Sunday, April 4th, 2010
06.00 The Big Bang Theory
08.30 The Rockford Files
11.00 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
01.00 The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd
The Big Bang Theory. Season 3, Episode 18. "The Pants Alternative" Sheldon's speech
The only thing missing here is an ending. Up until the closing moments this is a fairly typical episode of BBT. Sheldon is nervous about making a speech and the gang close ranks to help him out. Solidifying one of the main appeals of the show: oddballs with a strong support group.
The first three quarters of the episode are full of great jokes. One by one, each character steps up and tries to help Sheldon overcome his fear. In each case (due to the well-crafted nature of the characters) their attempts fall flat, usually by falling back on themselves.
In the end, Sheldon gets drunk and makes a fool of himself. An ending which wasn't foreshadowed and doesn't really fit with anything that went before. But, at least, it does bring the episode to an ending.
So, while it does have some very funny scenes, I can't imagine this one making it onto anyone's List of Best Episodes.
The Rockford Files. Episode 17. "Counter Gambit" Stolen Pearls & Angel.
Angel is such an integral part of the show that it's crazy to think that (apart from a scene in the pilot) he doesn't appear in the first 16 episodes. Even this, his first episode, doesn't feature him until the final third. But when he appears he dominates the episode and makes it something special.
Even without Angel this is a great story. Jim is working for a violent ex-con. The two have history, and Jim doesn't trust the guy. But he needs the money (of course) and so takes on the case of tracking the guys missing girlfriend. Our hero soon deduces that there's more going on, and the ex-con is really more interested in something the girl has (a stolen pearl necklace). Even then the scripts pulls of a great twist at the mid-way point. And - just to show off - there's another nifty twist before the ending. So, all things considered, this is a fine entry in the Rockford Files canon.
Adding Angel to the mix lifts it to a whole new level. Stuart Margolin is a delightful performer and his chemistry with James Garner is sparkling. It's no exaggeration to say that their every scene together here had me in peals of laughter. Surely, Angel is television's greatest ever sidekick?
Eddie Fontaine makes a great foe in this one, and the guest cast is filled with some of my all-time favourites: Mary Frann, Garry Walberg, M. Emmet Walsh, Ford Rainey and Burr DeBenning.
An episode to savour.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Season 2, Episode 1. "The Birds... and... um... Bees" Sex
Strong start to the second season finds Mary tasked with telling Phyllis' daughter all about the facts of life (because she's recently produced a documentary about sex).
Most of the conversations in the episode are about sex, and most of them are between women. Something I'd imagine was rare/unusual/risque in 1971. Yet, none of it appears dated or gives the impression of trying to appear shocking or daring in the slightest. In fact, more than anything else, it comes across as a story completely rooted in the characters. In this case the character of Phyllis drives the story. She is a very extreme character, however in this episode and many others she comes across a very real person and reminds me of a type of person I've met many times over the years. The short scene where she makes a big deal of what is about happen is a wonderful insight into the nature of her character (and it's a good scene for Cloris Leachman, as Phyllis tries to cry at one stage).
Funniest scene? The two biggest laughs in the episode come from Edward Asner as Lou Grant. First there's a scene where Mary takes a break in his office, much to his shock, and - later - there's a wonderful showdown between Ted and Lou that reminds us how well all of these characters go together.
The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd. Episode 3. "Here's Why You Should Stay Out of Coffee Shops If You Don't Drink Coffee" Fred's new job
This show is like freeform poetry. It accomplishes everything a good show should (it makes you think, it makes you feel, it makes you ache) but it is not in any way bound by the conventional or traditional limitations and restrictions of television storytelling. It simply makes it's own way along, ambling from scene to scene, each episode looking like one small chapter in a complex whole. This episode is a good example. It starts off with Molly looking for a job, pauses in the middle to tell us that her mom is having a health scare and spends most of the last half reminding us that Molly has very complex, and very conflicting, feelings for her ex-husband. And as we watch Molly wrestle with these feelings (culminating in a heartbreaking song performed by Blair Brown) we ache. Completely and utterly. In this little half-hour of television, filming over a few afternoons in 1986, you can feel your heart break a tiny bit as you watch the story play out.
At one stage there's a long montage of the city streets at night, as Molly takes a taxi ride and gazes out at the night people flying by. The soundtrack is dotted with dialogue we've heard earlier in the episode, and the effect is thoughtful and supremely melancholy. I felt the urge to pinch myself. Because I'm not entirely sure there should exist a television series this good in this particular way. And, yet, somehow: it does exist.
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
The Big Bang Theory, The Rockford Files, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd
