Monday, January 4th, 2010
05.30 Law And Order
06.30 Friends
Law And Order. Season 20, Episode 3. "Great Satan" Informant & Terrorists.
Superb. The usual twists and turns lead from a guy (Ben Youcef) staging fake kidnappings to two terrorist cells operating in the city. Ben Youcef gives a terrific performance as his character dives in and tries to help the police nab the terrorists. Some times he goes too far, and materials supplied by Lupo and co. end up being used in a real explosion.
The story weaves over and back, and seems more exciting and urgent than usual, and Ben Youcef stays central the whole way through. Amazing performer. The ending will bring a tear to the eye. A+
Friends. Episode 18. "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away"
The first episode of Friends to end on a proper cliffhanger, thus establishing the show as equal parts soap and comedy.
Before that happens, we get Ross summing up the courage to tell Rachel his feelings before arriving home to find that she has allowed his pet monkey to escape!!
The gang works together to get it back and Jennifer Aniston wears the sexiest outfit she ever wore on the show.
Highlight? Law And Order (Ben Youcef)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Law And Order, Friends
Friends, 30 Rock, Law And Order, The Incredible Hulk
Monday, December 21st, 2009
06.00 Friends
06.30 30 Rock
07.00 Law And Order
01.00 The Incredible Hulk
Friends. Episode 11. "The One with Mrs. Bing" Chandler's Mom shows up. And kisses Ross. While Monica and Phoebe compete over a guy in a coma.
Morgan Fairchild makes her first appearance as Chandler's Mom. Kissing Ross and causing friction between the guys. One of the regulars having a famous novelist for a mother, who appears with Jay Leno in one sequence, is 'very TV' for a show like Friends, which trades on it's ability to be easy to relate to. However, the cast just about makes it work.
The other storyline is much better. The Coma Guy storyline raises many laughs.
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 8. "Secret Santa" Jack reconnects with someone from his high school days.
Julianne Moore is a bit disappointing, but this is a pretty good episode. Jane Krakowski raises all the biggest laughs, and her scenes with (the wonderful) Cheyenne Jackson are superb. Watching Danny master sarcasm was worth the price of admission.
Jack's romance may have been a bit of a dud storyline, but the ending (between him and Liz) was superb. The show really conveys a great friendship between these two.
Law And Order. Season 20, Episode 2. "Just A Girl In The World" Lupo's dates a suspect.
S. Epatha Merkerson steals the show with a single scene here. We get an insight into Van Buren's fight with cancer and - in an exchange with the doctor on the case - S. Epatha Merkerson does some of her finest work on the show. Fact is: we've been watching this character for well over a decade and we care. We bloody care. So, if the writers want to take us into her person life for a story like this (and they have S. Epatha Merkerson to deliver the material) they will deliver some great television.
Performance-wise, this episode has some great work from Jeremy Sisto and Anthony Anderson also, as Lupo dates a suspect and it causes friction between the partners. I've like Detective Lupo since he first appeared (basically because he's cool) but Detective Bernard never gets passionate about anything. Until now. His speech to Lupo about liking his job was his best moment yet and made me - for the first time - really like the guy.
However...
The story is weak. And predictable.
I knew the girl was guilty. I'm sure most viewers did. Lupo should never have gotten involved. Idiot.
Also, the climax was a little too easy. Cutter doesn't have to do very much to make her go bananas on the stand.
A pity that these truly great performances were buried in a weak episode.
The Incredible Hulk. Season 2, Episode 3. "Ricky" Race track.
Solid, unremarkable episode with a great performance from Mickey Jones as a special needs adult, whose brother is a race car driver. Jones has two stand-out scenes in particular: one where he plays at driving the race car, and one where his character tries to arrange some tools in the garage. He brings a perfect innocence to his role and makes you totally believe in the character. I'm a huge fan of his work from other shows, but this is probably the best he's ever been (and he's always great). Rather than try and 'do' anything with the role, it seems like he's made a choice to very honest and vulnerable in the part and it really, really works.
There seems to be a lot suggest that this was the last episode filmed for the first season of the show. Whether that is the case or not I cannot say, yet, but it's certainly a more polished episode than most of what we saw in season one. And the show's formula is completely intact here. David makes friends through the job he holds and is able to help them (by becoming the Hulk on two occasions). Also, he does more than just help them get out of danger, he actually walks away having made their lives better in some way.
The cast is superb, and each one is given a good character to play. A lesser writer might have left these characters as one-note clichés but Jason Summers manages to give each one some life as a real person. This is very obvious with the two bad guys of the story, played by Gerald McRaney and Eric Server. Rather than being presented as cartoon bad guys there are a couple of scenes to build/establish character. They still come off as jerks, but - thanks to the extra material - they seem like jerks you'd meet in real life, as opposed to jerks you'd only ever see on TV.
So, it all amounts to a perfectly solid episode of The Incredible Hulk. David doesn't really bond with anyone so the ending isn't particular sad. There's a very cool sequence with the Hulk drinking from a soda can to be savoured, however, and the matching up of new footage with stock footage (of race cars) is much, much better than you'd see on contemporary Universal shows.
