Come Fly With Me - Episode One

Come Fly With Me, starring Little Britain's David Walliams and Matt Lucas, aired on Christmas to an audience of around 10M (roughly the same as Doctor Who's overnights).

I like Lucas when he works with Reeves and Mortimer. I liked Walliams's contributions to Doctor Who Day 1999. However, I don't like them together* -- I've yet to finish an episode of Little Britain. I thought I'd try out Come Fly With Me to give the duo another chance.

Mockumentary style is nice, albeit trendy (I haven't tired of it... yet). No laugh track; we're off to a good start. Walliams and Lucas play all of the primary characters. That's the gimmick, that's part of the appeal, because people know and like Walliams and Lucas and half the fun (hence my use of the word gimmick) is seeing them skillfully inhabit vastly different characters.

(That doesn't happen on American television. One actor per role, 99 times out of 100. It occurred to me that, if the humor worked, a sketch show like CFWM that boasts a huge cast of characters might be quite successful here. A one-to-one actor to character ratio in the US would mean spotlight opportunities for many actors, because in a sketch show ideally no storyline is neglected (FlashForward, Glee, proving the point). Then again, where are any sketch shows in the US? Not on the air.)

The League of Gentlemen has infinite rewatch value, for me, because I love Gatiss, Pemberton, and Shearsmith. The actors I fell in love with keep me coming back. Walliams and Lucas hit the jackpot with Little Britain; the whole UK knows who they are. Their names don't even appear on screen until the end credits, because they don't need to be. Fans and curious viewers tuned in to CFWM because of name recognition and (probably) an extensive ad campaign by the BBC. Walliams and Lucas are big.

Unfortunately, CFWM's humor just doesn't work. CFWM's non-white characters are stereotypes, hardly characters at all. You can have a comedy that isn't nonstop laughs and is still a great show. This isn't the case here because CFWM doesn't have any depth (rounded characters) or sub-genre (TLOG's horror) to fall back on. It's just a comedy that isn't funny. A gimmick does not a successful comedy make, in the long term. Or even the short term.

* ETA: Actually, I thought Mash & Peas was decent. So I take that back.

Community - Mixology Certification, 2.10 (& The Office)

Community is fantastic. Mixology Certification is tonally at odds with the rest of the series, I'll admit, but that doesn't mean it's weaker; it's just different. Remember, this is the show with episodes like the action-packed Modern Warfare as well as bottle episode Cooperative Calligraphy. It's a young show, and its willingness to experiment shouldn't be held against it. In fact, I think its unpredictability in style and plot, grounded in its strong and familiar cast, makes it all the more compelling.

Thursday's episode wasn't very funny. And I say that in the best possible way. Because at the expense of humor, we got to look at these characters in a very different light. We saw them in a bar, where Jeff and Britta are exposed as children and Shirley as imperfect with a shameful past, and we see Troy absorb all of this. Troy's the stupid, funny jock but as he turns 21 he grows up. He becomes a man, according to Jeff. It's strange to see Troy as the moral center, the most down to earth member of the crew; but tonight he is. This might have been the obligatory character development installment of the season, but I think it turned out to be a lot more than that. It exposed all the characters, some in more obvious ways than others, but all still poignant: Pierce is helpless, Shirley regrets her alcoholic past, Annie is unsure of the path she's choosing (played BRILLIANTLY by Alison Brie, as usual), Jeff and Britta are argumentative and immature. And Troy sees all of this, and for once we see an episode through him, and it's surprisingly sincere.

Mixology Certification is bleak, and I love it for risking that. If I've learned anything from writing this blog, it's that I love shows that are a hybrid of comedy, drama, and heart. (Sprinkle a few aliens or alternate dimensions or superhero ASBO shitheads in there, and you have my undying love.) There are sketch comedies like Bruiser that are hilarious but don't have an emotional draw. And that's not a fault, that's just the way the show is. It's still ace. But if I'm not emotionally invested in some way, it's not an all-time favorite... or at least, that's the hypothesis right now. We'll see! This blog is an experiment!

- - - - -

"Imagine a country... where forks are irrelevant." All right, Office, you can make me laugh occasionally (and I am always surprised when you do), but you can't make me love you again. The spark is gone. I used to be emotionally invested in Pam and Jim and amused by Michael (wow, those were the days) but now I simply don't care about anyone. Are the characters less real now that we know so much about Oscar's holier-than-thou attitude (remember when he was just the gay Mexican one? With the bitchy art critic boyfriend Gil?), and we have been fully exposed to the deviousness of Angela. Shouldn't fleshed-out characters deepen an audience's relationship with a show? In a sitcom like The Office, plot propels but characters compel. And that's the most important thing. That's what keeps viewers watching and wanting more. Pam and Jim were TV's most popular "will they or won't they" because they were endearing and realistic.

Thursday's episode China is funny, but I found that while watching, I was bored and simply uninterested in what was going to happen next. Maybe I've just lost interest.

Unfortunately I was only half paying attention by the end and can't write an informed piece about Dwight being "not motivated by compassion" which seems like something I'd normally like to explore. Oh well.

This emotion in comedy thing... I'd like to write about the Extras special sometime. I'd say the same about the British Office, but I'd just be reiterating all the positives I've written about the US Office. (I.E. investment in Jim and Pam = good. Relatable humor in the mundane = good. Though it would differ in the Gareth/Dwight and Brent/Scott aspects because both versions of the characters are excellent for different reasons.)

And one of these days I will write about Catterick. One day.

The League of Gentlemen - Destination Royston Vasey, 2.01

The second series of The League of Gentlemen should NOT have had a laugh track. This series more than the first used fewer direct jokes in favor of bizarre situations and characters. The first episode of the second series, for instance, features two sketches that are hindered by laughter: the charity shop scene, in which the escalating situation is funny on its own, and when punctuated by laughter, is excessive. The viewer gets the joke. It doesn't need to be defined. The second sketch is the infamous Papa Lazarou one. The League of Gentlemen is a horror-comedy that is often grotesque and strange. The second series in particular draws inspiration from classic horror tropes and utilizes dark imagery. The humor is excellent as ever, but it's the darker tone that is truly compelling. The entire scene is bizarre and funny. Everything Reece does is spot-on, from the gibberish babble to the peculiar body language to the incongruous strut. "Want to buy some pegs, Dave?" incites laughs as it's meant to. But "You're my wife, now!" at the end, as Steve takes off his wedding ring in resignation, doesn't. And it's obvious why. The sketch took a brilliantly sinister turn, and though it's still funny, it's not laugh track-suitable. And when the laughter is taken away at the end of the sketch, it is more evident than ever how much the series just doesn't need it.

Glee - Special Education, 2.09

Lackluster episode draws to a close. Then: Tina and Mercedes belt a Florence and the Machine song while the rest of the radiant, adorable cast dances around them. You can't not smile.

I don't like this show as much as I did. But I can't hate it, either, because of moments like this. I was reminded that TV doesn't have to be intellectual to make me happy.

The League of Gentlemen - The One-Armed Man Is King, 3.02

Sometimes an episode I'm watching is so good I just have to stop and write about it.

I've seen all three series of The League of Gentlemen more than three times over. It's my favorite comedy, possibly my favorite show of all time. I am just in constant awe of the League -- Mark Gatiss, Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith -- and their ability to create stories, characters, jokes, all so fantastic and bizarre. The series is all at once side-splittingly funny, brilliantly atmospheric (Royston Vasey is so distinctive; it's its own character), and at times, nightmarish and horrific. And on top of that there are the just stunning performances from the League's three actors. I cannot say enough about the brilliance of these performers. They can do absolutely anything. I was recently struck by a rewatch of "The Lesbian and the Monkey," one of my favorite episodes, in which three of the four main storylines focused on characters played by Steve and Mark. At a few points, the scene would transition from Pauline and Mickey, to Dr. Carlton and Mrs. Beasley, to Earnest Foot and Sheila Foot, all played by Steve and Mark respectively. Vastly different characters, completely believable performances. And I haven't even mentioned Reece, who I believe is the strongest actor of the three (with Steve as close runner-up).

Anyway, the part I'm currently paused at in "The One-Armed Man Is King" (series 3 episode 2) involves all three actors. Glenn (Mark) and Barry (Steve) work as debt collectors for Mr. Lisgoe (Reece). They're in a trailer, and Lisgoe is instructing them, rather violently, on how to collect. In this sketch (possibly my favorite out of the whole series), Mark plays the straight man to Steve's goofy, bumbling fool and Reece's terrifying and violent boss character. The whole thing is magic. Steve brings the laughs effortlessly, as usual (he rarely plays the straight characters, and he's often in the position of goofy/strange foil to Mark or Steve's villainous/straight -- Tish, Herr Lipp, Tubbs), Reece shows off his tremendous dramatic chops, while Mark looks on, acting suitably horrified. I simply cannot get over how fantastic Reece is in this scene. There's an outtake that shows how much he gets into the role, and it's honestly scary. Yet despite the terrifying nature of the character, the whole thing still manages to be funny because of what Steve does with it.

