09:00 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
11:00 The Sarah Connor Chronicles
12:00 Knight Rider
01:00 90210
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 2, Episode 10. "Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad" One of the best episodes. There are several highlights in this one: Danny DeVito going nuts in a very public place after being told that his kids aren't really his kids, Charlie & Mac attacking Stephen Collins in a car park and Dennis & Dee going onstage to sing with their real father are three of the best sequences the show has offered so far. Hilarious.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Season 2, Episode 3. "The Mousetrap" One of the best episodes. Unlike last week's case-of-the-week type story this one is completely driven by how the characters react with one another. Cromartie kidnaps Michelle which sends Charley to Sarah for help. She and Derek respond but all is not what it seems. Meanwhile John tries to find distance from Sarah and Cameron, which means more time with Riley and - unfortunately - leaves him wide open for an attack from Cromartie. Ellison, meanwhile, finds himself face-to-face with Catherine Weaver for the first time.
So... here's a show where all the conflict/drama comes from within. The character's relationships are enough to drive the show at the moment and that is a fantastic strength in any television series.
John continues to be my favourite character. Watching him grow into manhood continues to be great television. I love having Busy Philipps on the show. I've adored her ever since her awesome Love, Inc. sit-com and she seems to be a great addition to the mix on this show. Her baby, I assume, will have some sort of impact on Cameron's continuing growth. Gonna be cool to see that. It's cool watching Cameron here, too. What is really going on in her head, now, with regard to John?
This episode, however, is devoted to Charley, Michelle and Sarah. Cromartie's plan is very, very clever (except for the last part, of course. Why did he choose the pier?) and there is some great drama to be had from watching Charley, Michelle and Sarah deal with the trap and it's horrible aftermath. Rarely has a show managed to impact on me so much with the death of a minor recurring character. There is no dialogue from any of the regulars in any of the final scenes, you'll notice. Images tell the story. It's a sad story. And this is a supremely skillful television series.
Knight Rider. Episode 2. "A Knight In Shining Armor" Appalling television. Seriously. This is, like, some of the worst TV I have ever seen in my life. The story is badly constructed and non-sensical. Changes in tone are jarring and un-natural (as if we are watching clips from different episodes). Minor-characters (plus attempts at comedy) are absurd and hateful. KITT defies the laws of physics at every turn and the whole show is inept and embarrassing.
90210. Episode 5. "Wide Awake and Dreaming" One of the best episodes. Driven by three strong stories and a really likable cast this one is a real pleasure to watch. Jessica Lowndes is amazing as her character's drug problems come to a head and force her out of the school show. Fascinating character (finally) taking center-stage and - wow - can that lady ever sing!!
Naomi's family falls apart around her and... I care. AnnaLynne McCord has made me like the character and want to see how things go for her.
Harry Wilson is no Coach Taylor but I enjoyed seeing him come to terms with his daughter's awakening sexuality. Annie's hasty decision to sleep with Ty, her quest for a condom and the sad end of her evening all made for good viewing.
Sure, it's a far cry from Greek or Friday Night Lights but it's not trying to be either of those shows and it's a pretty good sequel to the original. I'm a fan. I'm in this for the rest of the season.
Highlight? The Sarah Connor Chronicles (death in the cast)
Yet Another TV Review Podcast
Yet Another TV Review Book
Thurs, Sep 25, 08 - It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Knight Rider, 90210
Doctor Who, Law & Order, Andy Barker PI, Knight Rider 2008
Mon, Feb 18th, 2008
09:30 Doctor Who
10:30 Law & Order
11:30 Andy Barker, PI
12:00 Knight Rider
Doctor Who. Season 28, Episode 5. One of the strengths of Doctor Who is the characters. Having Micky join the TARDIS crew pays huge dividends in this episode, as we watch the various dynamics between him and Rose, him and The Doctor, and - of course - The Doctor and Rose. It makes for great television, even the story lets you down somewhat. Not that this is a bad story. It's just a painfully padded Part One of a story and - as such - it does tend to drag. The TARDIS takes the gang to a parallel Earth (not the usual story fodder for Doctor Who, althought it has happened before) and while there is certain novelty to the spin that is put on familariar characters, there is also some dreadful over-acting from Roger Lloyd-Pack and a tedious drawn-out climax waiting for the Cybermen to appear.
Law & Order. Season 18, Episode 1. A pedestrian story can't hide the fact that Law & Order has a cool cop again. Jeremy Sisto makes a superb impression in his debut. He's a great screen presence and steals every scene he appears in. I have not watched Law & Order in many, many years, but this might make me want to go back. I hope the second episode has a decent story, not dated rubbish like this.
Andy Barker, PI. Episode 4. A stolen laptop, a tax-filing deadline and a guest shot from Traci Lords make for another great Andy Barker episode. The show just zips along, flinging out some great gags at regular intervals. Andy's father-in-law getting repeatedly beaten up by accident is very funny, showing it to us on security cameras is genius. Andy's confrontation scene with Traci Lords is hilarious and the show ends with another superb chase sequences. This time, as he dodges a gun-wielding thug, Andy is trying to file a tax return on the laptop.
Knight Rider. Pilot. I wasn't a fan of the original series and I won't be a fan of this one (if it goes to series). It aims low, and succeeds! This is Mediocre at it's very best (if you know what I mean). A cool opening sequence shows us that Bruce Davison is a member of the regular cast, and the show then tries to convince us that his character is killed off in the first scene. Right. That illustrates the brain-power behind this little gem. New KITT is introduced and seems to be more pro-active than Old KITT, tracking down and saving a damsel in distress. Deanna Russo (very pretty, but of limited acting talent) is the damsel partnered with KITT for the first half-hour and...it's pretty cool stuff. Watching it, and enjoying it, I did have pause to suspect that Old KITT would have gotten away from the bad guys much easier, but that's neither here nor there. While all this is going on Sydney Tamiia Poitier (very pretty, but of limited acting talent) stars in a sub-plot that serves no purpose. The show returns to her so many times that it's obvious the purpose of all this is... to reveal that the guy with her is a traitor, who will tip off the bad guys when the time comes. Yawn. The producers obviously think we all stopped watching TV when KR went off the air, and that we couldn't possibly see this coming. Justin Bruening (very pretty, but of limited acting talent) enters the story at this point, does some cool action stuff and begins bickering with New KITT. When the pilot created artificial bickering between New Michael and New KITT I immediately felt embarrassed that I was watching it.
And that was it, really. New KITT took ages to get from A to B, while the bad guys took a helicopter and easily out-manoeuvered him. They killed New Michael's mother. Boo Hiss. When New Michael leaned over his mother's dying body Bruening failed to convey any emotion. He looked like he could have been deciding which cheeseburger to order. There was a pointless chase sequence at the end, and - it must be said - a truly cool moment when New KITT stopped the bad guys. A few more moments like that and I might have enjoyed it. But there wasn't and I didn't. Unlike Bionic Woman, which was rubbish and arrogant (seeming to think it was quality dark TV or something) this is merely rubbish and confident. It's bunk and it knows it. And while I hated the old show with a passion, it - too - seemed to know it was crap. And there was a market for it. There's probably a market for this, too. Sadly.
Highlight? Andy Barker, PI
