Thursday, October 1st, 2009
05.00 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
05.30 NCIS
06.30 Arrested Development
07.00 Eastwick
08.00 Trauma
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 4, Episode 5. "Mac & Charlie Die, Part One" Fearing that their lives are in danger Mac and Charlie set out to fake their own deaths.
Wonderful stuff. The main plot is crazy, and the execution is relentlessly funny. From start to finish you are laughing at the inept duo. Highlight? Mac in a wedding dressing, firing a gun.
The sub-plot is erratic, but likewise hilarious. The other three find a glory hole in the bar's bathroom's stalls which - somehow - leads Frank and Dennis to an orgy in a run-down building. Highlight? The buffet at the orgy.
NCIS. Season 5, Episode 17. "About Face" Palmer chases a suspect (at a crime scene), gets shot at and spends the rest of the episode trying (a) to remember the face of the culprit, and (b) regain some of his confidence.
Absolutely superb. Palmer (Brian Dietzen) is a minor recurring character who appears in every episode for a scene or two and has previously only been tied to one ongoing subplot (his secret romance with another co-worker) so when this episode starts out with him alone at a crime scene and being shot at I was terrified that they were about to kill off a character that I really like. Nope. Thank goodness. Instead, Palmer ducks and survives and spends the rest of the episode feeling quite bad about his cowardice, while the rest of the team take turns working with him and trying to aid his recovery of the memories of the shooter.
It's a delightful episode from start to finish. Putting Palmer at the center of the story is a good idea, anyway, but it also allows us to see the regulars in a new light as they each gather around him and try to help him out. It pushes (once again) the idea that these people are a family, and that is one of the show's core strengths.
Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 5. "Mr. F" Lots of scenes with Michael and Rita, while Gob and his father's surrogate build a tiny city to fool some Japanese investors.
There's a truly hilarious sequence in this episode (where the miniature 'city' is destroyed) that highlights the genius of Arrested Development. In order to make the sequence happen the show has to set several characters running in different directions. And it's completely seamless. Every bit of it. Even though the climax is fantastic and absurd, the show is able to take to that place without ever straining credibility.
Wonderful.
Eastwick. Episode 2. "Reaping and Sewing" Roxie is fearful of her new neighbour, because of visions that she has seen. Joanny investigates Van Horne. Kat sleeps with the husband she just broke up with.
Tiresome. The show spends a whole hour standing still, and - in some ways - moving backwards on the developments from the opening episode. Kat has used her powers to make her co-worker want her, but now she's not happy about that so she spends this episode pushing him away. Tiresome. Kat and her husband had a spectacular split at the end of the pilot, but - as of this episode - they are back on friendly terms: sleeping together and being joyful together at the news that he's gotten a new job. Likewise, the Roxie storylines move backwards from where they were at the end of the pilot: she has visions, but disregards them and nothing happens. Meanwhile she gets back with her toy boy. Another step backwards, surely?
It's almost like watching a show trying hard to figure out how to make it's story arcs last as long as possible.
And it's not very entertaining.
Except when Paul Gross is on screen. He's funny. But he's kept in the background this week. So I had more opportunity to see what a weak show this is.
On this show the setting of a small town seems limiting, yet the small town setting of Vampire Diaries seems to offer boundless story opportunities. Why is that?
Trauma. Episode 1. "Pilot" One year after a rescue-helicopter disaster, the team is called to the scene of a freeway pile-up.
The action-sequences are impressive and gut-wrenching, but - with all the running around - there really isn't much of a chance to get to know the characters.
I've never seen Cliff Curtis before, but he makes a fantastic impression from the very start and his character is the only one that I feel I got to know.
Anastasia Griffith, Jamey Sheridan and Kevin Rankin (particularly Kevin Rankin) are three performers that I like and I was delighted to see them in this. But Kevin Rankin barely speaks three times in the whole pilot and Griffith is given a very clichéd character to play. Not impressed. But I'll probably watch a second episode before giving up on it.
Highlight? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Mac in a wedding dressing, firing a gun.)
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It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, NCIS, Arrested Development, Eastwick, Trauma
