05.30 Threshold
06.30 The Middleman
07.30 Pushing Daisies
08.30 Supernatural
02.00 The Office
02.30 Corner Gas
Threshold. Episode 13. "Alienville" For it's final episode, Threshold delivers one of the standards of sci-fi/fantasy storytelling: alone in the 'friendly small town' where everyone has been brainwashed. It's Molly and Cavennaugh in danger, trying to track a human scientist in danger from aliens, and trying to survive the citizens of the town. Good fun. Episode has a nice ending, too, which tries very hard to give fans an upbeat ending to the cancelled series. Gotta admire that.
The Middleman. Episode 11. "The Clotharian Contamination Protocol" Part of the fun of watching this show is the text that appears on screen during the episodes. Most shows just use on-screen text to tell you the date, the time or the location. Middleman does that, too. But they also find quirky ways to impart lots of other cool information, too. And jokes, of course. This is another strong episode. And it ends with a great scene where Wendy - sure she is about to die - tells The Middleman that he has been like a father to her. Hard to see that without a small tear in the corner of your eye.
Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 2. "Circus Circus" Chi McBride gets all the best lines and his character is more pivotal to the story than usual because there is a parallel between the case he has taken and his own missing daughter. No dead body to kick start the story this time, which makes you wonder why he bothers to bring The Pie Maker along. But, with PD, it's best to stay away from questions. I mean, why exactly is Olive hiding in a convent? Best to just sit back and enjoy the spectacle as the PD gang head to a circus. It turns out to be a quirky circus and - before long - there are dead bodies piling up. Clown dead bodies, by the way!
I'm not really enjoying the while Chuck has moved out storyline, but I like the bits where she dives over the counter every time an aunt walks into Ned's place. Goofy fun.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 13. "Houses of the Holy" A so-so episode. The story is good, but the conflict between the brothers is a bit too manufactured for my liking. Sam thinks the supernatural force at work could be an angel, while Dean reveals that he has no belief in angels. They argue about this a lot and I wasn't buying any of it. I mean, there's already so much conflict inherent in the characters that this seems too contrived to be needed. Even worse was the ending where each brother has come to see things from the other's perspective. It's a solid stand-alone story idea (for a movie or a book) but as part of this television series? I'm not sure it belongs here. It's hard to be invested in a fight that - you know - will never be mentioned again in the series.
The Office. Season 5, Episode 2. "Business Ethics" How I love this show! Where else am I to find a story so resplendent in moral wrongness? (Yes, I wrote 'wrongness', get over it!)
Holly's seminar on ethics unearths some really bad behaviour in the office and sets in motion events that might lead to someone losing their job. Michael is horrified and he and Holly butt heads over it. Their conversations about it not being 'a family' are painful to watch because we know how Michael thinks and feels at this stage and it's sad to see how far apart he and Holly still are. You cannot help but wonder how the writers can possibly find an ending that works.
And they do. The ending is sublime. Wrong on so many levels, but so perfectly right for this show. And all of the Michael/Holly scenes are wonderful. It's turning a new pleasure on this show: watching Michael almost get things right with Holly. Watching Holly notice and appreciate it. I'm falling in love with them falling in love.
As good as the a-story was, it was the b-story that gave me my episode highlight: Jim taunting Dwight about Battlestar Galactica. That wasn't just funny, that was comedy gold.
Corner Gas. Season 4, Episode 19. "Gopher It" When Red Dwarf delivered a fake final episode at the end of one season it really upset me and cemented my love for the show and it's characters. This is the fake final episode of Corner Gas, the one where the characters all prepare to go their separate ways. I already know how much I love this show, so I don't need anything to put it in focus for me. Still, though, I found myself moderately upset that this might be the way things pan out. I guess I just don't want the show to end. And had this been a real final episode it would have been a great one to finish on. Thank frak it wasn't, though.
Highlight? The Office (BSG, Holly)
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Sun, Oct 12, 08 - Threshold, Middleman, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural, Office, Corner Gas
Sun, Oct 5, 08 - Threshold, The Middleman, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural
05.30 Threshold
06.30 The Middleman
07.30 Pushing Daisies
08.30 Supernatural
Threshold. Episode 12. "Vigilante" Threshold was the CBS take on "what if CSI was about aliens invading?" and no episode better illustrates this than the one where Ramsey witnesses the killing of a girl (that he has just slept with) and the team investigate. All of the opening scenes are very much like the ones found on other CBS crime procedurals and maybe if the show had opened with a few episodes like this it would have hooked more viewers. Maybe.