Exhibit A.

I'm close to wrapping this up solely because I don't have enough synonyms for "fantastic" and I hate to reuse too much, but I do want to say something about series 3 as a whole. It's definitely my favorite of the three. It scrapped the laugh track and gained a cinematic feel that I think really bolstered the show's creepy tone. It became incongruously emotional in parts and had a connecting element at the close of each episode. It explored more of the minor characters from previous seasons. The music is impeccable, especially the uplifting "While There's Still Time." I love the whole thing so, so much.

Glee - Never Been Kissed, 2.06

I don't write a ton about Glee because it's cute and fun (and flawed) and when I write about it I tend to focus on the bad things, so I prefer to just watch and enjoy it for what it is.

But I did want to link to Tom and Lorenzo's post about "Never Been Kissed," because I feel it's important. So there you are.

Injecting Reality Into the Absurd

Injecting Reality Into the Absurd: When TV Comedies Make You ~Feel Things~

I felt a twinge of something as I watched the last episode of Black Books. Maybe it was regret -- after all, it was the final episode, and I was sad to let these characters go. The entire episode took place in the shop, with only the three primary characters. It was an ordinary, and therefore fitting, goodbye. But something happened in the episode that struck me as out of place: Bernard, drunk as always, reveals to his equally drunk friend Fran that he's so sardonic because his ex-girlfriend had died. A beat. Then Fran counter-reveals that No, she's not, and she's got photos and dental records to prove it... the joke continues.

But in the moment when Bernard acknowledges his dark and unfriendly disposition is the result of a death of someone he actually loved, I believed it. For a few seconds, he wasn't a cut-out spouting Linehan gold; he was a real person, for just a moment. It was there to build up for the joke, I know, but I wonder if it was saved for the characters' swan song because it would have felt strange anywhen else. (On the other hand, in the first season of The IT Crowd, there is a similar seemingly sincere sequence in which Roy acts gentlemanly to Jen, but it is actually the build up to a gag.) Either way, I loved that extra dimension, and I regret it was gone before it went anywhere. That made me think: I don't need emotion in my comedy -- do I?

Some shows balance comedy and heart: Community, Glee, Friends, Modern Family, and Raising Hope are some examples. They've got quips and jokes, but also an emotional center (more often than not addressed at the end of an episode) as a result of the relationships among the characters. The emotion does not compromise the humor because the shows are built solidly around both.

So what of comedies that are more joke-based than character-based? I've written about how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The IT Crowd are examples of this, along with the aforementioned other Graham Linehan work, Black Books. It's Always Sunny characters are tools (in more ways than one) that confront situations in outlandish, strange, and therefore funny ways. It's a show about stupid, selfish people. I love the show because Charlie's hobby is magnets, because Sweet Dee looks like a bird, because Dennis tapes himself having sex, because Mac cuts the sleeves off all his shirts. I don't think the show needs to humanize its characters and explore their emotions; in fact, I think that would make it a weaker show, because I don't need to care about these characters to think their antics are funny. I can't relate to them, and don't need to to enjoy the show.

On the other hand, there is 30 Rock, a show that is also clearly joke-based. At the end of season 2, Liz thinks she's pregnant and leaves Jack a string of increasingly panicked voicemails. Any jokes made were secondary to the range of emotions that played over Alec Baldwin's face, which smartly comprised the entire scene. Liz's messages are first surprised and panicked, then accepting, then excited, until her brief, final message plays: "Never mind, I am not, um... Never mind." It works because women can identify with Liz Lemon and her love of eating, her frustration with work, her taped-together bras. 30 Rock is a great, hilarious show. To me, this scene made it even better. I knew the added dimension wouldn't necessarily be visited again, but it worked as part of the episode's story, and didn't compromise any of the humor.

Bolstering character is harder when they are more one-dimensional. In Extras, Maggie is the definition of simple. However, there is a quiet scene in which we see her in her apartment, straightening her hair, because she's told she needs to grow up. It's sad because Maggie is fine the way she is; she is ditzy but lovable. In the last episode of The League of Gentlemen, Ross gives a little wave and a smile to Pauline on her wedding day, even though he is a manipulative "villain" character. Even though Ross is one-dimensional (arguable, I suppose, after series 3), it's a heartbreaking moment.

Arrested Development had a straight man in Michael Bluth, "the one son who tried to keep it all together." Even so, I'd estimate he was only about 60/40 -- if the episode needed him to make a "huge mistake" or act like a fool like the rest of his family, he would. All the emotional parts of the show had to center around him, because he was the one normal people could relate to. He pined after Marta and the two "normal" characters shared a sincere moment or two. So did the sincerity richen or weaken the show? The humor? The sincere moment itself was not played for a joke (though later their relationship would be) and it contributed to the humanization of Michael Bluth. Michael needed to be perceived as a person, not as a caricature like the rest of his family. In this way, I don't think it weakened the show. In addition, I don't believe the audience's identification with Michael was a detriment to the show's humor -- the jokes worked or they didn't, perception of Michael irrelevant.

Other examples of the straight man placed in a comedy of errors are Henry and Casey in Party Down and Tim and Dawn in The Office. The relationships between the "normal" characters gave something for the audience to empathize with. Because the storylines were typically separate, they did not compromise the comedy usually provided by the rest of the cast.

Finally, as antithesis, there are a few shows that I feel would suffer if emotion was added: Peep Show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (like I mentioned earlier), and Flight of the Conchords. Maybe because Peep Show is so personal already, what with point of view monologues from the main characters, I already feel like the show covers the whole range of emotion, with comic twist. Flight of the Conchords, by contrast, simply has no relatable characters, like It's Always Sunny. It would be weird to me if Jemaine and Bret had a truly believable, sincere exchange, because the two characters are so uncomplicated. Not the right tone at all.

ETA: I didn't talk about Michael Scott!! I will edit this later and talk about Michael Scott. And David Brent in the Christmas Special. And the Extras Christmas Special.

ETA2: I clearly didn't think this through. Community breaks rules. Will edit later. Maybe.

ETA3: Yeah, actually: Spaced. I don't know what I'm talking about.

ETA4: The last ten minutes of Catterick. I don't know what to think anymore.

Friday Night Lights - State, 1.22

If Friday Night Lights ended now, right after season 1, I would be content with having experienced one of the Best Seasons I Have Ever Watched. I just want to slow clap for this series after every episode.

Season 2! Allons-y!

P.S. dillonpanthers.tumblr.com! Made to showcase the beauty of lens flares/composition/beautiful people of FNL.

Friday Night Lights - Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, 1.19

I can't even deal with how good Friday Night Lights is. I'm in that state of post-episode euphoria. Perfection! Usually I'd wait to calm down, but I have to get this out now.

First of all, this series is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. I started capping pretty scenes during this episode, and found myself pausing and going back to get shots I missed. I now have a whole desktop full of screenshots I'll probably add to this post later. Wow. I'm a sucker for lens flare and the way this show uses light is stunning. And the organic, yet somehow very measured and artsy composition of each shot. I don't even knowww.

Secondly, how do the writers do it? How can they write such perfect characters and relationships? This episode, the back-and-forth between Tyra and her mother was heartbreaking and so real -- you can feel how trapped Tyra is, and how damaged her mother is, and the heated emotions forged out of that frustrating relationship just ignite like fireworks onscreen. The climax argument in the car about living a better life, then the screech of the truck's tires on asphalt, then Tyra's mother storming into the Father-Daughter dance, ending with Tyra laughing and dancing... Absolutely. Brilliant.

Another winning relationship in this episode is of course Coach Taylor and his daughter Julie. The conversation in the car brought me to tears. The acting!

And Lila ramming that car into her father's auto dealership? I can't express how much I love that. I'm not a big fan of Lila, mostly because of her annoying relationship with Jason. But I could definitely warm up to her if she continues being such a badass. Sweet girl comes out of her shell (like she did last episode when she got drunk and really opened up to Jason -- I liked her then, too) because she can't take it anymore. I dig that a lot.

Another thing I dig is a plain and simple love story, and this episode offered an amazing one in Tim and his next-door neighbor. First off, Tim Riggins with a kid is incredibly attractive. And I guess the kid's mom isn't immune to his charms. The development of this unexpected side story was so simple, yet so compelling and real. It reminded me of Tyra's brief encounter with the businessman from LA in one of the first few episodes of this season. So gooooood.

Finally, the adorable, wonderful scene on the football field at night. Jason, Smash, Matt, Tim. Jason mentoring Matt. Matt fretting about getting caught. Tim and Smash explaining their problems with girls. Everything about these scenes really got to me, because I know what it's like to be on a quiet football field at night, and at dawn, and it was, of course, shot just beautifully.

I can barely be coherent about this show. It's just perfect. And I can't express that very well, I suppose.