Highlight? The Incredible Hulk (Mickey Jones)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Z Rock, Law And Order, Dexter
Monday, December 14th, 2009
05.00 Z Rock
05.30 Law And Order
06.30 Dexter
Z Rock. Season 2, Episode 4. The boys go on a road trip with Neil.
Weak. Big Jay is very funny as Neil, when Neil is used as a supporting character. A whole episode devoted to him? I'm not so sure.
On Z Rock David Zablidowsky, Paul Zablidowsky and Joey Cassata play three nice, normal guys. They're basically playing themselves, which doesn't lend itself easily to sitcom situations. Unless you treat them all as one character and surround 'him' with oddball extreme characters. Jerry was the normal character as the centre of Seinfeld, much as Alex was the normal character at the centre of Taxi. And it usually works well enough on Z Rock. Except here, where Neil's constant vandalism eventually grew a bit tiresome.
Law And Order. Season 20, Episode 1. "Memo From The Dark Side" McCoy goes after a government member, over a war policy that led to a death/murder.
The new season gets off to a weighty, and enjoyable, start with an episode that highlights the gravitas of character Jack McCoy and, indeed, the series itself. At it's best, the show can be exciting and stimulating and this is a perfect example of this.
The ending, too, is suitably downbeat and realistic and typical of what the show is capable of.
Dexter. Season 4, Episode 12. "The Getaway" Dexter vs. Trinity.
The best season-ender to the best season. Truly shocking. I did not see this coming. The episode was structured to make us expect a happy ending (like the show has always given us). And I was expecting to see Dexter emerge from the Trinity experience determined to never kill anyone again.
But, they surprised me.
In one way, the death of Rita is bad because it reduces her whole existence to nothing more than being an object which can have impact upon Dexter. His 'girlfriend', his 'wife', his 'dead wife'. All of these roles are part of the growth of Dexter. But take him out of the picture and she has no meaning in her own right. Which is a bit crap. If you choose to read it that way.
Of course, it must be said that Rita had become a less sympathetic character this season. She was becoming a real pain. But her presence in the show made Dexter (serial killer though he may be) a complete everyman. That's gone now.
But the show opens up a lot of great new story opportunities.
Highlight? Dexter (they surprised me)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Friends, 30 Rock, Law And Order, Dexter, Scrubs, Black Beauty
Monday, December 7th, 2009
01.00 Friends
05.00 30 Rock
05.30 Law And Order
06.30 Dexter
07.30 Scrubs
12.00 Black Beauty
Friends. Episode 6. "The One With The Butt" Joey is Pacino's butt double, Chandler is dating a woman with many lovers, Monica is trying to story being a tidy freak.
Shades of stuff here that you won't see on any other sitcom. The while Joey storyline is classic Joey, and classic Friends. It's a character-driven tale. It works because of who Joey is.
The same goes for the Monica storyline. It's only a c-story, really, and it only gets a few short scenes but it establishes Monica as an obsessive compulsive tidy freak and Courteney Cox sells it.
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 7. "Dealbreakers Talk Show No. 0001" Liz makes a pilot.
One of the cleverest, and best, episodes of 30 Rock. It turns Liz into Jenna (with Jenna called in to talk her down), it turns Frank into Liz, it gives Tracy one of his best-ever stories and it features Dr. Spaceman and Will Arnett. Plus Astronaut Mike Dexter.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 22. "The Drowned And The Saved" Jack vs. Shalvoy
Law and Order ends the season on a true high note, with Jack and the team going up against Shalvoy (and his devious wife) again. It's a complex tale, superbly told, full of subtlety and tension in equal measure. It's also one of the best Jack McCoy episodes, highlighting him as one of TV's most heroic characters.
Dexter. Season 4, Episode 10. "Lost Boys" Missing child.
The show rolls out a second truly superb episode in a row, with Dexter going into full hero-mode, dashing around Miami on the trail of a missing child, in the clutches of Trinity (the amazing John Lithgow).
Scrubs. Season 9, Episode 2. "Our Drunk Friend" Lucy's alcoholic patient, Denise's love life.
Another strong episode. Kerry Bishé works well as the new lead, and her storyline is predictable but nonetheless successful. It took me a while to warm to Eliza Coupe's Denise, but she's a real favourite now and her love story with Michael Mosley's Drew will keep me hooked, I feel.
Black Beauty. Episode 3. "The Pit Pony" Vicki meets Billy and they try to save a pit pony on the way to be slaughtered.
Weaker than first two episodes. The plot is basically a re-thread of the first episode with a new hero and a new horse to be saved. The scene where Billy first steals the pit pony is simplistic and silly, and so is Amy's ability - later in the story - to know where the children are and send help.
Having said that, there is plenty here to enjoy. The production looks amazing, particularly the night scenes, and Judi Bowker is radiant and charming in every scene. The relationship between Vicki and Billy is well written and it works, even when the story fails to serve it occasionally.
Highlight? Dexter (truly superb)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
30 Rock, Law And Order, Friends
Monday, November 30th, 2009
05.00 30 Rock
05.30 Law And Order
12.30 Friends
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 6. "Sun Tea" Liz tries to force a guy out of his apartment.
