Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
06.00 The Big Bang Theory
06.30 Torchwood
07.30 Legend Of The Seeker
08.30 Supernatural
12.00 Good Morning Miami
12.30 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
01.00 Flying Blind
The Big Bang Theory. Season 2, Episode 22. "The Classified Materials Turbulence" Stuart and Penny go on a second date, while Leonard tries to sabotage it. And then feels guilty.
A great episode, but not a particularly funny one. The sub-plot (a malfunctioning toilet in space) gets more laughs than the main plot, but that's fine. This is a story-driven outing. It's more about watching what will happen between Leonard and Penny. I'm fine with that.
Torchwood. Episode 3. "Ghost Machine" Alien machine allows holder to see 'ghosts' (trapped emotions).
While there are good elements in this episode, it's a bit of a mess structure-wise and is easily the weakest of the three aired so far.
The idea of Gwen, and later Owen, being able to see moments from history is pretty cool. But I have the feeling that Helen Raynor isn't quite sure what to do with the idea. Gwen sees a boy from wartime, and meets him as an old man, and nothing much comes from it. Gwen uses the machine to see her own past. And it's cute. But dis joined. Likewise the super-sexy scene where Jack teaches Gwen how to use lots and lots of guns doesn't seem to fit with anything else in the episode. Bizarre.
Owen sees a murder from 1963 and tracks the killer (Gareth Thomas) in a very un-professional manner. While this does serve to make the view like Owen a bit more, it's also serves to highlight Torchwood as an undisciplined bunch, always running off half-cocked.
The death of the guy at the end is truly awful. Badly staged and nonsensical. By that stage I had lost interest in what the writer was trying to say with this tale.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 9. Zed goes undercover as a "Puppeteer".
Great fun. More continuity, which I love to see, and a departure from the over-used-formula of having one of the trio captured, only to be rescued from the other two.
To stop Darken Rahl from getting the third part of the object he seeks (which will give him absolute power, or some such) Zed goes undercover inside the castle of a rival queen. And spends most of his time with two children: one evil, one nice.
It's difficult to find one child that can act and be likable, but this episode finds two: Maisy McLeod-Riera as the nasty princess, and Jordana Beatty as her slave. Both are adorable, likeable and super talented. Maisy McLeod-Riera appears to be having a ton of fun as the spoiled birthday girl and it's a blast to watch her tormenting everyone around her. Bruce Spence does a terrific job at showing us the bond between Zed and Rachel (Jordana Beatty) and it's easy to believe he sees his own daughter when he sees her.
The final third of the episode has some unbelievable tension, with Zed and Rahl face-to-face and the fate of the magical object very much up in the air. It spends quite a while hidden in the birthday cake, while Zed does his best to distract everyone. Superb stuff. Probably the highlight of the series so far.
Supernatural. Season 4, Episode 16. "On The Head Of A Pin" Dean tortures. Sam kills. Castiel realises.
It's rare to find a SN episode that doesn't work as a stand-alone tale. This is very much a chapter in an ongoing saga. And lots happens to advance to story arc. Misha Collins gets lots of screen time and displays some serious acting chops. The guy is awesome, and his scenes with (equally awesome) Jensen Ackles are the highlight of the episode.
Sam, meanwhile, shows up to show that he has gone even more badass than last week. And it's cool. And terrible. In equal measure. Sam has really gone over to the darkside now. Scary.
And there's a revelation, too. And someone's motives are highlighted for the first time. I didn't see it coming. But I wasn't particularly shocked. I just didn't care very much. And that sums up my feelings on the episode. It was fine. The acting was superb. The twists were interesting, and there was a real sense of a big story moving forward. But, all told, nothing very much here to get overly-excited about, or invested in. Grade: B+
Good Morning Miami. Episode 21. "The Slow And The Furious" The TV show runs a "Win A Date With Gavin" segment.
The subplot is awful (it contains exactly one gag) but the main story is very, very funny and contains some great character writing.
Frank is driving Claire to work (for reasons that are not fully explained) and finds out that her friend, that she hasn't spoken to for years, is dying. So her takes her to the hospital. And they have one final argument. And the woman dies. Yuck. There's one good gag in this mess about Frank being a slow driver ("It's five miles away. We can be there in 90 minutes.")
Those laugh-free three scenes aside, this is a very, very funny episode. Jake wants Gavin to move on, and date someone new, so he can take his shot at Dylan. So, with Penny's help, he concocts a dating segment for their TV show. And when the luckly lady shows up, they realise that she's a bimbo who'll never hold Gavin's attention so they put a tiny speaker in her ear and tell her what to say.
Yes, it's an old story. Who cares? GMM makes it very, very funny again. Carrie Preston (who is married to Michael Emerson of Lost) displays truly great comic timing as the very nice, but very confused, Kiera. Preston's ability to say everything that Kiera hears, and make us believe that Kiera is too dumb to question any of it, is what makes the episode 100% successful. There's huge amounts of comic fodder in a character like this: sweet and well meaning, but perpetually bewildered by much of what is happening around her.
Aside from being very, very funny the episode pauses to deliver some quality drama/character scenes between Gavin and Jake where Jake finally comes clean about his moving to Miami to try to be with Dylan.
Great stuff.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Episode 21. "The Boss Isn't Coming To Dinner" Lou Grant and his wife seperate.
Light on comedy, but heavy on good storytelling. It's also got some interesting stuff to say about men and women and what they (might) want from one another.
With their three daughters finally raised and away to marriages/lives of their own, Lou figures that it's time to get some quality alone-time with his wife. She, however, wants to make something of herself and go to college. He wants her to be at home waiting for him (washing his shirts, etc.) so he makes a stand. By leaving.
The early part of the tale doesn't tell us this, but shows us Mary's attempts to get the Grants round to her place for dinner. She doesn't understand why Lou is avoiding the invitation, which leads to a very sweet, very human, tale of Mary thinking she's a bad host.
By the second half of the episode, Lou's real reasons are revealed and all the regular characters head to a nearby bar to discuss the issues involved. As portrayed here, all of the men are wrong and Mary is the only one with 'common sense'. Sometimes the story gets things right (as in when the men don't listen to Mary) but in general it oversimplifies men's needs. Or pays no attention to them. In the end, Lou gives in and goes back to his wife, who (we are led to believe) won't have much time for him any more, because she'll be caught up with study and so on. Still, the episode ends with a big smile on his face.
It's one-sided feminist propaganda. In this tale the men are all wrong, and a woman who has raised three children hasn't really made something of herself until she goes to college.
I disagree with it. But it's a good, interesting, entertaining episode.
Flying Blind. Episode 12. Alicia's "Dad" shows up, to torture Neil.
Another episode where a guest character causes problems for Neil. Never mind. This is a strong, funny episode. Peter Boyle is a hoot as Alicia's dad who, we presume, works for the CIA or something similar. He's certainly a dangerous man. And poor Neil is terrified.
Highlight? Legend Of The Seeker (Great fun.)
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