/jokes work, but this episode is asking a lot. Especially the part where Tobias shoots his wife in the mistaken belief that she is the wolf.
Events over in the Michael storyline also stretch credibility. Plus plots about Michael work best when they are tied back to the family in some way, or there is an inherent awkwardness about the situation he finds himself in. Here, it seems as if fate is simply conspiring against him. And that's just not as funny.
But there is good stuff in here: everything with Gob his new/old lady is great and Jeffrey Tambor is hilarious as George Sr. recovers from the effects of the Hot Tub.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 11. "Lucky Stiff" Trucking Company. Going Green. Russian Mob. Incest (kinda).
A fast-paced and enjoyable tale. It could have worked as a two-hour episode. The cops have caught the killer and the trial is over by the mid-way point. There there is a further murder and the cops come back onscreen again. So, it's a complete departure from formula. And, even better, it's a strong story that merits this kind of special treatment.
Raising The Bar. Episode 8. "Out on the Roof" Trying to help his friend might get Charlie in trouble, so he turns to Jerry, and Bobbi meets a family with a corrupt sense of family honour.
While the Charlie storyline is easily the best (it's superb) this is a strong episode across the board, with great stories/scenes for pretty much everybody in the cast.
Jonathan Scarfe dominates the episode completely, showing us everything that Charlie is going through, as he deals with the return of Rafael, this time in jail. Wilson Cruz is terrific, too, of course.
Once again Jerry is written/played as the ultimate White Knight and I'm fine with that. This character has really grown on me. He's a television archtype.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 10. "SPF" Harvey has a mole, so he has to use sunblock.
The Harvey-is-addicted-to-sunblock stuff goes on and on and on, long past the point where it is still funny or interesting. It does get very surreal, however.
The case-of-the-week, though kept to the background, is funny.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 11. "The Devlin Made Me Do It" A kid is injured imitating a motorcycle stunt.
Priceless. A flawless episode. Hilarious from start to finish, with some truly inspired gags. My absolute favourite is the instructional video which specifically uses the kid's name ("Comma Bobby"). Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 19. "All in the Family" Brian dates Kenny's mom.
Joe and Helen are one of my favourite TV couples. They are cute, clearly in love with one another and - thanks to Crystal Bernard's spunky performance - they have a lot of sparks flying between them. Such as here, when secrets become the topic of much (funny) discussion.
The main storyline plays to Brian's strengths as a character and the ending once again shows that Wings (like Cheers before it) will write to the character, not to the joke, as a means towards delivering a much better episode.
Loved it.
Highlight? Raising The Bar (Charlie)
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Better Off Ted, Arrested Development, Law And Order, Raising The Bar, Harvey Birdman, Wings
