Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
05.00 Better Off Ted
05.30 The Closer
06.30 Flashpoint
01.00 The Incredible Hulk
Better Off Ted. Episode 13. "Secrets and Lives" Veronica as a magician's assistant. Linda setting up Ted with her friend Rachelle Lefevre (why don't my friends do stuff like that for me?)
Another awesome episode, that made me laugh from start to finish and left with a big happy, grin on my face when it was all over. Seriously, Better Off Ted gives new meeting to the phrase Feel Good Television.
Portia de Rossi proved that she is even more awesome than I thought she was by showing us another side of Veronica. The show takes a risk by doing this, since part of the character's appeal is her total lack of a soft/human side. Having said that, the show has - in many occasions - hinted that Veronica has a soft side and cares about her friends. But it's always been a throwaway scene. Here, for once, we get a whole storyline devoted to the fact that the scary blonde lady has a secret lover and a secret passion for life on the stage. Even more: she's terrified that everyone at the office will find out her secret.
Once they show us this side to her, will we ever see Veronica the same way again? Probably not. But it's doesn't matter. The character is now strong enough to withstand a bit of character depth. And, more important, it just makes her funnier.
Lem meanwhile finds out that he has a twin called Byron. News to him, yes, but fans of Andy Richter Controls The Universe have known all along that somebody called Byron looks just like our dear Lem.
The Closer. Season 5, Episode 3. "Red Tape" Did Gabriel shoot an unarmed kid?
The Closer takes one of the most often-used storylines of TV cop shows and turns it into pure gold. While the mechanics of the case were a bit basic and a bit lame, the character aspects of the story were simply superb. The complex relationship between Brenda and Gabriel got a major going over in this one and it was a joy to watch.
Also a joy to watch: Mary McDonnell as Captain Raydor. TNT, can Raydor have her own spin-off? Please? Pretty please?
Flashpoint. Episode 18. "The Perfect Family" Kidnapped baby.
Another pitch-perfect heartbreaker. One of the main reasons this show works every single week is Enrico Colantoni. He projects compassion and empathy in every word he utters. In every episode, but particularly in the closing scenes of this one where he is mere feet away from a soon-to-be-dead kid.
Some weeks the show ends with everybody living, and some weeks somebody dies. And you never know what way it will go. Except this week. This week, the air of doom and sorrow was over-powering from the get-go and it was obvious that poor kid would die by somebody's hand before the hour was out.
Consistently remarkable television.
The Incredible Hulk. Episode 8. "The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas"
A badly-made episode with lots of very strong elements.
The biggest flaw this episode has is all the obvious dubbing in of expansionary dialogue. Nearly every second line of dialogue heard in the first quarter of the episode was added in post-production. And sounds like it.
Another thing about that first quarter of the episode... it's painfully slow. And boring. The whole thing is handed over to two guest characters who talk, and talk, and talk.
None of it very entertaining...
But there is entertainment to be had here. Lots of it. In the later stages of the episode.
David gets mixed up with gangsters in Las Vegas. Merely by walking past as a man is getting run down by a passing car. The man asks David to deliver a package to Jack McGee. It's a crazy co-incidence, sure, but what a great dilemma: David being asked to go talk to the very man who has been chasing him all over America.
How David sets about doing this, and helping McGee in general, says a lot about his character and makes for great viewing.
The sequence with the Hulk running around a casino is mild and inconsequential. This is definitely one episode that only needed one Hulk-Out sequence to make it work.
The final quarter of the episode is great. David and McGee are about to die side-by-side. McGee is unconscious, so he's not seen David. Eventually the Hulk saves everyone and the episode ends by giving us a great meeting between McGee and the creature. Their first-ever meeting and, as such, a real highlight of the series.
Highlight? The Closer (Mary McDonnell)
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Better Off Ted, The Closer, Flashpoint, The Incredible Hulk