ETA: Actually, I just made a tumblr: dillonpanthers.tumblr.com

No Ordinary Family, The Event

No Ordinary Family - Pilot, 1.01

This show is kind of a Heroes/Modern Family hybrid. I know that's the lazy evaluation, but I think it's apt. This show is cute and sentimental and exciting because hey, normal people with superpowers. But it's nothing special. The writing leaves a lot to be desired. Contrived dialogue ruins this pilot. The show has at least two great actors in Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz, but the script doesn't give them much to work with. It's an appealing premise, a real family show, but in short: the dialogue kills me. I won't be watching this one.

On the plus side, there's some good music. Shut Up and Let Me Go by the Ting Tings, Dilly by Band of Horses.

Grade: C+

The Event - I Haven't Told You Everything, 1.01

I'm not looking to get into another FlashForward, which this show resembles at first glance. Just not my cup of tea. The pilot is exciting enough, as its main purpose is to intrigue and introduce the main mystery. If I liked this kind of show, I would definitely stick with it for a while.

Horchata by Vampire Weekend was a plus.

Grade: B-

Fringe - The Box, 3.02

I was enamored of Fringe last season. I watched Brown Betty twice, Jacksonville three times, and the Over There finale parts 1 and 2 a couple more times than that. The show was just an amalgam of everything I loved about the science fiction genre: alternate universes, the FBI checking out weird science cases, a mad scientist, the unexplained, a fantastically creepy score, themes like morality and reality, monsters and mutants, and, as a bonus, gruesome deaths each episode. Awesome.

Summer came and went, and by the time fall shows started premiering, I found I didn't care as much about Fringe Division. But last week's episode and this week's installment won me over yet again.

Olivia is reserved. She's tough. She's personable but not outgoing. Alt-Olivia is different in many ways, and Anna Torv affects her effortlessly. She is completely believable as both characters. For once, I was captivated by the story and didn't even think about Anna Torv the actor as Olivia and Alt-Olivia; it was just the two very different characters struggling in their new realities. Superb nuanced acting, without so much as a wardrobe or hairstyle change. The way she runs her tongue over her teeth the way Olivia wouldn't, the way she carries herself distinctly as either character, is fantastic.

More winning moments:

• John Noble as the Secretary and chunks-of-his-brain-missing Walter Bishop.
• Michael Giacchino. Amazing work all the time.
• The silence scene! Excellent! That dude's head exploding! I jumped and said Oh Fuck and then laughed. Sci fi has made me a sick person.

ETA: I called the deaf twist at the beginning of the episode. Strange things were affecting everyone except one person, so the odd one out had to be different in some way. I guessed deaf, and I was right. This has probably happened before in the X-Files. Sci fi tropes are becoming second nature. Cool.

Also, the T never moves that fast. And, because I'm a romance junkie, I'm loving the development of the Alt-Olivia and Peter relationship. Twisted and complicated, just the way I like it.

BBC Drama Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 Trailer

So the past two days I've been freaking out over this trailer:

The ones I'm particularly excited about:

• Christopher and His Kind (BBC Two) -- "The hedonistic Berlin cabaret scene is in full swing when a young and wide-eyed Christopher Isherwood arrives in the city, unable to speak a word of German, to stay with his close friend, Auden. To Isherwood's reserved English sensibility, the city's thriving gay subculture is thrilling and intoxicating. But Christopher soon finds himself heartbroken after the failure of a hopeless love affair, and so sets out on a process of self-discovery." + Matt Smith.

• The Song of Lunch (BBC Two) -- Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson!

• The Crimson Petal & The White (BBC Two) -- Gillian Anderson! Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Mark Gatiss.

• Single Father (BBC One) -- David Tennant.

• Accused (BBC One) -- "Christopher Eccleston and Mackenzie Crook play the leading characters in the first two episodes of Accused; separate stories which open as an ordinary individual is led to the dock to hear his or her fate. As each hour-long episode unravels viewers learn how each person came to be there. But on reflection should they be the accused? Are they innocent or guilty or somewhere in between? And will the jury make the right judgement?"

• The First Men in the Moon (BBC Four) -- Mark Gatiss!

• Upstairs Downstairs (BBC One)

• The Shadow Line (BBC Two) -- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston, Lesley Sharp.

• Doctor Who Christmas Special (BBC One)

• Outcasts (BBC One) -- "Outcasts is set on a recently-discovered planet and tells of the dilemmas, loves and lives of a group of people setting up a new world. This life-sustaining planet is now home to the surviving population from Earth. Here there is a chance to start again, to bring the lessons learnt from Earth and to put them into action on a new planet." + Jamie Bamber.

• Toast (BBC One) -- Helena Bonham Carter.

NCIS: Los Angeles, Terriers, Raising Hope

NCIS: Los Angeles - Pilot, 1.01

I've never been a fan of NCIS. I don't even know what it stands for. I tried out the LA-flavored series in hopes of catching glimpses of places I knew. I didn't see any specific locations, but the ambience was there. Palm trees and that. I enjoyed the crisp quality of the show, particularly the confrontation scene in the house by the beach. Otherwise, I was unimpressed. The acting from the supporting characters is subpar, but they're incredibly good looking. The lead is dashing and fit, but not very charismatic. Well, it is Hollywood.

Grade: C

Terriers - Pilot, 1.01

This is a fun show, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with it for that reason. It's like a buddy cop flick in which one of the cops is Jeff Bridges (Er, The Dude, rather) with some Owen Wilson thrown in. Either way, the actors and uniformly great at doing comedic and dramatic, which I predict will be key. Veronica Mars-esque mysteries/crimes, with banter between a pair of best friends. Sounds like a good time to me!

Grade: B

Raising Hope - Pilot, 1.01

I started watching this pilot expecting to dislike it. Bad attitude, yes, but my opinion was changed from the very first shot -- a saturated wide-angle shot of a pool from floor level. Pretty and artsy, for a 20 minute sitcom. My second impression was that this was pretty good acting. An interesting, unique family dynamic; another "modern family." The cast was going to shoot their promo pictures at my house, and now I'm sad they didn't, because I'd love to be associated with this show.

Martha Plimpton plays his mother, which confused me because she looks so young, but it was explained that she was pregnant at fifteen. Has there been a Rory/Lorelai Gilmore relationship between a mother and her son? "She named it Princess Beyonce but I think I might change that." Very quotable one-liners abound.

Loved the news report on her criminal record alternated with her toilet flushes. This is a very well-written show. And I don't even normally like babies, or shows about people struggling to raise babies.

Quirky brown-eyed female frustrated with her mundane life meets ordinary but endearing protagonist with a heart of gold in a grocery store parking lot. Sure, it's been done, but it's cute, and I do find Jimmy pathetically endearing. I think it's his voice's timbre and his haircut.

Oh, also excellent was Plimpton singing to the baby with her husband accompanying on guitar, cut to a flashback with her younger self doing the same thing for Jimmy. Sentimental. The Modern Family "lessons" moment without the voiceover. I really, really dig this show!

Grade: A

Doctor Who - Resurrection of the Daleks

Oooh, that was good. The last few minutes especially.

I like Classic Who a lot, but I'm a student of RTD at heart. That is, it's the Doctor/Companion relationship that really gets me, and any configuration of meddling Cybermen/Daleks/the Master is secondary. Davros did some interesting stuff here, but I was blown away by Tegan Jovanka's parting scene. A triumph by Janet Fielding, I think. Just brilliant all around. I'd transcribe, but here's the scene in full instead:

My heart sunk when I saw her face and realized what she was going to say. "I'm tired... it's stopped being fun, Doctor." And the Doctor's, "No, don't leave, not like this!" broke my heart too. Five saw a lot of deaths, and Tegan doesn't want to see any more. But that's in the job description of an assistant to the Oncoming Storm, whose only constant companion is death. Human (and alien) companions come and go, and so, brought to tears by the revelation, Tegan takes her leave. Poignant, excellent television!

I mean, the first three and nine-tenths parts are good, too. The idea of a different "breed" of Daleks isn't a new one (Remembrance, Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways, etc) but this time Davros was involved, changing it up a bit. Interesting that in both this serial and Stolen Earth/Journey's End, Davros is kind of a loser who eventually is turned on by his creation. I feel sorry for the guy. The Doctor is such an ass to him, too. Not without reason, but still.

Non-Dalek-related: Five wields a gun! Did he fire at all? I don't recall. But it was pretty bad ass, Ten take note.

And so, "Brave heart, Tegan. Doctor, I will miss you" enters the archives as yet another heartbreaking Farewell, Companion! parting phrase. I haven't watched a ton of Five, but I know he did encourage her with those words in Earthshock.

Running Wilde - Pilot, 1.01

Is Keri Russell funny? Can Will Arnett play a multi-faceted character, wherein said facets transcend Clueless, Vain, and Loud? The humor is sort of there, the AD-style in-jokes are there (to a subtler degree fitting for the tone of this new show). It will be interesting to see where this one goes. I did enjoy watching it.

Loved Puddle as the narrator, and the kid who plays her is good. Appreciated the David Cross cameo. I think the biggest issue, after seeing the pilot, is Arnett/Wilde being likable.

