Saturday, January 3, 2009
07.00 The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman
10.00 Killinaskully
10.00 Corner Gas
The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman. "Bionic Ever After?" Days before their wedding Jaime Sommers is stricken with a mysterious Bionic ailment, while Steve goes overseas for one last mission (to rescue an old friend being held hostage in a siege).
The third and best of the three bionic reunion movies. The story may be simplistic but it's not downright stupid, the two stars get lots to do and the bad guy has real menace. This time out there is no time wasted on introducing new bionic characters and the movie is all the better for it. Our heroes are heroic, taking the lead again, not playing second fiddle. The action climax is okay. Nothing spectacular, but enjoyable to watch.
While nothing that appears here can match the quality of the heyday of either of the original bionic series, this is certainly on a par with the later/weaker episodes from the '70s run. And, considering that it's the last time we'll ever see the bionic couple together, I can live with that.
I can't imagine ever wanting to watch the first two movies ever again, but I will certainly watch this one again at some point in the future.
Killinaskully. Episode 2. "The Date" Slapstick comedy, character humour and pathos make for an enjoyable second episode.
One of the German film-makers is run over by a steamroller (!!) and hospitalised. The comedy highlight comes when the bed he sleeps in is set on fire and we witness the chaos that surrounds the putting out of that fire. It all happens in the background. While it the foreground his German buddy is falling in love with a nice Irish girl. A nicely staged sequence. Very funny.
This episode introduces a new character: a teacher in the village school. A typically well-observed character he is, too. His interaction with the boys in his class is deadly accurate and reminds me of a teacher or two from my own childhood.
Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 10. "Knit Wit Of The Month" The Brent/Lacey/Wanda storyline is devoid of laughs, but there are chuckles to had from Oscar and Hank in this below-average outing.
Hank joins Emma's knitting circle. Pretty soon the other women in the group - long grown tired of Emma's obbsessive talking about Oscar - run off with Hang to form their own group. It's a well done idea. When the episode starts you expect the comedy to come from Hank's knitting skills in some form. But the knitting is an incidental part of what is happening. Which makes for a clever and enjoyable episode.
Meanwhile, Oscar starts to write for the Dog River Howler while Brent and the girls get into some sort of tiresome squabble. Yawn.
Highlight? Killinaskully (bed on fire)
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Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Killinaskully, Corner Gas
Sat, Dec 27, 08 - Killinaskully
10.00 Killinaskully
Killinaskully. Episode 1. "The German Fillum" Broad comedy. But not without merit. At it's best when driven by character comedy, at it's worst when driven by cliché.
German film-maker Dieter Langer arrives in the quaint village of Killinaskully to make a documentary about the effects of Europe on small-town Ireland. His first day in town is a bit of a disaster, as he is outwitted/confused at every turn by several colourful locals.
Pat Shortt plays three of these locals and Louis Lovett is a great straight-man for Shortt's antics. Shortt's great talent is the ability to capture real-life types and exaggerate them to comedic effect. I grew up in small-town Ireland and I recognise the people he plays. Willie Power and Dan Clancy make a great impression in this first episode for that very reason: the are way over-the-top but they are also very real. Goretti, the over-sexed B&B owner is less real and considerably less funny. She's a TV cliché, not a real person, and her scenes (in this episode) bring the laughs to a grinding halt.
All in all, it's a funny show. Small town folk run rings around the outsider. Not as funny, subtle or clever as Corner Gas, but basically the same idea.
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