Sunday, July 26th, 2009
06.00 The Big Bang Theory
06.30 Doctor Who
07.30 Torchwood
08.30 Supernatural
09.30 Flashpoint
01.00 Harvey Birdman
01.15 Harvey Birdman
01.30 The Venture Brothers
The Big Bang Theory. Season 2, Episode 21. "The Vegas Renormalization" The boys hit Vegas.
Two plots: both golden. The boys head to Vegas where Wolowitz scores with Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Sort of. Bottom line: putting these characters (this cast) in a Vegas setting is sure to generate laughs.
Meanwhile, in a clever stroke by the writers, Sheldon stays with Penny. Always a good pairing.
Doctor Who. "The Runaway Bride"
Catherine Tate normally annoys the crap out of me (I've seen snippets of her awful BBC 2 comedy show and her charm eludes me, to be honest), however... by the end of this episode I was quite liking her character. Tate gives a one-note performance for most of the hour, but as soon as she allows her character to mellow a tiny bit - towards the end - it makes a world of difference.
Anyway, even if Catherine Tate had ruined this for me (she didn't) I would have been blown away by the sight of the TARDIS in a car chase. Sort of. Basically, when the bride of the title is kidnapped by a robotic taxi driver (don't you hate when that happens?) The Doctor flies the TARDIS down the motorway in hot pursuit.
It may well be the coolest thing I have ever seen.
I was wetting my Geek-Pants for the entire chase sequence. It was pure heaven. Thank you, Russell T. Davies, once again, for saving Doctor Who and making it better than it ever was before.
Wow.
Torchwood. Episode 1. "Everything Changes" A cop investigates a mysterious organisation, and ends up joining them!
Eve Myles is crazy sexy (she reminds me of Kari Wuhrer) and I really love that accent. On the strength of her alone, I would want to watch more of this show. But, as it happens, this is a pretty strong opening episode. Rather than tell us very much about Torchwood the show opts to put them in the background and make them into a mystery. The lead character in this story doesn't have much of a clue. She is investigating them. We see everything from her point of view, and what little she learns is all we know by the end of the episode. A pretty strong storytelling technique.
Supernatural. Season 4, Episode 13. "After School Special" The boys return (briefly) to a high school that they attended (briefly).
Superb. The best episode of the season so far, and one of the strongest episodes that the show has ever delivered. This one is a real treat.
It's also one of the saddest stories you will ever see. Soul-wrenching sadness. You will ache from watching this one. I certainly did.
Half the story is flashback, and most of the scenes serve no great purpose in the plot. They exist to flesh out the characters. Particularly the character of Sam (who has never, ever, been better than he is in this episode), but even the guest characters are also superbly sketched in this outing. The stories of Sam's friend, the bully and the nice teacher are genuinely superb. Simple stories. Linear and basic. The teacher, for example, has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. He is part of the story to help us get an understanding of Sam. And, on that level, it's a great story choice. But - and I love this - thanks to a typically fine performance by Chad Willett we get a pretty good character profile on the teacher, too.
But this is Sam's show all the way. Jared Padalecki and Colin Ford bring Sam to life in a way that I honestly think the show has never managed to do before. Dean has been my favourite character for a long time, because the writing has given him a status that is nothing short of epic. Sam, meanwhile, has been a pivotal part of epic storylines and that's just not the same thing.
Well, that changes now.
Nothing is more epic than loneliness. And, with this episode, the writers successful pin a whole heap of loneliness onto the character. In a way that will endure. Not just loneliness, either, they imbue him with some hardcore awareness, too. Which, I suppose, only deepens the loneliness.
Honestly, after watching this, my heart bled for the guy. And that's great.
Flashpoint. Episode 17. "Aisle 13" Supermarket.
After an average outing last time (with famous guest stars), the show returns to form in this episode with a superb story (having no-name guest stars).
Flashpoint excels at making us care about the guest characters and their plight. And James Hurst delivers a lovely motivation in this one: friendship. The protagonist in this tale is driven to doing something stupid by his desire to keep his best friend in town. Just that simple. And wonderful.
The cast are great, the setting is great and the episode delivers in every respect. A+ from me. When Flashpoint is this good (which happens a lot) it's one of the five best shows on TV.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 3. "Shaggy Busted"
I need to stop watching and re-watching this episode. I know it too well. So well, I can't find laughs anymore for even the best jokes.
I need to lock this episode away in a vault and dig it out again in 2025...
Harvey Birdman. Episode 4. "Death By Chocolate" The Yogi Bear episode.
Lots of goodness here: Phil Ken Sebben, the Dr. Quincy bikini-clad-girl joke, the appearance of Dick Dastardly and the entire closing act where Harvey and Boo Boo become lovers...
Surreal? Yes. Hilarious? Yes.
The Venture Brothers. Episode 7. "Home Insecurity" Brock meets bionic man Steve Summers in the woods, and the rest of the regulars are trapped in their own compound's panic room.
Delightful. A great episode. Both plots are funny and switching between them keeps them both fresh and fast moving. All the humour comes from the characters own traits and the Helper robot gets the biggest laughs from me. Best bit? Helper finds the plans for the new robot and runs away from home...
Highlight? Supernatural (epic)
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Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Supernatural, Flashpoint, Harvey Birdman, Venture Brothers
