Friday, December 4th, 2009
04.30 Friends
05.00 Community
05.30 FlashForward
06.30 Defying Gravity
07.30 The Rockford Files
Friends. Episode 4. "The One With George Stephanopoulos" The girls sit in, the guys go out.
A bit forced. The six friends are divided up into obvious gender-based groups, with predictable results. Not particularly funny or memorable, although it's always great to see Mary Pat Gleason doing her thing.
Community. Episode 11. "The Politics of Human Sexuality" Annie freaks out over a SexEd demonstration, while Jeff tries to find a date - really fast.
Jeff's evolution continues. Quite a smart script, this one. Sharon Lawrence is underused, but great nonetheless.
FlashForward. Episode 10. "A561984" Hong Kong.
Quite a lot of absurd in this one. It's a frustrating experience for the viewer, as after each and every scene you are inclined to ask: "But, why would... [fill in the blank]".
Zoey reveals, for the first time, that she did not see Demetri in her flashforward, despite having indicated clearly that she did see him up to this point. She also reveals details from her FF that make no great sense, in light of her behaviour in earlier episodes. I mean, it was pretty obvious she was at a funeral, so why would she not realise this until now?
Lloyd and Simon announce to the world that their experiment caused the blackout. But Simon doesn't really think they are responsible and - up to now - we've been led to believe that Lloyd is a bit of an outcast from his group, so why would they take his lead on this and go public?
Simon joins the FBI investigation and is given access to secret information. Why would they trust him?
Mark and Demetri (very easily) find Demetri's mystery woman, and she tells them more about Demetri's murder. It's not that dramatic, so why would she bother to withhold it until now? And why would Mark try and kidnap her at gunpoint? What was he hoping to achieve?
It's a very stupid show.
Defying Gravity. Episode 10. "Deja Vu" Paula can't fly, Jen can't see Beta, Donner can't get anyone to listen to his worries.
Another superb episode. Jen's inability to see Beta is particularly interesting, as is Paula's abrupt about turn with regard to what she thinks Beta is.
Meanwhile, back on earth, a surprise car accident in the closing seconds left this particular viewer totally confused about what is going on.
Truly, this is a show on the same level as Lost.
The Rockford Files. Episode 6. "Tall Woman in Red Wagon" On the trail of a missing woman. And some missing money, of course.
I love the fantasy of Hollywood, the idea that someone looks like Sian Barbara Allen can a 'plain jane' character who idolises a better-looking woman, like the missing woman. It's absurd, but it's part of the fantasy. And it's a testament to the skill of these storytellers when we can believe it, even when Ms. Allen's smile (in the closing scene) is radiant enough to melt an iceberg.
But, anyway...
None of these musing have anything to do with this particular episode of The Rockford Files. And it's another good one. Jim works closely with his client in this one, and they have a great bickering chemistry.
The end is one of those where they is no real resolution: Jim tells one person where he thinks the money is, then he tells a different person a different story and - finally - when alone he admits that he has no clue where they money is. Wonderful.
Highlight? Defying Gravity (superb)
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Friends, Community, FlashForward, Defying Gravity, The Rockford Files