Grade: B

Chuck - Chuck Versus the Anniversary, 4.01

I'm so glad I got to even write that title, with "4.01" at the end there. Thank you, TV gods, for a fourth season of this wonderful show.

Awesome Things About Chuck Vs. The Anniversary (Because it's easier and more fun to just gush about this show than to try and write anything analytical about it)

• Linda Hamilton.
• Beckman as manager of the Buy More (who's Ass Man now?), and the CIA rebuilding the Buy More as an official front. Perfect.
• Dolph Lundgren.
• Trapdoor slide from the Buy More to Castle.
• Casey misses Chuck.
• SEXTING. "U LIKE?" "I thought it was cute."
• "DAMN YOU! I love dumplings." -Repo man
• "We are an offshoot of the Ring... the New Ring." -Agent Carmichael. Suave.
• I LOVE Sarah/Casey interaction so much. And there was tons of it this episode.
• Hooray also to Sarah getting her personality back after the Shaw-heavy episodes put a damper on it last season.
• "This is Charles Carmichael. I am Michael Carmichael."
• Sexting as plot device. This is glorious.
• Gunfight IN THE DARK.

The IT Crowd

No one in The IT Crowd is based in the reality we know. There aren't any straight men characters or honest, grounded moments (even when it appears there might be -- like when Roy acts cavalier to Jen in series 1... then slams the cab door on her face). In this way, the show is similar to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia rather than other workplaces sitcoms like The Office (either version -- character development, clearly reality-based, just with outlandish characters in Brent/Scott and Gareth/Dwight) or Better Off Ted (Veronica, Phil, and Lem cartoons, but Ted's not). Even It's Always Sunny has had a couple moments, that I can recall, that were sincere: in Mac's Banging the Waitress, when Charlie sheds a tear as the Waitress screams at him (cut to credits, and it's still hilarious, so I'm not sure it counts 100%) and in The Nightman Cometh, when Frank says to Charlie at the end of the play, "You did a great job. She ain't worth it."

What am I getting at. I'm not going to say I don't like comedies that aren't emotional, because that's not true. I will admit I prefer them with heart, though. The friendship of the Community study gang keeps me coming back, even if the jokes aren't there that week. Likewise for Parks and Rec and Modern Family. (It used to be the case for The Office, too, but now all the characters are so unlikeable* AND it's unfunny, it's often hard to watch.)

The IT Crowd episodes are a harmless 20 minutes each and they're easy to watch. They're more often funny than not. Moss, Roy, and Jen aren't the Sunny gang, and I'd argue they're weaker characters in general. Jen is a simple stereotype (I've heard the show been called sexist, and I can see why), Roy is awkward because he's a nerd in IT, and Moss is the same albeit stranger and even more socially maladjusted. It's funny to a point, but I feel that after a couple of seasons, there's only so much you can do with stereotyped, bland chess pieces to move about the board. (Likening The IT Crowd to chess is generous.)

* With the exception of Erin. Pam and Jim used to be the relatable ones. Now, it's Erin, whose room used to be her hair...

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse

Meta at its absolute finest. These guys are so good.

I'll miss this show a lot. Fortunately, it is very re-watchable.


"Don't kill Mark Gatiss." -Geoff

Lone Star - Pilot, 1.01

I flew Virgin America to Boston a few days ago, and they had the Lone Star pilot available to view before it airs Sept 20 on FOX. I figured it couldn't hurt to check out this show because it has Jon Voigt in it (which makes it vaguely credible, right?) and I had ample time. I'm going to watch as many fall pilots as I can (I'm excited for Terriers tonight, and Undercovers and Running Wilde in a couple weeks) to test them out, but I expect to drop 90% of them after the first couple episodes.

Lone Star features a charming Kyle Chandler look-alike as lead. He's a con man like his controlling father. He leads two lives though his father advises him against getting attached to anything. Protag considers his double (triple?) life, daddy issues, and women he loves, and decides to come clean by legitimately making back the money he's conned. The pilot offers a nice set-up to a surely dramatic season, as now former con man protagonist attempts to go straight in business, but juggle two relationships at once. Cute. Safe. If I didn't know this was a FOX show, I would've guessed USA.

I've been watching too much Friday Night Lights recently (Adrienne Palicki is in both shows, fun fact), and Lone Star pales in comparison where ambience is concerned. I believe I'm in Texas when I watch FNL. When I watched the Lone Star pilot, at first I thought I was in a Los Angeles suburb. Use more establishing shots, please. But I guess not all Texas-based shows can be absolutely fantastic!

Thoughts about the music choices:

• Rogue Wave – Eyes. Used over a lovey bedroom scene; protagonist loves his Texan wife. It was also used in Heroes twice. Nostalgic and romantic, in an indie way.
• Mumford & Sons – The Cave. Used over protag con man montage; they don't just TELL you he's a con man, look, they SHOW you too! It's empty in the valley of your heart. Aw, he's not heartless, he just does slimy business, see. But most importantly, it's twangy and hence must be southern and Texan and stuff, right? One good thing I'll say -- the song's momentum feels like it's going somewhere; it really propels the montage.
• Music choices saying, "We’re current and youthful." A lot of Mumford & Sons. Even though they're Londoners. But it's okay, they play banjos that are twangy.
• Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man. Over more con man business. I really fucked it up this time, didn't I my dear?
• Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry. Used when he returns to his blonde. I'm not positive it was the CWK version, it may have been a twangier cover.
• Some Elliot Smith-like music. Some Bon Iver-like music. Couldn't identify either.
• Mumford & Sons – Awake My Soul. Tyra confronts protag with serious business.

C-. Try harder. I get that not all Texas shows can be scored by Explosions in the Sky, but don't be so basic please. I'm feeling kind of bitchy tonight.

Friday Night Lights - Git 'Er Done, 1.05

I cannot even deal with how good Friday Night Lights is. I've only seen five episodes. Sports dramas make me incredibly emotional. It's an absolutely perfect show. Perfect, as in no flaws. Impeccable.

Take episode five, Git 'Er Done, which I just finished watching. It flowed seamlessly -- from Jason's quiet recuperation scenes, to Tyra's Los Angeles fling, to Mr. and Mrs. Coach's conversations... with a perfect lead-up to Friday night: a scene in which Lila visits Jason in the hospital right before the game, and is followed in by Coach Taylor and the rest of the team. A quiet prelude before the big game. FNL does quiet very, very well. It's harder to do quiet and familiar than loud and boisterous, in my opinion... the late afternoon scene with Coach Taylor and his wife, for instance; he talks to her, articulating the sides of his dilemma, and it's incredibly real and intimate. The lighting is only what comes in through the school office windows, so there is lens flare and dust and coarse shadow across faces; the couple interrupts each other, and it's so loving, and you really get the feeling they are perfect for each other, because the understanding between them is palpable, the chemistry so strong, that you're left with the impression that maybe you shouldn't even be watching these real people have this quiet yet important moment.

Woah, kinda got carried away there.

Anyway, I also wanted to mention Tyra's brief affair with Connor, the businessman from Los Angeles. Their scenes this episode seemed like interludes to the rest of the episode, which was dedicated to preparation for Friday night. She's not a principal character (yet?) and her scenes hardly acknowledged football. The show so far had portrayed her as the football jock's bitchy girlfriend, but this episode showed a different side of her and hence propelled her characterization and likability lightyears ahead of, say, Lila. I'm a hopeless romantic, so I loved this micro-love story: small-town girl fed up with small town meets guy from big city. It's been done, but the fact that it was done with Tyra's character -- and so sweetly, too -- is intriguing. He leaves at the end of the episode, but you can't help but ache with her because she connected with him more than she ever could with her ex-boyfriend Tim, or anyone in Dillon for that matter. Connor thought her cynicism was interesting and he obviously fancied her, but you also know he had his own life in LA. He leaves, and Tyra is in a strange place -- she is unsatisfied with her town and her dead-end life, the only person that could have understood that is gone, so where does she go from there?

Kind of got carried away there, too.

Finally, these are really, really fine actors across the board. Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler were Emmy nom'd this year, and rightfully so. Minka Kelly is annoyingly cloying most of the time, but I suppose that's her character. Everyone else supporting is just grand and completely believable.

I'm SO glad I have 70+ episodes left to watch! I don't want this show to ever end!

ETA: The writing on this show is solid, but what really makes it stellar is the acting and directing. With a weaker cast and a less stylized shooting style, this show could have easily bombed.

Friday Night Lights - Wind Sprints, 1.03

Explosions in the Sky over football players sloshing through knee-deep mud in the rain. It should be disgusting, but instead it's triumphant.