When Liz went to meet her upstairs neighbour I was afraid it would turn out to be another disastrous love-story-for-Liz episode. I love those. But I don't want the show to rely on them. Instead, we got something different - and funny - as Liz tried various schemes to force the guy to go live somewhere else.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 21. "Skate Or Die" Skater serial killer.
A stunning guest shot from Brian Gant, a welcome return by Carolyn McCormick, and a truly warped story make for another great episode. Cutter bends the rules a tiny bit, I love when he does that, and there's nice continuity elements with the end of McCoy's bid for re-election.
Friends. Episode 3. "The One With The Thumb" Everyone loves Monica's new boyfriend.
A bit too 'cute' to work fully. Monica's new boyfriend makes a bigger impression on her friends than on her. He even convices Chandler to quit smoking.
Highlight? Law And Order (warped story)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
30 Rock, Law And Order, The Middle, The Six Million Dollar Man
Monday, November 16th, 2009
05.00 30 Rock
05.30 Law And Order
06.30 The Middle
12.00 The Six Million Dollar Man
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 4. "Audition Day" Jack becomes an outcast (in society) as Liz and Pete try to manipulate him into picking their choice for new cast member.
Great episode, once again, with everything surrounding the robot guy being truly hilarious.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 20. "Exchange" Two scientists die in a fire.
Another solid case. Starts off as one thing, and ends up as another, as we are led to a particularly nasty bad guy.
The Middle. Episode 3. "The Floating Anniversary" Frankie and Mike try to find time to celebrate their anniversary.
More of the same chaos we saw in the first two episodes.
The Six Million Dollar Man. Episode 5. "Survival of the Fittest" Plane Crash.
Steve is escorting Oscar when they plane they are on, crash lands on a deserted island. Some assassins are on board, and decide to continue their plans to kill Oscar. Part of the fun of this episode is the fact that we can see two of the hit team, as they make their plans, and they refer to a third team member (called "Bobby") that we are not shown, but who we assume is somewhere among the passengers that Steve and Oscar are working with...
And that's the episode in a nutshell. Lots of different permutations of characters running around the island in different groupings, as we watch and try to figure out who isn't to be trusted. There's a great guest cast in this one: James McEachin, Christine Belford, William Smith, Laurette Spang and Randall Carver get some great material.
This is a good episode for the Steve and Oscar relationship, because in this episode we clearly see them as friends. Oscar doesn't tell Steve everything, of course, but they obviously care about one another. This is something that definitely wasn't present in the movies that started the series, and there was no opportunity to observe it in the one-hour episode that ran before this one. They are more than just 'boss' and 'agent'.
There's almost no bionic action in this one. At one point Steve runs very fast and kills a snake, but apart from that he never really uses his powers. At the end, his bionics come in handy as a means towards saving Oscar's life but it's not really a case of Steve using his powers, just the doctor being able to use some of his wiring.
Clever end to a very enjoyable SMDM script.
Highlight? The Six Million Dollar Man (fun)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
30 Rock, Law And Order
Monday, November 9th, 2009
05.00 30 Rock
05.30 Law And Order
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 3. "Stone Mountain" Liz and Jack in Kenneth's hometown, still searching for a new cast member for TGS.
Solid, funny outing with plenty of screentime for everyone in the cast. The Jenna and the Writer's storyline is the one that best illustrates how clever the show can be.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 19. "All New" Firefighter.
Solid, unremarkable, 100% enjoyable. The story moves gracefully through it's various twists and keeps up involved all the way through.
Highlight? (100% enjoyable)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
30 Rock, Law And Order, The Middle
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
05.30 30 Rock
06.00 Law And Order
07.00 The Middle
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 2. "Into the Crevasse" Liz's successful book causes friction.
I absolutely love the cold open on this episode: Liz has a 'fight' with a store clerk who is working on a window display. Everything about it (right down to Liz's final line about another successful interaction with a man) was perfect.
All told, this was a fun episode, where everybody got something to do. And some of the ideas were truly wacky: filming a werewolf movie in Iceland, for instance.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 18. "Promote This!" Illegal immigrant.
Another solid episode with a downbeat ending. It's also a good episode for showing how far the heroes are willing to go to (try to) get the job done.
The Middle. Episode 2. "The Cheerleader" Frankie is the one that keeps her family together.
I liked the pilot, but I'm still not sure this is a show I'm gonna be able to make time to watch every week. This episode gave everyone something to do, it was funny and it had a sweet ending (where Frankie suddenly came unravelled) but I'm still not sure...
Highlight? Law And Order (downbeat)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
30 Rock, Law And Order, The Dead Zone, Arrested Development
Monday, October 19th, 2009
05.00 30 Rock
05.30 Law And Order
08.00 The Dead Zone
12.30 Arrested Development
30 Rock. Season 4, Episode 1. "Season 4" New cast member search. Pages on strike.
Sometimes I don't enjoy the season premiere's of 30 Rock, but this one hit the mark as far as I was concerned. It amazes me that the show can (successfully) make comic fodder from the troubles of NBC and the economy in general. But it does.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 17. "Anchors Away" David Rasche doing TV news, and Jill Eikenberry helping her husband steal money and build an empire.
