Retraction Alert: Modern Family Brings Major
LaughsGo Figure

Earlier this month I posted a trailer of Modern Family and I gave it a few choice words. So a few[...]

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The Big Bang Theory, Torchwood, Legend Of The
Seeker, Supernatural, Good Morning Miami, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Flying Blind

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

06.00 The Big Bang Theory
06.30 Torchwood
07.30 Legend Of The Seeker
08.30 Supernatural
12.00 Good Morning Miami
12.30 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
01.00 Flying Blind

The Big Bang Theory. Season 2, Episode 22. "The Classified Materials Turbulence" Stuart and Penny go on a second date, while Leonard tries to sabotage it. And then feels guilty.

A great episode, but not a particularly funny one. The sub-plot (a malfunctioning toilet in space) gets more laughs than the main plot, but that's fine. This is a story-driven outing. It's more about watching what will happen between Leonard and Penny. I'm fine with that.

Torchwood. Episode 3. "Ghost Machine" Alien machine allows holder to see 'ghosts' (trapped emotions).

While there are good elements in this episode, it's a bit of a mess structure-wise and is easily the weakest of the three aired so far.

The idea of Gwen, and later Owen, being able to see moments from history is pretty cool. But I have the feeling that Helen Raynor isn't quite sure what to do with the idea. Gwen sees a boy from wartime, and meets him as an old man, and nothing much comes from it. Gwen uses the machine to see her own past. And it's cute. But dis joined. Likewise the super-sexy scene where Jack teaches Gwen how to use lots and lots of guns doesn't seem to fit with anything else in the episode. Bizarre.

Owen sees a murder from 1963 and tracks the killer (Gareth Thomas) in a very un-professional manner. While this does serve to make the view like Owen a bit more, it's also serves to highlight Torchwood as an undisciplined bunch, always running off half-cocked.

The death of the guy at the end is truly awful. Badly staged and nonsensical. By that stage I had lost interest in what the writer was trying to say with this tale.

Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 9. Zed goes undercover as a "Puppeteer".

Great fun. More continuity, which I love to see, and a departure from the over-used-formula of having one of the trio captured, only to be rescued from the other two.

To stop Darken Rahl from getting the third part of the object he seeks (which will give him absolute power, or some such) Zed goes undercover inside the castle of a rival queen. And spends most of his time with two children: one evil, one nice.

It's difficult to find one child that can act and be likable, but this episode finds two: Maisy McLeod-Riera as the nasty princess, and Jordana Beatty as her slave. Both are adorable, likeable and super talented. Maisy McLeod-Riera appears to be having a ton of fun as the spoiled birthday girl and it's a blast to watch her tormenting everyone around her. Bruce Spence does a terrific job at showing us the bond between Zed and Rachel (Jordana Beatty) and it's easy to believe he sees his own daughter when he sees her.

The final third of the episode has some unbelievable tension, with Zed and Rahl face-to-face and the fate of the magical object very much up in the air. It spends quite a while hidden in the birthday cake, while Zed does his best to distract everyone. Superb stuff. Probably the highlight of the series so far.

Supernatural. Season 4, Episode 16. "On The Head Of A Pin" Dean tortures. Sam kills. Castiel realises.

It's rare to find a SN episode that doesn't work as a stand-alone tale. This is very much a chapter in an ongoing saga. And lots happens to advance to story arc. Misha Collins gets lots of screen time and displays some serious acting chops. The guy is awesome, and his scenes with (equally awesome) Jensen Ackles are the highlight of the episode.

Sam, meanwhile, shows up to show that he has gone even more badass than last week. And it's cool. And terrible. In equal measure. Sam has really gone over to the darkside now. Scary.

And there's a revelation, too. And someone's motives are highlighted for the first time. I didn't see it coming. But I wasn't particularly shocked. I just didn't care very much. And that sums up my feelings on the episode. It was fine. The acting was superb. The twists were interesting, and there was a real sense of a big story moving forward. But, all told, nothing very much here to get overly-excited about, or invested in. Grade: B+

Good Morning Miami. Episode 21. "The Slow And The Furious" The TV show runs a "Win A Date With Gavin" segment.

The subplot is awful (it contains exactly one gag) but the main story is very, very funny and contains some great character writing.

Frank is driving Claire to work (for reasons that are not fully explained) and finds out that her friend, that she hasn't spoken to for years, is dying. So her takes her to the hospital. And they have one final argument. And the woman dies. Yuck. There's one good gag in this mess about Frank being a slow driver ("It's five miles away. We can be there in 90 minutes.")

Those laugh-free three scenes aside, this is a very, very funny episode. Jake wants Gavin to move on, and date someone new, so he can take his shot at Dylan. So, with Penny's help, he concocts a dating segment for their TV show. And when the luckly lady shows up, they realise that she's a bimbo who'll never hold Gavin's attention so they put a tiny speaker in her ear and tell her what to say.