Dead Like Me - The Ledger, 2.02

Dead Like Me could have done so much. An incredible, attractive, bunch of actors, including Mandy Patinkin and Callum Blue, played with quick, witty dialogue. A quirky, Pie Hole-esque diner specializing in waffles served as their meeting ground. The premise was fascinating -- newly dead girl adjusts to being undead, finds herself employed as a grim reaper. Joins a motley bunch of reapers, each with their own story, while at home, her family copes in their own ways with her death. It explored of the nature of death itself, how the living deal with death, and most interestingly, the specific schematics of what Dead-Like-Me-death really is. Fantastic creatures known as Gravelings, only visible out of the corner of your eye, roam about killing people -- but why some people over others? George Lass was only eighteen when she was killed by a falling toilet seat meteor, but Why her?

Unfortunately, this question spanned far too many episodes. While it would be natural for her character to question Why at first, I feel this should have been, in turn, one of the first issues dealt with so that other stories could be explored. Or, it could have been pushed to the side, resurfacing with an emotional eruption or breakdown. Either way, it shouldn't have been a red button issue into the second season. "The Ledger" begins with George bursting into Rube's apartment and demanding to know Why she had to die, and it feels incredibly tired.

The last half of the first season, in fact, feels too long and repetitive. The reapers receive their post-it death assignments in the beginning of the episode, reap their stuff, question death a bit, and the episode ends with a George voiceover. In the middle somewhere there are a couple of boring scenes that feature George's mother and sister, being generally boring and argumentative. The story never goes anywhere.

What the show should have done was to continue questioning, through George's newly dead inquisitive eyes, the Why behind the post-its and Gravelings and rules of death from an unknown source. Less commentary about dead things and more exploration of what was surely a darkly fantastical dichotomy behind the scenes. The first season begins this way, with George even trying to cheat the system by not reaping, but she soon becomes uncharacteristically complacent with her situation and mindlessly reaps souls like the rest of her Waffle House cohorts. Overall, there is too much sitting around eating waffles not doing anything. Where are the dramatic showcases for each of the actors when they finally open up about their lives and subsequent deaths and subsequent after-death ennui? Dead Like Me should have been bigger, should have aimed higher. Instead, it was stuck in a diner.

The most fascinating part of the series so far was when Betty, a reaper, follows one of the souls she reaps into their afterlife. Rube warned George to never do this, to never break the rules. The episode ends with a satisfying, heart-pounding moment as Rube sticks a post-it on his door, a note for the higher-ups: "Where did she go?"

What happens when you break the rules? What are the rules in death, and who makes them? What are Gravelings? Where did Betty go?

Alas, all these questions are dropped after this episode, all consequences forgotten. Betty's departure took place in the fifth episode of the first season ("Reaping Havoc") which, incidentally, is the last episode Bryan Fuller was associated with. Had he been in charge the rest of the way, the rest of the season would have doubtless been propelled by these questions.

Things Dead Like Me should have done:

• Less Happy Time, less Waffle House.
• More in-the-field reaping, more creative wacky death situations.
• Spotlight episodes for Mason, Rube, Roxy, Daisy. Looking at their past lives and therefore motivations and current state of mind. Opening up to George, showing how broken they are about death and how they learned to cope, for better or for worse.
• A-Team, caper-style episodes in which the gang teams up to find out who's giving the orders, preferably with the leadership of George who is the least jaded.
• Give George's family something interesting to do, or omit them entirely.
• Character development. Any character development.
• Reapers bonding with their reaping targets before and after death. Learning lessons, moral-of-the-story, episode theme type of thing.
• A musical episode (they said they wanted to do one!) or some sort of deviation in the typical episode structure.

The League of Gentlemen, Louie

I don't watch shows on USA because they all feel the same. Matt Bomer's White Collar character could walk onto the set of Covert Affairs or Burn Notice and nobody would, well, notice. That doesn't mean they're bad shows, I just think they're all the same tonally. I watched the last season of Monk, and I watch Psych periodically, but the lite-crime schtick gets old after a while.

I've found that I'm really attracted to shows that have unique tone, direction or cinematography that makes me sit up and think, "Hm, I haven't seen this before." Because honestly, all Sherlock Holmes-esque detective shows are going to feel like House, all mockumentary comedies are going to feel like The Office, all mystery/suspense shows are going to try to emulate LOST. Because if something is proven to work, it will be copied, at the expense of originality.

So when I watched Louie for the first time a couple weeks ago, I was smitten. It was the second episode, "Poker/Divorce," that did it -- the first scene of the episode lasts about five minutes. Louie and his comedian friends sit around a warmly-lit table and play poker. One of the comics is gay, and one of them is homophobic. The guys discuss the use of the word "faggot" in an open, humorous, yet extremely real, way. The atmosphere was something I'd never seen before on TV. "Real-life" sketches like this one, alternating with scenes from his stand-up (also acted) make up the 20-odd minute show. Another plus is the fantastic incidental music.

Similarly (yet somehow completely dissimilarly...), The League of Gentlemen caught my eye. It aired on BBC2 from 1999-2002*. I checked it out for Mark Gatiss, because I wanted to watch a few things the co-creators of Sherlock did pre-Doctor Who (I also watched a bit of Coupling -- not bad! But my disdain for laugh tracks stops me from watching much more). The town of Royston Vasey has perpetual zombie weather -- that is, overcast and foreboding and generally creepy. Dark humor, outlandish characters (many played by three of the show's four creators), and nightmarish situations all come together in this horror-movie town. It's incredibly well-written (all at once screamingly funny yet disturbing) and well-acted, but the selling point, for me at least, is the uniquely nightmarish atmosphere in every episode. Delightful.

* So far I've only watched series 3. I'll go back to 1 and 2 once I get over my laugh track aversion...

Friday Night Lights - Pilot, 1.01

Overcast, and the first strains of First Breath After Coma transcend muted hoots and whistles and claps as cameras pan at varying distances across a grey field where a team scrimmages. Football is loud and brassy, with garish cheerleaders, mud, the muffled crack-ing of shoulder pad against helmet or abdomen or shin, torn-up grass and more mud. I don't like football. But I like Friday Night Lights.

I've raved about how much I adore overcast ("Sad is like happy for deep people," and its muted, worn tone), and that aforementioned scene is what sealed the deal for me. Brassy and garish FNL is not. Everything I hate about football is pulled inside out, and predictably I like this side better. Crowds are obviously loud, so FNL softens them. Instead of fanfare for a fight song, Explosions In the Sky provides an atmospheric backdrop for an adrenaline-packed game; there isn't a slow moment, and we don't need to be bombarded with booming declarations of Yeah! This Is Football! by way of noise or gritty close-ups. Art doesn't tell you what you already know, it shows you a different way of looking at life, at ordinary things like football culture in middle-America.

So, FNL is kind of like artsy, anti-football. Which I dig, a lot.

Thoughts:

• First Breath After Coma plays again in the hospital scene. First thought: Wow, this is awesome. Again. Second thought: Is this Grey's Anatomy?
• Love the handheld camera work. Organic. Very shaky, though. Even more so than BSG's 33, I think, which is saying a lot!
• Good use of music in TV really excites me. I freak out over this kind of thing. Usually for American shows it's the song choice and placement (like The Who on Freaks and Geeks, or Edward Sharpe on Community, or anything on Grey's Anatomy or Chuck), and on British shows it's more the way it's used dramatically (recurrence of Damien Rice's Delicate in Misfits; that subtle drone-y piece over Freddie and Cook's conversation in Skins). Not to say British shows don't choose good music, too.
• It's kind of funny how much the quality of writing on this blog has decreased. You can track the wax and wane of my writing finesse and lack thereof by checking the months I write a lot of posts, and the ones in which I don't. Yuck.
  

Sci Fi Marathon Day 1

So I didn't make it all the way through my marathon. It was tougher than I'd thought. I got about a third of the way through. Next time I'll start up with Ghost Light Pt. 2.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Band Candy"

Being Human, "Episode 1"

Battlestar Galactica, "33"

The X-Files, "Field Trip"

Doctor Who, "Ghost Light" Pt. 1

· 12:15 Starting Band Candy now.

· So this episode was written by Jane Espenson. Of course it was.

· 12:26 “You’re a good mom.” “I’m the best.” YES SHE IS :’(

· 12:30 Angel doing tai chi in the moonlight. Buffy brings him butcher blood. Angel’s about 200, isn’t he? How old is Edward? Which one is creepier? The answer is: The Doctor, because he’s fucking 900 years old and preys on teenagers.

· 12:35 Xander and Willow are awkwardly playing footsie under the lab table. This makes me sad. And nostalgic.

· 12:54 Ethan was such a good character we could have gotten a lot more mileage out of. His dynamic with Giles was excellent. “You’re my slayer! Hit him!”

· Vampires in Buffy are bumpy, strong, gothic, often clad in black and deep red and leather, sardonic, pale. They go poof when they’re staked.

· 1:03 “I’ve got the SATs tomorrow.” “Oh, blow them off. I’ll write you a note.” “No, it’s okay.” Obligatory lesson learned. Seasons 1-3 were really incredible with the whole using demons as metaphors for growing up thing.

· 1:09 Now watching Being Human Episode 1. “Everyone dies” is the first sentence of this series.

· Vampires have sex too! How True Blood.