Great episode, with one of the strongest endings the show has had. It's refreshing to see an older couple (even a criminal one) so much in love, and so devoted to one another and even Connie appears touched by their affection. But the closing minutes drive home the fact (voiced by one of the regulars) that they might love one another, but they don't love anyone else. Even their own daughter, who ends the episode in a sorry state.
Great episode.
The Dead Zone. Season 2, Episode 12. "The Hunt" Johnny goes CIA.
One of the best, and coolest, episodes with Johnny helping the CIA track a suspected terrorist. The first two-thirds show the top secret set-up with documentary-like detail and it's absorbing and entertaining stuff. In it's final third, the story gets really clever and finds a way to plant Johnny in the middle of an intense fire-fight and impact upon the action.
A thrill ride.
Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 12. "Exit Strategy" Iraq.
AD surprised me greatly by bringing it's three-season storyline to a conclusion. To be honest, as much as I loved the show (and I still) I never thought of it as having a proper 'story' that would need to be concluded. In fact, had it's final episodes been typical chapters I would in no way have felt that I was missing out on anything.
But, as it happens, the writers had an ending for their story arc in mind and in this episode we find out that George Sr. was innocent all along. We also get a guest shot from Gary Cole, which is never a bad thing.
Highlight? The Dead Zone (One of the best, and coolest, episodes)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Z Rock, Law And Order, The Middle, Arrested Development
Monday, October 5th, 2009
05.30 Z Rock
06.00 Law And Order
07.00 The Middle
11.30 Arrested Development
Z Rock. Season 2, Episode 3. Opening for KISS.
Last week's episode was easy-going and laid-back. This week's (enjoyable) outing maintained a lot of that charm, but was much more obviously plot-driven. Paulie's latest romance was much more only-in-a-sitcom. But not in a bad way. He meets a hot girl who insists that he join her in a threesome. Of course, there's a twist in the final scene (and it feeds into one of the show's running gags).
Other stuff, too, was more plot-driven this week with the guys rushing to a last-minute gig and finding out that it wasn't quite what they had been told.
All in all, this was a different tone of episode, but still very enjoyable.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 16. "Take-Out" Keith Carradine as a spy in prison.
At it's core, this was the story of a family and a tragedy driven by secrets and lies. Great performances and nice twists and turns made it enjoyable.
Also of note: a gun battle for Lupo and Bernard. A short one, yes, but still a rarity on L&O. Interesting to watch Lupo's face just after the kill. A man of conscience, it seems.
And: nice work on the friendship/dynamic between Cutter and his boss, Jack McCoy.
The Middle. Episode 1. "Pilot" Superhero suit.
A real feel-good show. Lots of funny scenes here and there and a group of characters, a family, who seem to really like one another and enjoy one another's company.
When this was over I had a nice big grin on my face, and it wasn't just from laughing.
It reminded me of Malcolm In The Middle in lots of ways. All of them good.
Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 6. "The Ocean Walker" Marrying Rita.
A classic. Surely one of the very best episodes. The Rita character/storyline is not one of my favourites but this is a masterpiece. It manages to be relentlessly fast-paced and funny. And the ending, the final good-bye between Michael and Rita is truly magical and touching.
And, it gets better. Only on Arrested Development could they deliver a touching/magical scene and immediately descend into (truly hilarious) chaos without ruining what went before.
Every time I see it, I gasp when Rita walks across the water. It's beautiful. And they don't spoil it one little bit by using the same bit of business (Gob's magic trick) for hearty laughs as soon as Rita is out of shot.
Is "Why am I not going under water? Dear God, why am I not going under water??" the greatest line ever uttered in Arrested Development?
Highlight? Arrested Development (the ending is magical and hilarious in equal measure)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Z Rock, Law And Order, Wings
Monday, September 28th, 2009
05.30 Z Rock
06.00 Law And Order
02.00 Wings
Z Rock. Season 2, Episode 2. Two of the guys meet and date two women.
Another easy-going and likable outing for the guys. Some of the best episodes from the first season were plot-driven, but at it's heart this is a very laid-back series about a bunch of normal guys. This episode illustrates this side of the show to perfection. The guy's are getting back into the rhythm of rehearsals when two of them meet two women and start dating, which puts a minor indent in the time allotted for rehearsing. By the end of the episode both new relationships have reached their logical end without anything overly-dramatic happening. And there's been a few laughs along the way.
An easy-going and dependable show. The guys and likable and the show never delivers a weak episode.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 15. "Bailout" Kidnapping of a rich guy's mistress.
I love when they lose! Not because I like to see Michael Cutter taking a beating (I don't, he's one of my favourite TV heroes right now) but because it makes for a better story and because it makes the show better overall.
In this episode there is a great point to be made by having the jury vote the guy "innocent" and it's powerful. The jurors seem to by-pass the death of the girl and see the case in terms of a poor guy going up against a rich guy. Interesting outcome. Unpredictable.
Wings. Season 3, Episode 1. "The Naked Truth" Ten months later...
The show does a wonderful job of re-booting the Joe and Helen romance. Ten months have gone by and Helen is unhappy in New York. So, with help from Joe and Brian, she returns to Nantucket and finds that Joe is now in a serious relationship with someone else...