Yes, it's an old story. Who cares? GMM makes it very, very funny again. Carrie Preston (who is married to Michael Emerson of Lost) displays truly great comic timing as the very nice, but very confused, Kiera. Preston's ability to say everything that Kiera hears, and make us believe that Kiera is too dumb to question any of it, is what makes the episode 100% successful. There's huge amounts of comic fodder in a character like this: sweet and well meaning, but perpetually bewildered by much of what is happening around her.

Aside from being very, very funny the episode pauses to deliver some quality drama/character scenes between Gavin and Jake where Jake finally comes clean about his moving to Miami to try to be with Dylan.

Great stuff.


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The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Episode 21. "The Boss Isn't Coming To Dinner" Lou Grant and his wife seperate.

Light on comedy, but heavy on good storytelling. It's also got some interesting stuff to say about men and women and what they (might) want from one another.

With their three daughters finally raised and away to marriages/lives of their own, Lou figures that it's time to get some quality alone-time with his wife. She, however, wants to make something of herself and go to college. He wants her to be at home waiting for him (washing his shirts, etc.) so he makes a stand. By leaving.

The early part of the tale doesn't tell us this, but shows us Mary's attempts to get the Grants round to her place for dinner. She doesn't understand why Lou is avoiding the invitation, which leads to a very sweet, very human, tale of Mary thinking she's a bad host.

By the second half of the episode, Lou's real reasons are revealed and all the regular characters head to a nearby bar to discuss the issues involved. As portrayed here, all of the men are wrong and Mary is the only one with 'common sense'. Sometimes the story gets things right (as in when the men don't listen to Mary) but in general it oversimplifies men's needs. Or pays no attention to them. In the end, Lou gives in and goes back to his wife, who (we are led to believe) won't have much time for him any more, because she'll be caught up with study and so on. Still, the episode ends with a big smile on his face.

It's one-sided feminist propaganda. In this tale the men are all wrong, and a woman who has raised three children hasn't really made something of herself until she goes to college.

I disagree with it. But it's a good, interesting, entertaining episode.

Flying Blind. Episode 12. Alicia's "Dad" shows up, to torture Neil.

Another episode where a guest character causes problems for Neil. Never mind. This is a strong, funny episode. Peter Boyle is a hoot as Alicia's dad who, we presume, works for the CIA or something similar. He's certainly a dangerous man. And poor Neil is terrified.

Highlight? Legend Of The Seeker (Great fun.)
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-of.html

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Don't Forget to Tivo - Tuesday 8/24

Basic:

• ABC has a new Shaq Vs. at 9 and repeat of Primetime: The Outsiders
• CBS has a repeat of NCIS, new Big Brother at 9 and repeat of The Mentalist
  
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9
• Fox has a new Hell's Kitchen at 8 and More to Love at 9
• CW has repeats of 90210

Cable:

• A&E has a new The Cleaner at 10
• BBCA has a new You Are What You Eat at 8 and Dragons' Den at 9
• Bravo has a new Flipping Out at 10
• DISC has a new Swords: Life on the Line at 9 and The Colony at 10
• FOOD has a new Chopped at 10
• FX has a new Rescue Me at 10
• HIST has a new The Universe at 9
• MTV has a new Daddys Girls at 10 and House of Jazmin at 10:30
• NatGeo has the special Secrets of Florence at 9
• Oxygen has a new Addicted to Beauty at 10
• SyFy has a new Warehouse 13 at 9
• TLC has a new 18 Kids and Counting at 9 and Masters of Reception at 10
• WE has a new Secret Lives of Women at 10
  

     - Season Premiere       - First Run     - Series/Special Premiere
All times are Eastern

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Friday The 13th, Batman

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

11.00 Friday The 13th
12.00 Batman

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Friday The 13th. Season 2, Episode 3. "And Now The News" A cursed radio, in a psychiatric hospital, that gives prophetic news broadcasts... of death.

Great fun. A+ all the way. Not only is the cursed object interesting, but the story build around it is ingenious and the characters (both regular and guest) are well-served by the script.

An antique radio that requires no power to make it run. Mostly is plays old time music, but periodically it interrupts the music for newsflashes... Of events that are about to happen. If you are the owner of the radio it will tell you what good things are coming your way, and what you must do to make them happen. Nice. However, for anyone else who hears the broadcast it foretells their death. Not so nice.

With that very interesting cursed object at the center of things, Richard Benner scripts a story set inside a hospital with psychotic patients and two doctors competing to cure them. One of the doctor's has the radio, the other doesn't... and his patients are the ones that are dying. While all this is going on (often on a dark, stormy night) we witness Micki and Ryan's attempts to get into the hospital. First by being (relatively) honest, then by other means. There are some shocks to be had. Ryan coming a cropper on top of the electric fence really surprised me and the scene where Micki is captured and badly-beaten was extremely brutal and unsettling. Major praise to Louise Robey for showing us a badly shook-up, and scared, Micki in the aftermath of the attack.

Both doctors are well-written and well-played. Kurt Reis's character is the good one, but he's not very nice. It would have been easy to make him 100% sympathetic, but the show wisely crafts him in a more realistic way. Micki and Ryan are well-written in this one, also. Particularly in the final scenes, when Micki is recovering from a patient's attack and she starts to question the safety of what they are doing.