· 1:12 Alonso ass! Though I guess his name isn’t Alonso in this series, is it. Bad wolf mention, also. Cool.

· Cheery, Friends-y music over title screen. Establishing tone, weird contrast with the darker opening sequence with blood and sex and ass and death.

· Created by Toby Whithouse. Why does that sound so familiar?

· Oh yeah, because he wrote for DW.

· 1:26 Ooh, interesting werewolf design. Less wolf-y, more feral furry creature thing. Also established: Annie can walk through walls because she is a ghost.

· This is a pretty comedic show, it just happens to feature a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost. Already excitedly anticipating the dark humor and dark/light contrast to come.

· These vampires are immortal, or maybe immortal until staked/killed? Or something. And they can be in sunlight because they can vampirize themselves whenever they want, it looks like. Similar to Buffy vamps in that they have pitch black eyes.

· 2:13 Beginning 33 now. This might be my favorite episode of the entire series.

· This episode is an interesting, if not kind, introduction into the world of BSG. First of all, there are a LOT of characters, all on different ships, all doing different things. Gaius isn’t even mentally present on the ship half the time. Oh, and Six isn’t real. And there’s another Six and another Sharon on a rainy planet with Helo. It was pretty hard to grasp at first. The guiding element that tied it all together was the jump every 33 minutes.

· 2:22 Seconds of the clock ticking away is the only sound you hear, and then jump to the amazing title sequence.

· 2:52 Since Being Human is 60 minutes long versus a typical 42, give or take, pacing is different. Build up and exposition of 33 is brilliant. Climax with the Olympic Carrier happening now. Gorgeous.

· 2:57 This ending is incredible. And backed by a McCreary score, it’s perfect. Billy tells Roslin she can add one to the population count, because a baby was born.

· 3:00 Starting Field Trip. Hey Roy Anderson. I think I’ve only seen this episode twice, which is unusual because it’s one of my favorites.

· Teleplay by Gilligan and Shiban, directed by Manners = instant win.

· 3:19 “Everything she’s said is textbook, down to the last detail.” When details are too perfect, too typical like that, it’s easy to call bullshit. The Fourth Kind movie, for one.

· Oh Mark Snow. How I’ve missed you.

· 3:39 I love this ending. M Night-esque for sure. I really dig the reality/unreality (which is real?!) theme that’s rather prevalent recently, a la Inception and Amy’s Choice. Are there more? Common for sci fi fantasy anyhow.

· 3:47 I’ve decided on the Seventh Doctor’s Ghost Light for the next hour. Companion is Ace.

· Victorian-era man mentions Ace’s state of “undress,” like how Rose was a wee naked child in Tooth and Claw. ”She comes from a less civilized time.”

· I predict much humor will come of a butler named Nimrod.

Stopping now in favor of watching Dead Like Me.

2010 Primetime Emmy Predictions

My scorecard. 1 & 2 as most likely and second most likely to win; asterisk denotes who I think deserves it!

Drama Series

* Breaking Bad

Dexter

2. The Good Wife

Lost

1. Mad Men

True Blood

The Good Wife is a strong network contender, but I don't think it can stand up to AMC's crown jewel; but as always, I'm rooting for BB.

Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

2. Glee

* 1. Modern Family

Nurse Jackie

The Office

30 Rock

Glee and Modern Family are critic and Emmy voter favorites, but MF is more consistent; however, this is really Glee's time to snag a Best because I predict a sophomore slump (and maybe worse) for the uneven show.

Actor in a Drama

2. Bryan Cranston

Michael C. Hall

Kyle Chandler

* 1. Hugh Laurie

Matthew Fox

Jon Hamm

Hamm can wait his turn, he'll be in this race for a while; Cranston only if voters get lazy, though he was brilliant this season; Laurie deserves it for his showcase in the season opener, Broken -- six seasons of House and still no Emmy.

Actress in a Drama

Kyra Sedgwick

Glenn Close

Connie Britton

Julianna Margulies

Mariska Hargitay

January Jones

I honestly can't say -- I don't watch any of these shows except Mad Men!

Actor in a Comedy

2. Jim Parsons

Larry David

Matthew Morrison

* 1. Tony Shalhoub

Steve Carrell

Alec Baldwin

Shalhoub will win for Monk's final season; Parsons might upset -- he and the BBT have surged in popularity this past year; Morrison shouldn't have been nominated, frankly; Baldwin has won once too many; Carrell will win next year for his final season.

Actress in a Comedy

Lea Michele

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

2. Edie Falco

* Amy Poehler

Tina Fey

1. Toni Collette

Collette's role lets her show incredible range, putting her at an easy advantage over actresses like (my favorite) Amy Poehler; Falco is already known to be a terrific actress in any genre, so I wouldn't be surprised at a win for her, either.

August Giant Sci-Fi Marathon

One day in August I'm going to wake up and then watch TV and write about it until I go to bed. This is the tentative schedule:

1 pm: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Band Candy"

1:45 pm: Being Human, "Episode 1"

2:30 pm: Battlestar Galactica, "33"

3:15 pm: The X-Files, "Field Trip"

4 pm: Doctor Who, (2 Classic Who episodes, 25 min each)

5 pm: Heroes, "Company Man"

5:45 pm: Firefly, "Out of Gas"

6:30 pm: BREAK!

7:30 pm: Torchwood, "Random Shoes"

8:15 pm: Dead Like Me, "My Room"

9 pm: Fringe, "Ability"

9:45 pm: Doctor Who, "The Beast Below"

10:30 pm: Pushing Daisies, "Bitches"

I'll write as I watch and focus on these points:

• Basic analysis and comparison of the shows/episodes
• Common themes
• What is science fiction?
• Vampire portrayals in Buffy and Being Human
• Being Human first episode vs. BSG first episode; expositional differences specific to these shows, and then to all science fiction shows
• "Company Man" vs. "Out of Gas" out-of-order storytelling; past vs. present, how and why characters are the way they are
• Fairytale and fantasy elements in The Beast Below vs. Bitches
• Which characters are similar and why; are they science fiction staples or archetypes?
• What are common plot elements -- aliens? Cloning?
• Representation of evil in science fiction; corporeal vs. the unseen
• Music/score, licensed vs. composed; are there common science fiction musical elements?
• General commentary on acting, direction, production design, writing, etc.

Doctor Who Interlude

I love the fairytale feeling of series 5, but it occurred to me that it would've worked even better in series 1. Bad Wolf? Huge missed opportunity. Could've used a red/scarlet palette (which incidentally was used in series 5 to good effect), the "wolf in sheep's clothing" idea, and a whole load of "the better to ____ you with" references. That would have been awesome. Moffat perpetuated this so well, but RTD definitely missed the boat. Oh well.

More ideas for the fairytale-series-1-that-will-never-be:

• Jack as the woodcutter
• Misdirection for the audience; insinuate that the Doctor is the big, bad wolf
• Innocence, growing up motif
• Forests! Creepy shadows, etc. (Moffat wins.)
• My, what large ears you have. (Because he does. Have enormous ears. But we also don't want to beat the audience over the head with Lil' Red, so freely omit.)
• He also has a big nose. Just saying.

(In related news, I really need to stop rewatching series 1 and move on with my life.)

Doctor Who - Earthshock

I didn't watch much new television this week, just a bunch of Doctor Who series 2 for my rewatch endeavor and some Secret Diary. Treme has been impossible to find online, so I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I started Bored to Death, but I'm not impressed so far (though I love the cast and the awesome music choices. Schwartzman/Galafianakis interactions are worth watching for alone). Might drop those two for the time being.

However, I did watch Doctor Who's Earthshock. Out of the classic Who serials I've seen so far*, I think it's my favorite. I prefer the Doctor with an entourage, and the Fifth Doctor had quite a few companions. Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan accompanied him on this particular adventure.

Classic Who companions have been criticized of getting kidnapped and being generally helpless. Though there is some of that, it isn't to say they don't help the Doctor in their own ways. Some are braver than others, and some are better at math; some aren't there by choice but trek on with the crew good-naturedly anyway, some fall down more than others. Companions are like a box of chocolates. I like the strong-willed ones that aren't afraid to talk back to the Doctor, like Sarah Jane. I also like Leela and Adric. In Earthshock, Tegan ventured out to help look for the Doctor while Nyssa stayed behind to hold down the fort. Not helpless at all.

But the companion that proved himself as righteous and self-sacrificing as the Doctor was Adric. Part 1 of Earthshock set up the frustration Adric felt toward the Doctor's sometimes condescending manner. He wants to return to his home planet, but the Doctor isn't having it, seeing as they'd have to journey through E-space to get there. Adric and the Doctor quarrel, and before Nyssa and Tegan can adequately encourage repair, the two are cornered by Cybermen. What's interesting about Adric and the Doctor's argument is that the Doctor is extremely hotheaded, at first, and dismissive of the accusation. What it eventually boils down to is the core of the Doctor/companion relationship -- the question of what exactly the Doctor's role is in a companion's life. There is a balance between affection (which the Cybermen consider the Doctor's greatest weakness, as they use it against him when they threaten Tegan's life) and mentorship (Adric complains the Doctor never explains things to him). In the end, Adric, the mathematician prodigy, gives his life just as the Doctor would have done to save the Earth. Unfortunately, a Cyberman destroys the console before Adric can solve the code, and Adric laments that he will "never know if he was right" as his final words.