Helen's (over)reaction doesn't make a lot of sense, really, since she was the one to leave Joe, but it makes for some very funny TV.
And, from the writers/producers perspective it allows them to generate a lot of story material for Season Three that they could never do with Joe and Helen as a happy couple.
Highlight? Law And Order (I love when they lose)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Arrested Development, Law And Order, Wings
Monday, September 14th, 2009
07.00 Arrested Development
07.30 Law And Order
01.30 Wings
Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 1. "The Cabin Show"
Great season premier. Everybody gets something to do. The structure of the episode would lead one to suppose that everybody is going to meet up at the cabin at the same time for some hilarious climax, but that is not the case: instead, the cabin is 'kidnapped'. Only on Arrested Development.
Biggest laugh (for me)? The part where Michael and George Michael (while driving away from Reno) each confess that they nearly had 'Pop Pop' in Reno. Wonderful. And it only works if you get the reference, ie are a longtime fan of the show who remembers where George Michael had 'Pop Pop' in the attic.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 14. "Rapture" Religious website.
Fast-moving, satisfying, story. I didn't know where it was going, at any moment. At the mid-point, it looked as if the story that started off about a religious website was going to turn into a story of a killer hiding in an embassy, but it rapidly discharged that part of the story and moved back to the website angle very fast.
There's about two hours of story here and this is an example of the show at it's very best.
There's even some work on the characters, which is rare for Law And Order.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 21. "Murder She Roast"
Dumb. The show reaches too far by trying to convince us that Brian suspects that Fay could be a mass murderer.
Too silly for Wings.
Highlight? Law And Order (two hours of story)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Law And Order, Wings
Monday, September 7th, 2009
12:00 Law And Order
01:00 Wings
Law And Order. Season 9, Episode 13. "Crimebusters" Vigilantes help out.
I like the episodes where the heroes lose. Not because I want them to lose (God, no, I really root for the heroes on L&O) but because it helps the whole show and - I feel - underscores all the other episodes with added tension: "are they going to lose this case?"
Often when they lose the story is told so that we - at home - know who the killer is and are left with a suitable bitter taste in our mouth as we watch them screw the system and walk away.
This time, however, the show ends with two suspects and nobody (the heroes, or the audience) has a clue as to which one of them could have carried out the deed.)
A great ending to a great episode.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 20. "Mother Wore Stripes"
More drama than comedy, as Brian and Joe's mother comes back 18 years after she ran out on them. There's nothing much in the script that even attempts to make you laugh and Tim Daly and (guest star) Barbara Babcock play everything as real and dramatic. Babcock (whenever I see her, I think of her role on Hill Street Blues) is superb as the mother. David Lloyd has scripted a great character for her to play. She's unsympathetic and unapologetic. Only Babcock's likability and the character's relentless honesty makes her palatable. Somehow we accept her and we don't judge her. And, eventually, so does Joe.
Highlight? Law And Order (I like the episodes where the heroes lose)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Law And Order, Arrested Development
Monday, August 31st, 2009
08.00 Law And Order
02.00 Arrested Development
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 12. "Illegitimate" Cop suicide leads to...
One of my favourite things about Law And Order is the way some stories start off small and intimate and blossom into tales that affect the nation, or - sometimes - the world. Here is one of those. It starts off as a cop suicide and ends up tied to the Kennedy family.
The ending is a tad corny (Cutter bribes the culprit to plead guilty with his DNA test results) but it works when you consider it as a character study. Even Connie says it: the guy would rather be in jail and famous/important than free and anonymous.
Arrested Development. Season 2, Episode 14. "The Immaculate Election" George Michael runs for school election, Tobias dons his Mrs Featherbottom disguise for the first time.
Am I the only one who feels like they missed an episode? The opening of this one is rapid fire stuff as the narrator struggles to bring us up to date with the recent events in the lives of the Bluth family. Has this got anything, I wonder, to do with the fact that the Back 9 (episodes) was cut down to a Back 5 instead?
Whatever, this still makes for a pretty good episode. Video footage of George Michael (and later Buster) being the probable highlight.
Highlight? Law And Order (Kennedy family)
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Better Off Ted, Arrested Development, Law And Order, Raising The Bar, Harvey Birdman, Wings
Monday, August 24th, 2009
07.00 Better Off Ted
07.30 Arrested Development
08.00 Law And Order
09.00 Raising The Bar
10.00 Harvey Birdman
10.15 Harvey Birdman
01.30 Wings
Better Off Ted. Episode 12. "Jabberwocky" Ted lies about the existence of a secret project, and everyone believes him.
A very basic idea, but it works and it's funny. Some of the scenes are like painfully bad chess, between clueless people, and it's very funny because of that.
Best bit? The scene where Veronica speaks to her superior about the project, having just heard about it for the first time.
Arrested Development. Season 2, Episode 9. "Burning Love" There's a wolf on the loose.
A wolf? I love Arrested Development and I'm willing to take the occasion leap to make the logic of the show/jokes work, but this episode is asking a lot. Especially the part where Tobias shoots his wife in the mistaken belief that she is the wolf.