A nice set up for the 'twist' ending, where the radio makes them an offer. Great ending.


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Batman. Episode 27. "Mad As A Hatter" Jervis Tetch goes to extreme lenghts to win the love of the girl called Alice.

One of the best episodes. Probably in the Top 5. The story is truly sad and human, and the amazing performance of Roddy McDowall will break your heart.

Jervis loves Alice (Kimmy Robertson, of Twin Peaks) from afar. Until her boyfriend breaks up with her, and Jervis steps in to sweep her off her feet. Using his mind-control devices to impress her as he takes her on a date, on the town. Eventually, when he sees that her heart still belongs to her ex, he starts to mind-control her as well. Knowing full-well that, even by doing this, he still can't have her love. Not really. Not the way he wants.

It's heavy stuff, this, a really tragic love-story. More a story of obsession than love, I suppose, and made all the powerful by the lead character's full knowledge that he is on a fruitless path once he uses his mind-control devices on her. Batman is reduced to the role of supporting character, in this tale, showing up from time to time to try and thwart Jervis. When he finally does, at story's end, it's hard not to feel genuine sorrow for the lonely little man.

Highlight? Friday The 13th (Great fun.)
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Because they made me laugh so hard...

Check out these Stormtrooper eggs and a bunch of other "Star Wars" themed food items hereSubscribe in a reader

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Guess who might volunteer to play Susan Boyle in
a biopic

According to the UK Telegraph (and I always have trouble believing anything from the British media, but bear with me), none other than Robin Williams has offered himself up to play Susan Boyle in any planned movie of her life. Apparently, he's been doing impressions of the breakout singer for celebrity friends.

This could very well lead to Robin's second Oscar (his first for a non-supporting role). If he pulls this off, he could be as impressive as Meryl Streep playing Julia Child. Of course, if he can't pull it off, it would look like a sad attempt at repeating Mrs. Doubtfire.

However, unless they start work on the movie tomorrow, this will likely be chalked up as an interesting and amusing rumor. While her story is interesting, Susan Boyle's star has been dimming somewhat and it wouldn't surprise me if she was relegated to Celebrity Big Brother in the near future.

 

Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free

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Eric Northman as Mr. January in the Fangtasia
calendar

I just got off the phone with Alan Ball, and have I got some good stuff for all you True Blood fans! Look for that interview on TV Squad in the next day or so. I'm trying to wrap my head around all the fun stuff Alan told me about season three.

Until then, I offer you this eye candy: Eric Northman as Mr. January on the Fangtasia calendar. I couldn't find an actual Fangtasia calendar on the official True Blood site, so let me know if you know where to get this. I believe this is fan art by "Bloody Mistress" from the True Blood Wiki. If you want to look at Eric while listening to the True Blood theme song, check it out on Cast TV.

Continue reading Eric Northman as Mr. January in the Fangtasia calendar

 

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DEAR LEW, LOVE BILLY

Last month, Lew Wallace was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as governor, general and as an author. He wrote "Ben-Hur", served as a judge at "The Andersonville Trial", and was the governor of New Mexico during which time he met Billy the Kid.

And today we're featuring Billy the Kid in the "As Seen On TV" showcase.

The governor brokered a deal with the 21 year old outlaw; after which there was a carefully arranged, staged arrest and the Kid testified for the state in a trial. But no pardon ever materialized afterwards.

That's why Billy the Kid wanted to talk to Lew Wallace as seen in this letter from March 1881.

At that time, Billy was in the Santa Fe jail, awaiting trial for killing a sheriff during the Lincoln County War. He was desperate for a pardon and with good reason - he was convicted and sentenced to hang. However, he broke out of jail, only to be gunned down about four months later.......

The letter is on display at Fray Angelico Chavez History Library in Sante Fe.

BCnU!

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AS SEEN ON TV: BILLY THE KID

AS SEEN ON:
'Stories Of The Century'

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Jaeckel

Henry McCarty (November 23, 1859? July 14, 1881), better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney, was a 19th-century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the so-called Lincoln County War. According to legend, he killed 21 men, one for each year of his life, but he most likely participated in the killing of fewer than half that number.

McCarty (or Bonney, the name he used at the height of his notoriety) was 5 ft 8 in-5 ft 9 in tall with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and prominent front teeth. He was said to be friendly and personable at times, and many recalled that he was as "lithe as a cat".
(from Wikipedia)

As it's "Two For Tuesday", here's another look at Billy the Kid:
AS SEEN IN:
'The Time Tunnel'

AS PLAYED BY:
Robert Walker, Jr.

As for the reason why they would look different, it's because Walker's personification of Billy is from a parallel dimension which Doug and Tony accessed via the Time Tunnel.

BCnU!

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Is Danyl Johnson the next Susan Boyle

Answer: probably.

This is video (can't embed it, unfortunately) of Danyl Johnson's first performance on The X Factor. Simon Cowell actually called it the best first audition he's ever heard in almost nine years of doing judging. Really? The guy is definitely good, but I think 58% of it is the audience reaction and the background vocals.

[via TV Tattle]

 

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Video, Music and Variety, Celebrities

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