Across the board this is a fantastic episode. Peter Dinklage holds the episode together with a performance of many layers. He makes you laugh, he makes you cry: Ramsey is one of TV's coolest heroes. Likewise: Fenway, whose continued fighting with Molly is my fave part of the show. They hate each other's methods, yet they must work together. Fantastic dynamic. It helps that Brent Spiner is one of the coolest people on planet earth!
Speaking of cool people... Jeffrey Donovan rocks the show with a great guest shot that - I presume - would have led to further appearances if the show had not been cancelled too soon. Donovan plays an alien infectee who has the ability to see the aliens. More than that: he is tracking them down and killing them... one by one.
Several great actions sequences in this one, with Manning finally biting the dust (yay!) after weeks of causing problems for the heroes. Best action bit: The vigilante goes after Lucas while he is visiting his wife at the hospital where she works. A thrilling chase/battle.
The Middleman. Episode 10. "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation" Where else am I going to see a story about Vampire Puppets? Yes, this show operates in the same general area as Pushing Daisies and Reaper but with considerably more panaché. I love these characters, I love the fast pace of the stories, I love the millions of pop culture references, I love the cast, I love the ongoing romances, I love everything about this.
Best bit? The vampire puppet turned into a bat puppet and flew off (with the poor guy still attached!). I was amazed by that. And by the revelation, at the end, that MM's heart belongs to some other woman. Who? A dead wife, maybe?
Also, what are the three Canadian vampire detective series? Forever Knight, Blood Ties and...? Wendy's a bigger TV geek than me! I love her even more now!
Pushing Daisies. Season 2, Episode 1. "Bzzzzzzz!" Strong case-of-the-week? Check! Endearing character moments? Check! Unique visual style? Hmm, looks like critical-darling Pushing Daisies has weathered the long break very well and returns to the airwaves without missing a beat. Yes! To be honest, I wasn't worried. Once they got from the pilot to the regular series and sustained the vision, I was confident. So, what to say about this episode? It was cool and very funny. And Kristin Chenoweth stole the show. With Chi McBride coming a close second.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 12. "Nightshifter" Superb! Sam and Dean trapped in a bank siege with a crazed gunman, hostages and a shape-shifting supernatural evil. The gunman is after the same supernatural evil that they are, but methods cause a lot of problems for the boys, putting them very much on the FBI's radar (an excellent Charles Malik Whitfield).
From the get-go this is a flawless outing. Great character work as Sam now acts like the tough one when it comes to dealing with the general public. His tough-love methods make sense (and prove tragically prophetic). The action inside the bank is thrilling from start to finish. I defy anyone to predict what will happen next, at any time. When the sniper fired the kill shot I was breathless with shock. And the mechanics of those final minutes (the boys and the two identical girls) were as clever as anything I have ever seen.
Highlight? Supernatural (twists), with The Middleman coming a close second (Vampire Puppets? Frak me!)
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Sun, Sep 28, 08 - Gary Unmarried, The Middleman, Threshold, Supernatural
06:00 Gary Unmarried
06:30 The Middleman
07:30 Threshold
08:30 Supernatural
Gary Unmarried. Episode 1. "Pilot" Generic sit-com made bearable by Jay Mohr. He's the lovable rogue in the middle of this only-on-TV situation: recently divorced, new girlfriend and his ex-wife is marrying the marriage counselor. Plus three kids running around. Not really my cup of tea, but Mohr made me laugh so who knows? I might go back for more...
The Middleman. Episode 9. "The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown" Flawless fun. Wendy's relationship with Tyler is sweet and fun to watch. Her relationship with The Middleman is great, too. His frequent droplets of advise are wonderful and wise. He really is a unique and interesting character. Kevin Sorbo is a great guest star as the Middleman from the 60s and the show wisely finds humour without resorting to cliché gags.
Threshold. Episode 11. "Outbreak" Catherine Bell joins the cast and make a big impression, having great on-screen chemistry with Brent Spiner (in the lab) and Brian Van Holt (out in the field, being shot at). Spiner also has great chemistry with Carla Gugino and I would have loved if their constant fighting led to romance. This is the one where the aliens explain that the they are trying to save the Earth from a destruction that is six years away, and it's adds a nice level of doubt to events on screen.
Supernatural. Episode 11. "Playthings" Apart from a "twist" - which is easy to predict - this is a solid and very enjoyable outing. I like the idea of an episode set in a big, creepy old hotel and the show makes the most of the setting. There's some great comedy (with Dean worried about how people perceive them) and some creepy guest characters (the old lady and the ghost kid). I also like the fact that the boys weren't the ones to save the day.