Events over in the Michael storyline also stretch credibility. Plus plots about Michael work best when they are tied back to the family in some way, or there is an inherent awkwardness about the situation he finds himself in. Here, it seems as if fate is simply conspiring against him. And that's just not as funny.
But there is good stuff in here: everything with Gob his new/old lady is great and Jeffrey Tambor is hilarious as George Sr. recovers from the effects of the Hot Tub.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 11. "Lucky Stiff" Trucking Company. Going Green. Russian Mob. Incest (kinda).
A fast-paced and enjoyable tale. It could have worked as a two-hour episode. The cops have caught the killer and the trial is over by the mid-way point. There there is a further murder and the cops come back onscreen again. So, it's a complete departure from formula. And, even better, it's a strong story that merits this kind of special treatment.
Raising The Bar. Episode 8. "Out on the Roof" Trying to help his friend might get Charlie in trouble, so he turns to Jerry, and Bobbi meets a family with a corrupt sense of family honour.
While the Charlie storyline is easily the best (it's superb) this is a strong episode across the board, with great stories/scenes for pretty much everybody in the cast.
Jonathan Scarfe dominates the episode completely, showing us everything that Charlie is going through, as he deals with the return of Rafael, this time in jail. Wilson Cruz is terrific, too, of course.
Once again Jerry is written/played as the ultimate White Knight and I'm fine with that. This character has really grown on me. He's a television archtype.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 10. "SPF" Harvey has a mole, so he has to use sunblock.
The Harvey-is-addicted-to-sunblock stuff goes on and on and on, long past the point where it is still funny or interesting. It does get very surreal, however.
The case-of-the-week, though kept to the background, is funny.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 11. "The Devlin Made Me Do It" A kid is injured imitating a motorcycle stunt.
Priceless. A flawless episode. Hilarious from start to finish, with some truly inspired gags. My absolute favourite is the instructional video which specifically uses the kid's name ("Comma Bobby"). Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 19. "All in the Family" Brian dates Kenny's mom.
Joe and Helen are one of my favourite TV couples. They are cute, clearly in love with one another and - thanks to Crystal Bernard's spunky performance - they have a lot of sparks flying between them. Such as here, when secrets become the topic of much (funny) discussion.
The main storyline plays to Brian's strengths as a character and the ending once again shows that Wings (like Cheers before it) will write to the character, not to the joke, as a means towards delivering a much better episode.
Loved it.
Highlight? Raising The Bar (Charlie)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Z Rock, Law And Order, Wings, Harvey Birdman
Monday, August 17th, 2009
06.00 Z Rock
06.30 Law And Order
02.00 Wings
02.30 Harvey Birdman
Z Rock. Season 2, Episode 1.
This is the best episode of Z Rock so far, because... it's the most plot-driven episode so far. Following the events of the Season One finale, the band has broken up and this is the story of how their friends (including Joan Rivers) trick them into meeting up and (possibly) coming back together.
As such it has even more of a 'feel good factor' than a normal episode.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 10. "Pledge" Why is the suspect obsessed with the students of a particular sorority?
Complex and engrossing. An example of Law And Order at it's best. And an example of what I want Law And Order to be when I sit down to watch it. It's starts off with two murders and grows until it becomes thought-provoking drama on several weighty subjects.
Sometimes during the cop part of the hour you can easily spot Lupo doing something that will cause problems later on (in the lawyer part of the hour) but that is not the case here. I thought I had spotted something (on two occasions) but it all came to nothing and the legal part of the story stood on it's own merits.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 18. "Love Means Never Having to Say Geronimo" Brian decides to marry a girl he just met.
Very funny episode, and a illustration of why Wings is such a great series.
The idea that a regular character (on any show, be it comedy or drama) will meet someone and decide to get married immediately is dumb. Stupid beyond belief.
Why should an audience invest in a story when they know that (logically) the regular character won't really get married at the end? That's assuming that they even buy the idea of a sudden marriage for the character, anyway. Plus, the writer (Bruce Rasmussen, in this case) has to find a get-out-clause at the end that the audience will buy.
Almost impossible to pull off all of that.
But Wing's pulls it off. And makes it really, really funny. And uses the whole imporbable tale to add depth to the romance between Joe and Helen.
It works because of the character of Brian. Who has been so well developed at this stage in the series that we have no problem accepting the ludicrous idea of him running off to get married. Why? Because that's who he is. Pure and simple.
Also, Lisa Darr is a great guest star. The scene where her character 'attacks' Joe and Helen and forces them to get married is absolutely hilarious. Surely one of the best scenes in the entire series. A comedy highlight, not just because it's so funny but because it's a great character moment.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 8. "Deadomutt, Part Two" Harvey in Jail.
Much, much funnier than Part One. Whereas that episode was a one-joke affair, endlessly padded out to get to the cliff-hanger, this episode is packed full of great gags and a much better story. The entire sequence/montage with Harvey in jail (learning to read, etc.) is truly inspired and very funny.
