Friday, September 11th, 2009
06.30 Michael And Michael Have Issues
07.00 Defying Gravity
08.00 Warehouse 13
09.00 The Vampire Diaries
10.00 Royal Pains
11.00 Rising Damp
11.30 WKRP In Cincinnati
12.00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Michael And Michael Have Issues. Episode 4. "Pulling Your Weight" Black slacks off.
Not as strong as the previous episode. The central idea (one half of the team isn't doing enough work) isn't strong enough to fill the full half-hour. Luckily, some of the sketches are very funny (eg. the zombies).
Defying Gravity. Episode 1. "Pilot" In the year 2052, a space ship leaves Earth to explore the solar system.
And the crew are diverse and interesting. And so are the crew back on Earth. In fact, this pilot introduces about 137 characters and - to it's considerable credit - does it well. We get a flavour for all fo them, and a genuine hook into several of them.
The cast rocks. Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Christina Cox and Malik Yoba are personal favourites of my own from other projects and many other cast members (some new to me, some not) make great impressions in this first outing.
While the story-of-the-week has a predictable outcome, the backstory (which is hinted at) is very compelling and makes me want to see/know more.
A great pilot.
Warehouse 13. Episode 2. "Resonance" Bank robbers use sound/music to hypnotise people.
A huge step up from the pilot. This is a great case-of-the-week, and the two regulars are (suddenly) interesting and likable and fun to watch.
There are flaws here (guest star Tricia Helfer is completely wasted) but - overall - I really enjoyed this and am glad I didn't write this off after the pilot.
The Vampire Diaries. Episode 1. "Pilot" A vampire starts high school with a girl that resembles someone from his past.
Great fun. It's like having Roswell back, but this time it's about vampires not aliens.
The leads - Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley - have fantastic chemistry and Ian Somerhalder looks to be having a ball as a truly evil vampire. Indeed, it's a strong cast all round and while none of the characters are startlingly original the show seems to know this, and seems to know exactly what it is, without pretensions. It zips along with it's plot and - over the course of the hour - I really came to like the characters.
Nina Dobrev is cute and adorable and it's easy to care about her and worry for her. Paul Wesley nails the show's most difficult part: playing a dark and brooding individual without seeming false or fake.
Royal Pains. Episode 4. "TB or Not TB" Sick chef.
The best episode so far. Lots of running around and a story that you wouldn't see on any other show right now. And it's a fun story, too. Sure, people could die (theoretically) but this is a show like Burn Notice: it's fun to watch.
Evan continues to get great laughs and is probably my favourite character in the show. He's a perfect foil for Hank and the show would be much weaker without him.
But I like Hank. And I like his romance with Jill and how they worked together in this episode.
Also, with this episode, I'm starting to like Divya.
Rising Damp. Season 4, Episode 1. "Hello Young Lovers" Everyone thinks the new couple in the house is married...
Alan is gone, and the show adapts very well with Miss Jones getting a lot of screen time and becoming Rigsby's newest confidant. Which makes sense really.
Many episodes opened with Rigsby and Alan in conversation over some topic. Their different backgrounds/opinions giving rise to much conflict and comedy. In this episode, Miss Jones fills the void and - luckily - she's just as different from Rigsby as Alan was (in a different way, of course).
Phillip, of course, is mainly there to tease Rigsby and - as the only truly normal character in the bunch - he's not as vital to the comedy.
As a story-of-the-week this is one of the show's very best and the mix-up at the end is genuinely funny.
A great start to the final season.
WKRP In Cincinnati. Episode 75. "Three Days of the Condo" Johnny comes into money.
Good. Fun. It's a good episode of Johnny and it serves most of the regular cast, very well, as well.
The climax, where Johnny and Venus pretend to be a gay couple to get out of the condo deal, is very funny and - in common with the best of WKRP - it makes you think, too.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Episode 22. "A Friend in Deed" A childhood friend (that Mary doesn't remember) shows up at WJM-TV.
It's a slim idea, but the show makes it work. And gets laughs. Pat Finley is funny and she plays off everyone to perfection. There's even a pretty story.
One of the highlights of Season One.
Highlight? Defying Gravity
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Michael & Michael Have Issues, Defying Gravity, Warehouse 13, The Vampire Diaries, Royal Pains, Rising Damp, WKRP in Cincinnati, Mary Tyler Moore Show