Highlight? The Middleman (Wendy in love)
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Sun, Sep 21, 08 - Middleman, Threshold, Supernatural, Back To You, Greg The Bunny, Good Morning Miami
06:30 The Middleman
07:30 Threshold
08:30 Supernatural
12:30 Back To You
01:00 Greg The Bunny
01:30 Good Morning Miami
The Middleman. Episode 8. "The Ectoplasmic Panhellenic Investigation" More goofy fun and sweet romance. The plot revolves around bookish girls taking over the bodies of popular girls at a college and affords series-star Matt Keeslar the chance to play the part of a teenage girl in control of his body. Very funny. But most of this episode is about Wendy's feelings for the guy who is dating her room-mate. He's a guest star from a previous episode and the show is very clever in the way this story unfolds. Very clever indeed. Such a funny, clever show.
Clever? Funny? Hah, a natural to be cancelled too soon.
Sigh.
Threshold. Episode 10. "The Crossing" Lots of action and loud rock music open this episode as three of the aliens captured in earlier episodes attempt an escape from the Threshold HQ. They fail. But Molly decides they need to be moved to another facility. And fast.
During the transfer there's an attempt to break them out (cue: lots more shooting and stuff) but most of this episode dominated by some strong character drama. An infected soldier uses his final hours as a human to document the change for the Threshold team, on the condition that they execute him as soon as he has gone fully alien. Cue: lots of debate between Molly, Fenway and Ramsey about whether this is the right thing to do. It's good stuff, and the episode pulls a nice twist at the very end when one of the team becomes infected, too.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 10. "Hunted" We finally hear what John said to Dean and... it's a bit of an anti-climax, to be honest. The episode plays fair, however, and we do learn what might be in store for Sam. But his father said very little about it to Dean and I feel a bit cheated that the show teased us for so long about it and delivered very little. When we do learn the 'big secret' it turns out to be from a minor recurring character. Strange storytelling choice.
Apart from that it's a bit of an non-entity episode. Sam goes solo, does some digging, meet a cute girl and gets in trouble. Dean appears mid-way through the episode, gets tied up and that's about it. There's nothing much to get excited about, or interested in. The revelation of Sam's future, though it comes from an unexpected source, is very good and promises of much goodness to come...
Back To You. Episode 17. "Hostage Watch" I've had a love-hate relationship with Back To You since it started, but I must admit that it's final episode was very funny. Chuck is called in when a man holding hostages at a bank specifically requests him as the person he wants to talk to. Everything that plays out inside the bank is funny, and the reaction from Kelly is great, too (she calls out "I love you" to Chuck and then regrets it). The script gives Chuck a nice epiphany wherein he realises he has to stop being reckless like this now that he has a daughter. And it works perfectly within the framework of this being a workplace sit-com.
I liked it a lot. And there is a part of me wishing that it was coming back for a second season.
Greg The Bunny. Episode 13. "Blah Bawls" Flawed it may have been but this show managed some great episodes. A few were dreadful, yes, but most were pretty okay. This is one of those. It's funny and makes great use of the characters. Blah takes centre-stage and it's wonderful. He's a rich and interesting character: Pining for his dead wife and being dragged to a singles club against his will. Lots of funny stuff in all of that, but also a bit of depth and meaning. Things go awry when he ends up sleeping with Warren's ex-wife. The ex-wife that Warren is still very much in love with.
This being a sit-com the amourous couple accidently switch phones which brings everyone to the same place at the same time and allows for lots of comedy mis-understandings. Warren (my favourite character on the show) is priceless in all his scenes and - as well as being funny - the script does a great job of making both regulars into even more interesting characters than they previously were.
Not the best episode but a funny, clever outing nonetheless. This show should have survived.
Good Morning Miami. Episode 9. "Hi, My Name Is Jake" Nothing special happens in this one (until the very, very end) but it's an enjoyable and funny episode. Jake is competing with Gavin in a series of sporting competitions. It gets out of hand and... he joins Gavin at an AA meeting and claims to be an alcoholic! Pretty awful but, hey, the guys on Seinfeld used to do this kind of stuff. Anyway, he feels remorse next morning and spends the rest of the episode trying to undo his stupid lie. Mark Feuerstein and Matt Letscher have great chemistry together and seem to be having a ball in all their squabbling scenes. They are having fun, and it's fun to watch.
At the very end, Dylan lets slip that she 'likes' Jake.
Highlight? The Middleman (body-swap comedy)
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