Highlight? Law And Order (complex and engrossing)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Z Rock, Law And Order, Harvey Birdman, Wings, The Famous Five
Monday, August 10th, 2009
06.30 Z Rock
07.00 Law And Order
08.00 Harvey Birdman
01.00 Wings
01.30 Famous Five
Z Rock. "Episode 10" Trying to get out of the contract with John Popper...
Nice ending to the first season. Ties up some stuff from the start of the season and give the whole affair the feeling of a coherent story arc, something I genuinely wasn't expecting.
I like this show. I like the guys. They are always amusing. Lynne Koplitz is very funny. The highlight of this episode comes when she strips down to her bra and urges Popper to have his way with her.
Having Joan Rivers in most episodes doesn't hurt either. The accidental killing of the poor little dog and the whole you-think-I-look-like-
Angela-Lansbury? scene are both hysterical.The twist ending is predicable, but who cares? It's funny.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 9. "By Perjury"A lawyer commits murder.
And he's clever, too, so Mike has to get extra sneaky to find a way to defeat him. Good scenes for Mike and Lupo in this one (my two favourite characters on the show). The bit at the end where the bad guy pulls a gun on Mike is a bit OTT for Law And Order, but it works very well within the context of this particular story. But I wouldn't want to see that kind of thing happen every week.
Harvey Birdman. Episode 7. "Deadomutt" The Blue Falcon joins the firm and Harvey gets jealous.
And no wonder. He gets some very bad (and hilarious) treatment when Blue Falcon shows up and everyone falls under the spell of his charm. Having said that, however, there is a sense that they are making the exact same joke over and over and over to fill time until they can get to the cliff-hanger.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 17. "Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places" Valentine's Day.
The first episode for Tony Shalhoub and he makes quite an impression. Antonio is working as a waiter, and he befriends Helen while she waits for Joe to show up. Shalhoub is hilarious. And it's easy to see why they brought him back.
Famous Five. Episode 7. "Five Go Off To Camp, Part One" The Spook Train.
It's a pity they didn't film all the books as two-parters. The pace in this is just right. Not frantic or rushed. Since they are not just talking to service the plot there's a chance for some character moments. When they gang go camping they hear tales of a Spook Train and decided to go out in the night and investigate. Anne (the youngest) is too scared to go out (seems strange, after all they have been through, but never mind...) so Julian decides that George must stay with Anne. This is little character conflict within the group is interesting to observe. Had this been a half-hour adaptation, I'm sure we'd have lost all of this.
Highlight? Wings (Tony Shalhoub)
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Mon, Apr 6, 09 - 30 Rock, Jury, Law And Order, House, Phil Silvers, Seven Days
05.30 30 Rock
06.00 The Jury
07.00 Law And Order
08.00 House
01.30 The Phil Silvers Show
02.30 Seven Days
30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 15. "The Bubble" Liz's boyfriend lives life in a bubble, shielded from all kinds of truth by his amazing good looks.
The sort of stories/jokes on this show won't appear on anything else. You've never seen them before. They come from the characters and some very, very inventive writing.
The Jury. Episode 7. "Too Jung to Die" Did a psychiatrist try to murder his patient, or is she delusional?
Zeljko Ivanek turns in a typically great performance. It's an unusual episode. For once there is no murder and - at the very end - the jury are unable to reach a verdict. It's also unusual because it's very much a case of one person's word against another. And one of those people has a very hard time telling fantasy from reality.
The final sting, of course, comes in the final seconds when we (the audience) are allowed to see what really happened. Was I surprised? Yes, once again, the show managed to surprise me with the revelation at the end.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 8. "Chattel" Children as slaves.
After a weak episode, the show rebounds with one that is absolutely superb. And it's an absolutely perfect example of a type of episode that the show does really well: it starts off as a simple case of murder, grows until it's a major incident or national/international importance and then it all comes back to the murder with a solid punch.
"Chattel" is an example of Law And Order at it's very best. A great story and lots of solid work from all of the regulars.
House. Season 5, Episode 17. "The Social Contract" A patient who speaks his mind, and cannot stop.
Despite being haunted by the feeling that I've seen all of this before, I must admit that this is quite a strong episode. Unlike many patients (who fade into the background) Jay Karnes pretty much carries the episode. I love this guy. He reminds me of Kyle Secor. I love him, too. If I had a network, I'd cast them as cops who are brothers.
Or something.
Anyway. He carries the episode as the patient who says everything that comes into his mind. There are many standout scenes. He breaks his daughter's heart by telling her she is of below average intelligence, and says a lot of cruel things to his poor wife. At the end, when she comes to the hospital to collect him and they head home, you know in your heart that that little family is destroyed. And it's quite powerful stuff.
House, of course, is fascinated by this unusual patient and the script cleverly has a look at all sorts of social contracts: the white lies we all tell on a day to day basis. It's good fun, and very interesting and stimulating.
Best scene? House arranges to have the patient hit on Cuddy by talking about her amazing body. Hilarious.
The Phil Silvers Show. Episode 3. "The WAC" Bilko competes with a lady sergeant for a jeep.
Interesting that after only three episodes the show is already toying with the formula. Not only does Bilko 'lose' in this episode, but he also gets a girlfriend. The final scene, where she turns his own tactics on him are hilarious. As is the whole episode, it must be said.
