Thursday, August 27th, 2009
06.30 NCIS
07.30 Dark Blue
08.30 The Philanthropist
09.30 Arrested Development
10.00 Kojak
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 12. "Stakeout" While staking out a warehouse, the team stumble across an unrelated murder.
My first NCIS episode in a few months is a like a breath of fresh air. This show is so playful and full of fun. The humour between all the regulars is wonderful to behold.
Gretchen Egolf (guest-starring as a cop) is also wonderful to behold, and the show pays homage to her posterior (thru the eyes of Tony DiNozzo).
I love this show.
Dark Blue. Episode 1. "Pilot" Dean's undercover. Has he gone too far? Has he forgotten he's a cop?
Yikes, Dark Blue opens with the exact same story/message as one hundred other undercover cop shows: There is temptation to go over to the dark side.
Yawn. I'm not saying that it's not a great story (Wiseguy did wonders with it) but, surely, after all this time, there is some other story to tell about undercover cops?
Cast-wise, the show is a winner. Nicki Aycox was awesome on Supernatural. She's underused here, but I'm sure she'll be great when they give her stuff to do. Logan Marshall-Green was great on Traveler. He's playing a very different character here, but he makes it work. And there's Dylan McDermott, playing everything all cool and dangerous with dark glasses. A total cliche, but he just about makes it work.
The show is violent, too. There's a lot of gunfire here. And while 24 can make scenes like this cool and integral to the storyline here they just seem violent.
The Philanthropist. Episode 1. "Nigeria" Teddy pulls a kid from stormy waters, and then sets out to save his village.
This is a repugnant premise. But with talent like Tom Fontana, Jonas Pate, Peter Horton and Barry Levinson on board it could have been good. It's not. It's utter rubbish.
Teddy Rist is meant to be Bruce Wayne and/or Tony Stark without the super-hero secret identity. He's a rich playboy who pulls a kid from stormy waters and has a change of heart about his life and lifestyle. Or it may have something to do with the recent death of his own son. The show isn't very clear on this.
Anyways, his backstory is framed by a conversation he is having with a sexy bartender. He's telling her about his millioraire lifestyle and heroic deeds and she doesn't believe him. It's meant to be funny. But, instead, it's excruciatingly embarrassing. Really, really bad. What were they thinking? Seriously. Did anyone involved think that any of this tripe was even remotely amusing?
Teddy, himself, comes across as obnoxious and unsympathetic jetting around the world and briding people to do his bidding.
How are we supposed to like this guy?
And what the hell was Neve Campbell wearing?!! Was the wardrobe departement having a joke at her expense?
Arrested Development. Season 2, Episode 12. "Hand to God" Maggie's baby, part two.
While this is better than part one, this season's Maggie Lizer two-parter is just not as strong as the one from season one.
Some of the biggest laughs come from Michael's meeting with the gay cops who are the fathers of Maggie's baby. And from the sequence where Michael tries to get his son to break into Maggie's house.
Weaker than the last episode. And the next one, as it happens.
Kojak. Season 2, Episode 20. "Elegy In An Asphalt Graveyard" The murder of Azure Dee.
One of my Top Five favourite episodes of Kojak. Why?
Telly Savalas sings. That's reason enough. A track called "Azure Dee" is heard on the soundtrack at the beginning, and ending, of the episode. It's a sad, love song about longing to see a particular someone walking down a street, and it's perfect for this episode. In some ways, it totally makes the episode.
The story is strong. An ex-junkie, ex-call girl, makes something of herself and - when Kojak's team question her associates - they get a picture of how much this woman affected the people who met her. Even Kojak met her briefly, years earlier, and it's obvious that she left a deep impression on him. Rarely have I see a story that so well captures the idea of the impact we all can have on those we meet. And the impact that others have on us.
The cast are fantastic. People like Eric Christmas, Walter Brooke and John Glover project their characters love/affection for Azure in every scene. And Stephen Elliott and Priscilla Pointer are truly hateful as the bad guys of the story.
The climax is thrilling. Kojak is full of fury, but he has no evidence against the Stephen Elliott character, but he is able to turn Priscilla Pointer's character and she offers to testify. Her speech about this, her reasons, are wonderful.
Roger Robinson guests as Gil Weaver. Second only to Crocker as my favourite of Kojak's men, I feel that any episode is much better for having him involved.
Highlight? Kojak (so sad)
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NCIS, Dark Blue, The Philanthropist, Arrested Development, Kojak
