Sunday, December 13th, 2009
05.00 The Big Bang Theory
05.30 Friday Night Lights
06.30 Legend Of The Seeker
07.30 Supernatural
12.00 The Incredible Hulk
The Big Bang Theory. Season 3, Episode 10. "The Gorilla Experiment" Sheldon tries to teach Physics to Penny, while Howard gets jealous of Leonard.
A great one. How nice to see the group now expanded to include two girls. These guys are evolving. I hope Melissa Rauch is with the show from her on in, she's very funny.
Speaking of very funny, the show is always on to a winner when it pairs Penny with Sheldon for some reason. And this is one other their better pairings. A example of it being easier to find reasons for Penny to interact with everyone, now that she is dating Leonard.
Friday Night Lights. Season 4, Episode 6. "Stay" Julie takes Matt to a concert, while Lyla returns home to visit Tim.
Beautiful. And subtle. Most of the episode is devoted to the two (apparently) happy couples. We can see that they love each other. Fiercely. But, by looking closely, we can see that both couples are together for the very last time.
Some of the finest storytelling I have ever seen.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 20. "Sanctuary" Inside a painting.
Mind-blowing ideas in this one, as Richard and the gang find themselves inside a painting! A fast pace makes it impossible for the viewer to be one step ahead, at any stage. The painter is a fascinating character. He appears shady at the very start, but we don't know why. And his sacrifice at the end is very touching.
Supernatural. Season 5, Episode 8. "Changing Channels" Trapped in TV Land.
Stunning. Simply stunning. Words escape me. Another hilarious, rule-breaking episode of Supernatural that turns out (in the end) to be an integral part of the ongoing, very serious, story arc.
Surely you can't get away with stuff like this?
The Incredible Hulk. Season 2, Episode 5. "A Child in Need" The child abuse episode.
A season one episode held over for season two.
One of the most famous episodes of The Incredible Hulk. And also one of the very best.
David is working at a school and becomes suspicious of the bruises he sees on one child's arms. Suspicion turns to alarm when he hears that this is regular occurrence. And nobody seems prepared to step in and help the child.
The script does a great job of misdirection by making us think, early on, that mother is responsible and that the father is the one holding things together. But David soon sees that she is a victim as well, and sets out to do something about it.
Not just blessed with a great script, the episode is blessed with a great guest star in Sandy McPeak, who brings all of his onscreen charm to the role and makes the father a real person in every scene, not just a cartoon bad guy.
The school nurse, too, is well rounded character and her reasons for not getting involved are well presented and make sense. To everyone except David, who has a better developed sense of compassion than most and the willpower to get involved.
Getting involved leads to a couple of great Hulk Outs and a rare occurrence when the little boy at the centre of the story, sees him change back from being the Hulk. This is dealt with in a very sophisticated manner, worthy of the tone of the show and the story: they never speak of it again. David doesn't ask the boy to keep his secret, the boy just knows to do so. He's not stupid. And neither is the audience, we don't need to hear stuff like this. We can believe that the onscreen characters are smart enough to understand some stuff without being told.
There are many great scenes/moments in this one, but the (very long) scene where we see the father asking the boy to go get him a beer is one of the best in the entire series, and one of the best you will see anywhere. It is very tense and layered with lots of depth and meaning. In lesser hands, it could have fallen flat. I mean, it's basically just a very long scene of a father waiting for a child to go get him a beer, so... it could have amounted to nothing much. Instead, it's utterly gripping.
The episode also shows a bit of creative flair in two other scenes. As the Hulk changes back to Banner for the first time, he and the boy are walking through dark backalleys and the director attempts a clever visual of them walking through shadow and light, with the creature being a different size every time we see it. It almost works, too. And it looks impressive.
Much better is the bit of flair used to cue the the arrival of the Hulk for the second time, as David is cornered in the School Gym by the aggressive father. Instead of hearing dramatic music on the soundtrack, the scene abruptly cuts away from the action and instead we hear the boy's footsteps as he runs for help. His feet falling on the floor, getting faster and louder as he gets closer and closer to the office/camera, building excitement as they do so, is used as a substitute for dramatic music and it's completely successful.
In subject matter and tone, this episode is indistinguishable from similar episodes of shows like Lou Grant or Quincy, and a higher compliment I cannot think of.
Highlight? Friday Night Lights (beautiful)
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The Big Bang Theory, Friday Night Lights, Legend Of The Seeker, Supernatural, The Incredible Hulk