(In The Caves of Androzani, The Fifth Doctor's last word is "Adric"; he dies feeling overwhelming guilt, a sure theme in the Doctor's life.)

* I've watched Pyramids of Mars (4th Doctor), City of Death (4th), Robots of Death (4th), The Caves of Androzani (5th Doctor), Earthshock (5th), The Three Doctors, and The Five Doctors. The Doctor Who movie kind of sits in the void between classic and new Who, but I've seen that too. Talons of Weng-Chiang next, yay racism!

Doctor Who Series 5 Observations

I will keep a list, by episode, of possibly significant details in series 5 of Doctor Who.

The Eleventh Hour, 5.01

• Amelia Pond. In a way she is meant to be seen separate from Amy; is possibly the most important character in this series; the Doctor's and her timeline are intertwined, the Doctor has influenced every bit of her life, she is completely obsessed with him.
• The crack in Amelia's bedroom wall. Opens to the Atraxi prison from which Prisoner Zero has escaped, this means travel from one side to the other is possible? "The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" - Prisoner Zero to the Doctor; the Doctor clearly plays some sort of part, but he is unaware of it
• "The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall." - Prisoner Zero; the crack is already notably important; the Pandorica opens in the aptly titled twelfth episode; "silence will fall" is the mystery, repeated in this episode
• The shadowy human-like figure in Amelia's house, unexplained in this episode.
• Series theme: fairy tales.

The Beast Below, 5.02

• Series theme: children. Amelia Pond; the Doctor and the star whale's affection for children; their innocence and openness
• "A horse and a man, above, below,
  One has a plan, but both must go,
  Mile after mile, above, beneath,
  One has a smile, and one has teeth.
  Though the man above might say 'Hello,'
  Expect no love from the Beast Below!
  
  In bed above we're deep asleep,
  While greater love lies further deep,
  This dream must end, this world must know:
  We all depend on the beast below." -- Could this rhyme be a metaphor for more than the episode? The series, perhaps?
• The crack is on Spaceship UK.

Victory of the Daleks, 5.03

• Amy doesn't remember Earth's Dalek invasion.
• The crack makes its appearance on the wall behind the TARDIS.

The Time of Angels, 5.04

• The ubiquitous, wonderful, River Song.

Flesh and Stone, 5.05

• The Doctor w/ jacket is INTENTIONAL. There's no way that should be attributed to lazy direction/editing/costuming. The Doctor leaves, but returns with a close-up shot of his hands covering Amy's, as if introducing a new character onto the scene, and then up to his face. His tone (and yeah, jacket) is completely different, more serious with a bit of anguish, which totally fits his mysterious message:

"Amy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell me the truth."

"If I always told you the truth I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how could it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No... no, that's not the point. You have to remember."

"Remember what? Doctor? Doctor?"

Amy's faulty memory is clearly creating some problems on a universal scale. But why her?

• The Doctor rambles about how Amy didn't remember the Daleks and questions why she knew the duck pond was a duck pond if there weren't any ducks, then asks, What if time could be rewritten? Then, he realizes (I hypothesize), that he can rewrite history.
• "The Pandorica... that's a fairy tale." "Aren't we all?"
• "What are you thinking?" "Time can be rewritten."

Vampires of Venice, 5.06

• The Doctor and Rory hear silence as they step into the TARDIS.

Amy's Choice, 5.07

• "We have to grow up eventually." "Says who?"
• Dreams/false realities.
• "You save everyone." "Not always." "Then what is the point of you?"
• The Dream Lord. The Doctor sees the Dream Lord as his reflection in the TARDIS console a few seconds before the episode ends; this is likely not anything with real repercussions (like the psychic pollen is still there), but a self-reflective-Doctor-thing
• Series theme: Amy's choice. Amy's choice, the angel in Amy's eyes/mind, Amy's memories; Amy is extremely important.

The Hungry Earth, 5.08

• Amy and Rory see themselves 10 years in the future

Cold Blood, 5.09

• The crack has gotten wider, the Doctor sticks his hand in and pulls out a piece of TARDIS shrapnel, Rory is engulfed in time energy light and is erased from time; an explosion is causing the crack, could it be the TARDIS exploding?
• "Rory still lives in your mind."
• Amy waves to another Amy on top of a hill

Vincent and the Doctor, 5.10

• "Time can be rewritten, I know it can." - Amy

The Lodger, 5.11

• The crack makes an appearance behind Craig's refrigerator. Amy also sees it when she opens her engagement ring box.

The Pandorica Opens, 5.12

• Is there a reason van Gogh has heightened psychic ability (i.e. he can see invisible monsters and paint the future)?
• "Vortex manipulator -- fresh off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent." Jack?
• First words ever written: "Hello Sweetie." Just to give us even more perspective on exactly how incredibly necessary River Song is to the entire universe.
• The Doctor is wearing a red bowtie and his jacket has deep red buttons. Red-haired Amy has on her usual bright red scarf and red gloves. Her engagement ring box is red. Roman-Rory's cape is red. Red-robed queen is back. Red is both important and foreboding.
• The painting "might not be that literal," according to River.
• "A box, a cage, a prison... it was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe." "It's a fairytale, a legend. It can't be real."
• I think this is the earliest we have seen River -- the last two times (Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) were further in her timeline.
• "The Pandorica." "More than just a fairy tale."
• "You know fairy tales... a good wizard tricked it." "I hate good wizards in fairy tales, they always turn out to be him."
• Pandora's Box is Amy's favorite book when she was a kid. "Never ignore coincidence."
• The large stones transmit the warning to everyone that the Pandorica is opening. But why doesn't the Doctor know?
• "Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely. And if something can be remembered, it can come back."
• "Does it ever bother you, Amy, that your life doesn't make any sense?" Her house has too many rooms
• "A whole 'nother life, just like I woke up from a dream." - Rory, on what physically happened to him between death and waking up as a Roman
• Strange markings on the grass in front of Amy's house
• Amy owns a book on Roman soldiers and one on Pandora's Box
• The Nestene Consciousness is using Amy's memories to construct the Roman soldiers -- but Roman Rory still remembers dying, as if his subconscious remained intact, as if he weren't a construct out of Amy's memory. Somehow the Autons obtained the real Rory's memories?
• "Someone else is flying it." "But why? How?"
• Amy finally remembers Rory.
• The Nestene Consciousness! Daleks! Cybermen, Sontarans, the Judoon, Silurians.
• "Only the Doctor can pilot the TARDIS." Not true. There's River, and didn't even Donna fly it once?
• Amy dies.
• "Silence will fall." And it does.

The Big Bang, 5.13

• The fairy tale identity crisis ends with a box (the TARDIS, or the hero part of Eleven) flying into another box (the Pandorica, possibly the "beast below" facet of Eleven's identity). Yin meets yang, and the universe explodes! More importantly, the two sides of Eleven's personality meet, which he's grappled with the entire series. Is he the beast or the angel? More than once, his past selves have shown up on screen (library card in Vampires of Venice, identifier gadget in Vincent and the Doctor, blue light in The Eleventh Hour, sparknotes of his life in The Lodger). Series 5 dealt with the two warring sides of the Doctor, and more specifically, who Eleven is. Is he rude and not ginger? Not this time -- the good wizard in fairy tales "always turn out to be him." He's a wizard, and a fairy tale, with a "beast below," which is reconciled in The Big Bang with the collision of the TARDIS and the Pandorica. PRAISE MOFFAT!

Doctor Who - The Beast Below, 5.02

Once upon a time...

Amelia Pond is a child with a big imagination and a fairy tale name. Amy Pond is a self-proclaimed grown-up. The Doctor instigated her belief in the impossible, and twelve long years contributed to her subsequent disillusionment. Rose Tyler was the big, bad, wolf, and Amy Pond is Alice down the rabbit hole. A strange man in your house at night who promises you the universe is a fairy tale. A crack in time and space that happens to be in your bedroom wall, of all places (and you, of all people!), is a fairy tale. Monsters, and hidden doors out of sight unless you turn your head just so, are the makings of a fairy tale. And the fairy tale of the Raggedy Doctor with a Box happens to Amy Pond, who is Amelia Pond, who is a Scottish girl in an English village yet never relinquished her accent (and the Doctor knows how that feels).

