Saturday, December 19th, 2009
07.30 Friends
08.00 Friday Night Lights
09.00 Defying Gravity
10.00 Legend Of The Seeker
11.00 The Office
12.00 Space: 1999
02.00 Black Beauty
02.30 Corner Gas
Friends. Episode 10. "The One With The Monkey" New Year's Eve Party.
Ross gets a monkey (another signature element of the series) and Hank Azaria guests as a love interest for Phoebe.
More important, Maggie Wheeler returns as Janice. I love Janice and (for all the early seasons) thought she would eventually end up with Chandler and become a series regular. It didn't happen. They had better plans for Chandler, but I still remember Janice with fondness.
Friday Night Lights. Season 4, Episode 7. "In the Bag" Mindy spends some time in hospital. Expensive. Tami deals with an unwanted romantic advance. Vince might have a gun. Luke has to stay home from school to work on the farm. Landry phones Tyra.
A weak episode in which every obstacle that crops up is easily overcome. The Riggins brothers are only coming to terms with the hospital bill, when a solution falls into their laps. Luke is able to get one of the football team to help him out on the farm. Tami's problem disappears after one conversation.
It's all a bit too easy.
Defying Gravity. Episode 12. "Venus" Zoe and Donner make their final preparations. But the landing goes wrong...
Flashbacks reveal that Zoe did not make the cut. A big twist. And an example of the good storytelling of this show. We know she made it to the crew and - indeed - is all set to be the first human on Venus, but now we realise that there is more intrigue in the backstory. How she got back onto the programme is not revealed here, but is sure to help us understand some of the mystery behind what is happening on Earth in the present day.
Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 21. "Fever" Jensen and Darken Rahl.
Superb. On every level. Craig Parker gives his best-ever performance, showing us the truly devious side of Darken Rahl. Hell, there are times when I believed the lies he was spouting.
It's a clever and well-executed story, handing most of the screen time over to a guest star and a recurring cast member. But it pays great dividends.
Meanwhile, the stuff back at the camp raises all sorts of terrific moral questions, of the type you do not expect to find a show of this genre.
Superb. On every level.
The Office. Season 6, Episode 12. "Secret Santa" Michael vs. Phyllis for the coveted role of Santa.
The first half is awful, with Michael being a jerk. He relents somewhat becomes nice in the second half, but it's not a great episode.
Space: 1999 Episode 9. "Force of Life" A technician is taken over by a mysterious orb and wanders Moonbase Alpha taking life and energy wherever he goes.
Superb. Ian McShane makes a great guest star and this episode highlights much that is wonderful about the show.
#1. Koenig and the rest of our heroes have no understanding of what is happening and no control over it. They are at the mercy of space and all it's mysteries. Bergman offers theories, Helena offers theories, but they admit that they haven't a clue. And I like that. I like the epic feel that this kind of story bring to the show. It leaves you wondering, long after the credits, what might have been happening.
#2. The show looks beautiful. Absolutely stunning. This is evident in any episodes that showcase an alien landscape of some kind, but it is nonetheless true in episodes which are confined to Moonbase Alpha. The show looks sumptuous.
#3. Some of the visuals are deceptively simple. One of the best images of this episode (and, maybe, the series) is the sight of Anton Zoref (Ian McShane) stalking the corridors of Alpha with the lights all blinking out as he walks past. It's simple. But it works. Likewise, whenever Zoref goes into energy-draining mode they show this with soft focus and purple lights in McShane's face. Sounds weak, I know, but it really works.
#4. Faced with the unknown. Koenig's knee-jerk reaction is alway to try and kill it. At least, that's true when the unknown is somehow trying to kill them. Such as here. Survival is the main objective. This is not Star Trek and these characters do not have the luxury of trying to communicate. They have to try and live as long as possible. That's all there is to it.
#5. The show can be scary. The attacks on the victims (and on Helena) are actually quite scary. Using simple things like lighting and slow-motion, they show accomplishes a lot.
Black Beauty. Episode 4. "The Horse Thieves" Black Beauty is stolen.
With guest stars like Tony Doyle, Jim Norton and John Ringham the viewer is really spoiled in this one. It's also a very good story, which doesn't play out in the expected way. Two bumbling thieves successfully steal Black Beauty but have to return to the scene of the crime to retrieve a dropped knife. While there they hear that the hut that they have stashed Beauty in is about to blown up by the railway workers so, to avoid the needless death of an animal they genuinely admire, they step forward and tell everyone. Setting up a mad rush to the rescue.
It's a simple story that plays out in unexpected ways because the characters are well crafted.
Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 16. "Coming Distractions" Davis and Brent each tell lies about seeing a movie with Hank, having promised to wait and see it with each other. Lacey is invited to join a group for older ladies, while Wanda sets out to deface Oscar's new sidewalk.
Now this is more like it! Back on form with a funny episode, where everybody gets some of the funny. The Hank storyline is the funniest, but they all work.
Highlight? Space: 1999 (superb)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Friends, Friday Night Lights, Defying Gravity, Legend Of The Seeker, The Office, Space: 1999, Black Beauty, Corner Gas