Seven Days. Season 2, Episode 3. "Parker.com" A computer program (a female one, at that) takes over the world.
This is a crazy, crazy episode. But it's a whole lot of fun. The pace is very fast, and the world at the end when Parker has sex with the computer. Yes, I'm serious. It's absolutely crazy stuff, but I loved every second of it. Keegan Connor Tracy is crazy hot as the computer program in question. Ever since her days on Jake 2.0 I've been a huge fan of this lady. But, she wasn't playing a sex vixen on Jake (unfortunately) and she's fantastic here.
This episode is also unusual because there's no time travel element. Parker isn't allowed to travel back in time until near the very end, so - in many ways - this plays out like an episode from a conventional action-adventure show. A somewhat crazy action-adventure show, but never mind...
Also worth mentioning: the landscapes at the very end, when Parker and the program are face-to-face are beautiful.
Highlight? Law And Order (powerful)
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Mon, Mar 23, 09 - 30 Rock, Law & Order, House, Greek, Lost, Office
06.30 30 Rock
07.00 Law And Order
08.00 House
09.00 Greek
10.00 Lost
11.00 The Office
30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 14. "The Funcooker" Liz on jury duty, and Jack trying to market a tiny microwave.
Much funnier than last week: it culminated with Liz locking her co-workers in an office and setting fire to it.
This episode also pairs Jack with The Writers for the first time. Very successfully.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 7. "Zero" Judge with Alzheimer's.
A very very strong (and enjoyable) case-of-the-week is pushed into obscurity by a dreadful story in the second half about a judge who can't do the job any more and needs his assistant to do everything for him. Ned Beatty gave a great performance, Sherry Stringfield was crazy hot, but I had no interesting in the plodding, obvious storyline and I wanted the show to go back to the murderer. But it never did.
House. Season 5, Episode 16. "The Softer Side" House is in a good mood.
Despite being haunted by the feeling that I've seen all of this before, I must admit that this is quite a stong episode. The case-of-the-week is good, the storylines for Thirteen and House are both very good. In fact, I was disappointed that the House storyline (he tries Methadone to ease his pain) was resolved at the end of this episode and won't appear in future episodes. Hmm. Is this the first season without a decent story arc?
Greek. Season 2, Episode 2. "Crush Landing" Rusty might quit engineering, Casey and Ashleigh like the same guy.
The best episode in a little while. Good storylines for Casey and Rusty and lots of comedy, too.
Lost. Season 5, Episode 9. "Namaste" Our heroes try to fit into life on the island in 1977.
There's a lot of running around and - despite the fact that I really enjoyed it - this is a bit of a wasted episode. It's just showing us the nuts and bolts of Sawyer getting his friends into the Dharma Initiative. And, to be honest, they could have skipped all of that crap and shown us what life was like for Jack, Kate, etc. a month after arriving.
But, I'm not complaining. It was a fun episode, with lots of fun moments: Juliet saving Kate was cool and Sawyer standing up to Jack was the absolute best scene in the episode. Ben's arrival was anticlimactic because I was waiting for it.
The Office. Season 5, Episode 18. "New Boss" Idris Elba appears as Michael's new boss.
Another winner. The Jim scenes were fantastic (he is wearing a tux in the office to annoy Dwight, but it has backfired on him - badly - with the arrival of the new boss) and what made it even better was Pam's glee. Lovely.
After a half-hour of solid comedy, the final scene was powerful and emotional. Great stuff.
Highlight? The Office (funny and sad)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Mon, Mar 16, 09 - 30 Rock, Law & Order, Road Runner
07.30 30 Rock
08.00 Law And Order
09.00 Road Runner
30 Rock. Season 3, Episode 13. "Goodbye, My Friend" A tribute to Harry And The Hendersons.
Even an average 30 Rock is lots of fun. I don't think there were any moments in this that had me laughing very hard, but I have to marvel at an entire episode build around the Harry And The Hendersons movie.
Law And Order. Season 19, Episode 6. "Sweetie" A writer is murdered, but it turns out that he was an actor pretending to be the writer, but it turns out that someone else did the writing...
I admit I got confused by this one. By the time we got to the courtroom and the sad, pathetic fan was testifying I completely couldn't keep track of which Sweetie was which. Or maybe I didn't care.
Speaking of the sad, pathetic fan I adore Heather Matarazzo (from her time on Now & Again) so I'm a little sad that the whole episode hinges on Cutter telling her she's ugly so she will testify to the truth and they never make an issue of it.
Bastards. They need to go watch the Cheers episode with Allyce Beasley as "Coach's Daughter".
Road Runner. Film 2. "Beep, Beep" It reuses the 'can't read' gag from the first film, but I don't mind because it really makes me laugh this time, too. It's an usual episode. Lots of it is done underground and the view we get is of dots running around tunnels. Don't remember any other Road Runner movies being like this. But I like it.
Best gag? One of those gags where we are waiting and waiting for the pay-off. Early on in the story, Coyote booby traps a glass of water and... RR totally ignores it, and... nothing happens. Much later, while out of breath and really thirsty Coyote happens by the glass of water...
Boom!
Gotta love it.
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