I started the fifth season of Doctor Who today. Steven Moffat took the reigns from Russell T Davies, and I have high expectations.* Moffat's episodes in the last four seasons of New Who have been my favorites -- he is an incredibly creative writer. I could write tons about what exactly I like about his stories, but I expect I'll be covering a lot of those points as I write about this new season. I will definitely note parallels and common themes introduced in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, that return here. I've already noticed a couple:

• What's not seen is scarier than an in-your-face monster. Blink's Weeping Angels, SitL/FotD's Vashta Nerada, a door in your house you can't see unless you look in the corner of your eye...
• Tons of creepiness. TEC/TDD's gas masks, TGitL's ticking baddies, The Beast Below's Smilers.
• Repeated phrases for maximum creep factor. "Are you my mummy?" "Don't blink." "Count the shadows." -- none yet in s5, but I'm confident!

The Eleventh Hour is directed and acted sharper, crisper than RTD's Who; the better direction is perhaps a testament more to the times than the showrunner (any Old Who serial elicits a giggle -- the times, they are a-changin'), but the acting, I think, is a conscious decision by Moffat to distinguish his characters from Ten's incredibly emotive face and hyperactive personality (not to mention the Rose Tyler's big eyes and Martha Jones's pining after the Doctor and Donna Noble's loud voice and at times abrasive demeanor). Smith and Gillan are Moffat's toys. While RTD made his Doctor shed tears or fall in love, Moffat's Doctor might quip a non-sequitur with a steady expression (so I theorize, from what I've seen so far!).** RTD would up the ante by adding more Daleks; Moffat excels at creating villains out of shadows and silence.*** And to be honest, I don't know which tone I prefer. I like theatrics and big emotion, but I'm also completely enamored of the simple creepiness and organic intrigue that gets under your skin as you watch a Moffat story unfold.

Observations specifically about The Beast Below:

• The Queen is royally dressed in a velvet-like material, but most interestingly, it's a deep red hood and cape. (Rebel/defiant Queen itself an archetype of sorts). She is deceptively old, and has told herself the greatest lie every ten years; she has deceived herself.
• Two choices: Protest vs. Forget -- very red pill/blue pill, very fork-in-the-road, very fairy tale.
• Spaceship UK has the interior of a medieval castle, complete with a dungeon that houses a beast
• I cannot express how much I LOVED Amy's revelation about the parallel between the star whale and the Doctor -- both lonely, the last of their kind, hundreds of years old, can't stand to see children cry, their misery and solitude and age have made them kind
• Astounding episode, already one of my favorites!
• Plus, nursery rhymes! How haunting, and fitting for an episode (and likely, series) set around the innocence of children.

* I am going to analyze the SHIT out of this series. It's Moffat. Nothing is coincidence. It has to be done.

** Smith's Doctor gets angry, but it's focused inward, and released in bursts.

*** Exceptions abound. RTD's Midnight was terrifying without a visible monster. Moffat's clockwork monsters from The Girl in the Fireplace. Etc.

Misfits - Episode Five, 1.05

I'm writing this in the afterglow of the episode. I'm still grinning from the 48-odd minutes of capital-A Amazing I just watched.

From episode three, Misfits took the Skins route and began focusing primarily on individual characters for each episode. Episodes one and two followed the crew as they killed, buried, dug up, and buried again their probation officer; the following episodes still dealt with the aftermath, but mostly as a B-plot to the A story of a protagonist as he/she deals with his or her new power.

This episode, which focused on Simon, is my favorite so far. It had a strange subplot about Nathan getting hypnotized by a baby, which served only to add substance to his and Kelly's relationship, I'm guessing, but that was largely overshadowed by the Simon/Sally story. Simon has always been the odd one out (the actor who portrays him has mastered the art of sitting and acting uncomfortable -- I'm serious, he's really good), the brunt of Nathan's jokes, or else ignored entirely. So when you see him warm up to Sally here (his gradual smile in the bar!), it's tragic, because she is cruelly using him to incriminate the group of her boyfriend's murder.

Not sure why she didn't just confiscate phones like they did in the first episode, but I'm glad she didn't, because the resulting tragedy that unfolded was well worth the price of admission.

We see Simon fall for Sally, and there are two beautiful, parallel scenes:

1. He asks her to get a drink, she says no and walks away, turns around, says, "Simon," and suddenly they're at the bar. (Their date's soundtrack consisting, perfectly as usual, of the XX and Damien Rice.)

2. He kisses her, she says, "This is my fault," walks away, turns around, and a beat later he's sitting in her kitchen, grinning. Half a scene later, you realize he has used his power to become invisible and she didn't really invite him in.

This episode played at first like a quirky love story (older woman/shy younger man; guy dates his probation worker) that transformed at its climax into a fantastically terrifying horror-movie plot as he smashes her head against the door -- silence at first, and then you realize she's dead over the same Damien Rice that played during their date. I'm a complete sucker for this kind of unpredictable plot/ironic parallel or song choice, but I thought this was absolutely perfect.

I won't even mention the beautiful-as-usual cinematography and direction, brilliant acting, etc. (Well, only one mention, then.)

Heroes Retrospective

Heroes had a promising premise, strong pilot, and talented (albeit huge) cast. Where did it go wrong? Having not seen the later seasons, I only have the first to hypothesize by. My theory assumes the second through fourth seasons build on tone/direction of the first.

I think, simply, that Heroes isn't as grand or intelligent as it thinks it is.

Despite clever marketing ("Save the cheerleader, Save the world" plastered on flyers and merch everywhere was effective; tie-in comics and extensive online content contributed to a richer experience) and good acting (Masi Oka!) and stylish art direction and whatever else made it a success at first failed in the end, when the audience realized in their own time that the writing was thin. In a year that boasted Lost, among others, Heroes never quite made the grade. Mohinder babbled on and on through monologues, the writing a weak attempt to seem smart, but its core was never anything of substance.

Where the show excelled, I think, was in its creativity and special effects. I could never tire of seeing Claire snap her ribs back into place, or watching Hiro stop time (how do they do that? It's awesome!). I loved the episode that gave us a peek five years into the future, a dystopia of sorts, that would occur if Hiro didn't kill Sylar. I loved the episode titles that mimicked comic book typesetting. Give me a couple of explosions or interesting uses of a power, and I'm satisfied -- I'd obviously take a coherent, clever plot over any of it, but special effects are sure an effective distraction. Unfortunately, the season finale, "How to Stop an Exploding Man" didn't offer us any of that. We expected an epic showdown that would showcase powers and expel false theories (is it Peter, Ted, or Sylar that explodes?) and overall, surprise us. What we got was an uncharacteristically weak Sylar and a bit of flying. The definition of an anticlimax.

To recap, I'm going to make a couple of lists:

Things I Like About Heroes

• Art direction -- comic book theme
• Actors/acting -- I even like the large cast. I like that most of the characters are expendable, so deaths can happen
• Special effects -- Ted blowing up the Bennett house, Claire healing herself, Sylar doing anything, Hiro stopping time
• Hiro and Ando's relationship
• Large-scaleness of it -- India, New York, Las Vegas, LA...
• Claude

Things I Don't Like About Heroes

• Pacing -- first half of season 1 was slow, second half moved a bit better
• Lame writing most of the time
• Ali Larter's character and her power
• Peter Whiny Petrelli
• Uninteresting/useless characters like Simone or Parkman's FBI partner
• Sometimes there is not enough Claude

Breaking Bad - Full Measure, 3.13

Breaking Bad is absolutely MASTERFUL. I try to avoid live-blogging it because then I use altogether too many exclamation points and capital letters, but I'm halfway through the episode right now and way too excited to do this any other way:

• How amazing is Vince Gilligan? Seriously. Tonight's season three finale written and directed by him.
• First -- talk about gorgeous -- the four men dressed all in black, Walt with his Heisenberg hat, against a golden field and orange sky and glaring late sunlight. Incredibly striking image.
• Small quaint scene with Mike and his granddaughter. Helium balloons. Spectacular scene following it, with the Chinese businessman edging his raised arms higher to direct Mike's silenced gun higher against the wall, until it's aimed right at the man's head. "She'll need her shoe," and he returns, whining, to retrieve his secretary's footwear. Incredibly funny.
• Gale watering his plants and singing (is he going to die? Are we going to see him be domestic and then get shot?), opens the door to find Gus on the other side. Great, funny conversation, that confirms what we thought about Gus' deviousness all along.
• Right now I'm on edge, not wanting anyone to die. Don't kill Saul please! "I'm going to leave the room and make myself a Nescafe." - Saul Goodman, stay safe please.
• Any scene with Saul is incredible. Loving the lasers backlighting this visually dark scene.
• "I saved your life, Jesse. Are you going to save mine?" - Walter. I cannot stress enough how fantastic these two actors are. Their scenes together are always stunning.
• Shit getting real. I don't like where this is going. But I can't stop watching.
• At first we're apalled that Walt betrays Jesse. Then we cheer when he tells Jesse to kill Gale? The audience becomes the mindset of a/the villain.
• AND THEN, Jesse turns the gun on Gale, and the camera turns so the viewer is Gale, and then the gun goes off, Jesse shoots us, the audience.
• I've held off on caps this whole time, so I'm indulging myself here: FUCKING INSANE BEST SHOW ON TV CRAZY SHIT PERFECT!!!!!!! Sometimes I don't even know how TV could be this good.